Super Bowl XLIII: A Steelers Fan Comes Back Around

While hockey is my sport of choice and the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely  be my favorite sports team forever, many of my most poignant memories as a Steel City sports fan come courtesy of the Steelers.

In fact, leading up to last night's Super Bowl, my all-time sports memory was the Steelers' triumph in Detroit three years ago and the fifth Lombardi Trophy that resulted from the 21-10 defeat of the Seattle Seahawks.

Even though the Penguins have captured a pair of Stanley Cups in my lifetime, I was only six and seven-years old at the time and a few years away from falling in love with sports. Thus, I still can only wonder what it's like to cheer on a team on its way to an NHL title.

Because of these facts, one would assume I've been nothing but loyal and loving toward the franchise that gave me the vicarious joy of being emotionally invested throughout a championship season.

Well, you know what they say about assumptions, right?

The truth of this fan's experience is that it soured a bit between the Steelers' fifth and sixth Super Bowl victories. Whether that bitterness originated from Pittsburgh's tepid title defense in 2006, the grating nature of ESPN's year-round over-coverage of the NFL, and/or general jealousy about football's elevated stature in the modern American sporting hierarchy (a position I believe hockey deserves to share) is inconsequential.

My strained relationship with the Steelers and, by extension, the NFL reached its nadir this summer, when I vowed not to pay attention to any of the black and gold's preseason action in the hopes of not becoming as attached as always come September. Since I lived out of the Pittsburgh market, it was actually fairly simple to avoid the usual hype buildup that engulfs every August in western Pennsylvania and whereabouts.

When I moved to Grand Rapids, Mich., a couple of weeks into the NFL regular season, I thought my self-imposed Steelers embargo would only get easier to perpetuate. After all, most football fans in the Great Lakes state have become NFL atheists due to the dilapidated condition of the Detroit Lions.

But a funny thing happened on the way to putting Pittsburgh's favorite sons in my rear-view mirror. With Steelers games being nothing if not consistent television ratings-grabbers, almost every NFL Sunday in West Michigan this autumn involved the team I was trying to forget.

The truth of the matter, though, is that I cared too damn much about the fair city with the three rivers to turn my back on the Steelers. Where I'm from, rooting for the Black and Gold is as much a part of life as attending church and going to school. Quitting on the Rooneys would be akin to changing my gloriously Polish last name.

It's just not happening.

Sure, there were other reasons for draping the Terrible Towel on the TV again. I still believe the Steeler Way is the only right way to succeed in the NFL. I have a genuine affection for Mike Tomlin and his respectful yet inspiring manner. I love the style and substance of homegrown players Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Santonio Holmes, Willie Parker, Lamar Woodley, Heath Miller, and company.

My reversal of intention and renewal of faith were certainly rewarded Sunday evening, as the Steelers pieced together a harrowing 27-23 squeaker over the very game Arizona Cardinals.

The record sixth Lombardi Trophy for Pittsburgh didn't come without its smudges of course, what with the league's No. 1 defense surrendering a 13-point fourth quarter lead and the pedestrian offensive line appearing to try to literally throw the game.

But whatever sketchiness there was last night was buffed out by transcendent performances by 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison, Holmes, and most of all, Roethlisberger. Whom would you rather have leading a last-minute, no-huddle desperation drive to save the season than "Big Ben" from Findlay?

Regardless of how the proceedings went down in Tampa, despite my natural attachment to hockey, and no matter how much I resent the exclusive royal treatment afforded to King Football in my country, the margin this fan's personal championship scoreboard has undeniably increased.

Steelers 2, Penguins 0.

Forget the semantics, though.

Let's celebrate, Pittsburgh!