My blood type

I was born and raised in Steeler Country.  I am a member of the Steeler Nation, and I bleed black and gold.  I remember the Immaculate Reception. I remember the Steel Curtain.  Mean Joe Greene.  Jack Lambert.  Ham.  Bradshaw.  Franco Harris.  Lynn Swann.  Chuck Noll.  Myron Cope - yoi!

I made a celebratory cake designed to look like the Terrible Towel after we won our fourth Super Bowl.

I adore the Rooneys and trust them to make the right choices for the team.  They have proven themselves right time and time again, both in choosing the right players to become Steelers, in letting the wrong players go, and in standing behind Big Ben.  The choice of Mike Tomlin surprised us all - and we are delighted with the foresight and wisdom behind our amazing new young coach.

The Rooneys and the Steeler Nation think of themselves as all part of the same Steeler Family.  And the Steelers were some of the glue that held my father and I together when I was a teen and parents were the worst invention ever.  (I am still jealous that my sister, Barb, got to run a race with my dad and a group of the Steelers back in the day - what a treat!)  My son was taught from birth to be a Steeler, and to hate the Cowboys, the Raiders, the Brownies, and now the Ravens.  Just as a common love of the Steelers bridged the inevitable gap between my dad and I, it did the same thing for my son and I years later.  And that common love for the Steelers has given my 10-year-old nephew and I something to talk and text about although separated by over 3000 miles.

So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled when the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl.  With six Super Bowl rings firmly on our hands, we were dreaming of number seven.  My husband, a native Oregonian, and my father-in-law, also a PNW-er, were amazed that the score at the end of the first quarter didn't cause me any great grief.  Ditto for the score at halftime.  I explained to them that I had confidence in my team, and that as long as we were within a touchdown with the ball in hand and two minutes on the clock, the Steelers have shown that a victory is still firmly within their grasp.

Sadly, this was not the year for us to gain that seventh ring.  People who know that I am a Steeler fan asked if I was upset by the final score.  Of course I was sad.  But not angry.  It was a good game, no bad calls, no really dirty play.  There were mistakes that shouldn't have been made.  But all-in-all, it was the Super Bowl that we all hoped for, only with the wrong final score.

So what is the purpose of this blog?  None, really, I guess.  I just wanted to talk about my Steelers one last time this season.  With a lockout looming on April 1 I wonder if there will be a draft.  Will there be preseason practices for my sister and her son to attend?  Will February of 2012 bring us another Super Bowl, or were those predictions of Armageddon in 2012 accurate, and next winter will bring no football.

I am a member of the Steeler Nation, and I bleed black and gold.