Dunlap: Pittsburgh Has No One To Root For
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PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - This one is tough. Probably the toughest of the tough.
New England against Philadelphia.
Worse against, well, worser.
Evil takes on eviler.
Terrible plays terribler.
We hate them against, well, we might hate them more.
Oh man, this one is tough.
In a couple weeks from now, the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will battle in a Super Bowl in Minneapolis and people in Pittsburgh have to be more turned off than anything.
How did this happen?!?!
Certainly, you can't find it in your heart to want that evil empire led by Belichick to win. You know those Patriots, the ones quarterbacked by Tom Thumb, who have pretty much made the Steelers into what the Penguins have made the Washington Capitals into.
You can't pull for those guys. No way in heck can you tune in a couple weeks from now and pour your rooting interest into a bunch of cheaters who, in this town, it seems probably more than fair to think could have cheated their way past your team in the past to a Super Bowl.
And you can't find it in you to root for James Harrison, either. Harrison, suddenly reinvigorated after getting to nap for 14 weeks in Steelers team meetings, looks to be making a bit of a difference for the Patriots. But, man, is he ever tough to root for because of the way he left town, forcing his teammates to bad-mouth him on his way out the door.
On the flip side, how in the world can one on this side of the state ever root for a Philadelphia team? In anything. That city is full of those barbarian fans who haven't a clue how to comport themselves in any situation as they could seemingly turn a bake sale into a riot if you gave them no good reason.
And they have the audacity to perpetually look down on Pittsburgh as if Philadelphia is the cosmopolitan and sophisticated bastion of this Commonwealth.
Yeah, Philadelphia. The town that feels as if it is wholly necessary to rip Sidney Crosby at every turn and one full of sports fans who perpetually feel like they are owed something.
There is no chance in the world when you sit down -- as a Pittsburgher -- on Super Bowl Sunday that you can find it within you to muster any rooting interest for the Eagles. Can't do it for the Patriots, either.
Yikes, what a quandary.
Maybe "Sullivan & Son" or "Mr. Belvedere" reruns will be on. Or maybe you can watch that show where Dick Butkus coached Montour.
I don't know.
