There We Went

"Here we go, Steelers," is the favorite chant of the team's fans, a chant I'm sure rang through the streets of Detroit all last week. I said it once or twice, too, to my wife and dog, though neither seemed terribly interested. The wife adopted the Steelers as her team once they booted her beloved Peyton Manning from the playoffs, and she supported my here-we-going, but I suspect her allegiance was primarily a cagey attempt to keep my head from exploding on Sunday.

My head nearly exploded on Sunday, anyway, when the recently-potent Steelers offense managed nary a first down in its early drives. Ben Roethlisberger, despite his seeming calm leading up to the game, was obviously freaked out. The Seahawks offense was having more success (is anything in football less exciting than the West Coast offense? It's football's version of the 3-man weave), and it seemed only a matter of time before frustration set in for the Black and Gold. 7-3 Steelers at halftime, the touchdown coming on a run by Roethlisberger that we would later admit to doubting was a touchdown.

I did note, however, that the Steelers' play improved when I stopped sitting on the couch and instead stood in front of the TV, pacing into our little hallway when things got tough. I stayed standing for the rest of the game, and that adjustment was, I believe, the key to Steeler victory.

My head nearly exploded again--for a different reason--when Willie Parker broke the second play of the second half for a touchdown. I jumped up and down screaming. My antics made the dog hyper, and we watched the rest of the second half with a chew toy in one hand. Shortly after Parker's run, ABC showed video of Jerome Bettis, the venerable back who at night's end would announce a triumphant retirement, coaching the younger back: don't try to outrun the defensive back to the corner, Bettis told him. Get him going outside, and then cut it back. On his touchdown run, Parker left safety Michael Boulware ankle-deep in FieldTurf as he followed the Bus's advice to the end zone.

So, they did it. It was a win that highlighted the quality personnel on the team: the great passion they had for one another, the willingness to pull together and dedicate themselves to those closest to them. Sport at its best, no? I must admit to getting misty-eyed several times Sunday night, first at game's end, watching Bettis hoist the trophy, then again as footage of the players' interviews was played and replayed into the night. My heart swelled.

And so did the hearts of the 250,000 people who clogged the easily-cloggable streets of downtown Pittsburgh yesterday. The sourest skeptic should need no more proof of what that team means to that city.

And I will entertain no whining about the officiating in the game. Tough calls are a part of the narrative of every game. They are among the challenges that each team faces. So suck it up, Seahawks.

Cheers.