Super Bowl. Here we go!

Hi.

The energy, the tension, the rivalries, the pounding heart beats. There is no sports game that can quite beat the excitement of a good Steelers game. What brings this up? The disappointing, yet high-adrenaline game played this past Sunday.

On the subject of sports, my favorites lie with soccer and tennis. I love playing them, and I am often times an avid interested watcher. However, I have no real loyalties with any team or any player: they are sports that I enjoy in the recreational aspect. But when it comes to the "Greatest Game Ever Played," my blood bleeds black and gold. When it comes to the game itself, I'd rather not play it and I'm not the most avid watcher. Football isn't very high on my list of things to do. In fact even if the Steelers are playing, unless I am actually free and have access to a television, you probably won't find me watching. But the bottom line is, that I grew up in Pittsburgh. I've been to the home games in the old Three Rivers Stadium and in the new Heinz Field. I've been to the Super Bowl parties. I have the paraphernalia: terrible towel, t-shirts, wigs, chains, earrings, pins, lanyard, you get the idea. Growing up in a community where football and the Steelers are quite a big deal, I slowly came to love watching a good game where the team my loyalties lie with are fighting for victory.

My respect for the team is just that. Respect as football players. I have no real favorite player on the team, but I am a huge fan when it comes to the Steelers as a team (especially their defensive line!). Yes, they can be influential members of society and sponsor several companies and products through advertising. But really my respect goes for the skills and antics as football players alone. I can remember when I first started watching them, while under coach Bill Cowher. Before I move the players, he deserves a mention. This guy really got into the game, and a typical clip of him would be during one of his screaming matches during the game. Sure it might not have been the best way to get on the referees' good sides, but it definitely fueled the fans' fervor during game time.

The first players I can remember paying attention to are no longer on the current roster of the team: Kordell Stewart, Jerome Bettis, Dewayne Washington. Before I begin, a disclaimer: I am not an expert in football. Most of what I recount are what I remember of the players (not necessarily what they actually did). Now that I have warned you -> Kordell Stewart was probably not the greatest quarterback out there, in fact he more often than not let us down. But he sure had a shapely ass, and loved pulling off hail-mary passes and running the ball himself. And hey, he managed to do well enough to get us to the Super Bowl didn't he? Then there's Bettis, the Bus. This guy could run through anything. Several of his theatrical touchdowns are stamped in my memory. There was the one where he pulled two defensive linemen with him as he walked into the goal. And the other where he jumped over both the offensive and defensive lines into the green of the touchdown zone. His jersey number was added to the unofficially retired numbers on the Steelers. Go #36! To top it off, he is actually a good person off the field. And then there's Washington. Every time the defense made a play, you could be sure to hear his name. He was one of those guys that made our defense one of the best in the league.

When it comes to our current team, of course a notable name is Hines Ward. To be honest, despite his great plays (remember the Superbowl against the Cardinals?), I find his heritage far more interesting. Can you imagine it? He is half Asian and half black... could you be anymore black and gold? I think not. But my favorite player, is of course a defensive line man: Troy Polamalu. Sure I said I had no favorites, but the guy, he just has charm. Whether it's the hair, or the way he catches an interception and runs it down the field for a touchdown, he has this awesome persona, that is just plain awesome (yes, it sounds as dimwitted as it felt to write ^_^).

Now some people would think that I would mention the current quarterback Roethlisberger. But frankly, I can't stand the guy. They say he's amazing because he was a rookie when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. It most definitely wasn't him. I believe he was carried by the cohesive (and awesome) teamwork of the Steelers. The real reason the Steelers scored any points was because Roethlisberger was carried by the amazing plays made by Bettis and Ward. If that's doesn't make a point, then think about the fact that the quarterback wasn't made MVP, but the wide receiver who made a catch that wasn't even thrown by Roethlisberger. The only reason he can get away with his long 6 second plays, is due to the fact that his pocket protects him well. Without them, he'd be a pretty mediocre quarterback, unable to make the quick decisions that are necessary for that speed of plays. On top of that, the guy has been exposed in so many scandals, it's a wonder why he hasn't been caught with all the speculations being thrown around. He is probably one of the biggest reasons why I make the distinction between being a Steelers fan and being a Roethlisberger fan. I am a fan of the Steelers team.

At a comedy show I had once attended, the comedian referred to being a Steeler fan as being a religion, for you were forever praying that they would win. As exaggerated as it seems, I found it to contain a granule of truth. When the team reaches the red-zone I find it hard to take for granted that the team will score. More often than not there is a play that turn over the ball without any points scored! In fact when a touchdown is made after a long drive down the field, it seems as though fans are celebrating a miracle that nothing bad happened. Sometimes it's truly hard to tell. It has gotten to the extent that if the team is really playing horribly, I can't even stand to watch a game. And when the game is one of those neck and neck games, I find it impossible to do anything aside from watching the game.

Yet regardless of how far the team goes in a season, I will truly always be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan: no matter where I end up, even if it's in hostile Ravens territory ^_^. Maybe I won't shout it out loud in the streets, but I'll always be singing, "Here we go Steelers, heeeere we go! Pittsburgh's going to the Superbowl!"


Sure it's not Black and Yellow, and maybe it's not a theme for quite the right sport (but they do call it football in other countries don't they? ^_^), by the always wonderful Shakira:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGrfLQVVI8A