As the ring announcer famously said in The Karate Kid, "Daniel LaRusso's gonna fight?!?"
Brother James Harrison is gonna fight Sunday. His devotion to The Church knows no bounds. He is playing today to help his teammates right a wrong from many weeks ago. He will not be whipped by LT Bryant McKinnie.
You will not see Brother Troy struggle in coverage against Ray Rice or something called "Ed Dickson." Not after Brother James sacrifices himself for The Church. The cauldron of rage boils just below the surface of the Steelers 53 man roster. They did not speak much in the media this week.
The calm before the storm.
- The Ravens are worthy adversaries, but the lack of consistency from the most important position on the field, quarterback, makes the Steelers salivate.
- If the crowd in Baltimore was loud in Week 1, words to describe the volume at Heinz Field when James Harrison comes out of that tunnel, throwback jersey donning his Pro Bowl shoulders, will be hard to find.
- While the Steelers will get sacked the way Brother Coach Tomlin described it, they will still work the passing game to their advantage.
- Everyone's Ngata Goggles have been so thick the last two weeks, they haven't seen a wounded warrior, one who wasn't nearly as effective as he's been in the past.
- Ravens fans are confident LG Ben Grubbs will play, most information outside of them says the opposite.
Who Wants It?
Brother Mike Wallace has gotta be fired up. After the cornerback who allowed Antonio Brown to get behind him on 3rd-and-19 in the playoffs last year, Lardarius Webb, spouted off this week about how much better of a receiver Brown is, Wallace will no doubt look to show something to the prime time audience.
The Church Tweeted wondering if Wallace, who's likely to be checked at the line by Cary Williams more often than Webb, will just burn Williams instead. Or both.
Williams' personal trainer responded just two words: "Locked down."
The Church isn't exactly sure what that means, but we'll consider it an attack on us that Wallace must now finish. We like his chances.
One song is saved for Steelers/Ravens Week. It came to be organically, and for whatever reason, The Church gets the GAWD-AWFUL image of the Ravens logo in its collective head when hearing it.
Foo Fighters' "All My Life" is an adrenaline-producing anthem. It's smooth and even, but almost symphonic in its peaks-and-valleys melody. It's up-tempo at times, but backs away into three hypnotizing chords before exploding into a chorus that makes you scream at the top of your lungs, thinking of the epic battles between these two teams.
"Done/Done/Onto the next one/Done I'm done and I'm onto the next!"
Benediction
- May Brother James be safe in his heroic return to the field.
- May Brothers Max and Heath keep Suggs in front of them at all times, and as far away from Brother Ben as possible.
- May Brother Hines return to the field and avenge the abuse he took in the end zone in front of the officials in Week 1.
- May Brother Rashard bust free easily and often against a tough Ravens defense.
- May the power of the Throwback Jerseys return to those wearing them.