After it was announced that Ben Roethlisberger would miss the Steelers upcoming game on Sunday night against the Ravens, a group of Ravens fans took to social media to voice their opinions that they wished the quarterback was playing. All over facebook and twitter, these folks were seen putting out messages like those listed below.
Are you serious?
To those people that would rather have Roethlisberger playing on Sunday, are you aware that the Ravens are only .500 on the road this season? Are you aware that the Ravens are only one game ahead of the Steelers? Are you aware the Ravens are a completely different (and often worse) team away from their home confines of M&T Bank Stadium?
I guess not.
How can anyone – even the players themselves – have enough confidence in this team to say that a deep run in the playoffs is possible unless the road to New Orleans goes through Charm City?
Byron Leftwich is a significant downgrade from Roethlisberger, and if your sole interest is your team winning games, you should realize that Roethlisberger’s injury is a gift.
Whatever pride you may gain from the Ravens beating a fully healthy Steelers team was long thrown out the window as Pittsburgh has battled injuries all season. Roethlisberger is just the cherry on top. The pure joy I would have watching the Ravens make a deep run into the playoffs would trump any additional pride I would get from beating a fully healthy Steelers team.
So your local annoying Steelers fan gets to use an excuse about Ben not playing, should the Ravens win – so what? If Ben was playing and the Ravens still won, the excuse would be that Troy Polamalu and/or Antonio Brown was out. There’s no winning with those folks, and you know this.
Whereas if Ben was playing and the Ravens lost – much more likely with #7 on the field – the ramifications would be much more detrimental moving forward than having to argue with Steelers fans.
Wouldn’t you rather have the win – Ben or no Ben – than a loss? Sure, in a perfect world, Ben would play and the Ravens would still come out on top. But the world ain’t perfect.
If you’d rather see Roethlisberger play, you basically are saying you’d rather make it more difficult for the Ravens to win the AFC North, risk having a home playoff game(s), and better the chances of your team being eliminated earlier.
Swallow your pride because it’s just ludicrous.
My pride would come in knowing that the Ravens sent 70,000 towel waving fans at Heinz Field home crying into their towels. The collective and overwhelming majority of their fan base would be disappointed, and nothing should make a Ravens fan happier than that.
Just because Leftwich is starting doesn’t guarantee a Ravens win. The Ravens still have to travel to one of the most hostile stadiums in the country, play a full 60-minute football game and manage to score more points than the Steelers.
Even with an injury-depleted team, the Steelers have proven that this is no easy task.
To me, that’s good enough. The loss will hurt the same if Roethlisberger is or isn’t on the field and it’ll still be one of the most important games of the season.
All I know is, if I ever found myself in a gun fight and my opponent forgot his bullets, I for damn sure am not going to give him mine.
To those sending out tweets or having thoughts like those above – swallow your pride and say “thank you” when you’re handed a gift.
