The Steeler Hangover’s Tony Defeo and Bryan Anthony Davis, have differing viewpoints on the following subject. Join them as they slug it out in text below.

Predicting a Steelers’ loss may be pessimistic, but it doesn’t mean you’re turning your back on the team.

Bryan Anthony Davis’ Point

As many of you know, my work here at BTSC is merely a hobby. I do not do this to feed my family, so essentially this would not be what Chuck Noll would have referred to as my life’s work. The reason I am pointing this out is because I’m not an expert in the field of professional football, I am really just a diehard fan that has been blessed with an opportunity to have a platform to talk about my passionate love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the reasons I am in this position is because I look at the Steelers much like I look at life, in a somewhat original and unorthodox manner. But with this platform, I am asked for my opinion and answer questions. I usually preface it with, I’m not an expert but....

Like my life and other fans, my opinions sometimes are way off base. A lot of times, I’m more of a faux pas than wearing white after Labor Day. But I have no problem being wrong and admitting it. Why not? I also have no reservations about highlighting the rare times when I’m spot on. Case and point, when I correctly guessed the 26+24 final score and winner of the Pittsburgh/Indianapolis game in early November. The sun shines on a dog’s butt every once in a while and mine usually is (nine times out of ten) nestled in the shade. However, with this platform I do risk coming off as a know-it-all.

As a part of our podcast responsibilities, we here at BTSC are asked to make predictions weekly. Just like prognosticators on the network shows do. It’s really a tough thing to do. If I really could predict the outcome of games, I’d be featured on “MTV Cribs”...if that still is even a thing. My colleagues here vary in their thought process in this arena. Jeff Hartman comes off as the ultimate optimist when it comes to predicting the Steelers to win every week. I think he had them going to 16-0 this season and every season that I know him. BTSC fans feel that Lance Williams, in turn, is an eternal pessimist. Most of the time he’s picking against the Steelers. Not because, he hates the Steelers like many of you have pinned on him, but because that’s how his mind operates. I can assure you...neither Jeff or Lance love the Steelers more than the other. They just go about it with a different thought process.

As for me, most of my friends look at me as an eternal optimist. I know my wife does. That’s why we gel so well, because she errs on the side of caution and worry...while I’m the guy thinking that everything is always going to be fine and dandy.

However, last weekend I picked against the Steelers and many have labeled this as a most heinous and traitorous act. I had a bad feeling in my gut about that game. The last time I had that eerie stirring in my belly was in 1999 and I got married anyway. I should have listened as that starter marriage ultimately ended in divorce. Plus, I want to live in reality and I don’t want to be a myopic homer.

Thankfully, my gut feeling about the second Browns game was incorrect. Just as it was against both Los Angeles teams. In fact, I’m 4-4 this season picking the Steelers to win and 1-3 when I prognosticate their demise. What’s that really mean? It means that I’m no Jimmy the Greek. It means that if you heed my advice and go to Vegas with your life savings, plenty of cheese lines are in your future. That’s not a Gouda situation to be in at all. What it really means is that fans really shudder now when Lance or I predict a Steeler victory for our beloved black-and-gold.

But the bottom line to the whole thing is this…It doesn’t mean that I’m turning my back on my team when I predict a loss. It doesn’t mean that I’m a traitor or that I secretly hate my team. It simply means that I have fear. And even though my Steeler midichlorians may be off the charts, a Steeler Jedi I shall never be.

Tony Defeo’s Counterpoint

Bryan, Bryan Bryan, I’m so glad you just missed out on being born in 1972. I don’t think I could share a birth year with someone who would ever go against the Steelers in any way—and that includes predicting they will lose an upcoming game. When I saw that you picked the Browns in last week’s game at Heinz Field, I’m not going to lie, I muted you on Twitter for a few days, and I also hid you on Facebook.

This is what I normally do with people who don’t agree with me on just about any of life’s topics, and when it comes to someone picking against my Steelers, I can’t think of a more mature and justifiable action than to just ignore them for a good while. You mentioned Lance Williams, that Pessimistic Perry. I’ve had him muted on Twitter for so long for his anti-Steelers’ remarks, I almost forgot we followed one another.

You can’t put that bad mojo out there, bro. We have thousands upon thousands of Steelers fans all over the world waving their Terrible Towels in unison for the sake of convincing the football gods to give us nothing but positive results on the field each and every week; when you pollute the air with that kind of negative talk, it’s no wonder interceptions and season-ending elbow injuries to the franchise quarterback happen out of thin air.

Besides, the people don’t come to BTSC to read that kind of negativity in an article or hear it in a podcast. They come to our site to read the Good News. They want to be nurtured with positivity. They don’t want to be sickened by negativity.

A number of years ago, I wrote a negative article following a Steelers loss, and one of the first people to respond said, “Do we really have to read this on the front page?”

I never forgot that advice.

I’ll leave you with one last story about the power of bad karma.

It was the morning of September 9, 2012. The Steelers were hours away from opening their 2012 regular season with a prime-time match-up against the Broncos and the newly-acquired Peyton Manning at Mile High.

I was at the 7-11 on the corner of Poplar St. and Noblestown Rd. buying a healthy breakfast, when I noticed that the woman at the register seemed to be in a really bad mood. “Having a bad morning?” I asked. She said, “My boss made me go home and change my shirt because it said, ‘If you ain’t a Steelers fan, you ain’t sh*t!’” I was appalled that this “boss,” who obviously wasn’t a Steelers fan, would treat a member of the Nation that way. Long story, short, Manning torched the Steelers that night in his Broncos’ debut, while Ben Roethlisberger threw a pick-six to put the game out of reach in a 31-19 loss.

Moral of the story: Be careful what you put out there in terms of negativity and bad karma.

My advice to you, Bryan: Next time you feel like writing something negative about the Steelers—and that includes a score prediction that has their opponent winning—ask yourself this: “Do they really have to read this on the front page?”

So...what are your thoughts? Which one of us gets to bask in the glory of being right this week? State your case in the comments section and be sure to vote in the poll. BAD dropped to 8-2 on the season, while TonDef is doing his goofy victory dance again as he has reeled off two-straight victories. Can Tony keep the streak going? Vote and state your case in the comments.