Steelers Display the Heart of a Champion

There are moments when champions define and separate themselves from their competitors. Sunday night in Baltimore was such a moment for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On a night when the Steelers had every conceivable excuse to quit, they battled to the very end. With injuries, officials, and their toughest rivals stacked against them, the Steelers refused to succumb to defeat. In the most critical of moments, under the most intense pressure, the Steelers prevailed, against all odds.

I can not possibly overstate the importance of this victory. Physically, emotionally, and in the standings, it was the game of the year. We’ve known that since the hard fought last second loss in Pittsburgh in early October. This was an absolute must win game.

I will never give up the Steelers; I learned that lesson in 2005. At the same time, let’s be honest. Going the wild card route to a Super Bowl is tenuous under the best of circumstances. For a team as beat up as the Steelers, in a year with so much parity in the AFC, a first round bye would be an enormous advantage.

If the Steelers lost tonight, they were stuck going the wild card route. Now the division and a first round bye is a very real expectation.

That’s certainly a critical part of it. The other part was that the Steelers needed to step up with a signature victory in a significant game. To do so with a dramatic late game victory, spurred on by their defense was a potential season changing moment. To do it on the road, against their biggest and most physical rival…well that’s how championship teams come together.

Yes, this was a sloppy, ugly victory. I could write a 5,000 word blog on all the errors, physical and mental, that were made in this game. The Steelers made some ugly mistakes including three different brainless special teams’ gaffes. The offense struggled for 60 minutes to string together successful drives.

In other words, it was just another Steelers/Ravens battle, especially in Baltimore.

Prior to kickoff tonight I reminded Emily of what she already knows; what all Steeler fans know. Steelers/Ravens games are low scoring, incredibly physical affairs that come down to the last moments. It happens every game between these brutally physical rivals. There has not been a more violent and physical rivalry in the NFL since the Steelers and Oakland in the 70s.

And as is so often the case, when it really mattered, the Steelers showed more heart and character than their loud mouthed division rivals to the south.

There are certain things in sports that can not adequately be measured. Heart and character are at the top of that list. The Steelers consistently display championship heart. I will take that in a second over Peyton Manning’s arm or Adrian Peterson’s legs. No team in sports has consistently displayed more heart and character than the black and gold over the last 20 years.

I’m sure the critics will be all over Bruce Arians tomorrow for the offensive struggles. So be it. I’m sure Steeler fans will be up in arms about another 60 minute miscarriage of officiating justice. It is what it is.

Once again the Steelers proved what I always say about great teams in sports. Champions simply find a way to win. I’ve said it in many forms but the quote, “winners win, losers blame the ref” seems especially apropos these days.

The Steelers offensive line, a weak unit to begin with is continually devastated by injuries. They lost their punter. Their quarterback has a broken foot and suffered a broken nose. The officials flat out whiffed on two horrific personal foul calls, one of which cost the Steelers a critical player in Heath Miller. The opponent is the most devastatingly physical and impressive defensive team’s in football, except for the Steelers of course.

And the Steelers won. Champions find a way.

Honestly, this is the most impressed I’ve been with a Pittsburgh team since the Penguins beat Detroit in games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Those were ugly games as well. Like those games, tonight was not about making pretty or stylish plays. It was about the willingness to battle non stop until the final whistle. A willingness to endure pain and injustice for 60 brutal minutes and persevere to victory. A willingness to go beyond the limits of human endurance, simply to win a football game.

It may seem trite to non football fans. To the Steeler Nation, it’s a thing of beauty.

This game was the ultimate embodiment of Pittsburgh Steeler football. A victory only true members of the Steeler nation can understand and enjoy. Let the critics bash the coaches and the refs if they want. Let Trent Dilfer mock the game as a comedy of errors on TMZSPN. Let New England and New Orleans call it ugly football.

I call it Pittsburgh Steeler football, at its best. I call it the heart of a champion. Criticize Mike Tomlin if you want but I continue to believe he is a leader of men. He sets the tone for his team. No excuses, find a way to win. It’s what separates the Steelers from so many other franchises. The goal of every game is to win at all costs, under any circumstances.

I can not overstate my pride in this performance, ugly as it was. When Joe Flacco’s final pass hit the turf, I round myself stomping around my condo, screaming with pride. I have not been this fired up about the Steelers since Santonio’s catch in the end zone in Tampa. All I could think, just as it appears on this paper was, HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO !!!

Kudos to Big Ben. For those who continue to worship one dimensional fantasy football QBs that put up stats when they don’t matter, Ben once again showed what QB play is all about. I don’t care what people think about Ben as a person; on the field he is a leader of men. If a 300 pound man punched me in the face and broke my nose, I would leave work for a week. And of course I would not be there to start with given a broken foot. That we tend to take this for granted shows how spoiled we’ve become by our QB.

Keep in mind that when plays had to be made, Ben made them. And as is so often the case in this rivalry, the overrated Flacco did not. Give me Peyton Manning in the first quarter in October; give me Big Ben in the 4th quarter in December.

Kudos to Issac Redman for not being denied. There are times when the only acceptable result is the end zone. Redman absolutely should have been tacked on the five yard line. He simply wanted it more than the Ravens.

Kudos to the defense. This was the signature performance that was so often missing last season. It was without question their best game since Tennessee. It was a statement performance by a group of men tired of being pushed around by the hypocritical NFL stance on physical football. Kudos to James Harrison for ignoring the six figure hit to his pocketbook and playing dominant physical football. Kudos to Troy Polamalu for once again showing that he is the best game changing defender in the NFL.

Kudos to Shaun Suisham. Instead of a fat tub of goo kicker that whines about his contract and the grass, we now have a man who makes kicks without excuses. Suisham’s job punting tonight should be remembered as one of the critical performances of this season. If not for the two aforementioned brainless plays on special teams, he would have twice pinned the Ravens inside the five. Welcome to the Steeler Nation Shaun.

Most important, kudos to a team that has been persecuted by the league and the officials for weeks, overcoming two horrific officiating mistakes. There is not a sane football fan on earth who can explain the personal foul calls against Harrison the last two weeks and explain missing the helmet to helmet shot on Heath Miller. And if Tom Brady were punched in the face by a 300 pound linemen, the NFL would call in a SWAT team and the Navy Seals.

I’m angry, you’re angry, the entire Steeler Nation is angry. The players and coaches are angry. And behind the leader of men that is Mike Tomlin, they overcome and win. I spent most of the game lamenting key mistakes that should have cost the Steelers the game. In the end, all I can remember is this phenomenal display of the heart of a champion.

I don’t know if the Steelers will win the Super Bowl, but they are champions at heart. Tonight was yet another reminder of why I’m so proud to be a lifelong, card carrying member of the Steeler Nation. There is simply nothing on earth like the black and gold.

Every game against Baltimore is the ultimate battle of attrition. They are games that most players and most teams simply could not handle. Somehow, someway the Steelers find a way, time after time to be the better team. I can’t explain it or quantify it, but I can define it. Simply put, it’s the heart of a champion.