So why is this thread comparing a hockey team to a football team? Because the the Bruins and Steelers have a lot of similarities (beyond just their black and gold colors) in terms of when they joined their professional leagues.
- Bruins fans are very proud of their team’s storied history, longevity, and consistency. That said, Bruins fans would acknowledge that their team is not the most successful franchise in the league.
- Steeler fans are (overly) proud/delusional about their team’s history, which like the Bruins has longevity, ups and downs. Steelers fans, however, cling to the absurd notion that the Steelers are the greatest NFL franchise.
In fact, win or lose the 2019 Stanley Cup, the Bruins (the team with Boston’s fourth most championships) is more successful than the Steelers (the team with the whiny, jealous fans since they’re the only ticket in town that that isn’t a laughing stock...or at least wasn’t until recently). Here’s the basic comparison.
- The Bruins began play in 1924 as a member of The Big Six, which has expanded in the last 100 years, particularly around 1967, which marked the expansion era in hockey.
- The Steelers? This may sound familiar, but they began play in 1933 as part of early NFL (originally the Pirates, soon changed to Steelers), which has expanded around 1967, which marked the expansion era in football.
NFL Championship Ratings (three points for a championship appearance/win, one point for a championship game appearance/loss)
1. Packers 13/5 - 44 points
2. Giants 8/14 - 38 points
3. Bears 9/10 - 37 points
4. Patriots 6/5 - 23 points (Joined 34 seasons after Steelers)
5. Redskins 5/6 - 21 points
6. Steelers 6/2 - 20 points
7. Cowboys 5/3 - 18 points (Joined 27 seasons after Steelers)
8. Browns 4/5 - 17 points (Joined 17 seasons after Steelers)
9. 49ers 5/1 - 16 points (Joined 17 seasons after Steelers)
10. LA Rams 3/6 - 15 points
What are the Steelers? Basically an average club, considering they’ve had doing this for 86 seasons with six titles to show for it. While Super Bowls are harder to get, they missed out on any championships for 40 years because they were terrible. This is not dynastic in any way, and they have a bunch of post-expansion teams breathing down their necks, despite a 45 year head start.
NHL Championship Ratings (three points for a championship appearance/win, one point for a championship game appearance/loss)
1. Canadiens 24/9 - 81 points
2. Maple Leafs 13/8 - 47 points
3. Red Wings 11/13 - 46 points
4. Bruins 6/13 - 31 points
5. Blackhawks 6/7 - 25 points
6. Rangers 4/7 - 19 points
7. Oilers 5/2 - 17 points
8. Penguins 5/1 - 16 points
9. Islanders 4/1 - 13 points
10. Flyers 2/6 - 12 points
Post-Expansion Comparison
From 1967 onward, the Bruins have appeared in nine Stanley Cups, while the Steelers have appeared in eight Super Bowls. The Bruins have won three (possibly four after this one); the Steelers have won six. The Steelers have had more overall success during this timeframe, though their success has been much less consistent, and a fairly slight edge in post-expansion results does not make up for the large gap prior to 1967.
Verdict
The Bruins, a storied franchise though arguably Boston’s fourth most successful team, is a more accomplished franchise than the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh’s pride and joy, which has an erroneous and misleading reputation as anywhere close to the NFL’s most successful. They go as far as to name drop the Steelers among the Yankees (26 titles), Canadiens (24 titles), and Celtics (17 titles). This is again a team with six (mostly tainted) championships in going on 100 years, and among the worst of the NFL’s surviving legacy teams.
Next time a moronic (are there any who aren’t?) Shttsburgh Fan starts talking about the proud black and gold, you might remind this imbecile that the Steelers are not even the best black and gold uniformed club that formed as an original big 4 sports team early last century. And before they start laughably comparing themselves to dynasty teams like the Packers or Canadiens, they have a ways to go to match the success of the Bruins (along with the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox.)
