Its Super Bowl week and not a black and gold jersey to be found. The sickness of the Steelers “offseason” has set in throughout Western Pennsylvania and the extended Steeler Nation. As the rest of the Country starts prepping their menus and beverage selections for the big game, Steelers fans are simply trying to feign interest in the Super Bowl.
We here at “The Yinzer” want to do our part to ensure that YOUR Super Bowl Sunday is spent with a little bit of skin in the game. It’s the final meaningful football game until the Steelers get back in gear this August for the pre-season, and we’ll be damned if we’re going to spend it walking the aisles of Target with the wife or trying to figure out a way to keep the squirrels out of the winter bird feeders. It is a non-Steelers Super Bowl Sunday ladies and gents, a National Holiday on par with Arbor Day or Steve Jobs birthday.
So from a Pittsburgh Steelers fan point-of-view, here is your personal list of reasons why you need to be in front of the tube for a minimum of eight hours this Sunday. When the wife or girlfriend says “the Steelers aren’t even playing, why can’t we go to the mall?” – you now have a virtual potpourri of incentives to reign down on your better half and convince them to plop down on that sofa with you. Hell, with reasoning this good – you may even get a sandwich out of it.
Reason #5 – The Pittsburgh Factor
As with almost any football game played throughout the year, this game has a slew of ties to the hallowed football ground that is Western Pennsylvania. We can start with the local boys, the ones who built their careers on the cheers of Pittsburgh sports fans. The San Francisco 49ers boast one of the best punters in all of the NFL, and he spent his college days booting balls at Heinz Field and even Three Rivers Stadium. Andy Lee is just 30 years old, and has been in the NFL since 2004. He has been to three Pro Bowls, and was drafted in the sixth round of that 2004 draft by the 49ers. In college, he established himself as one of the best punters in University of Pittsburgh history. His 244 punts, 10,353 yards, and 61 punts downed inside the 20-yard line are all Pitt records, and played in four straight bowl games for the Panthers. He joined Pitt during their transition year from old Pitt Stadium to Heinz Field; the team played their 2000 season at Three Rivers Stadium. While Andy Lee was raised in South Carolina, he crafted his all-star leg right here in the Steel City.
Joining Lee on the 49ers’ roster is LB NaVorro Bowman, who came into his own this season and was voted to his first Pro Bowl. Bowman was part of the last great Joe Paterno team at Penn State, a 2008 squad that went 11-2 and lost to USC in the Rose Bowl. The 2008 Nittany Lions were a tenacious defensive football team, and Bowman was the catalyst. He recorded 106 total tackles, four sacks, and was voted onto the All-Big Ten team at the conclusion of the season. Bowman decided to roll the dice and leave Penn State after his junior year, and was drafted in the third round by the 49ers. The two local college stars are joined on the 49ers’ roster by former Steelers OLB Clark Haggans, who is vying for his second Super Bowl ring after being part of the Steelers Super Bowl XL squad. Haggans is now 36 years old and probably in his final NFL season, so this is more or less his final shot at another ring. His Steelers career was quietly effective, and he held down a starting spot on a great defense while always maintaining the type of image the Steelers are known for – modest, humble, and productive.
Over on the Ravens sideline, we have even more Pittsburgh blood. Start with QB Joe Flacco, who started his ascension to Super Bowl quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh. The story of how Flacco went from back-up to first-round NFL pick in just under five years didn’t exactly endear him to fans in Pittsburgh. After being recruited by Pitt, Flacco found himself stuck behind four-star QB recruit and local favorite Tyler Palko on the Panthers depth chart. As Palko led Pitt to their only BCS appearance in 2004 (a Fiesta Bowl loss to Utah), Flacco played only four downs for the team. A frustrated Flacco saw the writing on the wall and transferred to the University of Delaware after the 2004 season, forcing him to sit out the entire 2005 season as ineligible.
Between 2006 and 2007, Flacco and his eyebrow led the FBS “Fighting Blue Hens” to two playoff appearances and a berth in the FBS Championship Game against Appalachian State. He was drafted No. 18 overall pick by the Ravens in the 2008 Draft to replace former first round pick Kyle Boller, a monumental failure by any standard. Flacco has now taken his game and his big, bushy eyebrow to the Super Bowl, representing quitters and cry-babies everywhere.
The Ravens also have OG Gino Gradkowski, the younger brother of NFL QB Brad Gradkowski and a product of Seton-LaSalle High School. Gradkowski followed the “Flacco Approach” to both the National Football League and weird-looking eyeballs – starting at West Virginia and ending up as a Blue Hen. While Flacco unibrows his way around The Big Easy, Gradkowski has the look of a young man that Cousin Eddie would say “was kicked by a mule.” Cross-eyed backup offensive lineman notwithstanding, the Ravens have more ties to Pittsburgh. DT Ryan McBean was the Steelers fourth-round draft pick in 2007 from Oklahoma State, and since then has bounced around to Denver and now Baltimore. Backup NT Ma’ake Kemoeatu is the brother of former Steelers OG Chris Kemoeatu.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh was once the Tight Ends coach at Pitt, serving under the Mike Gottfried era in 1987. Offensive Coordinator Jim “The Catfish” Caldwell was Penn State’s QB Coach from 1986-92. The 49ers coaching staff also has Pittsburgh ties, starting with Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. “Captain Comeback” was the Indianapolis Colts QB who almost took the Colts to the Super Bowl by throwing a last-second Hail Mary pass into the Three Rivers Stadium end zone during the waning moments of the 1995 AFC Championship Game against the Steelers. The ball hit the frozen turf, propelling the Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl Appearance. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio (maybe the best vampire name in the NFL) is a product of East Stroudsburg University and was born in Dunmore, PA. He was once the Defensive Assistant Coach for the Baltimore Stars of the USFL (1984) during their championship season.
So yes, this Super Bowl might not have any Pittsburgh Steelers, but there is plenty of Pittsburgh blood in those locker rooms. One can imagine that the catering staff is preparing plenty of steak salads with fries on them for both teams this week.
#4 The Ravens Factor
Ah yes, the Baltimore Ratbirds. The sworn enemy of our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, and yet now the one team that can keep the Steelers record of six Super Bowl trophies standing for another year. We hate them all – Harbaugh, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, et al. Two times per season, our Steelers go to war with the purple-clad men from the Crab Cake city. We make fun of their pretty uniforms, we laugh at their generic fans, we watch as they attempt to mold themselves into the closest thing in football to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brash, bold, and intimidating. The Ravens are like the evil exact opposite of the Steelers, the left foot of the pair. In this game however, it is up to the Ravens to keep the Steelers record afloat – which causes a great deal of heartburn for Steeler Nation. Do we really want to have to hear the term “World Champion Baltimore Ravens” for the next six months? Do we really want to see Joe Flacco raise the Lombardi Trophy high above his eyebrow? Can we live with Ray Lewis copy-catting he great Jerome Bettis by retiring on-stage after a Super Bowl victory? It is drama to the highest degree as Steelers fans everywhere have to decide which evil is the GREATER evil.
#3 The 49ers Factor
We don’t hate them, because we really don’t know them. The 49ers represent a city that is a polar opposite of the Steel City. They are dainty and full of yuppie-driven economic giants, a team that gets their fan support from mainly corporate giants who own thousands of season tickets to rickety-old Candlestick Park. The 49ers were the team that had the torch passed to them from those great Steel Curtain teams. As Bradshaw, Swann, Stallworth, Lambert, and Webster were nearing the end, it was Montana, Rice, Taylor, Craig, and Rathman that took their places. The 49ers so completely owned the 1980’s that they are probably the only other “true” NFL dynasty. In 1994, they trashed a completely overmatched San Diego Chargers team to obtain Lombardi Trophy No. 5. Since then, they have laid essentially dormant, with a few playoff appearances sprinkled throughout a lackluster past two decades. Should San Francisco win this Sunday, the Steelers record of six Super Bowl victories will no longer stand completely alone at the top of the mountain. We will have to share it. Can you live with that reality? Can we allow the San Francisco 49ers to achieve the same level of greatness beholden to our Pittsburgh Steelers? Once again, which evil is the GREATER evil? Steeler Nation will have to decide quickly.
#2 The Ray Lewis Factor
One argument that has made the rounds on sports talk radio and various social media outlets this past week has pitted Steeler Nation against one another: Should we cheer for Ray Lewis? Quite possibly the defining player for the Ravens side during the evolution of the greatest rivalry in the NFL, Lewis is to Baltimore what Hines Ward is to Pittsburgh. The emotional leader who has earned the respect (or has he?) of Steelers fans with his unbridled passion and relentless style of play, now with one foot firmly out the door to retirement and only his second Super Bowl standing in the way of a spot next to Shannon Sharpe on the NFL Today.
Ray Lewis might be Satan reincarnated – or he might just be a really great football player, who if he had been drafted by the Steelers would now be considered a folk lore hero in the Tri-State area. Personally, I have seen live and in-person numerous times as this man took the entire Ravens team on his back and carried them to the finish line. As a player, there is no denying his status. He is a future Hall of Famer, and at the very least is deserving of a short applause as he leaves the field on Sunday – winner or loser.
Of course, there is the question of the murder charge he caught during the aftermath of Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, when he and two others were charged with the stabbing deaths of two other men. There was a huge amount of evidence that pointed to Lewis having committed the crime, but ultimately the murder charge was dismissed and Lewis walked with a simple misdemeanor charge of Obstruction of Justice for false statements. The Lewis clan reached a settlement agreement with the families of both murdered men, which negated the need for civil suits that would have followed. Many believe that Ray Lewis simply got away with murder.
Despite the criminal issue, Ray Lewis has re-defined the Inside Linebacker role in the NFL. His list of accolades is long – 13-time Pro Bowler, two-time AP Defensive Player of the year, three-time AFC Defensive Player of the year, a member of the NFL All-Decade team of the 2000s, and the charter member of the elite 40 sacks/30 interceptions club. Ray Lewis the football player is worthy of our cheers. Ray Lewis the man has done everything possible to rehabilitate his image since the murder charges in 2000. His Ray Lewis 52 Foundation is considered one of the most dynamic NFL player-run charities in history, providing financial and spiritual assistance to disadvantaged youths in both Baltimore and Florida, where he was raised.
Many Steelers fans will place Ray Lewis next to Tom Brady, Fred Biletnikoff, and Bernie Kosar as players they will always despise. While there is no harm in that – football is meant to have both great loves and great enemies – it may be time to allow Ray Lewis his moment in the spotlight. If anything, his victory this Sunday will keep the Steelers in the spotlight for at least one more year.
#1 The HarBowl Factor
The Harbaugh family is quickly becoming a “love to hate them” crew for Steelers fans. Sort of like the Ryan Family – Dad Buddy and sons Rex and Robbie, the Harbaugh family has rubbed Steeler Nation the wrong way. It all started with Jim Harbaugh, who enjoyed an NFL career that is the very definition of “journeyman,” almost causing an instant heart-attack for Steelers fans with his lob into the end zone at the end of the 1995 AFC Championship Game. If that pass would have been caught, the Steelers would have lost to the double-digit underdog Indianapolis Colts and the very future of the franchise (including head coach Bill Cowher) could have been completely different.
Many of us were unaware that Jim Harbaugh had an older brother who looked exactly like him. It wasn’t until the arch-rival Baltimore Ravens hired the elder Harbaugh to replace the uber-hated Brian Billick in 2008 that Steeler Nation was introduced to this clown. Since his hiring, John Harbaugh has led the Ravens to a 44-20 (.688) regular season record and an 8-4 playoff record. Twice, the Steelers had to knock off Harbaugh and his purple-clad goons in playoff match-ups. The Steelers vs. Ravens rivalry has definitely ticked up a notch with Harbaugh on the sidelines for Baltimore.
While John was re-stocking the Ravens into a Super Bowl-caliber team, his brother “Captain Comeback” Jim was becoming a coaching star at Stanford University in the PAC-10 (12, er 13?). Jim Harbaugh took over a program that had been decimated by two years of Walt Harris recruiting and coaching in 2007. The Cardinal team he inherited had gone a combined 6-17 the previous two seasons, including a dreadful 1-11 in 2007, proving once again that Walt Harris and his lisp belong nowhere near a football field.
Harbaugh slowly built the Cardinal back to power, culminating with a 12-1 season in 2010 that almost took Stanford to the BCS National Championship Game. Instead, they settled for a 40-12 romp of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. After that, Harbaugh took a few NFL interviews and eventually landed in San Francisco, where a once-proud franchise had been destroyed by years of bad coaching and even worse drafting. Just two years later, he has the 49ers back in the Super Bowl, mainly due to a bold decision to replace former first-round pick QB Alex Smith with second-year unknown Colin Kaepernick. The 49ers are led by the unorthodox Kaepernick and a tenacious defense.
In a story that you have heard way too many times already, and will hear another million times before kickoff, the Harbaugh family is split as the two brothers face off in Super Bowl XLVII – forever to be known as the HarBowl. If that doesn’t make you sick, it probably at least makes it interesting.
In summary, this Super Bowl may go down as one of the most boring games ever on the field. There are enough factors to make any towel-waving Steelers fan nauseous. Unfortunately though, it is the Super Bowl. After this game is over, we all have another pitiful Pirates baseball season to meander our way through before the Steelers head to sweat-soaked Latrobe for Camp Tomlin 2013. Super Bowl XLVII is like a bowl of cream of mushroom soup after a long day of snow-shoveling. It is warm, but it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
If all else fails, just treat the wife to a Sunday afternoon out. Maybe a trip to Target, perhaps the mall? Go see a movie, or even visit your mother-in-law. Heck, if you REALLY want to build some brownie points, take your MOTHER-IN-LAW to a MOVIE. Do that and you might find Steelers season tickets in your Easter Basket this year.
However, if you find yourself needing to make up a reason to watch the last bit of pigskin you will find this winter, go ahead and print this article out. Take one of those dog magnets off of the fridge and pin this baby up above the trash-pickup schedule and the Chinese restaurant menu. Maybe your better half will read it, and maybe – just maybe – she’ll make you that sandwich. Or maybe she’ll heat you up a bowl of cream of mushroom soup. Bon Appetite!
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