What A Moron?

Here is an article that appeared in today's Baltimore Sun. What a freakin' moron? Anyways, I highlighted his e-mail address if anyone wants to forward him a little good natured ribbing...Happy hunting...

Ill feelings harder than steel
By Kevin Eck
Originally published January 24, 2006
There's nothing more exciting for an NFL fan than having a strong rooting interest in the Super Bowl, and I haven't been this fired up since the Ravens made it to the big game in January 2001.This time, of course, there's a much different reason for my passion. Like most of my fellow die-hard Ravens fans, I hate the Pittsburgh Steelers almost as much as I love the boys in purple.
Every season I hope for four things. First and foremost, it's that the Ravens win the Super Bowl. After that (in order), it's that the Steelers, Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts don't win it.Yes, my disdain for the Steelers is such that I would rather see Daniel Snyder or Jim Irsay hoisting the Lombardi Trophy than anyone from Pittsburgh. In fact, when the Colts and Steelers met in the playoffs on Jan. 15, I got my old Colts helmet out of mothballs and cheered for Peyton Manning as enthusiastically as I did for Bert Jones when I was 8.The reasons for hating the Steelers go beyond the fact that they are an AFC North rival. For starters, there's Bill Cowher's chiseled chin, Joey Porter's motor mouth and Jerome Bettis' bloated belly. And, by the way, is it really necessary to show Bettis' parents on camera every time he touches the ball? Momma and Papa Bus are the most annoying relatives of a Pittsburgh athlete since Pirates outfielder Omar "Sweetie" Moreno's wife incessantly blew her whistle in the 1979 World Series.It's the Steelers fans, however, that are truly loathsome. Has there ever been a more overbearing, obnoxious, foul-mouthed, slovenly bunch? And that's just the women.But as irritating as Steelers fans are, with their ridiculous towels and "One for the Thumb" slogan, Ravens fans have always had plenty of comebacks for their boasts and taunts.We love to tell them, for example, that they've had that same slogan - in regard to the Steelers' quest for a fifth Super Bowl ring - since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. There's also the matter of Cowher's record in AFC championship games at home - an embarrassing 1-4.I was in attendance at Three Rivers Stadium for the Steelers' loss to the Denver Broncos in the January 1998 AFC championship game. There, in a sea of black and gold, a friend and I were decked out in Ravens gear from head to toe, cheering on John Elway (sure, he spurned Baltimore and might have been partially responsible for the Colts' leaving town, but on that day we were on the same side).I'll never forget how the Steelers fans laughed at us and said that being at that game was the closest we'd ever get to the playoffs. They weren't laughing three years later.You want to really get under the skin of a Steelers fan? Just mention that the Ravens' first trip to the playoffs - in only their fifth year in existence, no less - resulted in a Super Bowl win. And when they counter with the fact that the Steelers have won four championships to the Ravens' one, I quickly correct their math and tell them it's 4-4. When you factor in the Baltimore Colts' two NFL championships and one Super Bowl crown, Baltimore has won just as many football titles as Pittsburgh.And that's why it's so important that the Seattle Seahawks make sure the Steelers' 25-year title drought continues. Can you imagine, as insufferable as Steelers fans are now, what they'll be like if they do win another Super Bowl? All of our standard comeback lines will be as worthless as a Bubby Brister retro jersey.I didn't think there was any chance of that happening when the Steelers were 7-5 and it seemed possible they wouldn't even make the playoffs. But after what the Steelers have accomplished the past three weeks, even I have to admit that they are going to be tough to beat.I got a bad feeling the moment Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer went down with a serious knee injury on his first pass. That bad feeling intensified when the Colts couldn't convert Bettis' unfathomable fumble into a touchdown and Mike "He Never Misses At Home" Vanderjagt didn't come close on the field-goal attempt.And when Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey missed a chance at an interception and a sure touchdown early in the game and instead deflected the ball to Hines Ward for a first down, I knew the Steelers were bound for Detroit.Knocking out the opposing team's starting quarterback, deflected passes going for big plays, improbable missed field goals - it all reminded me of the Ravens' magical Super Bowl run five years ago.There's still one game to go, though, and I'm holding out hope that, unlike the 2000 Ravens, the Steelers really aren't a team of destiny.Come to think of it, even though I didn't want to see the Steelers make it this far, how great would it be to see them choke in the Super Bowl? To see their fans once again have to use their silly towels to wipe away their tears after another devastating loss in the postseason? Now I really can't wait until Feb. 5.
kevin.eck@baltsun.com
Kevin Eck is an assistant sports editor at The Sun and a Ravens season-ticket holder.