Are miserable Steelers’ fans really fans of the Steelers?

Chances are you know at least one. Even if it’s not someone you know personally, there’s that person who has to comment on every article or social media post who acts like nothing more than a Browns fan in disguise.

Nothing is right.

The sky is always falling.

There is no hope.

I’m sure every fan base has them, but being a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers I see those people who are never happy. Even when the Steelers win, there’s always something wrong. This player didn’t play well. They should have scored more points. They shouldn’t have given up that field goal. It’s always something.

And it’s not just during the season. The Steelers salary cap situation is as bad as it’s ever been and there’s nothing they can do to recover. The Steelers aren’t signing any players. The Steelers signed a player but they’re not the right player. The Steelers didn’t draft the best player they should have. The Steelers traded up in the draft when they should have traded back.

It goes on and on and on…

Seriously. It never stops. The misery and loathing in regards to the Pittsburgh Steelers is a 24/7 hobby for some people. I refer to them as “miserable Steelers fans.”

I find myself asking this question: Are these people who are never happy and can’t take anything positive or find any joy in the Pittsburgh Steelers, do they really love the Steelers? Are they really fans of this franchise?

Before going on, I have to say the type of fan I am not speaking about. Just because there’s something about the Steelers you don’t like doesn’t mean you fit into this category. There is a difference between looking at things realistically (the “realistic Steelers fan”) and always trying to find the negative in everything.

For example, let’s say the Steelers won a game 38–0. The realistic Steelers fan enjoys the triumphs but still wants to look at the team shortcomings and how they can improve for the next game. The miserable fan can’t even enjoy the victory. Instead they comb over the five incomplete passes in the game and breakdown how they should have been completions. Or they look at the four other players that should have gone for touchdowns, or the play that should have been a sack and ended up being a 3 yard completion on 3rd & 17. Or that the Steelers had to settle for one field goal among their other touchdowns.

Another test between the realistic fan and the miserable fan would be the moment following a Steelers Super Bowl victory. Are they celebrating, silently taking in the whole experience, or vocally saying how many free agents the Steelers have the coming offseason and how there is no chance the Steelers can repeat?

I hope now you see the difference.

So getting back to the question: Are miserable Steelers fans actually fans of the Steelers?

Yes, they are.

As annoying as they can be to us “possibly too optimistic Steelers fans,” the miserable Steelers fans are simply expressing their emotion in a different way than others. This is how some people live their life. Some people aren’t happy unless they are miserable. Nothing is ever good, nothing is ever positive, and the misery they feel is what makes life what it is. Some people want to feel very strong emotions towards the Steelers, and the strongest emotion they can feel is misery and disgust.

And that’s okay.

There are many types of Steelers fans. There are the crazy fans who dress up when they go to games. I admit I fall into this category. There are fans that hardly have any item in their wardrobe that doesn’t have a Steelers logo or is either black or gold. So far I’m two for two. There are also fans I think the Steelers can do no wrong. They’re also fans they can point out flaws but still love the team. There are also fans that can only look at the worst in everything and dwell on it like nothing else. But they all bring something to the fan base.

A good example of how these types of emotions can work together is the Pixar movie Inside Out. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about the mind of a young girl and how it is controlled by the five major emotions of joy, fear, anger, disgust, and sadness all personified as different characters. In the end, all the emotions realize that they need each other in order to make the person complete.

This is Steelers’ Nation. Sometimes we need the person who could never find anything good going on with the Steelers to keep those who can never find any bad in check. Perhaps we should appreciate them for who they are and not question their love for the black and gold.

Alright, we don’t have to question their love, but I don’t know if will ever fully appreciate it. If you want to bring the negativity, that’s fine. But you also have to understand that a lot of times many Steelers fans just get tired of it coming out constantly, and I do mean constantly, and prefer to just move on and high-five somebody else. And if you don’t appreciate it when other types of Steelers fans views you as a “closet fan of the Mistake by The Lake,” please realize that it’s just really hard to tell the difference most of the time.