...if you're not a Steelers fan.
It happens in every sport, and we know it every year. There will only be two teams in the championship game, and of course just one winner. What are the odds our beloved team is in the mix? Don't bet on it.
But that fact takes a different twist when you're at a place like Penn State. It already happened earlier this academic year. The Phillies made an improbable run to the mecca of baseball, the World Series. And actually won, for crying out loud! Maybe that one was a little different. Just a season after notching their 10,000 all-time loss, a World Series win was a nice little gift for the fans of Philadelphia. Hence, the miniature riot on Beaver Avenue. I can handle that.
But then there's this little game going on today. The Steelers are now going for their sixth championship and second in the past four years. There already was a celebration three years ago.
But what are the rest of us supposed to do? The Super Bowl is practically a national holiday. If you're a football fan, you're going to pick a team in the big game even if your team isn't one of them. But let's face it, in a place like this it's not as fun.
We all want our team playing for the Lombardi trophy, but it's salt on the wound when you're literally surrounded by fans of a team that is actually in the Super Bowl. Hence, my experience last night.
Now, I know very well my apartment isn't quiet in the slightest. Weekend or not, there is always people singing/yelling/running in the streets amid the frequent fire trucks passing by. But when my head hit the pillow last night at around 2:30 a.m. I heard that all too familiar beat. "Here we go Steelers, Here we go." And again, and again, and again. Some nearby apartment was excited for "Dem Steez," and they were going to sing all night long. For a while, I thought they were. The chant continued for 15 minutes straight..no joke. Just when I thought it was over, there was that reminder that "Pittsburgh is going to the Superrrr Bowl." I'm sure it helped some of us make the start of the Federer-Nadal Aussie Open at least!
I'm impressed with the enthusiasm, but it's one of the things us out of staters envy. Last year, the Giants won arguably the most unexpected Super Bowl ever. There I was, with my fellow G-Men friends, going crazy. We took to the streets and drove around beeping our horn. But unlike those celebrations for the Steelers three years ago or the Phillies in October, we were practically by ourselves. We even got pulled over because they thought my friend was driving under the influence. No sir, we're sober but drunk with excitement. There were a few Big Blue fans we passed that understood what we were doing, but nothing compared to last night's early celebration.
So that's just a long-winded story for my point. If you're not a Pennsylvania fan, you're forced to be a sore loser. Nearly half this campus is just a reminder your team is not in the Super Bowl. That's why I'm hosting a non-Steelers party and sporting my Eli Manning jersey amid all this black and gold...in memory of the SB that was.
But in the middle of all this, there is one big thing to be thankful for. At least the team on the other side of the Steelers is not the Eagles.
