Wiiiiiiiiide Right!

Holy f-ing shitballs! The Steelers beat the Colts! And I almost had 3 heart attacks! And peed my pants! I hope you did too.

Yesterday's game was an insta-classic. Our black & gold underdogs coming out & dominating the first half like they were ready for some serious payback.

And then, in typical Steelers fashion, turning the game into a do-or-die situation. For those of you who haven't followed the Steelers for more than a few games or seasons, let me tell you that yesterday's game is (unfortunately) trademark Steelers playoff football. I can not tell you how many games have driven me to the edge of insanity & back over the years. And yet, I keep watching & screaming year after year.

Because when we do take out a Super Bowl favorite like the Colts, it is sooooo much sweeter. This town & this team deserved that win. The Bus deserved it. Polamalu & Big Ben, too. The Steelers Nation believed in this team & our beloved Stees proved us right.

I, along with many Steelers pals, watched the entire game outside on Jamie's back porch. We were LAHD. And cold. At one point, I realized that we were much colder than those lame-Os in the RCA Dome. But, then again, that's what makes us Stees fans so tough.

As far as some of the deficiencies of the game, I will briefly comment:

The officiating was not total crap. BUT, they missed a crucial pass interference call on a pass to Randle El & of course, the overturning of the Polamalu interception. If you break that play down into 3 parts, here's how I see it:
1. Polamalu caught the ball cleanly while diving sideways across the intended receiver. He then rolled on the ground (maintaining control) as the rules of physics took over for a sec.
2. He began to stand up & bumped the ball loose with his one knee while the other knee was still on the ground. (This is where the officials claimed that there is a rule that says that if the ball is knocked loose with one knee stilll down, then the player does not have control.) This would be a fumble.
3. Polamalu recovered his own fumble. So, WTF?

I eagerly awaited last night's SportsCenter so that I could have some light shed on this call. But, really, the commentators were just as confounded as I. Apparently, the only folks who know about this rule of possession/control are the refs.

Other notables:
Peyton was sacked 5 times, more than any other game this year. (He was sacked for a total of 17 times in the regular season.)

The Stees are the first number 6 seed to ever make it to the Conference Championship!

The Stees are the first number 6 seed to beat a number 1 seed in the playoffs.

Jamie thinks that Peyton was a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome.

The "noise" in the dome..."Can you hear me now?" "Fucking right!!!" Not a one penalty for a false start. But, the Colts had one. Ha!

Big Ben's Terrible Tackle will live down in black & gold history forever. So be glad you were a part of it.

The Colts gave out free white "towels" (which actually looked like dishrags) to all attendees. Again, where's the originality? We Stees fans buy ours at a retail price of 7 snaps each. And we bring'em everywhere we go.

Before the game, the Colts organization & related scalpers would not sell tickets to anyone with a 412 or 724 area code or any indicia of black & gold-ness. My friend Ronnie said that if he were there, he would overcome this problem by spending 10 bucks on a Colts hat, go up to a scalper & buy the tix, then whip off the hat, bring out the Terrible Tahl, unzip his coat to reveal his Porter jersey & yell, "Go Steelers, Sucka!" Trickery, mmmmm good!

My adrenaline levels were higher yesterday than any time in recent memory. So, today, I must recover by being very calm.

Vanderjagt's missed FG to tie it up was such a "Noonan!" moment that I feel like we might've actually helped that ball to soar so wide from all the way back here in the Soufside. And, I never knew much about that dude, but shit is he cocky. I'm sure that you heard his comment after the game that he never imagined that he would miss a field goal. The best version of this was on ESPN, where they showed the kick, they then showed Tony Dungy mouthing, "He missed it" in disbelief. And then Peyton, "He missed it" with a quirky, knowing smile. And then Bill Caher, "HE MISSED IT!!!!!" freaking out...and then finally, the Bus (on one knee, praying) "He missed IT!!" with a crescendo of amazment. And then, all was right with the world.

So, tomorrow, it's time to refocus, reload & repeat. The Broncos are goin' dahn next Sunday.

Everything is awesome! Thanks, guys!