The Pilgrimage
�Journey to Heinz
By Swissvale72
My sojourn
began at 5:15am Monday morning.� Why is js it that when anyone else in my house needs to fly, they
receive door-to-door to the airport, bags carried, well wishes, blah, blah, blah.� Me?� It�s �See ya�why
don�t you stay in Pittsburgh.��
Hmmm�.maybe I shouldn�t look the proverbial Gift Horse in the
Mouth.� I�ve thought about it.� Weird as this sounds, I could stay the football
season in my mom�s place�.a�
high rise elderly housing in Braddock Hills.� And�can it with the old jokes�I�m not that fuckin� old.� But
consider�my mom just replaced her love seat with a full length couch, so I
wouldn�t need to sleep on the floor, as I�ve done in the past.� There�s a back exit, so you don�t need to
pass too many of the elderly on the way out, including the guy that looks like Lerch�.always freaks out the kids.� And�the only business within walking distance
for these old folks is a great dive of a bar across the way.� Yuengling drafts
are $1.25 during daylight hours�price gets jacked up to a buck and a half at
night.� Three TVs, including a big
screen, pool table, decent food�.what more could one of these crotchety elderly
mother-fuckers want??� Wait�.there is a
business actually in the high-rise.� It�s
a beauty shop, for all of the old ladies to get their perms�..could be a good
spot for Beauty School Dropout�..or��nah,
won�t go there today.
The fam might have a point.� Four Steeler home
games thus far�this is my 3rd trip in.� Factor in my nephew�s wedding, and it�s been
4 trips to Pittsburgh
in 7 weeks.� The only game I�ve missed
was the SF game, where SignPlax from the Message
Board got the deal of the century�.buying an �authentic� white FWP jersey for
the bargain price of $235�..same jersey that I have, same price, too on EBay�.oh,
minus the 2.
Anyway, my
ass was out the door at 5:15�.drove to Nashua,
where I took the Boston Express, a big-ass bus to Logan Airport.� Can�t beat this bus�$25 roundtrip�.would�ve
cost me twice that just to park�.satellite radio, listened to Mike & Mike,
live from Pittsburgh, on my way in.��
I get to Logan.� Everyone knows these Transportation Safety
people are generally a humorless lot, right?�
Not this time.� An older guy is
patrolling my line�.spies my Steeler jacket, says,
�You should be embarrassed to wear
that jacket, � he says.� �I dunno,� I
respond, �got five.� 5>3.�� I go on to tell him that I�ll
be at Heinz Field later that night, and will be in Foxboro on December 9th.� �Good,� he says, �you�ll witness the devastation
first hand.� You won�t need to watch it
on TV.�� I parry, �We�ll be giving you
your first loss,� prior to moving on, proceeding to the terminal.� My major anxiety was only having 25 minutes
between connections at LaGuaria, but I managed to hop
aboard an earlier flight, where another patron, upon seeing my jacket, says, �You
must�ve been raised right,� and proceed from New York to Greater Pitt.�� First person I see upon exiting the plane,
in Pittsburgh,
is wearing a mother-fuckin� Patriots jersey.� I couldn�t hold my tongue. �Hey,� I bark, �you�re
in the wrong spot to be wearing that.��
She smiles meekly, and scurries away, certainly to bury her nose in a
Nathanial Hawthorne novel.
My good
fortune is due to my niece�s boyfriend, Ed, being stuck with his band in West Virginia�..West
Virginia??� Can only imagine Ed north of Beckley
somewhere, getting it up the ass from some fuckin� hillbilly,
while he�s playing guitar.�
Anyway, Ed makes it back to Pittsburgh,
but too fuckin� late, Ed�.I�m in town, gonna be at the house.�
We arrive on site around 4:00, we being me & TonyV15220, my brother
Ralph, both their daughters, and the valet James, who�s about to become related
to us via marriage next year.� So�you
have 3 full dagos, the two girls have some Irish in them, one-quarter &
one-half, respectively.� James�who gives
a fuck what he is.� Later I find our that James I half dago as
well.� Whouda thunk it.� James�
claim to fame is that his parents are very good friends with Sharon Stone�s
parents.� Do ya
suppose she�ll be at the wedding?�
Wearing white??� I stroll down to Federal Street,
pass the 222 Bar, looking for GBall8man�..I�m wearing my Harrisburg Rugby cap�.can�t find GBall.� Back to our
tailgate right across from the General
Robinson Street garage�.great spot, bathrooms
right there�don�t need the port-o-potty.�
Always said that my retirement business is going to be buying an RV and
a parking pass, sell all day piss passes for $10 during Steeler
games�.make a fortune!
As all you asshats know, we were plagued by rain, but the tailgate
scene, as well as Heinz was electric.�
Yes, there were empty seats, but this crowd more than made up for
it.� Halftime show,
fan-fuckin�-tastic.� The introduction of the 75th all
time team�.the video�.fireworks�.crowd was in a constant roar.� Conditions were miserable.� I made a gametime�.while
more like stadium-entry time, decision to forego a poncho�..going with the
attire of 4 layers, long-sleeved & short-sleeved t�s,
Steeler jersey, Steeler
jacket.� Bad fuckin� move.�
I was first soaked through, then chilled
through, then shivering through.� I like
to travel lightly, only clothes I brought other than those I was wearing were
one extra t-shirt and pair of gym shorts, which I got into immediately upon
going back to TonyV�s house.� Meantime, our brethren
four rows behind us were under the shelter of the roof, and thus dry as a bone.
The game�.anyone
else pissed that we weren�t calling a timeout before half, when the Ravens were
facing a 3rd & 20 from their 10, about 50 seconds to half.� No way they were
making the first down.� Why not stop the
clock, likely get the ball back in Ravens territory with a bit of time left??� That was about the only thing not to cheer
about.� What a stat line from Ben�..16
throws, 5 TDs, Silverback!!!
Went back
to TonyV�s, watched the game again�..short night, was
on the 7:30am back to Boston.� We land,
true story�..voice from the flight deck�..�Welcome to Boston, home of the undefeated New England
Patriots.� That is�.until the Pittsburgh
Steelers come to visit.�
Back in
enemy territory�..fuck �em all!!
Football Notes:
More I look
at the NFL schedule, more I think that there silver lining in the Pats victory
over the Colts is more than considerable.�
Indy still travels to SD & Baltimore, while hosting KC, Jax & TN for five of their remaining 7 games.� The lose a couple, a
first round by for our Pittsburgh Steelers is definitely a possibility.
On a night
when there was very little to be pissed about, was anyone else a tad upset that
we didn�t call timeout after a sack near the end of the half. �Baltimore
was facing 3rd & 19 at their own 19, about 50 seconds left.� Very unlikely that they
pick up the first.� More likely we
get the ball back in position to tack up 3 more prior to the intermission.� Yes�I know it was 35-7, but the Ravens were
getting the ball back after half�.could be 35-14, and then�..just sayin�.
Don�t shoot
the messengers that are skeptical of the Steelers due to our two losses.� Great teams can�t lose these games�let�s hope
this team matures, improves week by week.
That said, Steelers should certainly by 10-2 going into Foxboro.� Four home games, aggregate score of 123-26�.we�re
not losing this Sunday, certainly not losing to Miami, and while I�m always
nervous going up against The Homo Carson Palmer and the Bengals,
we take that Sunday night encounter as well.�
On the road�Jets in the Meadowlands�..10-2.� That�s why�.even should we lose to the Pats,
and I really think we can hang with �em, we can do
13-3.� We�ll lean on our home record to
beat Jax at Heinz�.Baltimore on the final day?�� They still won�t be able to score.� Pray, pray, pray for Colts losses.
Versus Pats�..my biggest concern?� Ike can run
with Moss, can cover �em.� The worst part of Ike�s game though is the
best part of Moss�s�.playing the ball in the air.� Guarantee you that we muss Brady�s hair�.that
he has a tantrum of two that game�..we�ll confuse that fuck�..and please, let�s
pound that little fuck Welker.
Midway
point, 6-2 and still in the background�..just where we want it.