A Rivalry for the Fans, Not the Pundits

I consider myself a thinking man with an intellectual approach, and in the realm of sports and life alike I am a stats man.  I look at the cold, hard facts instead of convention.  Punt on 4th down at your opponent's 45?  Not a chance, the numbers are obvious.  Field goal from the 1?  Please.

The pundits talk about the Colts-Patriots rivalry as the greatest in the game, and I must agree to a certain extent.  With arguably the best coach-quarterback combination in history (Belichick/Brady) facing off against Manning, the closest thing to General Patton to ever put on the pads, it is always a great game to watch.  High scores, long passes; it's the definition of efficiency and finesse.  But I'm no Colts fan, and I'm certainly no Pats fan.

I appreciate the tactics, the strategy, and the cold, machine-like efficiency, but I'm a Steelers fan.  Rivalries aren't about finesse.

Rivalries are about pain.  Rivalries are about knowing the guy lined up six inches away and breathing through your facemask hates you, wants to break you in half, and eat your children with Mike Tyson sauce.  It is for this reason that the Steelers-Ravens rivalry is far and away the best and most entertaining in the league.

This Sunday Dec. 5th our boys in black and gold head back to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to continue the rivalry, avenge the loss from early October, and take control of the division.  If the Ravens can out-muscle the Steelers in this one, they'll be in undisputed control of the division at 9-3 (to our 8-4) with a sweep of Pittsburgh for the season.  Our only hope would then be a likely wild-card spot and a third try at our nemesis in the playoffs.  Of course, we don't play in the NFC, and there's no playoff guarantee with 8 wins.  With the Chargers and Chiefs going strong in the West, the loser of this game could get pushed out of the playoff picture very easily.

It's been a wild n' crazy season for just about everyone, and the Steelers are no exception.  For example, the 9-2 Patriots got their asses handed to them by the lowly Browns in week 9, then rebounded to embarrass our Steelers in week 10.  It's pure guesswork at this point.  However, all things considered, the Steelers have certainly remained stable.  We've beaten the teams we should (Browns, Bengals, Bills, etc) and even put away a few contenders early (Falcons, Buccaneers).  Our problem has been when the big boys come to town, including those bastards in purple.  With a Big-Ben-less loss to the Ravens, and a couple more to the Patriots and Saints, we have yet to prove ourselves as actual league contenders.  The game this week is our proving ground.

To the winner: bragging rights, control of the AFC North, and a shot at home field advantage.
To the loser: A black eye, a seat at the kid's table, and a shot at a wild-card berth.

Despite the litany of injuries, the Black and Gold should be able to pull this one out, though it will be close.  Baltimore's Run D is a shadow of its former self, and Mendenhall should continue the stampede he started a couple weeks ago.  Expect big plays out of the two best Safeties in the game (Polamalu, Reed), expect some cool throwback uniforms, and expect about $50,000 worth of fines for Harrison sometime next week.  And please, for the love of Tomlin, there better be some long bombs to Wallace.  Prediction: 26-20 Steelers.

-Dan Gleeson-Prata

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