I’ve been off-line for a few days and getting back up yesterday didn’t leave time to add to my own blog.
But, it gave me a chance to weigh the pros and cons of exposing the ridiculousness I share with more than few Steelers fans.
Superstitions.
Being superstitious almost precluded me doing this post at all.
If the Steelers lose on Sunday. You know who to blame.
ESPN 1250 (I think it was them) was asking earlier in the week what rituals people HAVE to perform to ensure there is a win on Sunday.
You’d think they’d have trouble finding more than a few knuckleheads who actually believe their actions influence a game they’re not even present for.
But no. Just within my family alone, we have two people with Ph.D.’s and two with law degrees who will at some point in the game think their actions have ruined the Steelers’ Drive for Five or helped guide a critical Big Ben pass into the waiting arms of Hines Ward or Heath Miller.
The team might as well pack in their practice uni’s.
Cower and company can turn off the game tape because the fans have got it all under control.
SCRATCH THAT
Staff and team shouldn’t do anything different from what they have in the last five months. Perhaps next year they could think about adding a Superstition Control Coach to the staff. It might be worth the investment.
To this day my sister-in-law and I blame my brother John (her husband) for Pitt’s loss to North Carolina four and a half years ago. It was supposed to be a nothing match-up.
Then John showed up at the game in a Pittsburgh Pirate baseball hat.
WTF?
He neutralized all the strong Pitt vibes and it led to one of the most dissapointing losses of the year.
He still feels guilty. We still remind him.
Note to self: Confirm John’s wardrobe selections for Sunday
None of this makes any sense. It’s just a game. But in the dead of winter, under the unpenetrable grey sky of Pittsburgh, the optimism the Steelers represent is priceless. Ask the fella who suffered a heart attack during the Palamalu interception debacle.
So, all yinz guys out there, get your stinkin’ affairs in order and put away that neutral team garb for another day. There’s serious work to do.
Don’t hate me for my irrational leanings. They’re contained within my head, safely tucked away. Most of the time.
GO STEELERS!
Everytime hubs wears a new team shirt (he likes a lot of teams), they lose. This Sat. he wore a new Patriots shirt and they lost.
Hubs offered to NOT wear the Steelers t-shirt he has this weekend, if you paid him, to ensure victory.
How much are we talking, Dana?
Kathie,
I think we might have found our problem area.
Go Panthers!
Jaye (ducking and running)
First we both have to win this weekend, then we discuss that matchup!!!
You don’t live in NC, do you? That will be fun if they play each other. Good luck this weekend, the Panthers seem to be on a bit of a roll, huh? Thank God for all of us Sports Illustrated did the four different covers….though yours doesn’t feature a quarterback…hmmmm…may bring bad luck for you guys….You did say you were superstitious, right? Does it apply to sports?
Duke is just relieved that he will be home this weekend and I won’t be teaching Wes any new words or actions like last week!!! I find that I can’t always watch the whole game. It’s too stressful. Go Steelers!!!!!!!!
I lived in NC until about a year-and-a-half ago. We moved to Raleigh shortly after we got married. We’re back in Dallas now, so my support of the Panthers is a disgrace to my family.
Anyway, I am not superstitious. Honestly, I want the Panthers to win so I don’t have to deal with a grumpy hubby. Although Jake Delhomme sure adds some interest to the games for me.
And the pic not featuring a quarterback could be a sign of victory if all the others do show quarterbacks. Just sayin’.
Hey Dana,
where’s duke been that he wasn’t home? Those games are stressful…weird that they have that effect, but I guess it wouldn’t be a billion dollar business if not for the crazy fans.
I know the sports illustrated thing is a crap shoot at this point…I bet your family is miffed at the Carolina support. Is your husband from there? Dallas, that’s a team with some history.
In the Watkins Glen area of NY. He had a one week course that he taught about the science and chemistry behind wine making. They toured and sampled wineries all week. He’ll be back today!
Hubby is from NC and all his family is there. I have taught him to keep the Cowboys bashing to a minimum at my family’s function.
Kathie, I read your post before but couldn’t get back in to comment before. My husband and his family live and die by Steelers football. Last weekend my BIL decided he could only watch the game with people whose names’ started with S. Which left my husband at home to watch in the basement, all alone in his Bettis jersey. Today, BIL has eased up on the S thing, but he has issued a few directives: nobody can talk during the offensive snap, no crossing over the line into the bar area of their rec room unless it’s a commercial break, and only those may enter pure of Steeler heart. Which excludes me. I’m a Cowboys fan.
But I love Big Ben and The Bus and what’s not to like about Hines Ward? So go Steelers!!!
Thanks Mignon!!! Where do you guys live?? I’m sure I’ve seen it on your site, but my memory for facts is not good…the way someone looks, acts or speaks gets forever embedded in my brain, but places have no home there…I’m glad for sanity sake your BIL allowed people sans S names into the festivities. Here’s hoping the superstition gods agree. So funny!! We’ll talk after the game!!
I don’t know what you guys did or didn’t do today, but do it again in 2 weeks for the Super Bowl. GO STEELERS!
(I’ve lived here for 10+ years and wasn’t that into football – sacrilege in this town, I know…until today’s game. Wow! It must be because I finally bought my first overpriced Steelers t-shirt 2 days ago.)
yeah, susan, you’re good luck. You can’t turn back now.
My hubby was letting his stubble go a bit when they were 2 games from the final…then he decided it’s his “playoff beard” and he has a full-blown goatee. I want it gone because it itches. 😉 I am rallying for the razor, regardless of who wins…
In the meantime, I’m alternating between hiding and treading carefully to avoid being roasted on a spit. I can’t stand football. Not the Seahawks, not the Steelers, not the Pitt Panthers or the Woodland Hills Wolverines. My argument to anyone who says “but it’s fun!” or “how can you not root for the Steelers?” is this: In fairness, I’m inclusive. I don’t discriminate, I detest all football teams and all football players equally.
If I’m hoping for anything this Sunday, it’s that my sewing machine will be back from the Sears service department by then so I can enjoy an uninterrupted afternoon of quiltmaking while the rest of my family goes somewhere else to yell and be silly and drop chips and chicken bones all over someone ELSE’S floor for a change.
That’s so funny Heidi…how can you hate football? YOu must have been secretly–unbeknownst even to you–raised in Montana or something. Hehehe. What are you making on that sewing machine of yours?