You have no idea how hard Steelers fans here in Pittsburgh are taking it. My next door neighbor came out of her apartment weeping. Really weeping. Still was this morning. No shit. So were the guys at her party. See, there's this feel of manifest destiny that if they just make it to the Super Bowl, it's a given they're going to win. I don't think fans of teams that have a great SB history (Steelers, Niners, Cowboys, Packers, etc.) prepare themselves for losses like us Vikings and Buffalo fans do.
In any case, it was a great game. The Steelers looked like they were about to mount another miracle comeback, but it wasn't to be. What is it about Pittsburgh that for all the talk of utter dominance and such that they cannot just put someone away in the Super Bowl? Well, wins are wins and Pittsburgh has 6 of them.
And now Green Bay has 13 NFL championships. They didn't play their best game, but still a very good one. I'm just not sure what happened to the Steelers. Ben was WAY off his game, Troy Polamalu was a complete non-factor and even James Harrison only had one tackle (but did get a sack).
Ok, I'm not gonna bust on the Steelers for the sake of doing it. It almost really was an incredible comeback. But there is ONE reason I'm glad they lost. For weeks leading up to this game, all the talk was about Ben getting a third ring and "putting him in the same discussions as Brady and Manning". I'm sorry, but I don't care how many rings he gets, there's no comparison. Now, that discussion is put to rest.
I'll give Ben his due. He's a great athlete, a tough mutherfucker, a good escape artist and can thread the needle under pressure. But there's one thing Brady, Manning, Elway, Marino and all the other elite QB's have or had. The ability to manage a game, to carry a depleted team on his shoulders. Basically, I consider Ben Rothlisberger to be Daunte Culpepper actually surrounded by talent. Let's be real...dump Ben in Detroit or Buffalo and see what happens. Peyton Manning can carry a team to the playoffs missing half the starters...so has Brady, Marino and Elway. Had the Steelers lost Hines Ward and Mike Wallace for the year, Pittsburgh would likely have posted a 7-9 on the season. Two Super Bowl rings don't make him elite. He openly admits to playing a terrible game against the Seahawks and stunk up this one. (To be fair, he shined against the Cardinals and had the game of his career.) I mean...Mark Rypien and Trent Dilfer have Super Bowl rings...anyone calling the Hall of Fame for these guys?
Enough about Ben. What really pissed me off was Pittsburgh's defense just not showing up. At least the vaunted playmakers. Granted, they were playing against one of the league's great offenses, so it balances out.
My hat's off to Aaron Rodgers...kept his cool, didn't suffer from Super Bowl Rookie Syndrome. And what made that amazing was the amount of dropped passes from his targets. After losing Donald Driver, it had to be frustrating to see those passes dropped. Rodgers threw some guaranteed touchdowns that slipped through the hands of the receivers. In all honesty, had the receivers caught those easily catchable balls, this would actually have
been a complete blowout.
All in all, it was an exciting game that could have gone either way. Not the "Game For The Ages" many were hoping for (ie: Giants over Patriots, Patriots over Panthers, etc.), but a very good one between two classic franchises.
Congrats to the Packers, their fans, the smallest city in the NFL and the only publicly owned team in the league. With a young team, an elite young QB and an awesome defense, it could be Rodgers we're talking about going for three rings in a few years.
if they won, im guessing theyd all be here celebrating!
