ShareThisTuesday morning quarterbacking following the first Sunday in six months without football . . .
Yes, I know the Pro Bowl was played Sunday. And, no, it does not count as football.
They have every reason to be proud in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are, after all, Super Bowl champions for the second time in four years.
There are residents who have begun to refer to the Steel City as "Sixburg," because of the Steelers' sextet of Super Bowl wins, moving them past the Cowboys and 49ers as all-time NFL leaders.
But they also are being pretentious in Pittsburgh, where people are talking about the Steelers as the Team of the Decade.
Those people have short memories and apparently can't count very well.
The Patriots of New England have won three Super Bowls in this decade and came within seconds of winning a fourth. Twice, the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl by upsetting the favored Steelers in Pittsburgh. In 2001, the Steelers had given up the fewest points in the AFC. The Patriots won, 24-17, as Drew Bledsoe came off the bench when Tom Brady was injured late in the second quarter and quickly threw a touchdown pass. In 2004, the Steelers had given up the fewest points in the NFL. The Patriots put up 41 and won by two touchdowns, then went on to win their second straight Super Bowl, their third in four years.
For those of you counting in Pittsburgh, that's three in this decade, to the Steelers' two. The Patriots have been to four Super Bowls in this decade, twice as many as the Steelers. The year the Pats lost the Super Bowl, they went undefeated during the regular season -- only the second team in modern NFL history to accomplish that feat.
In addition, the Patriots nearly went to a fifth Super Bowl, almost upsetting the Colts in Indianapolis in the 2006 AFC championship game.
So that's five AFC championship game appearances, four AFC titles, and three Super Bowl wins in nine years for New England. Pittsburgh has four AFC championship game appearances, two AFC titles, and two Super Bowl wins.
Now, if the Steelers can repeat in 2009, which would be their third title in five years, there at least would be a meaningful discussion as to whether they deserved to be Team of the Decade.
Until then, it's OK to be proud in Pittsburgh, but not pretentious. Anyone who thinks the Steelers, rather than the Patriots, are the Team of the Decade is delirious.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The Providence Journal
