HSS Reports: On the Scene at XLIII

SteelerBill used his HSS credentials to get behind-the-scenes access for Super Bowl XLIII. Okay, not really. He just bought a ticket and showed up in Tampa. Either way, good stuff:

Saturday - day of arrival:

• I've never seen so many Steeler fans in my life - which made several people remark "they don't all have tickets do they?"
• For the record, you cannot get in to the Super Bowl store without first paying for the NFL Experience;
• We were number 3,000 in line (at least) at the NFL Experience on Saturday before deciding not to go in...think of it as Disney World minus the lines actually moving;
• Funny comment from Steeler fan to Cardinal fan - "...what do you think? Pretty fun huh? This is our 7th time..."
• Went to Channelside on Saturday night - went to some bar called the 'Hut'. They were completely overwhelmed even though it was not that crowded;
• Overheard the owner telling a couple of locals that the Steeler fans were like 'cockroaches'...
• Saw a lot of Eagle and Bucs fans, very few Cardinal fans
• We went to the Black and Gold (Bay area) Tailgate party on game day at O'Briens ... saw Jim Wexell (nice sunglasses Jim), Louis Lipps, and the ESPN Radio 1250 crew - I tried to make my way over to Jim, but lost track of him;
• Some random fan that was over-served kept yelling Lou...Lou...
• Several black and gold cars in the parking lot - many of which drove down from Pittsburgh
  - SteelerDawn cannot believe the amount of black and gold I own, I have nothing on most people there - including a guy that wore a Construction hat with two Iron city bottled beers in the shape of the Lombardi trophy;
• While the ESPN Radio crew waxed poetic - people were out in the parking lot tailgating for a tailgate - most playing the Steeler Polka and Here we Go;
• Best jersey at the tailgate - Joe Gilliam;
• En route to the Stadium from O'Briens we witnessed Steeler fans parked and tailgating outside of a 7-11, McDonalds and a Strip Club (I'm not kidding);
• I should note that I wore my Tomlin "Yes We Can" t-shirt on Saturday and was stopped at least 15 times asking where I bought it - on game day the normally reserved Lawyer Phil wore the "SilverBack will f* you up" t-shirt and was well received (I went with Big Ben jersey);
• Standing on the corner getting ready to go to the stadium a Cardinal fan opined "I can see us getting a fast start and putting up 42 today...." He was serious...
• It took about 45 minutes to walk to the entrance to the stadium - the security was tight but moved pretty quickly;
• Had the pleasure of standing in line next to a very over served 40-50 something year old Ravens fan. His comment "I know how it will go Ben will scramble blah blah blah, throw a TD pass..blah blah blah...I hate him..."
  
• There are apparently standing room only seats available for Bucs games but for the Super Bowl bleachers were added.

More later...

As promised. SteelerBill sends this along:

Not to steal from Adam - but here are some thoughts from Section 313

• Took us a little while to get to our seats - I heard a few Bucs Season Ticket holders commenting about how they had 'reconfigured the stadium' (never did get clarification on that);
• On the way in we could hear President Obama speaking;
• The atmosphere, as summed up by Lawyer Phil was like 'St. Patrick's Day meets Oktoberfest';
• The crowd is overwhelmingly Steeler fans (except our section which housed about 50 Cardinal season ticket holders;
• "Here we Go Steelers" chants started every couple of minutes and were very popular in the Men's room (can't speak for the Women's rest rooms);
• Suddenly had a case of the pre-game nerves and no desire to eat;
• The night before it was cool almost cold (relatively speaking) so I dressed for it - by the time we made it to our seats it was hot;
• Wow! Was my first thought when we took our seats;
• I must have said 'we are at the Super Bowl' at least five times;
• Once in our seats both of us could be heard saying to no one in particular "there's Troy...there's Ben..." and then yelling for some reason "there's Silverback!"
• America the Beautiful by Faith Hill followed by Jennifer Hudson's National Anthem invoked a few tears around us;
• The Fly Over was amazing - I couldn't snap the picture fast enough - and the fireworks scared the hell out of most people (several folks jumped);
• Oh and at half time we were instructed to shine our flash lights (Provided by the NFL) at the stage;
• The Stadium announcer told us when we were going live to NBC - the Towels went nuts (did you see it?);
• The Cards win the toss - the Cards fans around us lost their minds - the Cards deferred and we smiled quietly;
• Prior to Ben's opening completion to Hines - the Steeler fans in our section screamed "Hines!! Hines is open!!" Followed by several jubilant expressions - I yelled "who needs a knee??"
• Men/Sarah...they do not show many replays in the Stadium - thus we had no clue if Ben was in - cell phones were going nuts at that point to see what happened;
• Oh by the way, the Cards were fighting with Hines from the start - several times hitting him after the play;
• At one point during a commercial, Coach T was half way out on the field in the face of the refs (I'm pretty confident he was upset about the extra-curricular stuff);
• The Stadium announcer was decidely in favor of the Cards - when they got a first down he screamed 'First Down Cardinals'....most people noticed and commented on it;
• When Berger was run over - one Card fan pulled out his wallet and asked how much we paid the refs - I returned fire "act like you've been there before - he ran over the holder...."
• Umm guy's...when Silverback picked that thing off I could not hear myself think - and kept looking at the clock to see if we would be out of time to score if he were to get tackled;
• I have not watched the game on TV yet, but Tomlin ran out on the field to hug Silverback;
• After that Lawyer Phil was loving his shirt;
• Everyone in the stadium was in a good mood - I've never seen such a friendly football crowd;
• The crowd was buzzing up 20-7 but still nervous about a possible come back - the Cards fans were down;
• During every break they played Best Plays and Highlights from the year - each time a Raven was shown (Ed Reed, Ray Ray, Joe Flacco) the crowd booed;
• Once the Cards took the lead the Cards fans were nuts (rightfully so) - and then began chanting 'Here we go Cardinals....' - I no longer find them lovable losers - they are annoying;
• Lawyer Phil was not concerned;
• After the initial holding call on the last drive - the Steeler fans around us made non-printable comments about the O-Line;
• The best way to describe being in the stadium during Santonio's catch - well it's still a blur...when Ben threw it I thought it was picked (keep in mind that I was on the exact opposite corner of the stadium)...then all I saw was Terrible Towels that started in that corner of the end zone and moved toward us like a rolling Tidal Wave;
• Everyone around us thought it was Hines (he was the only person we saw on the ground that we could see);
• It would be an understatement to say it was 'deafening' in there - it literally became a gold blur of Terrible Towels and people screaming - not sure I've seen that many men hug before...seriously;
• After the game we stuck around for the post-game presentation - did they show Tomlin's comments? That's the most fired up I've ever seen the guy;
• We raced toward the Super Bowl Store for 'special Sixburgh jersey's....ummm everything with the hint of black and gold on it was sold out;
• The trip ended well - breakfast at Denny's in Lakeland, FL surrounded by fellow Steeler fans discussing the game - the locals were not amused.
  

Lord Have Mercy on My Soul

That game took five years off my life. I'm pretty sure it was worth it. By the way, can you imagine where this franchise would be if they had drafted Chad Jackson back in '06?

I guess we should consider this an unofficial '09 draft thread, too, although I have a good idea of what the team needs might be. But no BA bashing, please. Act like you've been there before.

Oh, and a few more things...

• This just went up at FanHouse;
• RE: Hartwig hold. It was definitely questionable, but the Steelers were taking the safety had Big Ben not converted on third down. He did convert, of course, but maybe it was payback for the 2nd-down play, when FWP looked like he might've been dropped in the end zone. Whatever, I'm fine with how it worked out; it's one less thing people can whinge about. Theoretically, anyway.
  

Game Thread, Super Bowl XLIII: Arizona Cardinals

Smokey, my friend, you are entering a world of pain.

Waitin' till 6:30

Feel free to use this thread to talk about anything that happens in the eight hours of pregame coverage. I'll put up the game thread around 6:15 PM ET.

Longest Week Ever

God, the wait is brutal. I actually taped NFL Network's eight hours of coverage yesterday and fast-forwarded through, well, eight hours of it.

Just a thought from someone who doesn't know anything about producing live teevee shows: DON'T LET EVERYBODY SCREAM AT THE SAME TIME. Seriously, Warren Sapp was actually more useless than usual because he just talked over everyone. Learned a lot there.

In less angry news: I talked to Matt Ryan yesterday and he was both swell and smart.

And a little something to get you pumped up, courtesy of ELSM (Ugh. When ELSM e-mailed me the pic below, it was animated. Now, not so much. I blame Blogger. Either way, you'll have to pretend there's a waving Terrible Towel. You feel pumped, right? Right?!):

Go

Before we're all beat about the head with mindless, non-stop Super Bowl coverage, here's a look back at a simpler time. A time when the jerk who writes this blog actually used to, you know, write: the 2005 season, through the unbiased prism of HSS. Good times, indeed.

And if you're looking for more stuff to point and gawk at, here ya go.

One more thing: I have no idea who thinks the BCS is a swell idea (other than those guys getting rich off it), but here's something else to keep you from doing any work today.

You Are Still Cleveland to Us and You Still Stink

Thanks to pr9000 for sending me the link to this gem. Carry on.

Troy Might Make Something of Himself

(via PPG)

Two things:

* First, I had a couple people send me this pic, but with the explicit instructions not to post till after the game.

* Second, I'm not gonna lie: I was pretty uptight when the Ravens had the ball with six minutes to go. Right up until Troy Polamalu, like he seemingly always does, took over.

Game Thread, AFC Conference Championship: Baltimore Ravens

Go time, peeps. (And just in case: by the power of Kyle Boller, I compel thee...)

Maybe Rex Ryan Can Play OLB This Weekend

Randomness:

* Thanks to Joe Esposito for the link to Savran and Alexander on Sportsbeat. Best line: "Yeah, that bad boy ended up in court."

* Also, I love Rex Ryan's comments here. No idea why he's making them, but, hey, stay classy, Baltimore!

* Also, even if Terrell Suggs plays, I can't imagine he'll be doing much.

* Finally, fantastic Chargers-Steelers photo is courtesy of pr9000. Thanks, sir.

Raucous Goobers Rule Our World

First, raucous goober might be the most fitting description ever for Philip Rivers. Kudos to you, FW. Second, in the time it took you to read this, Mark Kriegel just killed another puppy with the machete he hides in his trench coat. And lastly, thanks to Sarah for the pic above. You can actually see Gretz's seat from there. (522, baby! See end zone, look just to the right of the little white camera shack, and you can virtually hear Gretz yelling at aforementioned raucous goober.)

Big Ben Should Get Concussed Every Week

See David Brent there? That was me during the second half. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

In other, more important news: Godspeed, Huck.

And Sarah, if you want, send me your pics and I'll post them up.

Game Thread, AFC Divisional Round: San Diego Chargers

Dear Big Ben,

Please don't play like you were recently concussed. Thanks in advance.

- me

And because it's Sunday (thanks to Huck for digging this up):

And the Lord spoketh unto Ben, and he said, "First, thou shalt take the snap. Then thou shalt take a 5-step drop, no more, no less. 5 shall be the steps thou shalt take, and the number of steps thou shalt take will be 5. 1 thou shalt not take, neither thou 3, excepting that thou then proceed to 5. 7 is right out. Once the step 5, being the 5th step reached, then lobbest thou thy football away from thy foe, who, being not within reach, shall be smited.

- Sepulverizer, Nov. 30, 2007

Amen, people. Amen.

Look at the Size of That Boy's Head

(If you're so inclined, start around the 1:30 mark)

Well, in a completely unsurprising development, Big Ben has made his bulbous head the main story heading into the playoffs. I was actually talking to Gretz about this via e-mail, and he pointed out what I think most of us assume to be true: Roethlisberger loves drama, particularly when it sets him up for one of those "I told you so" moments.

And while I willingly accept most of the Roethlisberger-ian silliness that comes along with the stellar quarterbackin', sometimes I think he'd just be better off saying nothing. Between the broken toes (that weren't really broken according to Cowher), to the Thumb Gate to the latest news that his GINORMOUS head won't fit in the team-issued helmet ... well, let's just say I could do without the media coverage that will surely follow this story. (It's already started!?)

In any event, he's playing (although, frankly, I have no idea how a dude with a swollen noggin has been medically cleared to get pummeled by a bunch of fat guys for three hours). And here's to hoping he plays way. For obvious reasons (I wouldn't mind the Steelers winning), and selfish ones (I don't feel like whinging about Roethlisberger's various ailments costing this team the season).

And count me among those who'd love to see Baltimore come to town next week, Lord willing.

Bring on Norv, Phil

Let me just say that I'm glad the Steelers were the No. 2 seed. I'm perfectly capable of admitting I'd rather they face the Chargers/Miami over the Ravens/Colts. In any event, San Diego looked pretty nifty against Indy, and I don't think being without LdT will affect what they do (they've won plenty without him).

Of course, my "Will Pittsburgh win" summations always come down to this: if Big Ben avoids dumb turnovers, I like their chances a lot. Insightful, I know.

Don't See This Every Day

Here's something I never expected to hear from the national media: the Steelers' secondary is among the best in the league. I mean, casual observers know about Troy Polamalu, but it's nice to hear Ike, Ryan, BMac and Deshea get some dap, too. And as long as we're giving out virtual high-fives, I suppose we should point to the play of William Gay and Tyrone Carter.

The other stereotype I've grown weary of hearing even though most of us agree: THE OFFENSIVE LINE SUX!!1!

Yeah, we all believed that in August, but the o-line was, at worst, average this year. And that's a huge compliment. I actually wonder how many fewer sacks Big Ben would've had behind the league's best pass-blocking offensive line. (I honestly don't even know who that might be; yeah, the Giants and Titans have given up very few sacks, but Eli Manning and Kerry Collins don't typically hold the ball for six seconds per dropback, either.)

Happy New Year, Peeps

Big Ben's noggin appears to be fine, which, of course, is relative. But, hey, the Steelers didn't draft him to help with the Times Sunday crossword. That's what Jeff Reed is for.

One more thing, just in case you missed it:

Two Week Later...

In a shocking development, Big Ben should be okay. I'll be honest: I wasn't worried. Roethlisberger loves drama.

Game Thread, Week 17: Cleveland Browns

Happy holidays, folks. Here's to a healthy Week 17 Browns beatdown.

Bring on the Browns

I'll be honest, I'm not all that worried about yesterday's result. Big Ben didn't play as bad as his numbers suggest and the Titans couldn't have put on a better performance. Plus, I feel much better just chalking it up to end-of-season weariness since they've clinched a first-round bye.

I have no explanation for the running game, but again, that's nothing a little arm-waving won't fix.

(Commences arm-waving)