There is excitement in the air. The city of Pittsburgh is ready to send their favorite sons to yet another AFC championship. The focus of the black 'n’ gold will be aimed directly at the New York Jets, as the Steelers will continue their “one game at a time” philosophy.
Yet, it’s hard for the average die hard fan to not look ahead. It is hard to not think of the possibility of another Lombardi hefted above the heads of Roethlisberger and Polamalu. With that thought rides another darker probability.
The rest of the football world will hate us.
I am aware that the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens fans already do....its their "job," nothing new there. Without a doubt, if Pittsburgh wins another Super Bowl, we will supplant the Patriots as the most disliked team in the NFL.
All the frustration of backing a losing team, or backing a team that teases its fan base into the playoffs only to dash their hopes with a loss, will be laid at the doorstep of the Steelers. Every Lombardi we win is a slap in the face of fans that have waited a lifetime to see their team win it all, and another will be the last straw. It will be more than most fans can take.
By de-facto we will become bullies....cheaters....cocky....lucky. All our fans will be fair-weathered and Johnny-come-lately in the eyes of the envious. Our coach will share the blame as the less fortunate will search out any and all scapegoats to justify their jealousy.
To a point we already know how that feels. A team doesn’t accrue six championship trophies without picking up some haters along the way. Steelers sites and message boards already get their share of agitated trolls who don’t know the difference between supporting their own team and leaving posts full of envy-green vomit, until they are booted to the nevermore.
But it will get worse. If the Steelers win it all this year, they will have at least two more trophies than anyone else and seven more than the less fortunate. That won’t be tolerated. We saw as much in the Steelers/Ravens post game show as a miked-up Ray Lewis told his team “Its our time. They (the Steelers) have been getting fat while we starve.”
That attitude will permeate the locker rooms of every team in the NFL and will trickle down to their fan bases. They will swear that they have never liked the Steelers and they will give numerous reasons why. We will have a target on our backs for years to come and will hear fans chanting the familiar mantra of, “I cheer for my team....and for whomever is playing the Steelers.”
The truth is, everyone loves a winner....and everyone hates a perpetual winner. That’s okay. We all loved our Steelers when no one else did because they were the losers of the '60s and the '80s. So, we will love them when no one does, because they are the champions of 2011.
© 2011 Steelers Universe