Pittsburgh Steelers Fans Should Root for the Saints, Not the Jets

With the NFL conference championship games mere hours away, many fans of those teams not playing this weekend are lining up and taking sides.

Yesterday, fellow Bleacher Report writer and Steelers fan Nick Signorelli made his case for why Pittsburgh fans should be cheering on the N.Y. Jets Sunday.

Signorelli argues that the Indianapolis Colts are at least partly to blame for the Steelers not making the playoffs because the Jets defeated them in Week 16 when some of the Colts' starters were pulled from the game—helping the Jets sneak into the postseason.

He also makes the point that this Jets team is very similar to the 2005 Steelers team that won Super Bowl XL: Both have young quarterbacks and great defenses, and both were Wild Card teams forced to play all of their playoff games on the road.

While I can certainly appreciate his point of view—especially the part about the Jets being like the '05 Steelers—I have to respectfully disagree.

Here are three reasons why Steelers fans should not root for the Jets:

1. Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan was a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator for the hated Baltimore Ravens. And while I don't want to insinuate guilt by association, his twin brother, Rob, is the current defensive coordinator for the equally hated Cleveland Browns.

2. Rookie quarterbacks do not perform well in big playoff games (see Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco). They tend to crack under the pressure. I have no reason to believe Jets QB Mark Sanchez won't do the same.

3. Jets green is an ugly color. (Sorry, Jets fans, but it's true. It's almost as bad as Cleveland brown.)

I'm throwing my support behind the New Orleans Saints. Here are three reasons why Steeler Nation should join me:

1. The Saints have never been to, let alone won, a Super Bowl. And with all that the City of New Orleans has had to endure since Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, those folks really need something to cheer about.

2. Newly hired Steelers special teams coordinator Al Everest held the same position in New Orleans from 2000-05. Former Steelers assistant coaches Bobby April and Jim Haslett also used to coach for the Saints. Haslett is from Pittsburgh. What more do you need?

3. The Saints also wear black and gold, albeit a different shade of gold. In fact, if you squint your eyes really tight, they almost look like the Steelers.

So there you have it. I won't be pulling my Terrible Towel out of the closet until next season, but I'll try modifying the Steelers' chant for a few weeks: "Here we go, Drew Brees, here we go!"