I don’t like Pittsburgh.
I don’t like the city. I don’t like the Penguins. I still harbor a grudge over the Pirates beating the Orioles in the 1979 World Series. I don’t like their stupid sandwiches. And I absolutely, undeniably despise the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That might be too harsh. I do like the sandwiches. And Mr. Rogers was cool.
But the rest is all true. Watching the Penguins pants my Capitals in the playoffs year after year has resulted in more hair loss for me than genetics and being a girl-dad combined. That World Series defeat — after going up 3-1 — has left me suffering flashbacks every time I hear “We Are Family” or see a Willie Stargell reference.
The Steelers?
Oh, the Steelers.
Do you remember that commercial for fantasy football when the Steelers fan was despondent in the shower while “Bad Day” was playing in the background? Yeah, I used to laugh and rewind it about 20 times every single time it came on. Petty? Maybe. Soothed my petty soul? Absolutely.
With the AFC North-leading Ravens taking on the Steelers this week, you might think the excitement level would be through the roof, right? Well, not so much. The Steelers are going through a transition this season after the retirement of longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but are still a feisty lot. The Ravens appear to be dancing with the injury devil once again this year, and have battled inconsistencies everywhere that doesn’t involve Justin Tucker. It feels like we are going to be watching two average-to-below-average teams when they take the field for what very well could be a, let’s say “low-scoring affair” in Pittsburgh Sunday.
But guess what? It will still be fun.
It will be fun because coaches Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh do understand this rivalry, and will both be firing off that history into their players all week leading up to kickoff. It will be fun because I still have plenty of friends who are Steelers fans, and I will be figuratively destroying them with clever trash-talk over the next several days, because I know in my heart they are dullards who can’t defend themselves properly. And it will be fun because it’s Steelers-Ravens.
The Ravens probably need this game more than Pittsburgh, if we’re being honest, and they will be without star quarterback Lamar Jackson when they figure to need him the most. That’s not ideal. But Pittsburgh is putting their hopes behind a rookie quarterback who, while showing some nice recent flashes, hasn’t yet performed in this game. As the Ravens players say all the time, “Until you beat the Steelers, you’re not a Raven.” This one is different. This is big-boy football, and as Ryan Mallett and Charlie Batch will tell you, anything is possible in this rivalry.
Buckle up, boys and girls. They might not be fighting for AFC supremacy anymore, but they will be fighting. This one will be fun. It’s always fun.
