ESPN Hates The Steelers!!

by SteelChad88 on Jan 6, 2009 7:26 PM EST Comment 26 comments

Is it me or does ESPN hate on the Steelers. I mean, everytime I watch ESPN, they never cover Steelers highlights and when they do, its very little coverage and its usually something that is negatively affecting the team (Roethlisbergers injury, Ben holding onto the ball too long, running game not working, etc.) Also, they always make a big deal over the controversial calls happening in our games like that Holmes TD catch in the Ravens game...They can't quit talking about it, ITS OVER, WE WON!! And even though Madden isn't on ESPN, he can't quit crying about the "Immaculate Reception"...John Madden, Just be thankful that you got to see that beuatiful event happen right before your eyes, it only comes once in a lifetime!

I often give credit to Mike Ditka and of course, Merril Hoge for respectively describing the Steelers strenghts and not being afraid to talk about how good of a team the Steelers are but Deon Sanders always has something negative to say, he's an idiot and I never see any of the Steelers in his stupid Primetime picks. Chris Mortenson and Chris Berman are both flip-floppers, always going for the most publicized team to win...Whats it going to be this week guys..Titans or Ravens? They all pick the Ravens now after saying the Titans were going all the way during the season. Mariucci is cool, he usually tells it like it is but the rest of those guys suck.

I may be venting but I get sick of ESPN putting the Steelers on the backburner and never really spending time to cover a lot of aspects of our game. We don't have a complete team but we have a good team with a great defense. Show us somelove ESPN!!!

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I stick to the NFL Network

for the most balance coverage. even though during the regular season it was a cowboys orgy 24/7. I like mooch, and steve. deon has his moments and is quite a funny guy. He isn’t one to be accountable for his picks since almost none of them work out his way. He took the cowboys waaay over the steelers in the regular season matchup. Lost big time. I am seriously tired of Jamie Dukes. His stupid spot where we watch him watching interviews is a waste of time. He just looks back at the tv and nods his head. Rod Woodson is still the man. Good to see some steeler alumni on the show. I Love the Playbook. Great to see the breakdown. And Brian Billick makes it very interesting.

by SoCalSteelerFan on Jan 6, 2009 9:31 PM EST reply actions

jamie dukes

is my nemisis, i can not stand him, i like watchin rod woodson but it seems like if you get him, you get jamie dukes

by indianasteelers on Jan 7, 2009 8:28 AM EST up reply actions

I Agree

Jamie Dukes is stupid as hell, he tries to act like an expert but always sounds dumb and Rod Woodson always has to correct Jamie’s faults in his analysis. Rod Woodson is man!!

by SteelChad88 on Jan 7, 2009 2:35 PM EST up reply actions

thats good

cause whenever we do get alot of publicity, we loose

by tha1andonly57@aim.com on Jan 6, 2009 9:42 PM EST reply actions

Don't really care

Most of the talking heads don’t add much valuable analysis anyway so we as fans aren’t losing much. This is just a reflection of the NFL’s marketing: offense sells. When there aren’t high powered offenses to sell (see Ten, Pit, and Bal in playoffs), just turn to the loudest: Ravens. It’s TV. It’s a business.

Look at it this way: players with less press sometimes fetch less in free agency (NFL’s a business too and the players who put fans in the seats tend to get overpaid).

by CarlWeathersMustache on Jan 6, 2009 9:58 PM EST reply actions

most announcers and commentators

are awful.

John Madden is horrible. It’s amazing how often, in his analysis, he is just plain wrong! Al Michaels is always covering for his goof-ups…

Deon. Annoys the hell out of me.

Steve Young. I like his insight and he can actually string full sentences together with verbs and nouns!!!(unlike Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Shannon Sharpe-he is in a class by himself…) but he usually bashes the Steelers in one way or another.

Trent Dilfer. I like him, good thoughts from a former player. But I remember our last SB v. Seahawks, how much of a homer he was (he is tight with Hasselback) and how their West Coast offense would stymie our defense…he went on and on about how the ’hawks would win.

Phil Simms and his partner (who I can picture and heard his voice a zillion times but can’t place his name at the moment). To me, they are the best. I enjoy watching the games they broadcast.

As I said, most commentators and/or announcers simply recycle old verbage with little or no insight or originality.

by SteelerMike on Jan 6, 2009 10:00 PM EST reply actions

Phil Simms's partner

Jim Nantz, I believe.

"They haven't played us yet."

by ReadingRambler on Jan 6, 2009 10:52 PM EST up reply actions

I don't like Phil Simms very much. He has a few canned cliches which he regurgitates constantly for 3 hours.

I agree with you about Young and Dilfer. I love Merrill Hoge. Does he still have that show where he breaks down actual plays? Most “analysts” never dip into the Xs and Os of the game and instead focus on fantasy statistics and gossip. It’s absurd.

To me the best announcer is Moose Johnson. That guy is pretty good, IMO.

Chris Berman hates us and loves the NY teams and of course, the fucking sweetheart Patriots. I used to love Berman but I now totally despise him.

by houksyndrome on Jan 7, 2009 1:04 AM EST up reply actions

Disagree

I can’t stand Phil Simms. Whatever team is doing well at any particular moment in a game gets so many superlatives and so much hyperbole heaped upon them it makes me gag.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Jan 7, 2009 10:53 AM EST up reply actions

Simms.

There was that game were Simms was gushing about the blocking on Harrison on a long pass play. When they showed the replay, Nantz said, “Isn’t that holding?” After a 3 second pause, Simms was like, "Yes, yes that is holding, " then silence.

by Jonny B. on Jan 7, 2009 11:08 AM EST up reply actions

+1

I remember that one, friggin brilliant.

Wasn’t he also the one who called it a “great block” when Harrison tackled the blocker into the ball carrier?

by steelguy99 on Jan 7, 2009 11:18 AM EST up reply actions

LOL

i remember that too, and they didn’t say anything about it after that. or the holding calls the refs were failing to call again.

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Jan 7, 2009 5:01 PM EST up reply actions

I like Steve Young, but

do you ever notice how many times he says, “At the end of the day…”?

At the end of the day it’s annoying how often Young says, “At the end of the day.”

by Jonny B. on Jan 7, 2009 1:15 AM EST reply actions

Do you ever notice

how they always refer to either the Steelers, Ravens, or Titans as the “best defense in the league” depending on who had the best game that week. Which is it? Kinda like the power rankings.

by SteelerDomination on Jan 7, 2009 2:57 AM EST reply actions

"Sexy"

I think it’s because the Steelers aren’t “sexy”. Meaning, they don’t score a million points a game. They don’t usually have any controversy. I’m a Charger fan, but this is one of the reasons I like the Steelers more than 95% of the other teams in the NFL. Nobody gives the Chargers any love either. Even last year when we made it to the AFC title game, they picked against us every step of the way.

The thing about a bunch of these guys is you can tell they clearly pick for the team that they played for. Deion picks the Cowboys every time. Even Tom Jackson, who I usually respect, picks the Broncos every time.

One guy that I’m really starting to like that ESPN brought on this year is Trent Dilfer. He knows a ton and is articulate. The one guy I couldn’t stand that they brought on recently was Shaun King. That dude was so cocky.

"When Bellotti attempted to shake the hand of Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson after the game, Robinson offered his left hand. His right was swollen and battered from the Ducks' defense."

by MarineCorpsDuck on Jan 7, 2009 9:25 AM EST reply actions

At the end ...

of the day, I’d be happy if they scored half a million points; that should be enough to keep the pressure off the D.

by tenthmtnman on Jan 7, 2009 5:18 PM EST up reply actions

Gotcha!

You’re secretly a Steelers fan, I can tell. Come on over to the dark side (or at least the black and gold side).

We’ve got Dennis Dixon! Even if Bruce Arians is too stubborn to play him in some trick plays.

by Chicago Steeler on Jan 7, 2009 9:15 PM EST up reply actions

Awful!

Is there anyone worse than Keyshawn Johnson? I cracked up when Warren Sapp “thanked him” for clarifying that he was a bitch on Showtime.

I don’t have a problem with an analyst’s being biased with his picks as long as it doesn’t affect the analysis. The “Chargers defense is playing better and Rivers is as hot as Cutler but I’m still picking the Broncos” sort of thing.

by Marvin, The Paranoid Android on Jan 7, 2009 10:07 AM EST reply actions

tv coverage

TV coverage usually blows. I watch NFLN quite a bit and also Sportscenter.

But honestly I never see ESPN do the little sit downs with Hogey or Sapp talking about Pittsburgh. Its always Dallas Denver New England New York(s) etc…

We used to get this free on demand show that had like a Pittsburgh sports update for 30 minutes. Best coverage you could get. From some neutral sports network. They did each city for like 30 minutes.

by Mechem on Jan 7, 2009 2:33 PM EST reply actions

espn.com

I never pay any attention to analysis or power rankings. This isn’t college, so media opinions matter about as much as my opinions. In any case, living in California if I listen to my local ESPN radio it’s all Bay Area sports (though I am an A’s fan, and a Warriors fan) … so I appreciate that on their webpage I can listen to podcasts of ESPN Pgh sports radio … that said, the podcasts are the one shiny piece of value among a heaping pile of crap.

I do know, however, that within the past year one of the former sports editors for the Post Gazette (James Barger) has taken a job with ESPN … so maybe he’ll put a bit more focus on the Black & Gold from time to time.

by Fahey on Jan 7, 2009 3:39 PM EST reply actions

ESPN

seems as if they pick a favorite team to slurp for a week. They chose us after we beat the Ravens. Now it seems like they are on the Raven’s balls. It’s their job to try to hype up the league and the games and so they just choose a team to make them seem like they are so great and nobody can beat them.

Makes me sick though.

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Jan 7, 2009 5:06 PM EST reply actions

It’s a lot easier to spend all of your resources reporting on one team than it is all of them.

by steelguy99 on Jan 7, 2009 5:07 PM EST up reply actions

Madden et al

I have hated listening to Madden almost forever. First few years he was a refreshing change and had some things to say which were football related and interesting. Two things changed that – his natural enthusiasm/sound effects were hi-jacked, and his video football game went big.

I’m sure the networks told him to ham it up, use lots of “Boom!” and “Wham!” lingo. He focuses on saying things which relate to the pre-game prep he delivers. Doesn’t matter if it really happens, if the situation is remotely close to something he prepped for – he throws it into the color commentary. As SteelerMike mentioned – Al Michaels has to cover him evry broadcast. Now that he is old, rich and overly famous – he doesn’t even pay attention to what is happening with any consistency. He just blathers on and on about things which he(network?) think are interesting tid-bits for the average TV viewer. If you are a non-football person – you like Madden.

Most infuriating is his influence over average people on what a football coach is. As a long time HS coach, I hate his rep and schtick. I feel degraded by his routine since I love football and all the things it takes to play, coach and organize a succesful game or season.

Berman is a loud-mouth clown. Typical NY/NE area myopic media goon.

"Franz" in NoCal

by franz on Jan 7, 2009 6:30 PM EST reply actions

Good Post Franz!!

You stole the words out of my mouth, Madden is a joke!!! I even hate listening to him when I play his video game although Madden 09 is a relief because Chris Collinsworth does the color commentary. His says stupid stuff all the time and he cannot get off Bret Favres D**k!! Brett will throw 4 INT’s in a game and Madden will say something along the lines like “Well, naturally if your a HOF quarterback you go through these periods where you feel a little too comfortable in the pocket and you throw some good passes and they end up as interceptions and I think Favre had some great passes, and as great Qb’a do, they kinda get out of these situations”…………………What??? He makes me laugh at how stupid he sounds and to believe that he makes so much money baffles the hell out of me. Favre didn’t throw any good passes, he looked frustrated in the pocket…can that be why he is scrambling? What are you talking about Madden???

Al Michaels is a breath of fresh air but still doesn’t make up for the idiocracy that Madden shows. Also I agree that madden is one of the most overrated coaches. I will give him some credit in winning a championship, hell, HE HAD A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM!! But his breakdown of plays, especially defense is muddled and sounds like he says stuff that isn’t relevant to the game and he backs it up by telling us his experiences as a coach.

I like Chris Collinsworth and I also like Troy Aikman and Joe Buck combination, they are good. I also enjoy hearing Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk give their opinions but Deon Sanders, Keyshan Johnson and the rest of them got to go. Chris Berman is horrible, he eats at me the most because he thinks he is an expert in ALL sports.

by SteelChad88 on Jan 7, 2009 7:09 PM EST up reply actions