Feb 13, 2011 3 min read

Here we go

It was a script we’d seen before: Ben Roethlisberger and the offense on the field, with two minutes to go and a deficit to overcome. The world’s biggest stage – millions of eyeballs – giddy or terrified, depending on the partisan, at the potential for a game-winning drive to capture another Super Bowl ring.

But while Big Ben was able to engineer a 78-yard drive to win Super Bowl XLIII on a spectacular catch by Santonio Holmes in 2009, the Steelers’ comeback bid was no fairy tale this year. As Roethlisberger’s final pass landed on the turf, the City of Champions’ hopes at another ring came crashing down with it.

The Green Bay faithful rejoiced. Steeler Nation went into mourning.

The loss was a painful one – as it is any time you come so close to victory. Making matters worse was the Steelers seemed fated to overcome a terrible first half – did the team play a complete 60 minutes all playoffs? – and had captured the momentum by slicing away at what was at one point an 18-point deficit.

But then came The Fumble. It’s easy to blame running back Rashard Mendenhall for coughing up the ball on the first play of the fourth quarter, and “costing” the team the game. But while Mendenhall’s fumble resulted in a Green Bay score, it accounts for only seven of a total of 21 points the team gave up on turnovers. It’s difficult for any team to have a chance when you give up 21 points. That the Steelers had a chance to win the game at the end is a testament to their Super stuff.

So while the script wasn’t written as perfectly for the Steel City this year, it’s hard to ignore the success of the Black and Gold. After all, this is the team that wasn’t supposed to be here, not with their quarterback starting the season on a four-game suspension. Heck, making the playoffs wasn’t a given in most people’s books.

So, while there will be no ticker tape parades, no trophy presentations or Trip to Disney commercials for the Steelers, the season was still a great success. It’s painful to make it to the Super Bowl and lose – especially considering our city’s lack of experience with disappointment in championship games – but just remember that there are 30 other NFL cities who would’ve been quite happy to change places with Pittsburgh.

We’ve gotten a little spoiled as Steelers fans, with three trips to the Big Game in six years. But it never ceases to amaze us to see Steeler fans of all stripes – young, old, rich, poor, male, female – don the Black and Gold and wave the Terrible Towel. Friends and family get together, from some great distances away, just to share in the experience of cheering on the Steelers together. Even out here, we were all Pittsburghers.

It’s a wonderful feeling.

Perhaps that’s why so many former Pittsburghers are such strident fans – the sense of community, of togetherness and of being part of the fabric of the city reconnects those who no longer live here with their old stomping grounds.

So while we’re disappointed that this year didn’t bring the seventh Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh, we join other Steelers fans in thanking the Black and Gold for a exciting season – sometimes too exciting – and for reminding us all that community doesn’t always have geographic boundaries.