THE BLACK AND GOLD POST

What else can you say. A team that was picked by many “experts” to win six, maybe 7 games is on top of the league. A team that was a 40-1 pick before the season to win the Super Bowl is now a 4-1 favorite. A team who many said “didn’t play anybody” for the first 6 weeks went out and thoroughly thrashed the best the NFL had to offer in successive weeks. So much for the experts. Is any true fan really surprised? If it were up to me, the Steelers would be undefeated every year. I never go into a game thinking we’re going to lose. It’s just not part of the thought process.

Looking back, while nobody thought that Big Ben would have the tremendous impact that he’s had in his first season (and don’t say that you saw it coming), the other needs for last year’s 6-10 squad were addressed. Out with Mike Mularkey and in with Ken Whisenhunt and a re-emphasis on the running game. The Bus goes goal line and Duce Staley becomes the workhorse. Out with Tim Lewis and in with Dick LeBeau and “Blitzburgh” is once again a commonplace term. Major overhauls in the defensive secondary and linebacker corps. Second and third year players on both sides of the ball stepping up and not just contributing but making a difference. Even Heinz Field itself has lost that new, clean, almost antiseptic atmosphere and is now as loud and intimidating to the opposition as Three Rivers Stadium ever was.

While there’s still a lot of football to be played and anything can happen over the course of the remaining season, one thing will remain clear: IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE A PITTSBURGH STEELERS FAN.

If anyone questions where this 2004 Steelers season was turned around, without a doubt it was in Miami. After ducking a little Hurricane Saturday afternoon both the PSFCOB contingent and the Steelers regrouped and made a statement that nothing would stop them. When the 2nd quarter torrential rains drove Dolphins fans for cover and their players were more concerned about getting their toezies wet than winning a football game, the elements were just right for the Steelers and their fans. You can bet the Steelers chants heard at Pro Players Stadium throughout the game and especially during the rains originated in section 419. The PSFCOB had withstood an unbelievable 24 hour ordeal but, come kickoff, were standing in unison leading the Steelers Nation to victory.

To say that all did not go as planned is an understatement. After a great Friday Happy Hour at Pussers (the only thing that went as planned) the fan club awoke Saturday morning to find out the hotel was being evacuated. Everyone had to find their own refuge. When Hurricane Jeanne veered slightly to the north on Saturday the game was rescheduled for Sunday night and those still in Florida returned to the DoubleTree, boarded the PSFCOB bussed about 3:30PM tailgated and won. Although not everyone who signed up for the trip were able to get to Florida or make the game, about two thirds of the group did. A job well done goes out to all.

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