Just Making it to the Super Bowl is a Great Thing

I completely agree w/ the author. Was at the AFC Championship game last year and it was magical. The increase in stadium volume from Mendy’s 2nd effort TD plunge (first TD) until Willie Gay picked up the fumble for the TD was special and something I’ll always remember. That feeling wouldn’t have been replicated in a wildcard game against the Jets. Although it would’ve been impossible to achieve the same atmosphere in the 2nd half of that game, it was magical when Brown caught the pass for the 1st down.

Getting to the Super Bowl is still special, although it’s much moreso with a ticker-tape parade 36 hours later.

I’m one of those fans who agrees with the sentiment… “I’d rather see the Steelers lose in the first round of the playoffs than see them lose in the Super Bowl.”

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend all three recent Steelers Super Bowls. XL was the single greatest event I’ve ever been to in my life. I literally cried when we won. XLIII was the most intense/suspenseful/exciting event I’ve ever attended. When we won I was jubilant but emotionally exhausted. XLV was the most devastating Steeler experience I can remember. The whole two weeks leading up to the game was fantastic. But the twelve months after the game has been so painful I can’t even think about the game. I’m already over the Broncos loss from two weeks ago. But that Packers loss will probably stick with me for years. I’d much rather lose early than have my hopes crushed on the verge of a championship.

How can one wish that we would lose in the first round? Are you kidding!
I’m watching the game yesterday, thinking the entire time “that should be us playing”.
I’ve seen 2 losses by the Steelers in previous SB’s, and I can stomach that a lot easier than the DEN debacle.
Now I have only a casual interest in the SB. I can look forward to the draft, and in 8 months, the opening game with the Broncos. You can bank on it that the NFL will schedule that game in week 1.

Every win, especially playoff wins, make for terrific memories.

for about two weeks. After we beat Jim Harbaugh and his Colts! We were headed to Az. to face the Cowboys. After that game however, just getting there will never again be enough. F’n O’Donnell.

To quote Cowher, years later, as the Steelers were about to take the field in SB XL:

“Guys, nobody remembers who lost the Super Bowl…”

Here’s how I answer it for myself: I think back to the earliest SB loss, and evaluate how I’m feeling now compared with then. And, secondly, ask if I’d have preferred losing earlier in the playoffs.

So that means… Super Bowl XXX, loss to the Cowboys. What I instantly remember: O’Donnell’s horrible interceptions, both times when the Steelers had all the momentum, the defense stuffing the vaunted Cowboy offense, and big Bam Morris knocking down Dallas players like bowling pins. Then the crushing pain… the image of Switzer, Deion, and Irvin all celebrating like they were the obvious champions.

Would I have preferred the Steelers losing in the playoffs? At first I thought yes, until I considered the alternatives: 1) losing to Jim Harbaugh and the Colts on a Hail Mary, especially after the previous season’s loss to the Chargers? No f-in way in hell. That victory and return to the SB was sweet. 2) losing to the Buffalo Bills in Three Rivers? If it wasn’t a nail-biter? Impulse was to say yes, but then we don’t enjoy that exciting comeback over the Colts. And we don’t feel the thrill of that gutsy decision by Cowher to pull an onside kickoff. And we don’ t pump our fists when the running game with Pegram and Morris starts churning downfield. And we don’t grin when Rod Woodson prances in front of Irvin to show that his knee is healthy enough to stay with him stride for stride. For all the pain the loss brought—still raw 16 years after the fact, and the first SB loss the Steelers ever suffered—was it all worth it just to make it to the big one?

Yup.

The farther you go into the playoffs, the more it hurts when you lose. There’s no questioning that.

But the journey is always special and every one of those wins is remembered. The atmosphere is unique and unlike that of a regular season contest. You feel the energy, the tension, the excitement, the suspense. The collective breaths of thousands being held and released simultaneously is an experience that cannot be replicated in any other fashion.

So regardless of whether we win or lose in the playoffs, I enjoy the games so much. Even the Broncos game, which hurt like hell, was still amazing for me and I had a lot of fun watching us come back.

I’ve only been to one game, the divisional round against the Chargers in 2009. Most amazing game I’ve been to simply because the fans were electric, and the game was so nerve-racking until Santonio’s TD return. I’ve never seen a place explode like Heinz Field did when he ran that all the way back.

After last year’s crushing SB loss I briefly thought I would rather have lost in the first round. But as time passes I appreciate how awesome that SB run was…it didn’t end with the ultimate prize but it was a great ride…

Thanks for the great article.