Something epic

I know we're in the middle of a Nostalgic Tangent series, and we will return to that soon.  But sometimes something so awesome and exciting comes along that series are temporarily cast aside to make way.  Right now, that epic something is here, and it's the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I'm so full of Steelers mania right now that I can't decide what direction to take our tangent in.  I have so many memories from the win over the Ravens (I got the chance to go to the game -- thanks Dad), thoughts about the matchup with the Jets, jokes about the Patriots losing... but I think, given the awesome rivalry with B-more and the fact that probably not many of you have been to an NFL playoff game, I will walk you through the Steelers-Ravens playoff experience.

Pre-game -- introduction to the protagonists' hometown

First of all, I'm NOT a fan of sports pre-game festivities.  This probably stems from the fact that I went to WVU, where football pre-game tailgating is literally given more time and energy than schoolwork.  For thousands of Mountaineer students, tragically, the highlight of their academic year is drunken revelry before each home football game.

But Steelers fans, as crazed as they can be about the team, were much less... horrible... in their early afternoon celebrations.  While there was no shortage of beer and corn-hole on hand, there was a refreshing absence of vomit and yelled f-words.

The best part of this time for me was eating Primanti's in the stadium and listening to the seemingly out of place hard rock 80s cover band.

First quarter: first ten minutes (of game clock) -- the Golden Age

Have you ever noticed in sweeping epic fantasies (I'm clearly asking "are you super nerdy?") that some Golden Age always happened a long time ago, before the main storyline begins?  There was always some era in antiquity from which relics and legends exist but little else, that was supposed to be marked by prosperity and peace.  Every sweeping epic fantasy I've read (Lord of the Rings, Dark Tower, Wheel of Time, Chronicles of Narnia) has one of these.

To me, that's what the first two drives of this game were like.  I barely remember them because of all the turmoil that followed.  But I can barely recall our heroes forcing a Baltimore punt and scoring a touchdown...

The rest of the first half -- the shadow rises

To make an epic compelling, there has to be a moment at which it seems like the enemy's triumph is certain.  If the author doesn't bring you to a point of wondering, "How exactly could the good guys win?", you probably haven't been glued to it.

At this point in the game, it was like the entire crowd was watching Joseph get sold into slavery or Goliath taunt an army of puny, trembling Israelites.  No one cheered.  No one smiled.  I clung to two minute solaces:

1. The people next to me were seemingly the stadium's only no-shows (giving me more room).
2. My Ravens friend Justin is respectful enough to give me about 3 days to heal before calling to make fun of me.

It was just mistake after mistake -- costly pass interference penalty, horrible failure to recover unwanted loose ball, another fumble, and to top it off, a missed field goal.  At halftime, some crappy high school band played.  But we weren't listening to them; we were asking ourselves "Why?  Why?!"

The second half -- improbable yet inevitable victory

We spent most of the second half on a rigorous alternating voice program: making every possible decibel of noise when the Ravens had the ball, and sitting in quiet excitement (and shushing drunk cheerers) when we did.  This crazy gauntlet of sound somehow added to the thrill of the comeback.

There were many moments of frenzied rejoicing to recall, but I think if I could pick my favorite, it was Clark's interception.  First, we had the perfect view to see the play develop, and as soon as the ball left Flacco's hand, I (and probably many people in my section) uttered, "He's going to pick it off!"  And he did.  But more importantly, this is when the comeback officially switched from Impossible Dream to Absolute Certainty.

I'm not sure why those are the only two options, but they are.  And it was Clark's awesome read of Flacco and the latter's horribly ill-advised heave that marked the moment when I made the Fan's Leap of Hope.

During this play, I was jumping up and down so wildly that my foot at one point slipped down behind the next row's seat, crushing my shin against that row's back.  But the ecstasy of the moment dulled all the pain.

Post-game -- saying goodbye

When you finish any great book series, you become really sad because you have to say goodbye to the characters, and it feels like a part of you is dying.  I, too, felt like parts of me were dying, but that was just the pain returning to my shin and the fact that my limbs were succumbing to hypothermia.

Those injuries, combined with the fact that I was with an old man (sorry Dad), led us to make straight for the exit and car.  So I have no stories from after the game, except that of course all the fans were in good spirits and making comments about rooting for the Jets.

Moving from my joyous memories to yours,
or, Arguing about football

Any fun stories or observations from the Steelers-Ravens game?

Predictions for this weekend's championship games?

Let's go Steelers!

Jon