Detroit picks Pittsburgh"
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 1082/COL01
MITCH ALBOM: Motor City quickly turns to Steel City
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
January 25, 2006
Not to rush things, but we've already picked our team.
In fact, less than five minutes after the Super Bowl foes were
determined, Detroit had its mind made up.
We're going with Pittsburgh,
We like Pittsburgh.
We are Pittsburgh.
"Who do you think is gonna win?" fans here ask me.
"Pittsburgh," I say.
"YES!" they say.
That is not a normal reaction for the Motor City, which, last
time I looked, was not located in Pennsylvania.
But the Steelers are clearly Detroit's choice, and if you pushed
me to give you one good reason, I'd hem and I'd haw, then I'd give you
100.
The first 50 are Jerome Bettis. He is from Detroit. He went to
school in Detroit. His parents live in Detroit. He eats. He smiles. He
knocks people over.
He's as close as we get to a Lion in the Super Bowl. Besides,
Bettis cemented his favorite son status on the sidelines Sunday, when he
screamed, "We're going home!" We are not used to people being that
excited about a trip to Detroit. Usually, it's, "Aw, do we have to?"
We like Jerome Bettis.
We are Jerome Bettis.
But there's more.
We're for facial hair and a prominent chin
Ben Roethlisberger is our kind of quarterback. He grew up in the
Midwest, he played in the MAC, and he looks like a hockey enforcer. He's
big, the way we grow 'em around here, and he's shaggy, the way we like
'em around here.
Ben's beard? We like Ben's beard. Remember unshaven Kirk Gibson
during the 1984 World Series? Remember the bearded Red Wings when they
finally won the Stanley Cup?
We like Ben's beard.
We are Ben's beard.
Then there's Bill Cowher. Are you kidding me? He's the football
coach this town has been coveting for the last 30 years. We want them
tough. We want them angry. We want Bill Cowher, but we keep getting
Marty Mornhinweg, which makes us want Bill Cowher even more.
No offense, but if kidnapping were legal, we'd lock Cowher in
Ford Field and force him to coach the Lions this year.
Then there's the city.
Pittsburgh is a blue-collar town. Detroit is a blue collar-town.
Pittsburgh is a union town. Detroit is a union town. Pittsburgh makes
steel. Detroit makes cars that are made of steel.
They're on three rivers. We're on a river and a lake.
It snows there. It snows here.
No offense, Seattle, but we can't get a city that doesn't have a
hockey team.
We're against colors with funny names
Did we mention ownership? The Steelers have the kind of
ownership Detroit fans dream about. One family. One name. One old man
passing it down to his kids.
That's the way we do it. Only when Pittsburgh does it, the name
is Rooney, and it produces four Super Bowl championships. When Detroit
does it, the name is Ford, and it produces squat.
We like Pittsburgh's ownership.
We want Pittsburgh's ownership.
Seattle's ownership baffles us. A computer billionaire? That's a
Pacific Northwest thing. So are Seattle's colors. We like Pittsburgh's
colors, yellow and black. The colors of a traffic sign. Seattle wears
teal, or sea green, or some shade belonging to the marine world. That
works for them. But we don't know from the marine world. We don't know
from Seahawks. We named one of our franchises after a car part
(Pistons). So we can relate to a team named after a building material.
The Steelers are our choice. We have adopted them as if they
were our own. Come next week, Detroit will feel like a home game for
Pittsburgh.
But Seattle fans shouldn't feel bad.
After all, it's not as if the home team at Ford Field has done a
lot of winning.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or
malbom@freepress.com.
Copyright (c) 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.
who could forget that stint?