The prospect of the Patriots tying the Steelers with 6 Super Bowl titles shouldn’t bother fans

Judging by the reaction to my James Harrison playing with the Patriots article, I know what you might say:

"Oh, 'I'm not sweating it, but I'm going to write an article about how I'm not sweating it.'" Or, "Gee, must be a slow news day, so let's post some click-bait."

Anymore? I think I got all the snark covered.

Anyway, unlike my disconnected feeling on Harrison joining the Patriots after getting cut by the Steelers and then ascending to the cusp of his third ring, I'm guessing you're more interested in the prospects of New England winning a sixth Lombardi and tying Pittsburgh for the most in the history of the universe.

Mere hours before the Patriots take on the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, that thought has to be on your mind, and as painful as it has to be for you, you're mustering up the stomach to root for a team from Philadelphia in the hopes it can prevent that from happening.

Civic pride is at stake. "Got six?" is on the line.

While I don't blame you for feeling nervous about this Sunday's Super Bowl, or even avoiding it in favor of Netflix binge-watching, I'm not as concerned as I thought I'd be.

Yes, it would be a shot to the pride bone if the Patriots, who are 4.5-point favorites as of this writing, finish the weekend with the same amount of Super Bowls as our Steelers—not to mention the most Lombardi trophies for one head coach and one quarterback (both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady would simply tie the marks they set a year ago)—but it wouldn't exactly endanger my chances of waking up Monday morning.

I know this because I grew up in the 1980's, when four Super Bowl titles was the biggest source of Pittsburgh sports pride. Back then, four was today's six, and there were concerns that a team from out west, namely the San Francisco 49ers, would tie the Steelers for the most Lombardi trophies.

Unfortunately, despite fielding teams consisting of the likes of Bubby Brister, Bryan Hinkle and Dwayne Woodruff, the Steelers of the 80's not only couldn't win that one for the thumb, they couldn't do much about the Bill Walsh/Joe Montana-led 49ers earning one for the pinkie finger following the 1989 season.

I don't remember much angst about it. I mean, there was a little, but since this was well-before the age of social media, the angst seemed to be washed away by thoughts of finishing high school and being productive for the rest of my life.

Five years later, when I was still trying to find a way to be productive, the 49ers—this time led by George Seifert and Steve Young—set a new Super Bowl standard by having their way with a pretty pathetic Chargers team that somehow found a way to walk into Pittsburgh and walk away with the AFC crown.

A year later, the Cowboys tied San Francisco with five Super Bowl victories by defeating, of all teams, the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

While I can recall feeling a bit sad and even somewhat perturbed at quarterback Neil O'Donnell, I don't think I was that upset about the Steelers being one game behind two teams in the Lombardi race.

Pittsburgh remained a game behind for a decade, that is, until Super Bowl XL, when the Steelers created a three-way tie with a 21-10 victory over the Seahawks.

Three years later, Harrison "ran" 100 yards, Ben Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes for a spectacular touchdown, and the Steelers were not only Super Bowl XLIII champions, they were the winningest Lombardi team of all-time with six of them.

Much like the 80's, this has been an ongoing source of pride for Steelers fans the past nine seasons.

Will "Got six?" continue to be a source of pride moving forward?

Again, if the chalk holds this Sunday in Minnesota, no, it won't.

But while I may be contradicting myself by writing about something I supposedly don't care about; and while it may, in-fact, be a slow news day, the amount of titles my team owns has never really bothered me that much.

Why?

For starters, the Packers and Bears, owners of 13 and nine NFL titles, respectively, can always raise their collective hands and say, "Um, excuse me?" whenever any championship argument takes place.

Also, I'll just bet, judging by the endless amount of people who attended it, the fans who came to celebrate the Steelers very first Super Bowl title in January of 1975 probably didn't give one bit of a darn that they were still far behind both Green Bay and Chicago in the championship race.

And when I jumped into my uncle's arms in the aftermath of Super Bowl XL, the last thing on my mind was that Pittsburgh had tied San Francisco and Dallas with five Super Bowls.

While Super Bowl supremacy is a source of pride, it's also quite fluid.

Next year—or five years from now—if the Steelers finally capture that one for the other middle finger (if the thumb was the desired digit for number five, shouldn't the other middle finger be the designated digit for Seventh Heaven?), I'm guessing nobody will be keeping score of who has the most Lombardi trophies.

But with all that being said, Mr. Nick Foles, quarterback of the Eagles, if you could deliver an MVP performance this Sunday, gee, that would be swell.