Are you not sick to death with all this celebration of Super Bowl victory? Could the Steelers, with all that emphasis on winning, be any less original? After watching the games, purchasing the Big Ben jerseys, the Terrible Towels with the SB score, the t-shirts, the licence plate frames, the beer huggies, etc., are you not feeling empty and unsatisfied? Where is the pleasure? Where is the fun?
The Pirates have me in mind of the 1990s Bengals. Like many fans, I am turning a corner. Winning isn't everything! If we just enjoy the game for what it is, we can achieve a zen-like appreciation of the finer things in life. Like, for example, how Jamey Carroll made one of the greatest defensive plays I'll ever see on radio! Greg Brown was wise beyond his years when he alerted me to the meaning of that excitement.
The 1990s Bengals were characterized by a different attitude. They were original. They did not approach the game the way the other teams approached the game. A come-from-behind victory, they understood in their bones, is worth three or four boring-snoring, "winning ugly" Steeler victories. Fortune favors the brave, they knew. They would bravely spot the opposition seven, fourteen, even twenty-eight points before uncorking the potent beauty of Jeff Blake's dazzling air show.
Such play did not win many games or championships, but that's the point, see. They were above the commonplace, cro-magnon obsession with lofty station and diamond bling. They were different. They were brave!
The Steelers should see the light and adjust their attitude. They need to buck up! Nothing diminishes the beauty and satisfaction of professional sport so thoroughly as this obsession with winning at all costs.
No comments:
Post a Comment