First off, thanks to Jami's husband Todd for turning me on to the Obamicon Me website, which enabled me to make the "COPE" poster from a pic I yanked off somebody else's website.
The fact that the Steelers have made the playoffs reminds me that between the years 1982 and 1998, I was thoroughly convinced every year that the Steelers would win the Superbowl that year. As you may recall, they did not win the Superbowl any of those years.
Admittedly, I was pretty young and naive for many of those years. But for nearly a decade of that time, I was a "grown man." I put that in quotation marks because it seems kind of strange that I could be so convinced that a Neil O'Donnell / Barry Foster led team had a lock on the Superbowl.
It also seems a little odd, as I look back, that I had such undying faith in a football team. I'm not so sure I had that much face in anything else. Furthermore, I suspect, but can't prove, that I got more emotional--highs and lows--about Steelers football that just about anything else at that time in my life. From screaming at the top of my lungs to near total emotional collapse (thank you, Neil O'Donnel).
Luckily, I have a more balanced approach to Steelers football these days. Don't get me wrong. There is an occasional shout of "You stupid. Son. Of. A. Bitch!" at the television screen. But the beer and kielbasa has taken on greater importance relative to the outcome of the game itself.
