"Stand in the place where you live, now face north. Think about direction, wonder why you haven't before." -R.E.M.

Ben Roethlisberger

Steelers Pull Through; Crain Has Heart Attack

01/16/2006 01:25 PM Filed in: Football

Yesterday’s playoff game between the Steelers and the Colts was absolutely ridiculous. After seemingly clinching the game with 1:25 left in the fourth by stopping Manning at the two-yard line on fourth down, Pittsburgh was just one Jerome Bettis touchdown run away from wiping out Indianapolis and heading to the AFC Championship for the second time in two years.

Then, the unthinkable happened: Bettis, owner of some of the best hands in the NFL, fumbled the ball.
Seconds earlier I had been jumping up and down with elation, proclaiming the Steelers greatness to all four walls of my deserted living room. Now I sat on the couch, mouth agape, as I looked on in anticipation to see Ben Roethlisberger make an amazing tackle in the open field to save the Steelers’ season.

Now it’s on to the AFC Championship. My only request is that it be just a little less intense; I don’t know if my heart can take two games in a row of that. After it was over, I felt like I had just played in the game instead of sitting on the couch and participating in the rigorous exercise of adjusting the volume on the remote.

Tags: Steelers, Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger

Down and Out

01/17/2007 03:27 PM Filed in: Football

Big Ben

Well, I waited for weeks to write this, hoping beyond hope that the Steelers would somehow pull it out and make the playoffs. At the end of the season they fell one game shy of putting it together.

Bill Cowher has now left the team, insuring that I’ll never again enjoy seeing him stomp up and down the sidelines and spit in the face of his players. He was with the Steelers organization for well over a decade and is a wonderful example of a great player’s coach.

Bill, you will be missed. Whenever you yelled at Big Ben, gave Willie Parker a pat on the butt, or spit in Joey Porter’s face it was like you were spitting in all of our faces. Thanks for the memories.

Go Steelers!

Tags: Steelers, Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker

Down and Out?

10/23/2006 03:23 PM Filed in: Football

Willie Parker

Let’s not try and put a pretty coat of paint on what has essentially been a wreck of a season so far. If you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan you aren’t enjoying football very much right now. Why? Because we have found a different way to lose almost every week. That’s right, the reigning Super Bowl champions are an abysmal 2-4 after yesterday’s gut-wrenching loss to the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

It’s not like we didn’t expect for the team to go over a few bumps along the road this year. After all, we lost of the greatest running backs to ever play the game (Jerome Bettis), our best trick play guru (Antwaan Randle El), and our star quarterback almost died in the off-season...twice! (For those of you who’ve been living in a cave, Roethlisberger was involved in brutal motorcycle accident this summer, and then had an emergency appendectomy two nights before the season opener.)

My hope was that after we nailed Kansas City last week 45-7, we’d tear off on a streak and never look back. Unfortunately we’re getting close to a point of no return. And yet...

I’m not ready to throw in the terrible towel. We should have won yesterday (we beat ourselves by turning the ball over three times, giving Atlanta 21 points) and the offense at least seems to be clicking. We have a game against Oakland this week, and I’m pretty sure I could beat that team using only myself and the children’s choir at church....they’re awful! Hopefully we’ll get things back on track and then head to Denver to tame those wild Broncos just like we did in last year’s playoffs. I think that’ll be the test: if we can stomp Oakland and put Denver away, I feel like we’ll regain control of our season.

And if we regain control of our season, I feel good about my chances of waving my terrible towel at the TV screen come Super Bowl XLI. Don’t count us out just yet...

***The author realizes that he repeatedly referred to the team as “we” throughout the article as if he personally had something to do with the outcome. Instead of chastising him, joshcrain.com requests that you continue to allow him the delusion of being a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thank you for your cooperation.

Tags: Steelers, Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker