The Pittsburgh Steelers were again eliminated from Super Bowl contention. So who should you root for in the big game?
Another year, another Lombardi Trophy that has failed to reach its true home. The Pittsburgh Steelers will now try again in 2018 to bring home a championship that has been on the back of Pittsburgh milk cartons since the 2008 season. Although some may still be harping over the Steelers divisional round loss to the Jaguars, it’s a sure-fire bet we’ll all be tuning in on Super Bowl Sunday.
The 2018 Super Bowl provides a slight dilemma for Steelers fans, as both the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will battle for the right to call themselves world champions, which isn’t exactly ideal for the proud people of Pittsburgh.
New to “Steelers Country”? Allow me to fill you in.
You see, the cities of Boston and Philadelphia don’t exactly exert warm, fuzzy feelings into people from the steel city. To people from Pittsburgh, Philly is the annoying, loud-mouth little brother of the family who hasn’t won anything. You don’t necessarily hate their teams (alright, maybe the Flyers) but man, does that city get to talking when success swings their way.
The city of Boston, on the other hand, can only be compared to the rich kid on the block that gets whatever they desire. Is it slight jealousy? Perhaps. But man, when the rich get richer, you can only sit back and shake your head. Given the success of all four sports franchises in Boston, Steelers fans can agree another championship delivered by the Patriots is the last thing that town needs.
Two cities, two fan-bases that can, and likely will, cause headaches if they should win. So who should you, as a Steelers fan, root for come February 4th?
Unfortunately, ties are not in play for this game, ruling out the possibility that nobody can walk away happy from this. Either one of two scenarios happen: The Patriots tie the Steelers with a sixth Super Bowl victory, or the Eagles notch their first ever Lombardi trophy. The overall consensus would be to root against New England for many reasons, but for the sake of this article and playing devil’s advocate, we’ll play along and take a look at both sides.
Cheering on Rocky
Cheering on the Eagles? You’ll be joined alongside the rest of America. New England is, for lack of better term, every evil villain in every movie ever made. Can Philadelphia properly play the role of hero like their beloved Rocky? The bright side of the Eagles bringing home a championship is the Patriots will still have yet to tie the Steelers in Super Bowl wins, so why not keep it in the Pennsylvania family? Besides, we all could use a good cheese-steak every now and then.
We saw what the city was capable of doing when they blew out the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. Climbing up greased-up poles, running into Subway columns, and earning bonus points by turning the “Skol” chant into a “Foles” chant during the game.
SAVAGE. @Eagles fans doing the Skol chant, but they're saying "Foles" 😮 https://t.co/ne4AZZyQyA
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 22, 2018
Should the Eagles pull off the upset, who knows what we’re bound to see. Awesome celebrations? Legendary internet memes? If you can promise the Steelers fan base Brady losing, it just might be worth the little brother finally winning one.
Being un-patriotic and cheering on the Patriots
If you’re from Pittsburgh and your hatred for the Flyers bleeds into other sports, this section of the article is for you. Boston is home to seafood, the Boston Tea Party, and quite possibly the greatest quarterback/coach duo that will ever set foot on a football field. To the spite of 31 other teams, the Patriots seemingly have a stranglehold on the league, and if you’re the type to root for the dark side in Star Wars movies, this is definitely the team for you.
Benefits of the Patriots winning another Super Bowl? Not very many, but there are a few. Should they win, the possibility of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady retiring would be entertaining enough in its own right for Steelers fans to watch it happen. Additionally, the Pats would move down a whopping one spot in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, going from 31 to 32 (that would be just a little less salt in the wound).
So why should you pull for New England? To be honest, there’s not very many positives that go along with pulling for the Patriots. But if cheering against your in-state rival is your cup of tea, feel free to join the tea party in Boston. If you can’t beat em, root for em, right?
Final Decision
By now, you have formed your own opinion and rooting interests for Super Bowl LII. More than likely, your natural instinct is to root against New England. Congratulations! You have rightfully joined alongside your brothers and sisters in black and gold. There are rare cases where rooting for the Patriots is needed. However, this is not one of them.
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Conference Championship edition
In order to preserve the privileged right of being the team with the most Super Bowls (Six, that’s two hands) rooting against New England is necessary. Rooting for Philly shows far more benefits for not only Steelers fans everywhere, but for the rest of the country as well. So take on some Pennsylvania pride, buy a dog mask, follow Joel Embiid on Twitter, whatever you deem necessary to turn yourself into a make-shift Eagles supporter come that faithful day.
Why root against the Patriots? Because Jesse James caught it, that’s why.