After 26 long years my Pittsburgh Steelers can once again be called Super Bowl Champions. It wasn't pretty. By far the worst the team has played in all 4 games of the 2006 post season but it was good enough.
Call it the Super Bowl jitters, or maybe it was the extra week off that threw the Steel-Men out of wack, all I know is that we made Seattle look a LOT better then they are. Having played the leagues easiest schedule of all 32 teams, the Seahawks stats were significantly padded this year. Not only by playing in the NFC, but getting the blessing of playing teams like Houston, Arizona, San Francisco, and St. Loius, some of them twice. Only when playing teams with decent defenses like Dallas, Jacksonville, and Washington, did they show their true colors and manage to only score 10-13 points. But back to the game.
The stands of Detroit's Ford field were packed by a 90:10 ratio of Steeler fans so it was by all means a home game. Simply awesome! And what a home coming it was for the Jerome Bettis. The 14th year Hall of Fame back managed to cap his lustrous career with the ultimate prize, and to go out in stlye, on top, as a Superbowl Champ. And although Big Ben had an ebismal QB rating of 22. something, he did play extremely well in the previous 3 playoff games and gave us the chance we needed. Seattle did hold up for a while and gave quite the effort though it wasn't so much as them playing well as it was us playing poorly. We just didn't come out with that same feroucious attack plan that worked so well in the previous games. And Seattle's overhyped offense, shot itself in the foot all to often. Though making a few plays here and there, they also couldn't seem to get a rythm going in their first ever Super Bowl appearance. In then end, as the saying goes, Defense wins Championships.
My hat goes off to the entire Steeler organization. I'm just so happy for Bettis, Cower and all my fellow Steeler fans out there who knew that all along, this was no 6th seed team. It was one hell of a ride, one for the ages, enjoy it guys, wave your towels at the parade and take it all in, because you never know when you get another chance at it. See ya next year.
