U mad, bro?: Fans have strange ways of expressing aggravation over Steelers’ disappointing start
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I expected Pittsburgh sports fans to be angry at the Steelers in this week’s “U mad, bro?” after back-to-back home losses.
But I didn’t expect those emotions to manifest in the way that they did.
I imagine you’ll be surprised, too.
Ralph has quite an interesting food analogy about the Steelers.
“My take on the Steelers of 2021 is one of stale bread.
You know, you want a sandwich and on the counter is a loaf of bread. But, when you open it, it has that smell. The smell of days gone by. However, you really want a sandwich and think to yourself, ‘once I place some fresh lunch meat, cheese, crisp lettuce, and a slice of tomato between those pieces of stale bread, everything will be fine.’
So, you take a bite and have to spit it out before the stale bread adheres to the roof of your mouth. Note to self and Steeler Nation: You can have ALL the fresh (rookies and new coaches) ingredients you want. But, placed between two pieces of stale bread (Tomlin and Ben), it’s still the SOS… Same Old Steelers.”
I think you’re onto something, Ralph. Primanti’s on the South Side should start serving the “Stillers S.O.S — Same Old Sammich.”
Made with two, old, moldy end pieces of their signature white bread left over from the previous Steelers loss.
Trust me, on Carson Street at 1:50 a.m, the drunks will never know the difference. It’ll be a best seller, for sure.
Mort says I’m just too gosh-darned optimistic about the Steelers. He drew this conclusion based on my Wednesday column where I talked about how previous Steelers teams have rebounded from poor starts.
“I’m surprised at your reporting today on the Steelers. Let’s be honest this team lacks a robust Offensive Playbook (plus no imagination), has a horrible O-Line, has a QB in decline, and a coaching staff that may be coasting.
Then, there is the tough schedule.
Your somewhat positivity is not believable! Time for some truth — this team is going nowhere!”
Mort, I predicted they’d lose their next four and be 1-6 for the first time since 1988.
If that is “somewhat positivity,” what is “flat-out pessimism”?
Jeremy would prefer to focus his angst against the national media coverage of the Steelers instead of the Steelers’ own failures on the field.
“I find it hilarious that for how long the Steelers were good/great the National media ignored the franchise, but now they are struggling and it’s the only thing that is on. Pittsburgh is top 1 or 2 sports TV audience …”
Jeremy, what tipped you off to the insidious, vast national media conspiracy against the Steelers?
Their constantly maxed out national primetime schedule? All those Hall of Famers voted into Canton recently by the Pro Football writers? Our inability to get five minutes of advertising peace without seeing the faces of T.J. Watt, Jerome Bettis, James Harrison, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Troy Polamalu or some other Steeler in a commercial during an NFL broadcast?
Are these the examples of ignoring the Steelers you were looking for? If so, then I agree completely.
MR. PGH has a different path toward finding Steelers optimism.
The Steelers can still be the first team to go 1-16 in NFL history, so there's that!
— Mr.PGH (@PGHLivin) September 27, 2021
That’s true. If you are first, that’s something they can never take away from you.
Unless you are the first team dumb enough to throw a swing pass to a running back six yards behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-10 from the 11-yard line in the other team’s red zone.
Then they can take it away from you … on downs.
Finally, Ted is a card collector and has a gripe about the Pirates.
“I’m a collector of baseball cards. How in the world am I supposed to collect the 2021 Pirates? There must be 60 or 70 of them. They took the official team photo recently. Did the photographer have to stand back fifty yards to get them all in?”
I’m a card collector too, Ted. I almost have the Pirates entire team set. Here are the players I’m missing.
• Outfielders Timmy Lupus and Kelly Leak
• Pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer
• Shortstop Tanner Boyle
I also need the Morris Buttermaker manager card. I’ll trade you three Engelbergs, two Rudy Steins and an Ahmad Abdul Rahim for one Buttermaker if you can spare it.