Steelers Special Yesterday
When the Pittsburgh Steelers were Kings of the Hill in the seventies, we, fans, came to expect a certain high level of play from the team. We have since come back to reality. We have passed from "Let's win one for the thumb" bravado through a cycle of bitter "close, but no cigar" excitement and disappointments. That is why witnessing the Steelers crush the Eagles yesterday was so amazing. For one brief moment, we were transported back to the days of Mean Joe Greene and Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw. For a brief moment, the Steelers were the best team in football --for the first time -- again.
As SI's Peter King put it:
"As I sat in the back row of the Heinz Field press box on Sunday afternoon, watching the contest (and I use that word loosely) between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia I wondered: Since I've been covering football, how many teams have I seen that looked as unbeatable at one point during a season as the Steelers look right now?
I started on the NFL beat in 1984, so I have a two-decade window. I jotted down in the margin of my white legal pad as I kept play-by-play of Steelers 27, Eagles 3:
1. The '85 Bears.
2. The '89 49ers.
3. The '90 Bills...
4. The Cowboys at two or three points from '92 to '95.
5. Maybe -- and I underscore maybe -- the 2000 Ravens, because playing against that defense late in the season made the game a hopeless cause unless the Baltimore offense turned it over a bunch.
I think that's it."
This moment too will fade, but why not enjoy it while it is here?
Here We Go Steelers...Here We Go!
