Steelers Your Face
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Super Bowl XL victory!
I must first say that no, I'm not one of those "new" fans out there who latch themselves onto the year's best team. Afterall, that's what the Yankees are for. Not that sporting team fan-dom follows any logical rulebook or anything. It just irks me when someone who has absolutely no affiliation whatsoever to a sports team suddenly becomes their number one fan-conicidentally during the same year that they win the FILL IN THE BLANK championship game. Now you're excused if you latch yourself onto a particular sporting team for some unknown reason and continue to be the team's fan through both the winning and losing seasons. That would be my husband. He loves Philadelphia teams-the Phillies and Eagles mostly. He is not from Philadelphia, nor are any of his family members. Maybe he knew one day he would grow up and marry a girl who was born in Philadelphia, and that is why he chose to root for their teams. Nonetheless, he stuck by them through thick and thin. So I will excuse him.
However, he has a friend who I will not excuse so readily. He roots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Hurricanes, although he has never lived in Florida nor has any relatives in Florida. Frankly, he doesn't seem to have any connection whatsoever to these teams. I'm most certain he would never have rooted for the Bucs during the 1970s and early 1980s when they were the joke of the NFL. But now that they have actually become more competitive in recent years, he's their number one fan. And rooting for the Hurricanes just because they won (cough-stole) all those championships, is inexcusable. My husband and myself, being avid Florida State Seminoles fans, can always expect a call from this person when Miami beats us- yet again. I might be able to stomach it if he actually attended the University of Miami or had some connection to the university that would warrant his gloating when we lose. Sure, it's easy to pick any winning team and say that you're a fan, but rubbing it into the loyal fans of opposing teams who have chosen their sports teams for valid and justifiable reasons and continue to support them even when they have not so stellar seasons is totally inappropriate.
That being said, I have rooted for the Steelers since I was a kid. My Dad was born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, so we grew up on Steelers. Chuck Knoll, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann...they were household names in the late 1970s. I will never forget watching the Steelers and Cowboys battle in those now infamous Super Bowls. We had terrible towels flown in from relatives in Pittsburgh. I had the championship T-Shirt. I remember quite vividly the basement where we watched the game in 1979. I remember my Dad's excitement when HIS team won. I admit that being a 10 year old, I knew very little about the mechanics of the game at that time. But watching the Steelers and watching my Dad watch the Steelers is was what made me want to learn all about first downs and touch downs. It was rare back then for girls to be so into football, but fortunately my Dad instilled in my sister and me and appreciate for the game. I could also mention that I work with the sister-in-law of one of the starting players who shall remain nameless (although he is very valuable), which further perpetuates my interest for the Steelers.
I recall a song by the Charlie Daniels Band that came out in the 80s-and although I wholeheartedly can't agree with the message of the song-it kind of makes me smile. It's just that these patriotic type songs seem a little boastful. "In America" is the song and was written in response to the Cold War or the Iranian hostage crisis most likely. The message is that you don't mess around with the USA because we "will damn sure fool you." The line I'm referring to is "You just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steeler fan and I think you're gonna finally understand." I guess that always struck me because that line seemed to epitomize Pittsburgh toughness. And when I think about the history of Pittsburgh and my family history that is rooted there, I want to embody some of that toughness too.
However, today I will just be satisfied with the Steelers victory. And I imagine that my Dad is smiling down and waving that terrible towel just like he did that January day in a basement in Connecticut when the whole world was in our hands and nothing could bring us down.
I must first say that no, I'm not one of those "new" fans out there who latch themselves onto the year's best team. Afterall, that's what the Yankees are for. Not that sporting team fan-dom follows any logical rulebook or anything. It just irks me when someone who has absolutely no affiliation whatsoever to a sports team suddenly becomes their number one fan-conicidentally during the same year that they win the FILL IN THE BLANK championship game. Now you're excused if you latch yourself onto a particular sporting team for some unknown reason and continue to be the team's fan through both the winning and losing seasons. That would be my husband. He loves Philadelphia teams-the Phillies and Eagles mostly. He is not from Philadelphia, nor are any of his family members. Maybe he knew one day he would grow up and marry a girl who was born in Philadelphia, and that is why he chose to root for their teams. Nonetheless, he stuck by them through thick and thin. So I will excuse him.
However, he has a friend who I will not excuse so readily. He roots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Hurricanes, although he has never lived in Florida nor has any relatives in Florida. Frankly, he doesn't seem to have any connection whatsoever to these teams. I'm most certain he would never have rooted for the Bucs during the 1970s and early 1980s when they were the joke of the NFL. But now that they have actually become more competitive in recent years, he's their number one fan. And rooting for the Hurricanes just because they won (cough-stole) all those championships, is inexcusable. My husband and myself, being avid Florida State Seminoles fans, can always expect a call from this person when Miami beats us- yet again. I might be able to stomach it if he actually attended the University of Miami or had some connection to the university that would warrant his gloating when we lose. Sure, it's easy to pick any winning team and say that you're a fan, but rubbing it into the loyal fans of opposing teams who have chosen their sports teams for valid and justifiable reasons and continue to support them even when they have not so stellar seasons is totally inappropriate.
That being said, I have rooted for the Steelers since I was a kid. My Dad was born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, so we grew up on Steelers. Chuck Knoll, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann...they were household names in the late 1970s. I will never forget watching the Steelers and Cowboys battle in those now infamous Super Bowls. We had terrible towels flown in from relatives in Pittsburgh. I had the championship T-Shirt. I remember quite vividly the basement where we watched the game in 1979. I remember my Dad's excitement when HIS team won. I admit that being a 10 year old, I knew very little about the mechanics of the game at that time. But watching the Steelers and watching my Dad watch the Steelers is was what made me want to learn all about first downs and touch downs. It was rare back then for girls to be so into football, but fortunately my Dad instilled in my sister and me and appreciate for the game. I could also mention that I work with the sister-in-law of one of the starting players who shall remain nameless (although he is very valuable), which further perpetuates my interest for the Steelers.
I recall a song by the Charlie Daniels Band that came out in the 80s-and although I wholeheartedly can't agree with the message of the song-it kind of makes me smile. It's just that these patriotic type songs seem a little boastful. "In America" is the song and was written in response to the Cold War or the Iranian hostage crisis most likely. The message is that you don't mess around with the USA because we "will damn sure fool you." The line I'm referring to is "You just go and lay your hand on a Pittsburgh Steeler fan and I think you're gonna finally understand." I guess that always struck me because that line seemed to epitomize Pittsburgh toughness. And when I think about the history of Pittsburgh and my family history that is rooted there, I want to embody some of that toughness too.
However, today I will just be satisfied with the Steelers victory. And I imagine that my Dad is smiling down and waving that terrible towel just like he did that January day in a basement in Connecticut when the whole world was in our hands and nothing could bring us down.
posted by amyd | 4:20 PM
1 Comments:
Aahhhh....yay Steelers!! [waving terrible towel]
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