The River Green

...Pittsburgh's goin' to the Super Bowl!!!

And so, here we are again, for the seventh time, about to take the last step in a journey that brought us to the top of the toughest division, through the harshest schedule that the nay-sayers were convinced would leave us bruised, battered and at the bottom of our division, if not the entire conference. Our beloved Steelers have confounded everyone, clinched a playoff berth and won a bye-week leading up to the AFC Conference game against the Ravens. With that behind us, we enter Super Bowl XLIII as the heavy favorites, thank you very much. Mike Tomlin is not only the youngest NFL coach to lead a team to the Super Bowl, he is the third consecutive coach in the last 40 years to take the Steelers to the hallowed match. He has only been here for two years.

President Obama, Vice-President Biden, the NFL Commissioner and Keith Olbermann are just the latest in a long, long line of Pittsburgh Steelers supporters. There are hundreds of Steelers bars all around the nation, Steeler Nation, that is... I've been to a few of them. The one in Bismark, ND is my favorite- they serve a reasonable facsimile to the world-famous Primanti sandwich... these are the establishments that will play host to the 5-time World Champion Steelers' fan base this Sunday. With Terrible Towels at the ready in this country and across the globe- and in space since the Commander of the current Space Station crew is a Pittsburgh native and has taken the icon with him- we will be united in rabid support of our Steelers. HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!!

Jet-Blue began offering round trip flights to Tampa, FL from Pittsburgh just for the big game- no other carrier has direct routes- with the pilots of the first trip donning Reed and Roethlisberger jerseys, the flight crew dressed in Black & Gold, the ticket counters decked out with banners, bunting and all sorts of other accoutrement to send the faithful on their way to XLIII. The plane itself was sent off with a line of towel waving maintenance workers. I'll admit, it brought a tear to my eye.

A 'Cage the Cardinals' rally in dahn-tahn Thursday afternoon brought thousands into the streets to yell and scream and shout: HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!

Here we go indeed. My grandma was a Steelers fan. Not just any Steelers fan, either: she would get out of her chair and scold the television for a bad call, missed pass, fumble (occasionally slipping into her native German for the real doozies)... or jump, arms in air, at a touchdown. She had a pink Steelers hat, with lights. That is the essence of a rabid fan. Not just the scolding and the cheering and the fancy hats, but watching and absorbing each game with intensity as though it didn't matter if the sun came up the next day (though it always has, even in the darkest of days), just as long as the chains moved after the quarterback sneak on 4th and 2.

My Uncle Michael was probably the best role-model for how to be a rabid Steelers fan. I'll never forget singing the Steelers Polka with him on many occasions. Thinking back, I don't remember him not wearing a bright yellow tee shirt with the Steelers logo emblazoned in the center or the iconic font proudly declaring his allegiance.

We went to a Steelers game with my Uncle Sam at Three Rivers Stadium, in late 1980, carrying with us the hopes of an emigrating steel-worker population (eventually becoming Steeler Nation), that we could manage a come-from-behind playoff berth. The season stood at 8-6 with a good chance that we could repeat what we had done for the last four of six years- win another Lombardi trophy (you know... for the thumb). It was close to Christmas, not bitterly cold, but cold enough to have a knitted Steelers scarf, knitted Steelers hat, complete with pom-pom on top and a blanket atop our laps. We were playing the Kansas City Chiefs. Where we sat I can not recall, but we were trailing in the 4th with a score of 16-7. In the last minutes of the game, snow began to fall and Rocky Blier ran one into the endzone to finish the game 16-21. The crowd went nuts (so loud I knew I was screaming, but could not hear myself), Uncle Sam scooped me up onto his shoulder and we just cheered and cheered and cheered. Uncle Michael, kept yelling, '...did you see him run that ball in, did you see it, DID YOU SEE IT?!?!'

We were sure to get into the playoffs now! Alas, it didn't happen that way... the next game finished our season and it would be 26 years before we would finally get that one for the thumb.

But I don't remember ever being disappointed at a Steelers loss. I always look back to that one afternoon, a four-year-old at a snowy Steelers game with my two favorite uncles, sharing in the excitement of it all and I remember that it's not just about winning a game (though it is nice), it's about dancing to the Steelers Polka and eating chipped ham barbecue and wearing old, yellow tee-shirts, waving a towel, tailgating in the parking lot- even during away games. It's about sending a text message after a winning playoff game: GO STILLERS!!!
It's about crazy fight songs...

It's about being a part of something special, something memorable, something that you can actually sense in strangers walking down the streets of Pittsburgh... pride. Thank you, Uncle Mike... you turned me rabid all those years ago and I couldn't be happier.

I'll always be a resident of Steeler Country. Here, we bleed Black & Gold. We take no prisoners, we'll run that ball, move those chains, go for 2... we've been here before... we are proud... we are many... we are STEELER NATION!!! Hear. Us. Roar!!!

Now, as we stand on the precipice of a seventh Super Bowl appearance, at the doorway of history, I call upon Steeler Nation... get out that old, smelly tee shirt that hasn't been washed since the post-season began, call ahead to Giant Iggle for your 4 pounds of chipped ham, put on your pink, lighted hats, clench that towel in your fist, batten down the hatches and hoist the main sails, cause this ship is goin' to Tampa and it ain't comin' back without a six-pack!!!

HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

Labels: sports , Steelers