Danny Boy

It's a big St. Patrick's Day in Pittsburgh. Because in Washington, President Obama named Dan Rooney to be U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. Rooney, owner of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, is not only known as a statesman of the NFL, "Mr. Rooney was in Washington last night to be honored by the American Ireland Fund, the group he has nurtured as a force for peace in Northern Ireland. He was at the White House today, St. Patrick's Day, for a reception for Brian Cowen, the Irish Taoiseach, or prime minister." So even though he enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in the PA primary and the general election, it's not a purely political appointment. The Rooney family (that's him with his revered father, Art Rooney, who started the Steelers) is probably the foremost family in Pittsburgh, so this is I'm sure another occasion for pride in the city. Dan Rooney, like his father, is known as honorable, fair, considerate, and in his case, thoughtful. He is responsible for the NFL's "Rooney Rule" which mandates interviewing minority candidates for open coaching positions. The Rooneys didn't usually get involved in partisan politics, but Dan Rooney saw something in Barack Obama, and apparently that was mutual. "Dan Rooney is an unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture, and education," President Obama said on Tuesday. Congratulations.

This also comes as the University of Pittsburgh sends its men's basketball team to the NCAA tournament as a Number 1 seed, and its women's basketball team as a Number 4 seed. Congrats to them as well, and this concludes the sports portion of our program for probably quite a while.

First, before I purge my junk email file, I want to record the subject line of the latest from one of the many kind strangers in foreign countries who want to give me money: Your pleasant response is required. My pleasant response to a day of rain and a forecast for more is, hey, I really enjoyed the sunny Saturday at Trinidad--as did everyone I saw and met on the beach and on the head--but it was noticeably dry there and on the drive up, so, come on with the rain, I'm happy again.

As for the Super Bowl--here's a little key to my personality: I've actually gone back to the tape three times to watch the last 2 minutes, just to make sure that every time the Steelers still win. So now I think I'm convinced, and I will re-watch the whole game now, to further erase the anxiety trauma. This photo (of Big Ben) by the way is one of many good ones at this site. Thanks to fellow Steelers fan and Ferndale Rep impressario Ginger Gene for sending me the link.

Again, it wasn't pretty. The Steelers couldn't punch it in close to the goal line. Both the offense and defense ran hot and cold. And it sure wasn't easy, but it was true to their pattern: one amazing defensive play--in this case, an interception and the longest run for a touchdown in Super Bowl history--and a last minute drive engineered by Big Ben for a touchdown. Santonio Holmes got the MVP and he made stellar catches, but the Most Valuable Player was Big Ben. Steelers 27-23. (Odd, but I noted last night when I checked the long list of ESPN predictors, the chosen winner most often had 27 points.) So the Pittsburgh Steelers are world champions for the sixth time, more than any other team. Owner Dan Rooney thanked President Obama (who predicted the Steelers would win in a close one) and Steeler Nation. Big Ben thanked his offensive line.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens, so on February 1 they will play the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. It was a typical Steelers win: dominant defense and an offense that did almost everything that usually loses the game: blown touchdowns, stupid and costly penalties, a fumble, short yardage failure etc. Which only meant that they weren't leading 31-0 at halftime. The offense scored early and the defense won it with a turnover and run for a TD--a typical Steelers victory. The Ravens and their quarterback were completely confused and outmatched on offense, and their defense underperformed for the first half. It wasn't as close as the score, but of course with the Steelers it had to be too close for comfort.

Arizona is the surprise team, playing winning football at the moment but with not much precedent earlier. It's impossible to know how they will match up. They could get blown out. They could surprise the hell out of the Steelers and their fans. I'm guessing the national media is looking at this one way, but in Pittsburgh the talk is about the Arizona coaches, two of whom coached for the Steelers in their last Super Bowl victory in 2005, and both of whom--the head coach and defensive line coach--were considered for head coach in Pittsburgh and passed over. How personal is this, and how well do they know the Steelers--and what good will either do?

Apart from physical advantages, the Steelers also have a lot of players who've been to the Super Bowl, as has their current coach, Mike Tomlin. The Ravens inexperience in a playoff game was evident--could the SB rattle Arizona? Their quarterback has been in two, but the rest of the team is short on experience.

The Steelers had a great game plan against the Ravens, but they'd played them twice already this year. Coaching may be a wash so execution will be crucial, and even if Arizona pulls some tricks, if the Steelers stay disciplined in pass protection and run blocking on offense, and in pass rush and pass defense, they could befuddle any plans.

Fortunately, the game isn't this Sunday. I'm still groggy from the Inauguration--and from getting email from President Obama.

By beating San Diego Sunday, the Steelers bring home another playoff game to Pittsburgh. What a year! The league's media darlings--the Patriots, the Colts, the current champion Giants, the Cowboys, Fauvre and the Jets, Miami, even San Diego was a sweetheart for awhile--they're all gone, out of it, finito. All that's left are four scrappy never say die teams who often win ugly and sometimes lose ugly: the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, and the two toughest: the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, facing each other for the third time this season on Sunday, for the AFC championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl. It's going to be an insane week in the 'burgh.
P.S. If you think this is just a personal obsession, consider that the highest rated TV show of the week was the Steelers-Chargers game. It more than doubled the ratings of the second place show on Sunday: the Golden Globes.

Playoffs

Steeler Update 1/11: Steelers 35-24 over San Diego. The Steelers rediscovered the running game, with a finally healthy Willie Parker, and pass protection. Since the Baltimore Ravens won their game, the conference championship between the Steelers and Ravens will be in Pittsburgh, which means another $20 million or so for the city, and a lot of partying.

The Steelers ended their season by beating all but one in a string of tough opponents, and earned a division championship. They did it with tenacious defense, opportunistic offense and by their skin of their teeth.

The lack of respect they get from the media and the league continued. When Big Ben engineered a late 4th quarter 95 yard drive to win against Dallas--the kind of drive that made John Elway's reputation--all the sports media wanted to talk about was the rumor of dissension in the Dallas locker room. Yet the Steelers were almost silently installed as favorites against the Titans, a team that had been undefeated most of the season.

That game was their significant lapse in their stretch run. After hammering the hapless Browns in the final game, they seem to be still as healthy as they've been all year (assuming Ben's "mild concussion" was just that) and the elements are still there for victory, but so are the vulnerabilities. And as sports analyst and former Steelers running back Merle Hoge says, the playoffs are when vulnerabilities are exploited.

The surprise--maybe the shock-- of the Wild Card round so far was the Indianapolis Colts, widely predicted to win it all, losing to San Diego. Depending on the outcome of the Ravens-Dolphins game Sunday, the Steelers could play their first playoff game against San Diego. The Colts being out of it is a significant advantage for the long-term chances of the Steelers, but San Diego is not necessarily good news, even though the Steelers began their 5 game winning streak by defeating them in an ugly game, 11-10. The Chargers are a better team right now than they were then, and they can exploit the problems with the Steelers offense: pass protection breaking down, and Big Ben taking a lot of chances. Still, Big Ben threw for a lot of yards and the running game was solid in a badly officiated first meeting (hence the score.)

Still, the danger for the Steelers tomorrow is a Ravens victory. Although they defeated the Ravens twice this season, a third time might be pushing it. I feel better about their chances against Miami, if the Dolphins win tomorrow.

The Steelers had a good year, even if they didn't often look that good. They didn't lose to a bad team; all four of their losses were to playoff teams. Now one of them (the Colts) is gone. If the Ravens lose tomorrow, and the Steelers get by either San Diego or Miami in the next round, I like their chances against the Titans (assuming they advance), even though they defeated the Steelers pretty soundly a couple of weeks ago.

So what I'm saying is, that although some fans were high enough a few weeks ago to ask if this team is as good as the 70s dynasty teams, I'm not so irrationally exuberant. Especially because of the inconsistent offense, I don't necessarily believe their playoff games are going to be fun to watch. But with this team, you never know. The Super Bowl is not inconceivable.

Update: The Baltimore Ravens won their AFC Wild Card game today, and Philadelphia won the NFC. Philly plays the New York Giants next week, a game they will lose. The Ravens play the Tennessee Titans, and the winner of that game will play the winner of the San Diego vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers game Sunday. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Though Pittsburgh sports media is a lot more optimistic about beating San Diego.

So far, so good: in their first big test of these final five games, the Pittsburgh Steelers used opportunistic defense and offense to dominate the New England Patriots, 33-10 at Foxboro. Considering that the Patriots have routinely dashed the Steelers' playoff hopes in past year, this one was especially sweet. The Steelers stay atop their division at 9-3, while the Patriots may have lost their playoff chances.
Update: The second test, passed. Down by 10 points with 7 minutes to go at a frigid, windy Heinz Field, the Steelers engineered two drives and an interception and defensive touchdown to shock the Dallas Cowboys (and there's no team I enjoy defeating more), 20-13.

Steeler Update

Despite injuries to key personnel, a sub-par year for (injured) quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and a schedule that is acknowledged to be the toughest for any team in the NFL this year, the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers are currently 8-3 and leading their division.

I pause to note this now, because this could be the high point of their season. The toughest part of that tough schedule is coming up, and it is conceivable that they will win only one of their remaining 5 games. They play New England on Sunday, followed by Dallas the following week--two talented teams that looked beatable earlier in the season, but are coming off their most impressive performances. Then Baltimore, their division rival that always plays them tough, and Tennessee, which has lost only one game. Even their last game with Cleveland is not a total lock, given the inconsistency of the Steelers offense this year.

Of course, they could very well win 3 of those games, and possibly all five. They have the top rated defense in the NFL, and if key personnel stay healthy (which was a problem last season), they can keep games close. The offense is a bigger problem. Injuries to offensive line players, running back Willie Parker and the nagging shoulder injury to Big Ben, make the offense truly unpredictable. Ben and other skill players (including back-ups in newly prominent roles) can make brilliant plays, but it's hard to count too much on improvization.

The coaching has also been inconsistent this year: seemingly brilliant at times, and pretty bad at others (the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles the most obvious case in point.)

The Steelers were inconsistent in their 05 Super Bowl season as well, until they got healthy at the end of that season, just in time for their incredible post-season. That seems unlikely this year, but they do appear to be a better team than last year, and if they can win their division, anything can happen.

As for my sportitude, I find myself less patient with the aggravations of broadcast games--the inconsistent officiating, as well as the frequent and long commercial breaks--and the injuries impinge more and more on the game. So I've mostly recorded the games, read the accounts so I could isolate the parts of the games I want to see, and I watch those. I haven't watched a game live all season, though I've kept up with the score via computer. I will say in my own defense as a fan, most of the games have been pretty ugly. Steeler defense can be fun to watch, but that can turn grim if the offense isn't clicking.

So to sum it up: the Steelers could still end up with a mediocre record, but they have enough potential and proven ability that, with some luck, they could go all the way.

Big Ben earlier this season in an old-style Pittsburgh
Steelers' uniform, celebrating the team's 75th year.

Them Steelers 2007

Last night the Pittsburgh Steelers broke a two game losing streak in St. Louis, winning 41-24, but losing their star running back, Willie Parker, for the rest of the season with a broken leg. It's been that kind of season, in an odd kind of year.

The year is odd because there are several teams with exceptionally good records, and a number of teams with very bad ones. With three games left in the season, Miami became the last team not to have won a game. On the other end, several teams have lost only two or three, and the New England Patriots are undefeated, with a strong chance that they will end the season that way. For the uninitiated, this is pretty unusual.

So the Steelers, in their first year with new coach Mike Tomlin, seemed to be having a very good year by ordinary standards. They in fact led their league in several key categories, Willie Parker being the league-leading runner at the time of his injury. Several players, notably quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Hines Ward, broke single season and all time team records. They started well and at one time had a 7-2 record and then 9-3.

But their first losses of the season were to weaker teams, which suggested problems in the long run, especially with the dominance of New England, and the near-dominance of Indianapolis in their conference, with Dallas and the surging Green Bay Packers piling up wins in the other. So despite their record and statistical dominance, by mid season I had the feeling they weren't quite up to the standards of at least New England and Indianapolis.

Then they lost to a team that had only one win (the New York Jets in overtime), barely won against Miami when it was winless (though under horrible field and weather conditions), and then the past two games, fell hard to New England, and were outplayed in a close game by Jacksonville.

So their victory last night was important, though it hasn't on its own gotten them into the playoffs yet. The Steelers lost late season games and almost didn't get into the playoffs in 2005, when they became the first wild card team to run the table on the road and win the Super Bowl, defeating New England and Indianapolis to get there. That's less likely to happen this year. At this point in the season, the very good teams with the fewest injuries have the advantage, and in 2005 the Steelers were just getting injured players back in the lineup towards the end of the season, so they were able to peak at just the right time. Now, especially with the injury to Parker, that's not so true. Besides which, New England has been healthy all season, and they still are. It's unlikely anyone is going to beat them in the playoffs this year, as long as they stay that way.

But when they are playing well, the Steelers are still tremendous fun to watch. I could watch only the highlights of this game, since as a Pittsburgh exile sans satellite hookup, I am nowhere near a broadcast. (But it was exiles like me that comprised an estimated half of the crowd in St. Louis--when you hear the crowd roar on the Steelers' big plays, it sounds like a home game.) Big Ben has become a big play threat: backed up and throwing from the end zone in his first play of the game, he threw a pass fifty yards in the air and completed it for an 80 yard gain.

Right now, the Steelers have big time players in the skill positions, but uncharacteristically are weakest in the offensive line and lately in the defense, partly due to injuries. So while you can't count the Steelers out of any game with Big Ben and Hines Ward on the field, they may just have to survive this season with a taste of success and a hunger for it all next year.

Between last season and this, I spent a couple of weeks back in western PA, and even though it was late spring, the Steelers were always a presence. A bus boy in a cafe started a conversation with me about them. I accompanied my two best friends to a bar, where I was the surprised participant in a conversation about the Steelers as I used the urinal in the men's room, with a voice in the one stall, a complete stranger who I never saw. He was probably having a running conversation with everyone who came in. There was also a woman in the supermarket wearing a t-shirt that said, "If you ain't a Steeler fan, you ain't worth s--t."

So I could hardly be surprised when I read on a sports blog the reaction of a young woman who flew in to Pittsburgh for the first time, to see the Seattle Seahawks (the Steelers- 2005 Super Bowl opponent) play at Hines Field. She remarked that the first person she met on arrival was a knowledgeable football and Steelers fan. She doesn't encounter that many in Seattle. But within her first few hours in the 'burgh, she realized it wasn't a lucky coincidence: it is the norm. (And the Steelers won that game, 21-0.)

This season also marks the 75th year of the Steelers, one of the oldest teams in professional football, and a source of local pride and identity for much of that time. I suppose in every place that is a place, there is a point where the vulgar and the exalted meet, and where the present extends the past. For Pittsburghers wherever they may now be, it's the Steelers.

Update 12/26: As a result of games they didn't play, the Steelers are in the playoffs as their division champion, and their first round opponent will most likely be Jacksonville at home, a team they just lost to. But they're pretty evenly matched, and in that case, it's hard to beat a team twice. So it should be an interesting game, and if they win it, New England would likely be next. The Steelers play a now meaningless game this Sunday, while the New England Patriots could break the NFL record for the longest perfect regular season on Saturday. Meanwhile, Big Ben of the Steelers was named NFL Player of the Week on offense, with a "perfect" quarterback rating (whatever that means) in the Rams game.

Post-Super Bowl celebration downtown Pittsburgh.
Photo:Pittsburgh Post Gazette. All others
on this page from AP

Here We Go Steelers

They weren't exactly the Boston Red Sox, but close. The 2005/06 Pittsburgh Steelers did what no NFL team had ever done: just when it looked they weren't even going to make the playoffs, they won eight straight games, including three playoff games and the Super Bowl, to become NFL champions.

So for the first time since the four championships of the 1970s, the Steelers were world famous. At least at the highest level, for there are Steelers fans all over the world. Over a billion people worldwide watched them win on Sunday. Except for the final episode of M*A*S*H (back when there were but 3 networks), more people in the U.S. watched this Super Bowl than any other program in history. Seattle has fans abroad, in Japan and other parts of Asia in particular. But you have to believe that most of the global interest was in the Steelers.

This team was unique: with veteran leadership (Jerome Bettis, beloved by teammates and Pittsburgh fans), uniquely talented young plays (Ben Roethislberger, the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl; defensive wizard Troy Palamalu) and players on both sides of the ball in the prime of their careers (like wide receivers Hines Ward and A. Randle-el.)

They didn't play their best game, the stars did not all shine, but they won as a team, because they play for the team: and so many made an outstanding play at just the right time.

The Pittsburgh community loves them for their involvement and general good citizenship, starting at the top (owner Dan Rooney, coach Bill Cowher).

I grew up nearby, I lived in the city, and even though I haven't been back in a few years, I read the Pittsburgh news sites and keep in touch as best I can. The rest is there for all to see.

Here are a few photos from the last incredible week, leading up to, during and after the Super Bowl. There are more photos on my Dreaming Up Daily site, here and here.

And commentaries here and here.

To celebrate this week, here's part of an essay on what the Steelers mean to Pittsburgh that I posted on Daily Kos, is included just below the photo scrapbook. There are other Steelers pieces on this blog, here and here (origin of the Terrible Towel.)

UPDATE: Here's some of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette account of the celebration downtown:

"You have supported us, win, lose or draw. So I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the memories you've given me, and the way you've taken me in." -- Jerome Bettis

Clinging to lampposts, perched in trees, hanging out of office windows, crowded on parking decks and standing 15-deep in places along the 1.2-mile parade route from Mellon Arena to Gateway Center were people of every size, age and color, a true Steeler Nation that had endured 26 years of dashed dreams and unfulfilled prayers while waiting to celebrate the championship. And celebrate they did.

Grandmothers unashamedly screamed out players' names as the 58-vehicle motorcade took two hours to navigate the route, led by the flag-bearing Pittsburgh Paramedic Honor Guard.
Grown men wearing the jerseys of their favorite players gaped and shouted as individual Steelers slowly moved past in the backs of chauffeured cars and vans.

"This is a rebirth," yelled Elaine Hatton, 59, of Center Township in Beaver County, who said she had attended all four previous Steelers Super Bowl parades. This one was different, though. "We died and were resurrected," she said.

Also in the parade were Gladys and Johnnie Bettis, parents of just-retired Steelers running back Jerome Bettis. "This is just the most incredible moment of my life," Mrs. Bettis said. "We knew winning the Super Bowl was big, but this is even bigger. I had no idea there were this many people in Pittsburgh."

Although many school districts warned that they would not grant excused absences to students attending the parade, thousands of youngsters apparently came down with black-and-gold flu.

Whitehall residents Kevin Walsh, his wife, Nancy, and three school-age children -- Shane, 16, Samantha, 14, and Cassidy, 9 -- waved from a sidewalk. "I got my three kids out of school because I think this is an important family event," he said. "I don't think missing one day of school is going to matter that much when they're going to have memories of this for a lifetime."

fan rally downtown a few days before the Super Bowl

Game time, Pittsburgh...(that's father and daughter)

The run that won it-- 

The catch that sealed it 

Pittsburgh South Side--game over

How sweet it is! 

MVP Hines Ward and the Bus 

Dan Rooney, Bill Cowher in Detroit