March Madness of Steelers Moments: ELITE 8

The Elite 8 is here, and the choices have been very interesting. No dynasty Super Bowl moments remain, arguably a generational result of the voting. But there is still a lot of variety. Troy and Ben both appear twice, but there’s a Willie Parker run, a Randle El throw, and of course, a James Harrison interception. Let’s see who’s knocking on the door of the Final Four.

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PIEROGI BRACKET

1 - The Immaculate Reception - 12/23/72 AFC Divisional Round

Tourney recap: Won its 1st round match with 94.7% of the twitter vote & 93% of website vote. Won its 2nd round match with 98% of the vote. Won the Sweet 16 round with 98% of the vote.

The Play: Nuff Said

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3 - “The Tackle” - 1/15/06 AFC Divisional

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 91% of the website vote and 87% of the twitter vote. Won round 2 with 94% of the vote. Won the Sweet 16 round with 91% of the vote.

The play: A shoestring tackle that saved the entire season. One of Ben’s greatest plays is one of the ugliest.

Bonus Commentary: Surprisingly, Franco has the last remaining play from the Dynasty era. But I’d argue this play is more symbolic than actual. Take away the Immaculate Reception, and we lose a lot of mythos, but the dynasty probably still happens. Take away The Tackle, and Ben doesn’t get his first Super Bowl, and probably takes a lot longer before he has Hall of Fame consideration.

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HALUPKI BRACKET

1 - Ben to Santonio for the Win - 2/1/09 Super Bowl XLIII

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 98% of the website vote and 91% of the twitter vote. Won round 2 with 95% of the vote. Won the Sweet 16 round with 91% of the vote.

The Play: What’s better, the catch or the throw? With 35 seconds left, the Steelers retake the lead, 27-23, after giving up 16 unanswered 4th-quarter points to the Cardinals.

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3 - Fast Willie Takes it to the House - 2/5/06 Super Bowl XL

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 85% of the website vote and 77.3% of the twitter vote. Defeated the Polamalu Plunge in round 2, 54%-46%. Beat the Levitating Leap in the Sweet 16, 60%-40%

The play: The longest TD run in Super Bowl history. It gave the Steelers a 14-3 lead in the third quarter against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

Bonus Commentary: Ben in the fourth. I think that’s all that needs to be said, all due respect to the Willie play.

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CHIPPED HAM BRACKET

2 - Randle El’s Reverse Pass - 2/5/06 Super Bowl XL

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 100% of the twitter vote and 89% of the website vote. Won round 2 with 85% of the vote. Won the Sweet 16 round, beating Swann’s Flying Circus catch 67%-33%.

The play: Willie Parker takes the pitch and hands off to Antwaan Randle El on the reverse, who throws it to Hines Ward for the 43-yd touchdown. It gives the Steelers a 21-10 lead against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

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13 - Troy’s Strip Sack - 12/5/10 Week 13

Tourney recap: The Cinderella story continues. This upset Jack Ham’s pick of Stabler with 74% of the website vote and 75% of the twitter vote in the first round. Then it upset the Maddox Wildcard Comeback in the 2nd round with 78% of the vote. In the Sweet 16, it upset Stallworth’s Super Bowl 14 TD with 54% of the vote.

The play: The Division title and a 1st round bye were on the line. Baltimore was winning 10-6 and had 3 and change left on the clock. They just needed a couple first downs to end the game. With a 2nd and 5 at their own 43, Pittsburgh blitzed Timmons and Troy. Ray Rice could only pick one.

Bonus commentary: Wow. I didn’t see the Troy play going this far. At this point, maybe even Franco should watch his back.

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BANANA SPLIT BRACKET

1 - Harrison’s Hundred-Yard INT - 2/1/09 Super Bowl XLIII

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 95.6% of the twitter vote and 97% of the website vote. Won round two with 96% of the vote. Won the Sweet 16 round with 96% of the vote.

The play: 1st and goal at the 1 with 18 seconds left in the first half. James Harrison steps in front of Anquan Boldin and makes his way 100 yards for a touchdown. Instead of trailing at the half, the Steelers lead 17-7.

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2 - Troy’s Pick 6 - 1/18/09 AFC Championship

Tourney recap: Won round 1 with 95.2% of the twitter vote and 94% of the website vote. Defeated Lambert’s shove of Cliff Harris in the 2nd round by a 60%-40% margin. Won the Sweet 16 round with 88% of the vote.

The play: The Steelers had a 16-14 lead in the 4th, but Flacco 4:38 to drive down the field. Instead, Deebo applied the pressure, and Troy took it to the house.

Bonus Commentary: Deebo is gonna have to defeat arguably the best moment ever from Heinz Field to move on.

We’ll unveil the Final Four next week!

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Kyle Chrise is the host of the Steel Curtain Network podcast “What Yinz Talkin’ Bout.” New episodes are released every Thursday.