Another episode of ‘As The Pigskin Turns’
It’s Wednesday after a Steelers win. How are you feeling by now? Are you still chanting “Fire Canada?” Are you ecstatic that they beat the Rams this past Sunday? Or are you – like me – left feeling ambivalent about the whole shebang? I don’t know what it is about this Steelers team this season that I just can’t get all that excited about … yet again. I should be happy we’re sitting at 4-2, tied for second place in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns and only one game behind the first-place Ravens. Why am I just not all that thrilled about it right now?
Each fall, I look forward to the cooler temperatures, the leaves changing and the start of my favorite sport -football! When I was a kid, it was nearly better than Christmas. Growing up in Southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1970s, there was no better thing to be than a Steelers Fan. I got so spoiled with four Super Bowls, the Steel Curtain and the Immaculate Reception that I thought my team would just keep winning every Sunday forever. Then came the 1980s, Cliff Stoudt, Bubby Brister and a whole lot of mediocrity. After that, Big Ben arrived and led us to glory once again, and I remained spoiled watching Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis and Troy Polamalu.
It’s not just the Steelers that spoiled me. The 1970s also had me singing “We Are Family” with Willie Stargell and the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates (yes, I’m that old that I remember when the Pirates were winners) and later enjoying the Jim Leyland-managed Bucs with Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek.
My senior year in high school, the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux. I’ve been blessed to watch Super Mario play with Jaromir Jagr, only to be followed by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin bringing home Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh. How much happier can a sports fan be than to have watched all of these outstanding, talented athletes play for my hometown teams? Oh, and did I mention I was at WVU when Major Harris was our quarterback?
Lately, watching sports in the Burgh and at WVU has been different. The optimism I feel at the start of each season, hoping that my college and professional football teams will have terrific seasons, usually turns to frustration, sadness, anger and eventually just resignation by mid-season … and the feeling that I already can’t wait until it’s over and we can try again next year! I attribute that to being just plain spoiled and lucky that I witnessed all my teams achieve greatness at one point. I always wonder how fans of a team that has never, ever won anything must feel at the start of each year. Hope springs eternal … but our patience is not endless. I am still leaning toward wanting a coaching change at the top for both the Steelers and WVU.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.