Disrespect
Wild card. Sixth seed. 10-6. The Pittsburgh Steelers of Super Bowl XL were underdogs all the way through the playoffs. After the AFC Championship game, I wondered how the Steelers would handle the dynamic of being the heavy favorite. The answer? They don’t have to.
Note: This post is not about predictions or game analysis. That will come on Sunday.
Over the past week the coverage of the Superbowl has been simply awful. The lackluster “insight” by commentators and sports personalities has simply been embarrassing. Every piece of coverage can be boiled down to a very short list of possible topics:
- Hines Ward is injured!
- Larry Fitzgerald is a great receiver!
- Kurt Warner has been to a Super Bowl before!
That is it. There must not be that much to cover then, right? Wrong. What happened to the blatantly obvious story-lines that practically write themselves? Arizona has plenty to offer as well, but being a Steelers fan here a few I find notably absent from coverage:
- Pittsburgh is chasing an NFL record sixth Super Bowl championship.
- Pittsburgh has the number one defense in the NFL.
- Mike Tomlin is the youngest coach to ever make it to the Super Bowl.
- Ben Roethlisberger has the most wins of any QB in his first five years.
- Roethlisberger and the Steelers are competing in their second Super Bowl in four years.
You may have missed those topics in between Kurt Warner Hall of Fame discussions and declarations that Fitzgerald is the greatest receiver in the history of the league. It is possible that these stories were buried under layers of smart predictions about the Cardinals’ hot streak and amazing offensive attack. Perhaps a mention or two was inserted between discussions about Boldin having a field day while Fitzgerald is double-covered. And what is the worst part of all this?
I absolutely love it.
Year in and year out the Pittsburgh Steelers remain the most disrespected team in the league. I thought they would have to deal with the other side of the coin going against the Cardinals who only won THREE games outside of the NFC West. Who else is in the NFC West again? Let me refresh your memory.
- San Francisco 49ers (7-9)
- Seattle Seahawks (4-12)
- St. Louis Rams (2-14)
That means 6 of Arizona’s 9 wins were against those three teams. Life in the NFC West must be grand. Meanwhile, the Steelers faced the toughest schedule in the NFL eventually beating Baltimore (a team within their own division) for a third time to punch their ticket to the Superbowl.
This is why I love when people pick against the Steelers. I loved it when Michael Wilbon picked the Cardinals on PTI earlier today. I loved it when Steve Young explained in excruciating detail how the Cardinals are going to win. I get giddy every time an analyst says “It will not be an upset if the Cardinals win.” Imagine my excitement when I turn on SportsCenter to be greeted with this graph of my country:
Click to enlarge.
In an unforeseen turn of events, and against the strongest efforts of Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers have amazingly become underdogs. The team who won a Super Bowl in 2006. The 12-4 team of 2009. The team with the defensive player of the year. They are the underdogs.
My favorite sports team, the team that I adore beyond all reason, is being disrespected by analysts, sports professionals, bloggers, and every state east of the Mississippi.
I could not be more excited.
6 Comments
i could not be more excited about cardinals 31-steelers 17
I love being the underdog, and I feel like Arizona should obviously be the underdog, and their players are trying to say to the media that they are, even though it’s turning into an “even match”. Xane is almost as dumb as my pointless post.
This post was terrific and absolutely top-notch.
The Cardinals have been playing well as of late, after a mediocre season. For that, they should be given credit.
The Steelers have had a great season with one of the most difficult schedules ever. And they made it to the Super Bowl. For that, they have been given no credit.
Having the Steelers portrayed as the underdogs could could be one of the best things to happen to the team. I can’t wait for them to show the world otherwise.
All that being said, the media coverage has been terribly one-dimensional this week. I didn’t notice this much until you pointed it out, but they have been regurgitating the same stories practically every day.
i don’t think the steelers are underdogs, i would say, like luke, that we are now an even match. i have heard plenty of analysts pick the steelers and i have also heard many pick the cardinals. i am worried about the cardinals because of how good their offense has been playing as of late. that being said i still think the steelers will win by 10. 31-21. the media has been horrible, but this is no different from any other year. they have two weeks to cover only one game so everyone talks about the same crap that doesn’t matter. you can break down every play but it doesn’t matter. all that matters is what happens on the field. the analysts don’t know the teams gameplans. only the coaches and players do. i hate getting no respect because i want everyone to recognize us over the nation as being the best franchise.
Excellent post, once again. I am also much more comfortable when the Steelers are the underdogs. The Steelers much-maligned offense is one topic you may have overlooked, although implied in your comments about their tough schedule this year. When they played against a team with a less than awesome defense, the Steelers offense did very well. I think they’re going to be able to run the ball against the Cards, which translates to a sure victory for the Black and Gold.
On a completely different note… I am waiting for your thoughts on Apple’s new iLife ’09. While watching the Macworld keynote online, I was so impressed with the new iMovie that I pre-ordered it on the spot. Usually, impulse purchases don’t work out so well. Not so with this one.
@Mr.I The biggest thing I am excited for in iLife ’09 is the Flickr export in iPhoto to be honest. I had not looked too much into the new iMovie, but I will definitely give it a closer look now.
I was going to wait until picking up Snow Leopard to get the new iLife, but as I read more about it I am not sure I can wait.
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