I realized today that I have been hard on ya'll.And here is why.
I have been a football fan since birth. Not since a winning season, but since birth. I have been through good years, and bad years, and emotions you will NEVER understand. These emotions not necessarily associated with the team I support. Life events. You have missed a lot.
While I can't make you understand exactly what I am talking about, I can sure as hell try and paint a picture for you.
Call me old fashioned. Call me an asshole. I don't care. Facts are facts. I know part of the way I feel depends entirely on history, but what exactly makes YOU the person you are? The future? The past?
I have gotten more hate mail than I care to talk about. The truth is, most of the hate mail came from people that could NEVER talk sports with me. I grew up with two brothers, and a family that watched sporting events. All of them. Some of you youngsters probably have no way to understand that when I was a wee one, there were 3 channels, and on the weekends, you didn't have a choice, you watched sports.
While it is true that I am mostly a baseball and football fan, I still know more than you do. I have memories etched in my mind from many games. Moments in time that I remember exactly where I was sitting when it happened.
So my friend told me this: "They have to learn about the game somehow." This is true, but buying a jersey and and vowing to avenge the last Superbowl appearance does not a fan make. Maybe a fan of some sort, but not a real fan. A bandwagon fan.
Perhaps I can see that many people NEED something to hold on to. Maybe the Hawks will pull it off. Maybe.
I grew up in a very different time. Games were played and you lived and died on plays, draft picks, scores, and championships. You did not bitch about referees, or make excuses. You lived and died at the hands of something you had NO control over. It's what built healthy rivalries. It's what built Dynasties.
Don't fool yourself into thinking I have only supported the Steelers. Many years when my boys weren't in the running, I would follow the AFC to the end. Why? Same reason I follow the American League to the end. I love sports. I love talented players. I love the way I feel to see true greatness. And when my team wasn't the greatest, then I enjoyed who was.
They certainly don't make many athletes like they used to. No real heroes. No classy players that just play for the love of the game. Not many boys left that can tell you what it means to work your ass off day after day, not to win games, but to do your personal best to help your team. You have none of those players this year.
Larry Bird, Cecil Fielder, Joe Montana, Don Mattingly, Michael Jordan. The list goes on.
I remember where I was sitting for the "Snowplow Game". I was a toddler when the "Immaculate Reception" happened and I can still tell you the players involved. I remember how much it hurt to watch Kenny Easley hit someone. The sheer art it was to watch Marino connect with Clayton and Duper. The marathon of replays of Theisman's broken leg.
One thing I know for sure. Steeler fans are born, not made. Perhaps that is what ya'll don't understand. I have NEVER met another Steeler's fan that recounts what "year" they became a fan. The answer is always the same, since birth.
I will admit that I do know some folks that have been a Seahawks fans from the beginning. My best friend is one of them. He doesn't send me hate mail, or cry in his Wheaties about years gone by. He also acknowledges my love of the games. After every weekend we compare notes, and out of sheer respect, we either congratulate or console one another. That is what sports is all about.
Dallas, San Fran, Chicago, even New England. Dynasties. You can't and won't know what it feels like....perhaps never.
So good luck this year. I truthfully only want them to win for those fans that know who started the day they played their first game. (without google.) Mostly, I hope the Seahawks blow it again. Again. And, when Russell Wilson is scoring 6 for the Texans and or some other team in the future, remember my words. Buy a fancy plastic sleeve for the jersey that will hang in your closet for years, and remember.......There is no crying in football.
The Niners have history and experience on their side. The Hawks have a history of nothing. I hope that brand new jersey you bought makes you feel like you are part of something. After next weekend, I hope that you accept it for what it is, and wont make excuses for why yet another year has slipped away, without a championship.
If I am wrong, I will admit it. However, you never will. It's just a game.
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