Last night was the most stressful of football nights to date. The AFC Championship game isn't always stressful to watch...only when the Steelers are in it. And last night was no exception. This year, though, I had not one Steelers fanatic, but two. The superstition was running high in our house too...Craig wanted us all to wear exactly the same clothes we wore last week when they beat San Diego. And, for the most part we did. He drank out of the same mug he drank out of last week, made sure to have his Steelers hat in the same place as it was last week. I even had to change from my jeans to my black sweat pants because that's what I was wearing last week. DD didn't get into the hype...she didn't care about the superstition and just wore what she wanted. Good for her!
Well, it was an exciting game, albeit stressful for any member of the Steeler Nation. Bad calls, missed passes, dumb penalties, and poor clock management made for a not so fun half time in this house. They seemed to step it up in the second half, especially after Baltimore came within 2 of the Steelers then 16 points. An interception by DS's favorite Troy Polamalu put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, and this house was electric...until Ravens running back Will McGahee went down in a crazy blow by Steelers Ryan Clark, who got up dazed and confused himself. The crowd was fairly silent, as was our house. It was really cool to see members of both teams out on the field supporting the downed player, fervently praying for him and that he would be OK. Ray Lewis was probably one of the most touching, remaining seemingly motionless on one knee while the trainers and medical personnel tended to his fall ed teammate. It was an awesome sight to see him grasp hands with one of his teammates as they carted him off the field. Praise the Lord that everything appears to be headed in a good direction.
If there's one thing that will never get easier for me to watch, no matter which team it is, is to watch life - or the game - go on after witnessing a near tragic incident like that one. McGahee could have been seriously injured...Praise God he wasn't. And yet, he lost the ball -i.e. fumbled it - and the Steelers recovered the fumbled ball. And the game goes on. I have never figured out how they do it...how do the players just put all that happened literally seconds ago behind them and go on as if nothing happened?
In the end, though, the Steelers won and they are headed to their seventh Superbowl. Polamalu's number is 43 and it was his interception that sealed their fate and their attendance in Super Bowl 43. So, for the next two weeks, Craig and DS will be on cloud nine and then around 6:00 on Feb. 1st, our house will once again be filled with grunts and groans and hoops and hollers depending on how the Steelers play.
And what about DS? Well, she sat at the table for most of the game coloring and making cards for friends...even making an "easy reader book" for one of the little girls in our small group who is learning how to read. Craig told her that if the Steelers got into the Super Bowl, he might have to buy her a TV...it would be in our room, but it would be for her to watch while the rest of the world is watching the Super Bowl. Poor thing...football is not her number one!
So, Go Steelers. At least I get a couple weeks of calm :)!
2 comments:
Don't you mean DD was coloring and wearing her own clothes? I can't see DS missing such an important game like this.
You are so right! In fact a friend had to remind us to remind DS that it really is just a game. Of course, we need to remind Craig about that too!
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