This belated pic is dedicated to Bob, who has rooted for the Colts and Colts alone for each of his four decades on Earth, who had Minette IM me that "Wow, the Steelers really suck" during the first Steelers/Colts game last year.
I'm presently eatin' pizza and listening to the radio broadcast of the Steelers/Indy playoff game. Life is good. I'm enjoying it a helluva lot more than I did the first time. No one enjoys winning in the post-season less than I do.
My Seattle friends generally react with confusion or amusement to this. I find late-season football to be utterly nerve-wracking. And the better my team does, the more frayed my nerves become. I never want them to lose, mind you, but winning streaks make me positively twitchy with anxiety. The longer they win, the longer I'm living with the certainty that they're about to break my heart again. Which they will.
"Jeez," someone will doubtlessly write. "Ohio State and the Steelers have each won a championship in the last three years. Shut up already." True enough. But before those championships, they went a combined 61 years without one, and I remember all 61 disappointments. In sports as in love, heartbreak is cumulative. As the Steelers advanced last year, friends would call and offer a shoulder. "I'm sorry your team won. I can only imagine how rough it must be for you."
"Gah!" I would reply.
But right now, things are all still pleasant promise. Only 54 days until the ulcers kick off.