During the regular season I am the epitomy of resolve often reminding my friend Anthony that there is time in the game for the Steelers to come back, while he is pacing around his house worried. I have come to realize this fear is not about the steelers but about the money he is or isn't winning gambling.
But during the playoffs something happens.
in 2005 i drank 5 beers in the 15 minutes where cbs game announcers tell you about the game and the actual kickoff. I didn't know what to do with myself, it was the only thing that could calm me down. ANd I knew we were going to beat the bungles, even in the playoffs they are still the bungles. the playoffs magnify ever little thing, something like a missed tackle, a missed fg, or a blocked punt might cost a game in the regular season but it costs the year in the postseason. I know that For me the postseason starts Sunday, or Monday morning here if I can even watch it
I am legitimately worried about my steelers chances this weekend. A few things scare me
I might not be able to watch...apparently ESPN in china would prefer to show things like cricket and F1, and the game is going to be on at 4 in the morning so I need a bar to stay open that late even if they do show it. I found a bar here that streams the games from a sling box, but the last time i did that (for the lers vs. Titans) it started with 1:40 left in the game, a bit anticlimatic. It may seem like a small thing , but it is hard to not go to websites that would tell me the score especially when that is most of what I do every other day. Today the manager told me that the sling box hasn't even been working.
I'm looking into sattelite for PC. These are the moments that make me wish I was back in the US.
1. The lers are not good at home in the playoffs, and especially not to the Chargers. I'd rather not reopen old wounds, but lets just say we don't have the greatest track record at a place where we should have a distinct advantage. If the field is as bad as people say it is shouldn't the team that plays on it 8 times a year be better on it than the one that plays on it once maybe twice. and I know from experience it gets loud in that place so there should be a home field advantage. I wish I knew the answer because than I could stop it.
2. Are D has been keeping us in games all year, but as the Post Gazette's Gene Collier pointed out, even if they continue this trend, because they are hard. it is usually not the D that has cost us games in the post season
3. Any thing can happen in the playoffs (see. Immaculate Reception, The Tackle, THe Patriots cheating) and something will greatly affect the game that no pundit spent a breath on in the week they have had to discuss it.
4. The chargers are hot..they are finally playing like the team everyone expected them to be at the begginning of the season. a little reminiscent of a scrappy Steelers squad that stormed to the Lombardi Trophy in 2005
5. giving 6 points is alot...I don't mention this to condone gambling, but to say that the difference between professional athletes is so miniscule. It really comes down to how much they want it, and for some reason these athletes can turn perceived slights, real or imagined, into the extra push that makes them run just a bit faster, or hit a bit harder. You never hear anyone say everyone believed in us, so we just went out there and proved them right. I think that is one of the amazing things about coaching and just the athletic psyche in general, that the best athletes in the world can be convinced that that they are not good enough and twist anything around until it becomes motivation.
5a. Anthony is probably going to take the Chargers, and then lie that he didn't bet against the Steelers. This can not be good.
5. Ben typically does not play well after concussion
5a. We've struggled to establish the run (that being a positive review of our running game this season)
I could see a lot of throwing.
But its not all bad
Reasons why I feel good about the Steelers
1. we get that "nobody believed in us" thing too, because a lot of people seem to be backing a Chargers team they saw play last week. But if we win we will have to say "No one believed in us except Vegas, the people in this locker room, and merril hoge" (I don't know Merrill's pick, but in his entire broadcasting career I've never seen him not pick the Steelers) There reasoning seem to be for things like Darren Sproles (when is the last time a running back beat this D) and a kicker ( I hope they are punting all day, let them be good punts too, because that means they aren't scoring either)
2. The field- it is hard to kick in Heinz Field but Skippy Reed does it better than anyone, visiting kickers not so much.
3. Aaron Smith- the lynchpin and the guy that wasn't there last year when are top ranked run d couldn't stop anyone the last 5 weeks. coincidence? Also anytime I can work aaron smith into a column, everyone wins.
4. Mike Tomlin-Obama's christmas wish was to be as cool as Mike Tomlin.
5. I'll still take Big Ben over Philip Rivers -kiss the ring.
6. We have a silverback gorilla that plays outside linebacker, I don't even think 4 inches of snow can contain that.
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