Perspective - Get Some

As everyone who has ever even laid eyes on me knows: I bleed the Black and Gold. Sometimes that is more fun than at others. Right now is one of the not-so-fun times. They just dropped a critical game against a team that they dominated statistically, and for whom winning is a real rarity lately. On top of that, our two time Super Bowl winning quarterback gets hit in the head (and this is the man who planted his face through a windshield and almost died a few years back), and our veteran, trusted back-up breaks his wrist. Things look dark. I have fought back tears all day. All I have, I keep telling myself, are these Steelers. They are all that are keeping me going. I rely on them. I can't imagine what will happen to me now. Overly dramatic? As Sarah Palin would say, "You betcha!" I wallowed in self-pity like a fat pig in a deep pool of mud. Then I came home tonight and read a comment left on "Steelers Today" Facebook wall. This raving jacka*s is calling for Coach Tomlin's firing, pointing out that Coach Cowher was a better coach (in his opinion) and only missed the playoffs once. Then he committed the Cardinal Sin. He finished by stating that he followed the Steelers more than most of us. I commented back in a less than discreet fashion. Here's the lack of boundaries coming out of me again, I'm afraid. I could have just grumbled a little at how horribly ignorant and probably racist he is, and then move on, but I'm not about to suffer this kind of insult, however. I just cannot allow his ignorance to go unchallenged. Someone had beaten me to the punch on correcting him on the fact that Coach Cowher did in fact miss the playoffs more than once (five times was the answer), but his response was polite overall. I was less polite. I called him both wrong and insane. I did not cuss, but only because I was afraid Mr. Steeler Today would block me if I did. I am livid beyond belief. I mean, c'mon. Let's refresh, shall we? Who are the defending Super Bowl champions? Mmm, that would be: US! Tomlin, in his young career, has not missed the playoffs, and we are still on pace to make them. We may not, but c'mon, who would dare call Jeff Fisher a bad coach and look at the start his team had this year? Greg has pointed out to me since we first met that the degree of separation between the best NFL player and the worst one is pretty minor. There are 1,696 players in the NFL out of 305 million people in the United States. It's a pretty exclusive club. The Chiefs didn't suit up to lose the game. It was a shocking loss, in that I'll agree. But, that's all it was. It wasn't the end of the world. But, you know what, it took that incredible dirtbag to bring me to that realization. My tendency is to hang all my hopes on the Steelers, particularly after all my other little forays out in the world have tweaked my grief rather than helped heal it. But, I was once again reminded that I have to do the work on my own. Big Ben cannot wipe it away for me. Coach Tomlin cannot call a play and make it disappear. So, I guess I should thank Mr. Supreme Jerkface for helping me get some perspective. I can only hope somone does the same for him. (And don't ever tell me you follow the Steelers more than I do - you incredible ignorant bleep!)