During the Christmas season, The Church of Latter Day Rooneys asks you to do the right thing; being polite is the right thing to do.
When someone you know very well leaves the door open for you, you take advantage, and walk in. The Church would like to formally thank the Baltimore Ravens for leaving the door open.
It's the Steelers choice if they want to walk in from the outside, or just kick the damn thing in.
- There have only been three Monday Night Football games between 10-win teams. San Francisco has been in all of them. San Francisco has won all of them. The 49ers opponents never had a superstar defensive player suspended in those games, either.
- This has all the makings of one of those larger-than-the-game-itself battles. A game both sides will be talking about for years.
- Make no mistake, this is a lights-out defense. It's tough to find a weakness, study as the Church might. Easily one of the two best front-seven defensive personnel groupings the Steelers have seen this year.
- Is leadership coining a new word in the English dictionary, a new pose for morons to post pictures of on the Internet while you blow a must-win home game?
- Or is leadership defying physical pain and medical advice and lacing up to take snaps in the biggest game of the year for your team?
Who Wants It?
The Church isn't in the habit of asking questions it already knows the answer to, but Brother Ben is worthy of further recognition today. Naysayers pine on about how he loves the attention. The Church loves that he loves the attention. If you don't, you can't play the way he does.
We may not know which Ben we'll see tonight, but Steelers fans and followers of The Church know for certain it's the one that leaves his heart on the field, and despite probably being covered head-to-toe in ice bags on the flight home, he's more likely than not to have a feeling of satisfaction that he delivered.
If Ben ever wanted a regular season stage, this game is it. Legends win these games, while pretenders fail to see a stationary linebacker in the middle of the field when his team's defense desperately needs some time to regroup on the sideline (or a quarterback who openly complains about the amount of media coverage his team gets. You got your attention today, Mr. Flacco. I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay.)
Peace be with you, Brother Ben. And thank you.
Song of Choice
The Church feels the lesson this week is in leadership. This song has nothing in particular to do with leadership, but symbols within Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction hint at leadership.
And it's an excellent head-banging song that even gets your dog up jumping around (even on the keyboard on which you're typing).
"Just like the Pied Piper led rats through the streets/just like marionettes swayin' to the symphony of destruction."
Benediction
- This game's for you, Brother James.
- May we find calm and clarity in approaching a singularly dimensional offense.
- May we find an answer for a beastly defensive line, providing our warrior the time to make plays.
- May our special teams coverage units play disciplined, powerful and fast football.
- May all our brethren who made the trip to the bay area stand strong in support for The Church, and be safe.