One for My Generation

The 1970's were a great decade for Pittsburgh. The Steelers were winning championships and establishing themselves as the greatest team of all-time. The Nation reveled in glory knowing that their Steelers were the best team in America's biggest sports league. The city was immersed in a sea of national pride. It was truly a special time to be a Steelers fan -- or at least, that's what I've heard. You see, I was born in 1977, so I missed the entire era.

I became a die hard Pittsburgh sports fan at a very young age (my oldest memory is of the 1982 playoffs), and like the rest of my generation, I have never been able to experience an NFL championship. I only got to see that great dynasty when all of the players were on the tail-end of their careers, and by then, it was far too late to repeat the success of yesterday.

Instead, my generation has mostly suffered some of the more painful moments in Pittsburgh sports history. We saw our baseball team lose the greatest drugged-up cheater-- I mean, greatest player of the modern era because of a completely unfair economic system. We nearly lost our hockey team to bankruptcy, and now it looks as if we are going to lose them for good. We had our hearts ripped out by a nobody named Francisco Cabrera. We watched in horror as the Steelers literally threw away the Super Bowl to the hated Dallas Cowboys. We saw them get close several other times, only to see them drop five AFC Championship Games (1984, 1994, 1997, 2001, and 2004), four of which were at home.

To be certain, my generation has experienced some great moments as well. We got to witness two Stanley Cup championships and had the privilege of watching the greatest athlete in this town's history (Mario Lemieux). The Steelers also provided us with numerous memorable moments during that time (many of which have been extensively documented on this site), but in the end the ultimate goal was never quite reached. That means that EVERY single season that we have been Steeler fans has ended on a sour note.

I used to find consolation in watching NFL Films specials about the Super Steelers of the 1970's, but not anymore. That team was so great, but those are just manufactured memories to me. Someone edited some footage together, or wrote a book, or told their kids a story - that's the way it is with all history, but it's never the same as actually living during that time. In fact, it's even gotten to the point where I almost resent the mere mention of that team, because it just serves as a constant reminder that the past has ALWAYS been better than the present. Well, guess what - I'm sick of living in the past! Not to sound too self-seeking, but I want a championship so that my generation can actually tell people what it was like to witness greatness.

I have been loyally supporting this team for more than 20 years. I have sat in the cold and in the snow to cheer them on. I have lost my voice on several occasions due to heavy screaming. I have spent countless hours maintaining this web site. I have invested so much of my time and emotion in this team. Sometimes I think it's ridiculous to care that much about a team that I have virtually no control over, but I just can't help it. I love the Pittsburgh Steelers, and all I have wanted during my life as a Steelers fan is to witness one - just ONE - Super Bowl victory. They could lose every game for every season for the next 100 years, and it wouldn't matter to me. That's how much a Steelers Super Bowl would mean to me, and I'm sure there are others my age who feel the same way.

Now the Steelers are just 60 minutes away from fulfilling that dream. I've felt this way for a while now - in fact, I first wrote this story years ago, but I never posted it until now because I've never felt like we were this close before. I really hope we beat Seattle. It would be not only one for the thumb, but one for the rest of us who weren't there the first time around. That old Steelers polka song had a line that said, “It's been many years in coming, just keep that Steelers machinery humming." It has indeed been many years in coming, and it's going to be all that much sweeter if it happens.

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