When it comes to putting a finger on the pulse of what it is people love about sports, one of the first things that comes to mind is rivalries.
There are plenty of cities that can boast about having the best rivalries, but few hold a candle to the city of Pittsburgh.
Especially when it comes to football.
Did you happen to experience the renewal of the Pitt-Penn State football rivalry last weekend in front of the largest crowd for a Pittsburgh sports event ever? Or what about the famous “Backyard Brawls” between Pitt and WVU? Just saying “13-9” to football fans in the tri-state area evokes some serious emotions across the spectrum.
However, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers who are the No. 1 ticket in town. After all, 40 years of largely uninterrupted success and six Super Bowl titles over that span will do that.
It will also create some of the league’s best rivalries, and, as things stand today, the best of the best might just be between the Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Some might argue the Bengals fall short of the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots for the title of “most hated rival” in the Burgh, but, after last season, that’s becoming a harder argument to win.
Just uttering the name “Vontaze Burfict” in Steeler Nation is enough to put a person in eminent danger.
Although Burfict won’t be playing this Sunday due to a three-game suspension stemming from his dirty play in the Steelers-Bengals playoff game last January, it didn’t stop him from voicing his opinion of the Black and Gold to Tim Rohan of the MMQB last month.
“I don’t give no f—s about them,” Burfict said. “Zero. You can write that, too. I don’t give no f—s about them. They’re just another team. They don’t scare me. Just another team.”
Sure sounds like it, Mr. Burfict.
No team has done a better job of getting into Burfict and his teammates’ heads than the Steelers. Part of that goes beyond just one hot-headed player; it speaks to two franchises that have, in essence, been polar opposites in just about every way imaginable.
For instance, the Bengals, who haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, have fewer playoff wins as a franchise (5) than the Steelers have Lombardi trophies (6).
There is no question a book could be written on the divergent paths the two franchises have taken, but it does, in many ways, go back to players like Burfict and Adam “Pac-Man” when looking at why the Bengals come into Sunday’s rivalry game still trying to figure out the Steelers puzzle.
One team knows how to rein in their emotions — the other?
Not so much.
But that doesn’t mean the Steelers don’t have their fair share of vitriol for the Bengals.
Just ask Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell who both were taken out by “questionable” (read: dirty) hits by Burfict and company.
The always outspoken DeAngelo Williams won’t hide his feelings about the Bengals and didn’t when talking to the assembled media yesterday. “Everybody knows the professional hatred we have for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bengals have with us,” Williams said. “Everybody’s heard the Twitter fight and things of that nature that we’ve had in the offseason. Guess what? This Sunday, that comes to a head, and the cameras will be watching. It will be our will versus their will, and we will see who breaks first.”
Some healthy pregame banter is expected in any rivalry, but the Steelers’ ability to approach this game with clear heads will be crucial. It’s the very thing that has dogged the Bengals, who have arguably as talented a roster as any team in the NFL but still seem to come up short.
Expect the Steelers to focus on what has made the franchise the gold standard for decades: a commitment to winning on the scoreboard, not in trash talk or the number of cheap shots handed out.
A win Sunday will set the tone for the AFC North race and will keep the Steelers’ and Bengals’ place in the rivalry exactly where it’s been:
Firmly in the Steelers hands.
Image credit: John Grieshop/Getty Images
