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Oh, and I am a real Steelers fan and I don't "hate the Pats"
I hate the Raiders, hate the Bengals, loathe the Ravens, hate the Cowboys. I also hate every single NY Sports team. I don't hate the Pats. Currently I don't hate the Browns cause that's like hating the slow kid in school. Can't bring myself to do it.
I do however hate all the one way streets in Boston. What a whip if you're from out of town.
I like Kelly's. and loved Fenway when I visited.
I still love Terry Bradshaw.
Dino - nice to hear from the Greatest Fan In The History of Planet Earth! I'm disappointed though; no pictures of your Terry Bradshaw Idol and Temple of Terry? Ha ha, lol . . . Nice to know that there is a Steeler fan that doesn't hate the Pats.
Just to make myself clear, I don't hate the Steelers either. (Though I did lose a lot of respect for Hines Ward, one of the very best all around receivers in the game, when he accused the Pats of cheating because the Pats defense seemed to know the Steelers play calls. That's called preperation and studying game film; the video taping was of defensive (not offensive) signals.)
The Steelers organization is very similar to that of the Patriots. A strong and stable ownership that hires quality management, supports them and allows them to make good football decisions, with an eye on long term goals that keeps the team competitive year after year. Perhaps it is a vocal minority, but it seems to me that most Steeler fans are irrational, close-minded and blinded by their loyalty - and that was the point of my original post.
However, I felt that many of your fellow Steeler fans appear to be overly obsessed with their hatred for the Pats and Pats fans. As Double G pointed out, this is probably due to being blocked from two Super Bowl appearances by the Pats. I know it may be difficult to accept, but the Patriots deserved to win those games. Bill Cowher teams rarely excelled on special teams, and that was the difference in the first AFCCG. Roethlisberger's interceptions were the difference in the other game. Blaming it on stolen defensive signals is not an objective viewpoint and is an attempt to rationalize a shortcoming rather than accept the facts.
(And before I'm accused of being a hypocrite, yes I accept the fact that the Patriots broke the rules. I accept the possibility that it resulted in an unfair advantage, but that is an opinion that is open for debate, and not a fact. The team was punished for the rules violation; end of story.)
I do stand by what I said earlier about your fellow Steeler fans. The comments over there were rather defensive - though nobody had said anything negative, with the exception of one Steeler fan who received a threat from two moderators - and the thread turned in to a Patriots bashing - though no Pats fans had said anything. It appeared that the Steeler fans wanted a fight, didn't get one, so they went out and found this site, and repeated comments written here. With one or two exceptions, the comments here were very tame, full of dry wit and sarcasm. For example, ALP stated "no big deal . . . now if it were a Patriot..." - a very valid observation; yet the Steeler fan 'rolls his eyes' as if the comment has no merit. Bunzoburns joked that Bradshaw "looked pretty jacked up in Cannonball Run" and the Steeler fan takes the comment seriously. Those are examples of what I meant by 'being taken out of context'.
Others have commented previously that this type of hatred is actually a compliment; it is a sign of jealousy and envy. In this case, perhaps Steeler fans are fearful that the Patriots will pick up a fourth and fifth ring over the next few years. Maybe that explains why the Steeler fans focused on the Patriots and didn't bother to see or comment what others were saying, like their division rival Browns and Bengals fans.
Facts are still twisted around, something Pats fans have come to expect. For example, a Steeler fan quotes from this site first. Then, when I responded here, it is the Patriots being obsessed with the Steelers and not the other way around. All in all, I did not find the folks here pointing fingers at Bradshaw; the overall tone of that thread was one of 'no big deal.'
Regarding other fans - I completely agree with you about Raiders, Eagles and Jets fans. Browns fans seem rather fanatical and Falcons fans seem to be badwagoners, but it sounds like you know a lot more about them than I do.
Looking forward to November 30th. Hopefully we can have some intelligent football conversations during the week leading up to that game.