I've already beat the whole Steelers-popularity thing like a dead horse, but this recent article from Yahoo has brought the issue back up again. I saw the article linked and lauded as a quality piece of work... um, not really all that good. It's basically a guy going up and down Carson street asking the service industry about professional athletes in town. There are no real facts or statistics regarding approval or popularity. It's basically a run down of how the Penguins act in public compared to the Steelers.
Deadspin did the same thing a few weeks ago, but with swear words.
But I really liked the Empty Netters post on the subject. Seth hits the nail on the head (although again, not sure about his support of the Yahoo article); these two franchises have vastly different faces of the franchise. Hell, I'd say the Pirates have a better face of the franchise in Andrew McCutchen than the Steelers have in Roethlisberger.
But the most important thing is dispelling the notion that the Penguins are more popular than the Steelers. Maybe in the service industry that might be true (although, surprisingly, I've never heard of Ben leaving a bad tip, in fact I've heard two stories in which he's given a c-note on a small tab, which certainly doesn't make him a good person, but should make him more popular with the waiters of the world), but when it comes down to it, we're in the beginning of May, the Stanley Cup playoffs are off and running, the Steelers haven't played in five months, the Pirates are already out of it... no wonder people are so Penguins centric.
Mostly this comes out of my frustration with that Yahoo article, which was complete trash. And I don't really want to defend the Steelers players and their actions. But why is this news at all? I'm with Madden on this one; football players are generally assholes, while hockey players are much more personable and better people. That's a huge generalization, but I think we can find no better example than Sid vs. Ben.
But to say that the Penguins are more popular than the Steelers in Western PA is kind of ridiculous. Until there is a well-researched article on the subject that convinces otherwise, this is definitely still Steelers Country.
Showing posts with label ben roethlisberger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ben roethlisberger. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
When the Steelers Mattered
As I'm watching this terrible, terrible team called the Pirates get blown out at home for the third straight day by my least favorite team the Brewers (I didn't get to watch much of the series sweep of the Reds, but I've watched most of this series and a lot of the West Coast trip in which they looked pretty terrible as well; all I know is that I am slowly losing any optimism I had for this team to win 60 games. You can't continue to win half your games by two runs or less and lose the other half by 5+ runs; it just doesn't work that way in baseball. As much as I've seen, this team is horrendous in all facets. I'm trying to stay optimistic, if you ask anybody who knows me I am the most optimistic Bucco fan out there; but this team hurts to watch. To loosely quote Bull Durham, how this team has won 7 games... It's a miracle), I've realized what little interest I have in the NFL now-a-days.
The realization has been sneaking up on me for quite some time, but it really bubbled over in a conversation I had with a friend earlier today. He brought up the draft, which I thought was this upcoming weekend as it has always been. Little did I know that the draft is now a three day event starting tonight and ending on Saturday. Not only do I think this is a terrible idea because it ruins one of the best loafing/drinking Saturdays of the year (many a beautiful Saturdays I have spent watching Mel Kiper's hair as opposed to enjoying the great outdoors), but what really shocked me was my complete ignorance to this change.
Maybe you've noticed my lack of links or posts regarding the Steelers off-season even though it's been one of the busiest in memory, but it's quite obvious that I just don't care as much anymore. When I left for college in the far away ass-backwards land of South Carolina, I followed the Steelers religiously, much more so than when I was in High School.
I didn't think about it then, but I look back at it now as one of the only means of keeping some sort of continual connection to the city of Pittsburgh. Every Sunday I would don my Steelers jersey and sit in front of a TV at a sports bar for three and a half hours. Ironically, I think part of the enthusiasm came from the Steelers drafting a QB in the first round for the first time since I started supporting them. I got a Ben Roethlisberger jersey for my birthday on 9/7/04; Ben would make his first start just 19 days later. Plus I was in college, and everybody remembers how much free time we had in college; lot's of procrastination to look at every Steelers blog and article on the internet.
But since I've moved back to Pittsburgh, not only have the Steelers played like garbage (my first weekend back was the beginning of the five-game losing streak), but my enthusiasm has waned considerably. I'd like to think the reason isn't due to the Steelers play; after all, I watched the games just as intensely as ever and even spent my own money to attend the Green Bay game. I do have a few theories though.
I think being around people that are Steelers crazy (and no matter what people tell you, the Steelers still run this town no matter how good the Pens are) has turned me off. It's so irrational, fanatical, and non-stop. All people have been able to talk about the past few days is Ben Roethlisberger despite our defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins playing meaningful playoff games in pursuit of their second straight championship.
Maybe this is why I gravitated towards the Pirates while I was growing up. They were such an afterthought, constantly flying under the radar, and the butt of every joke. Maybe it's the natural inclination of a future yuppie white guy; I can only enjoy things that others don't, I just have to be different.
I know it's definitely because of the Tall Guy, who could give a rats ass about the Steelers for the most part. I think part of that has rubbed off on me.
My final theory doesn't make as much sense because I still think that I enjoy watching football, but maybe I don't. I was watching The Colbert Report yesterday and they had on George Will who was promoting the reissuing of his classic baseball book Men at Work, and he brought up an interesting study that concluded that there is only 11 minutes of real action in an NFL football game. Now he was using this fact as a way to say that baseball is more exciting, which is definitely debatable (for my money, hockey and soccer are the best sports to watch on TV or in person), but I think the fact definitely points towards something I've noticed as I got older. NFL games are boring.
Can you justify spending 3-4 hours a Sunday in order to catch 11 minutes of action? I can't. Yet I still watch the Steelers, and I will continue to watch the Steelers (although I am considering using a DVR more often). But I don't think I will ever be as fanatical as I was for the five years I was in Charleston. I do think that's the reason; a sort of absence makes the heart grow fonder type of thing. My friends, who are still pretty Steelers-crazy, all live fairly far away from Pittsburgh. And who knows, maybe when I move away I'll catch the fever again. But as of right now, I could give a shit what happens tonight on the South Side or on ESPN; my attention is right where it should be for all Pittsburgh sports fans... The Igloo.
(Quick update in the Pirates game. When I started this post, the Brewers were up 4-0 in the second inning and are now up 10-0 in the top of the fifth; I've already told my Milwaukee buddy, "You're my Daddy"; Andrew McCutchen, my only really hope for a Pirate superstar, completely failed to do his job with a runner on third and less than two outs by tapping a meatball of a fastball back to the pitcher; Ryan Church looked at a fastball right down the pipe with two strikes and the bases loaded; and Ryan Braun, the biggest doucher in baseball but an incredibly hitter-- he's the Ovechkin to Pirates baseball, stole third while up six runs... what a douche. It's probably best if I just take a deep breath and stop watching this game, but I probably won't.)
The realization has been sneaking up on me for quite some time, but it really bubbled over in a conversation I had with a friend earlier today. He brought up the draft, which I thought was this upcoming weekend as it has always been. Little did I know that the draft is now a three day event starting tonight and ending on Saturday. Not only do I think this is a terrible idea because it ruins one of the best loafing/drinking Saturdays of the year (many a beautiful Saturdays I have spent watching Mel Kiper's hair as opposed to enjoying the great outdoors), but what really shocked me was my complete ignorance to this change.
Maybe you've noticed my lack of links or posts regarding the Steelers off-season even though it's been one of the busiest in memory, but it's quite obvious that I just don't care as much anymore. When I left for college in the far away ass-backwards land of South Carolina, I followed the Steelers religiously, much more so than when I was in High School.
I didn't think about it then, but I look back at it now as one of the only means of keeping some sort of continual connection to the city of Pittsburgh. Every Sunday I would don my Steelers jersey and sit in front of a TV at a sports bar for three and a half hours. Ironically, I think part of the enthusiasm came from the Steelers drafting a QB in the first round for the first time since I started supporting them. I got a Ben Roethlisberger jersey for my birthday on 9/7/04; Ben would make his first start just 19 days later. Plus I was in college, and everybody remembers how much free time we had in college; lot's of procrastination to look at every Steelers blog and article on the internet.
But since I've moved back to Pittsburgh, not only have the Steelers played like garbage (my first weekend back was the beginning of the five-game losing streak), but my enthusiasm has waned considerably. I'd like to think the reason isn't due to the Steelers play; after all, I watched the games just as intensely as ever and even spent my own money to attend the Green Bay game. I do have a few theories though.
I think being around people that are Steelers crazy (and no matter what people tell you, the Steelers still run this town no matter how good the Pens are) has turned me off. It's so irrational, fanatical, and non-stop. All people have been able to talk about the past few days is Ben Roethlisberger despite our defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins playing meaningful playoff games in pursuit of their second straight championship.
Maybe this is why I gravitated towards the Pirates while I was growing up. They were such an afterthought, constantly flying under the radar, and the butt of every joke. Maybe it's the natural inclination of a future yuppie white guy; I can only enjoy things that others don't, I just have to be different.
I know it's definitely because of the Tall Guy, who could give a rats ass about the Steelers for the most part. I think part of that has rubbed off on me.
My final theory doesn't make as much sense because I still think that I enjoy watching football, but maybe I don't. I was watching The Colbert Report yesterday and they had on George Will who was promoting the reissuing of his classic baseball book Men at Work, and he brought up an interesting study that concluded that there is only 11 minutes of real action in an NFL football game. Now he was using this fact as a way to say that baseball is more exciting, which is definitely debatable (for my money, hockey and soccer are the best sports to watch on TV or in person), but I think the fact definitely points towards something I've noticed as I got older. NFL games are boring.
Can you justify spending 3-4 hours a Sunday in order to catch 11 minutes of action? I can't. Yet I still watch the Steelers, and I will continue to watch the Steelers (although I am considering using a DVR more often). But I don't think I will ever be as fanatical as I was for the five years I was in Charleston. I do think that's the reason; a sort of absence makes the heart grow fonder type of thing. My friends, who are still pretty Steelers-crazy, all live fairly far away from Pittsburgh. And who knows, maybe when I move away I'll catch the fever again. But as of right now, I could give a shit what happens tonight on the South Side or on ESPN; my attention is right where it should be for all Pittsburgh sports fans... The Igloo.
(Quick update in the Pirates game. When I started this post, the Brewers were up 4-0 in the second inning and are now up 10-0 in the top of the fifth; I've already told my Milwaukee buddy, "You're my Daddy"; Andrew McCutchen, my only really hope for a Pirate superstar, completely failed to do his job with a runner on third and less than two outs by tapping a meatball of a fastball back to the pitcher; Ryan Church looked at a fastball right down the pipe with two strikes and the bases loaded; and Ryan Braun, the biggest doucher in baseball but an incredibly hitter-- he's the Ovechkin to Pirates baseball, stole third while up six runs... what a douche. It's probably best if I just take a deep breath and stop watching this game, but I probably won't.)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
What?
Before I say anything I have to ask just one question: Why oh why, did Ben not get his haircut just two days earlier?
I had to send this along. It's a story from Channel 11 regarding the demise of Big Ben Jerky and the relief of a police dog Ben helped pay for.
The most disturbing part is towards the end:
The PensBlog has their playoff preview up, check it out.
I really liked how Tangradi handled himself in the season finale. Here's the recap of that game from PensBurgh.
The Bucco's were forced into starting Brain Burres last night, and so I didn't really even need to watch the game, you just knew they were gonna lose. And they did. Tonight should be better with Paul Maholm on the mound, although the Bucs lineup is going against a pretty good pitcher in Matt Cain (10/FSN).
WHYGAVS has a look back on the first week. The only thing I can definitely agree with is that this is not a 110-loss team... so, deal with that.
BuccoFans has a recap of how the draft prospects did this past week. I got to watch a little bit of Drew Pomeranz's start against Georgia on Friday night (Update: I have no life). He looked really good against some pretty solid competition, my only concern would be his fastball; it doesn't have great velocity (sits in the low-90s and peaks at about 93) and it doesn't generate ground balls. But he's got a smooth delivery, he's a big boy (6'5), and he's got a nice change up and breaking pitch to accommodate his fastball. I tried to think of a good comparison, and the best I could do is Ted Lilly, as he throws across his body a little bit, lands on a stiff front leg, and has a pretty fluid motion.
I would love for some position player to make a move in the next two months and establish themselves as a solid option at #2, but until that happens, we'll have to settle for a much more risky pitcher, and right now for me it would be between Pomeranz and HS RHP Jameson Tailon. Pomeranz doesn't have ace stuff, while Tailon does but is a much riskier pick. Here's a good recap of the Georgia/Miss game from Andy Seiler, who runs a pretty solid draft blog.
I had to send this along. It's a story from Channel 11 regarding the demise of Big Ben Jerky and the relief of a police dog Ben helped pay for.
The most disturbing part is towards the end:
The dog's handler will be given the option of buying him for $1 and keeping him as a pet. If the officer passes, others will get a chance to buy the dog for $1. Township officials say the dog will not be destroyed.I think the word the author was looking for was "euthanized" or even "put to sleep." Destroyed?
The PensBlog has their playoff preview up, check it out.
I really liked how Tangradi handled himself in the season finale. Here's the recap of that game from PensBurgh.
The Bucco's were forced into starting Brain Burres last night, and so I didn't really even need to watch the game, you just knew they were gonna lose. And they did. Tonight should be better with Paul Maholm on the mound, although the Bucs lineup is going against a pretty good pitcher in Matt Cain (10/FSN).
WHYGAVS has a look back on the first week. The only thing I can definitely agree with is that this is not a 110-loss team... so, deal with that.
BuccoFans has a recap of how the draft prospects did this past week. I got to watch a little bit of Drew Pomeranz's start against Georgia on Friday night (Update: I have no life). He looked really good against some pretty solid competition, my only concern would be his fastball; it doesn't have great velocity (sits in the low-90s and peaks at about 93) and it doesn't generate ground balls. But he's got a smooth delivery, he's a big boy (6'5), and he's got a nice change up and breaking pitch to accommodate his fastball. I tried to think of a good comparison, and the best I could do is Ted Lilly, as he throws across his body a little bit, lands on a stiff front leg, and has a pretty fluid motion.
I would love for some position player to make a move in the next two months and establish themselves as a solid option at #2, but until that happens, we'll have to settle for a much more risky pitcher, and right now for me it would be between Pomeranz and HS RHP Jameson Tailon. Pomeranz doesn't have ace stuff, while Tailon does but is a much riskier pick. Here's a good recap of the Georgia/Miss game from Andy Seiler, who runs a pretty solid draft blog.
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