Steelers ... always thinking they will win it all

[duus]

I found great humor is this overly optimistic quote (note how it is the Steelers who would beat the Colts ... that's the way it is here ... Steelers are always the team to beat ... too funny):

"Last week couldnt have gone better for the Steelers. This week could be just as good the Steelers could win, while the Chiefs and Chargers are underdogs. Heck, there is even a chance that the Steelers wont have to beat Detroit to make the playoffs. I guess the big question in the NFL this week is how long does Peyton and the rest of the Colts stars play? I can see how the players would want to go 16-0 and make the record books, but what happens if Peyton sprains an ankle or twists a knee, and in their first game of the playoffs, with them not being able to artificially make the crowd noise louder, and Peyton on the bench, the Colts lose to the Steelers? It will make for some interesting conversation, especially if the Colts win this week. Stay tuned."

And what about the Bengals victory over the Browns according to Steelers experts here?:

"Escaped a trap game in Cleveland with a last second field goal drive that was aided by some questionable penalties."

And what about the Steelers winning the division?:

"we can still win the North…we win out, Cincy loses out, we win the North. It’s that simple. I’ll bring that one up again after the Bungles lose to the Lions on Sunday."

[PMThor]

They are diluted. I would rather not even know about their mental problems to be honest. Just percentage wise the very idea of Cincy losing out and them winning out is astronomical. I hope they collectively get hit by a bus. Not The Bus, but a bus, well heck you know what I mean.

[bengalindian]

Let's not assume that these opinions are of a majority of the Steelers' fans. Let's assume that they are all an opinion of ALL of the Steelers' fans.

[HoosierCat]

I think there a segment of Steelers fandom -- specifically the segment that's been an angry, freaked out mess since the lost to Cincy in Pitt -- that's been traumatized by 13 years of losing in Pitt.

Not regular season losing, mind you, obviously they have done well in that department, advancing to the playoffs nine times since Cowher took over. But for all those chances, they only reached the Super Bowl once...and lost. Except for a three-year stretch in the late Nineties, it's been pretty much like clockwork in Pitt: win in the regular season, go to the playoffs, choke, repeat.

I imagine that has to be at least as frustrating for a Steeler fan as watching the Bengals lose season after season was for us Bengals fans. Maybe more so. At least we usually knew by mid-October that we weren't going anywhere, as opposed to being strung along until January before getting the rug pulled out from underneath us.

But the result, I think, is that there's a big group of Steelers fans who think their team is entitled to a championship. Haven't they been great for years? If they had just one or two SB rings in the Nineties, they'd be a dynasty! The one missing piece has always been a franchise QB, heir to Bradshaw, and they finallly found him last year. They went 15-1 in the regular season and were turned back one game shy of the Big Dance. This year was their year. They deserve it, they believe. And it was all there, all laid out, all set up for them before the season: a relatively easy schedule featuring the weak AFCS and NFCN divisions, and within their division? The Browns were entering year one of a rebuild, the Ravens were aging and their QB was a joke, and the Bungles...yeah, right, who cares, they suck.

Ooops.

Now those "Bungles" are spoiling their party! How dare they?!? Don't they realize they aren't allowed to get better? That the Steelers deserve a championship after all they've been through? It's not fair!

Oh, well.

[Ox]

Interestingly, my sister in law once was a sweet, little innocent country girl. She had no idea of how football was played, or what any NFL team was called, mascots or anything at all. She started dating Joe. Joe is a 32 year old Steeler fan.

Flash forward 3 years and an enagement ring later. Last night I had an argument with her over why the Squeelers weren't going to win it all. She could not FATHOM how the steelers weren't the BEST team in the NFL. I mean it was comical.

First excuse about not winning the north - "We gave you all the north, we lost because of OUR mistakes, not b/c the bungles are good."

Second - "We lost b/c Bens thumb was hurt." To which I replied, why did he throw for over 300 yards? She just blankly stared at me.

What I am getting at is these freaking people are infectious with their ignorance. It is comical and sad all at the same time.

And if it is the last thing I do, I'm getting us all seats to the playoff game where we send those asshats packing from Cinci and the playoffs both. I pray we play them again.