From the desk of Tom Janicki,
Past: This is the Super Bowl, so many great memories. I must admit that my 1st Super Bowl memory does not start with the Steelers. I may have been conceived after a 70’s Steelers victory but the 1st Super Bowl that I can remember involved Marino vs. Montana and I had my 1st bad taste from the Niners. Com’n Man, growing up in Pittsburgh Marino was a God. He made it look easy. I can remember him getting dismantled by SF that day. That was the start for me of a losing AFC tradition in the big game. I can remember being an AFC supporter and never winning. 13 straight loses if my memory serves correct. John Elway letting me down a few times. Jim Kelly not being able to win the big game. Very few games growing up through the 80’s were even remotely close. Icing on the cake was that the Steelers were rarely competitive. I must admit that the Steelers were not even in the thought process during those years. I watched and remember the names but I was not a true fan. Then the Steelers started fielding good teams (finally) right around the same time that I was new to the tailgate scene. You know, a Keg with no ice and some Solo cups, really all you really need!! Anyway, back to the Super Bowl…My 1st really impactful pre Super Bowl memory was Stan Humphries to Alfred Pupunu and grown men crying and not leaving the stadium after the loss to the heavily underdog Chargers in ’94-’95. If that was the agony of defeat then the thrill of victory was the following year as the Colts and Jim Harbaugh’s pass fell to the ground. I thought I would never see a larger group of men hugging as I did that day. Because I was not accustomed to the winning tradition, winning an AFC Championship game at home seemed to be the greatest feeling in Sports. I took a few weeks off of college to travel to Tempe with money I really didn’t have. No chance to get in but was able to experience the atmosphere non the less. Steeler nation took their 1st Super Bowl defeat that day but the love for the atmosphere was the tip of the iceberg. Beer We Go was born shortly thereafter. The following years were filled with winning teams that just couldn’t seem to win the big game again. Then we drafted Big Ben and the rest is history!! Super Steeler Bowl # 5 was less than spectacular, freezing cold Detroit and a Seattle team that was happy to be in the game. We were coming from the 6 seed having beaten the Bungals, the Colts (Best game that I had attended up to that point in my life, 1st time that I was in a dome and that building was loud!) then the Broncos. Winning that Super Bowl seemed to be a foregone conclusion being that the “Bus” was retiring and the game was in his home town. (eerily similar to this years plot). The best part about the game was that I made a failed attempt at sneaking into the game prior to kick-off but was successfully in the 4th quarter with the bearded King Joey Harkins. My advice to all that are going to a Super Bowl in the future and can’t afford it…hang out by the exit of the stadium and be patient. What a celebration that was. We finally got one for the thumb. I could remember back to the Mean Joe commercials and shirts pushing for one for the thumb. Fast forward toTampa a few years back. At this point, I was able to afford an over priced Super Bowl ticket. This memory rivals everything that I had done up to that point. It would have a hard time believing that there will EVER be a better Super Bowl moment than the silverback taking it the length of the field. Then Santonio’s catch totally trumped the interception. The last Super Bowl was our most difficult for personal reasons and the defeat did not help matters. Bottom line, the Past has been VERY GOOD to our Black & Gold. VERY GOOD INDEED.
Present: I have a distain for the Ravens because they are the Browns. If it was ever Brown it must be flushed down and the Ravens will always be an extension of Brown. I have a hard time stomaching either Harbaugh especially Jim just because of his antics on the sideline. I have see-sawed all week on whether to even pay attention to the game. How could I not, it’s the Super Bowl. I was leaning towards rooting for the 49ers just because I did not want any joy to be felt by theBaltimorefan base. Further more, this Ray Ray media blitz is over the top and it’s the Ravens. We as Steeler fans have a hard time rooting for our rival. My thought was the Super Bowl would be buried on the West Coast and would be forgotten in weeks opposed to if the Ravens won they would play the Steelers on Thursday night and probably dump Gatorade on Harbaugh before kick-off. Man I hate the Ravens. But….flip the coin…the 49ers are 5-0 in the big game …Doesn’t a Super Bowl in the AFC North build the divisions resume? I typically pull for the AFC. I must say that I would prefer a terribly played game (similar to the last Ravens Super Bowl victory) where the ravens come out on top. It pains me to write that as well. I take “SIXBURGH” totally out of the equation within this thought process. I like to think Super Bowls are just a small part of the history of Championships in the NFL. We may claim to have the most Super Bowls but many other teams (Green Bayand NY Giants come to the top of the mind) have a greater championship tradition. This should not and does not take anything away from the “SIXBURGH” argument, just saying that argument is a bit short sighted…dontcha think? If the Ratbirds are to win, fast forward to next year, I hope that we play them on Opening night…remember those cowards refused to play us the year after our last ring. There would be nothing better to release the pain of this season than to beat the paper Super Bowl Champs in there own building celebrating the ring. Again I dispise the Ravens but I would rather put it to the rival champs next year opposed to “couldn’t win the big one again” Baltimore Ravens. My final present Super Bowl thought, Randy Moss claims he’s the greatest wide receiver of all time…what a joke…I would roster Hines Ward over Moss any day of the week and twice on Sunday…I for one do not want to see that guy win a Ring!! You feel me?
Future: We, as Steelers fans, have been blessed with Championship caliber football for many years and I believe many more to come. We are getting long in the tooth though. We need to start doing a better job with the draft and potentially go away from the norm and bring in a free agent or two (Steven Jackson is at the top of my wish list). As long as we have a healthy Ben, we have a good shot to bring the glory back to the Burgh. This year has been forgotten and we will be counting down the days to another deep playoff run next year.
To wrap it up, no disrespect to the Super Bowl participants this year; regardless of our likes or dislikes, they earned the right by getting into the playoffs and winning to this point. They both deserve the chance to lift the trophy (I just threw up in my mouth!). May the best team on Sunday win!!
BEER WE GO STEELERS. Next up, draft day!!