Jan 16, 2011 By Amy Revak 3 min read

A tight-knit group of Pittsburgh Steelers fans clad in jerseys and holding terrible towels gathered Saturday afternoon in anticipation of the divisional playoff game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

The scene, which undoubtedly was duplicated in dozens of homes, clubs and bars throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, took place at the BPO Elks Lodge 370 in Uniontown, where the consensus was that the Steelers were going to prevail in the game.

John Czuchan of Uniontown, who was strategically placed at a table in front of a television with his fiancee Stacey Shaffer, said he watches every game at the Elks.

Czuchan, 43, who received a coffee mug for his birthday that features a smiley face and “I take mine black and gold,” said he remembers watching Steelers games with his father decades ago, when his brother had to make sure the antenna was in the right spot so the game was clear. He predicted the Steelers would win with a score of 35-28.

“My dad was a huge Steelers fan,” Czuchan said.

Sitting around the bar, a group of fans quickly came to the consensus that the Steelers would win, although they agreed it would be a tough, physical contest. Because both teams are in the same division, the game marked the third time they met this season, with the regular season ending in one win for each squad.

Charlie Marcinko of Uniontown said the same group of fans gets together and watches football every week.

“Hopefully next week we will be doing the same thing against either the Patriots or the Jets,” Marcinko said.

The winner of the game was to play either the New England Patriots or New York Jets in the AFC championship game for a chance to advance to the Super Bowl.

Dave Fullem, a past exalted ruler and honorary chef of the Elks, said the game isn’t as much a grudge match for the players as it is for the fans. He said the trash talk that comes from the coaches and players makes for better entertainment. Going into their third meeting, each team had scored 27 points. The teams also met three times in the 2008 season, with the Steelers sweeping the regular season meetings and also winning the AFC championship game, defeating the Ravens on their way to winning Super Bowl XLIII.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has called the rivalry the best in football.

“It’s just entertainment, but it’s big dollar entertainment,” Fullem said.

The last time the two teams met, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s nose was broken.

“They are two of the hardest hitting teams and everybody knows it,” Fullem said.

Sitting nearby, Bob Snyder was donning his leather old-time looking helmet in preparation to cheer on his team. He predicted that the game would be close, but he added that he believed the Steelers would win.

As the time for kickoff drew closer, more people filed in to the club to take their places in front of the televisions to cheer their team on to victory.

When the game ended, the Steelers had rallied from a 21-7 deficit to earn a hard-fought 31-24 victory. See you all next week.