Steelers Mania

It’s early February, which regardless of the number of days in it, is the longest month of the year. Cold. Gray. Snow, slush, and ice.

Today, of course, is Groundhog Day, but I’ve written way too much about that damnable rodent in past years. Let me ruin the suspense for you. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, there will be a month and a half. There. Save yourself the trouble of watching the news.

In this corner of Pennsylvania, unless you’re into skiing or other winter sports, there’s only one other thing going on this week.

Pittsburgh’s going to the Super Bowl!

I know not everyone here is a football fan. And not all our Working Stiffs are Pittsburghers. But I’m a long time Steelers fan, so, yeah, I’m excited.

My personal Steelers mania goes back to the days of Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Mean Joe Greene and John Stallworth. Later, it became even more personal when I worked at Lowry’s Western Shop where many of the Steelers shopped for Western hats and boots. Mike Webster, Jon Kolb, and Mel Blount, just to name a few, were regulars. Everyone at the shop knew I had a crush on Mark Malone. Okay, he may not have been the best quarterback in the league, but he was seriously cute. So one day I was in the back, eating my lunch, when one of the sales girls came back to order me out front to wait on a customer. Yep. The customer needing assistance was none other than Mark Malone. It was one of the few times in my life I’ve been speechlessly star struck.

I can’t claim to have met anyone on the current Steelers roster. I fear if I were to run into Troy Polamalu, I’d be even more star struck than I was all those years ago.

As for the big game? I’m not going to rant and make claims about a huge victory. Frankly, I’m scared. I’m always scared when the Steelers play a big game. They’re too fond of keeping things close. My heart can’t stand it.

My hubby has to work on Sunday, so I’ll be watching the game alone. My cats have learned it’s wisest to vacate the premises when I’m watching football. I guess I do tend to scream at the TV, jump on couch when we score, and pull my hair when we shoot ourselves in the collective team foot. Felines prefer calm. Calm is not a word I’d use to describe me on a Steelers Sunday. Especially this one.

While I may be physically alone, I will be on Twitter. I discovered the fun of Tweeting with fellow Steelers fans during the play-offs. If you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow me @Annette_Dashofy. My joy and my agony (hopefully more joy!) will be out there in Twitterdom for all the world to see on Sunday night.

FYI, if I had to make a prediction, I’d go with the Steelers by 3 in overtime. Just because they like to make me suffer until the last possible moment.

And if you haven’t seen this yet, check it out. Even if you aren’t a die-hard Steelers fan, it’s a really cool tribute to Pittsburgh.