DA STEELERS & KEEPING THE FAITH

Just a few thoughts after reviving some invectives my wife claims she had never heard me utter during a Steeleers game.

I also dare to cover one topic here - poor officiating - only because I do not believe even the long arm of Commissioner Goodell can  reach me in Florida resulting in a subsequent a $50,000 fine - his usual rebuttal to criticism.

Not only was it a great game, but we were able to watch it in the comfort of our home, in front of our big screen TV. No squinting at the small screens in a Dish connected restaurant/bar  with people constantly bumping into you and the volume turned up over your head for some other teams game.

Phyl & I are getting older (not old) and enjoy our creature comforts.We concluded we enjoyed the game mostly for the teamwork displayed by the Steelers not just the privacy.

Now, before someone pops up and says, "Hello! Aren't all football games based on teamwork?" let me try to clarify.

The offensive front line is finally starting to jell. Taking nothing away from both Dwyer and Redman - the runners are getting the holes that were so desperately missing in the first few games. But, of course, it wouldn't make any difference if there were no running backs playing their hearts out to make the extra effort and go above and beyond.

For us, it was the best Steeler game we've watched this year.

Here they are in the recently devastated city of New York - playing a very good team - and again they managed to take with them about 1/4th of the fans in attendance - The Steeler Nation. That can't hurt your team's performance.

Sports is no longer just two teams playing their heart out. The media and the officiating crew do much to control how we see the game play out. That's true whether they seemingly favor their team or yours.

Tha conclusion was abundantly clear to me in the choice of replays CBS made in the directors booth yesterday.

You've got a little runner guy lying on the field unable to get up - and no call made - and you choose not to show the play - over and over - as you do so many others - thus denying the nation of an opportunity to ask, "Why when those two big guys seemed to make helmet to helmet hits on the little guy lying on the ground - did they choose not to call it - or run it on replay?"

Refusing to repeat any showing of that brutal hit - particulary when the NFL Commissioner or one of his sycophants may arguably still have been in attendance - demonstrates TV's desperate influence on the games we watch as
they attempt to influence viewer opinion via sublimation.

In this case, that would be particularly obvious because the network is usually desperately trying to fill time as the severity of the injury is being asessed, an action which takes up several moments of airtime.

However, CBS decided to give us a replacement bon mot  - scenes of players for both teams praying about the CBS forgotten injury.

The Rothlisberger fumble call - which the CBS announcer first strongly disagreed with - was later retracted by him after several replays as he apologized on the air to the official on the field (who couldn't hear him) for his previous trangressions in the booth.

For added emphasis - his  great reverse move was the first audible to be heard when CBS  came back on the air - as he again cleared the officials of any wrong doing.

This conflicted greatly with the conclusion of former head of officials Mike Pererra that it truly was a "bad call". Of course, as I recall, Mike does his "recalls"  for FOX - a competing NFL nework  source.

CBS may be #1 - but, not yesterday.

The clip on Heath Miller during the "fumble" runback?

 Hey, just another oversight by the officials - not a big deal - sort of a "might as well be caught for stealing a sheep instead of a lamb" moment.

This "oversight" only exacerbated the Steeler fans accurate perception that yesterday, "The Force was definitly not with them".

One final note. If the overly compassionate calls by the Refs acknowledging New Yorkers pain had occurred in a Steelers home game after a similar disaster there - how many of us would have spoken up in criticism?

I hope and pray we never find out.

Don't know how much more professional sports disappointment my friend Harry can handle, but I totally agree with his undying support of his home teams. They've given him a lot of pleasure through the years.

NYC is a great town. Their players after-game disappointment that they couldn't complete their appointed mission to lift the spirit of all New York sports fans via a victory,  clearly confirms this.

Hey guys, there's always the Super Bowl.

You go Giants. You go Steelers. But, could we get different officials?