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| Validation By The Wise Guy Even if the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t win next Sunday in the AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos (and at this point, would you bet against them?), yesterday’s stunning victory over the Indianapolis Colts validates this year’s Steelers team as a winner. True, the surrealistic last five minutes of the game had more emotional ups and downs than a ride on Kennywood Park’s Thunderbolt. But, for the first 55, the Steelers dominated the Colts on both sides of the ball. Earlier in the week, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger predicted that it would take their best game of the year to beat the seemingly invincible Colts. Pittsburgh delivered such a performance, in spades. Yesterday’s win won over even for skeptics like me. Yes, the Steelers hadn’t lost since November, but their march to the playoffs had taken them through the NFL’s Rust Belt, with victories over Chicago, Minnesota, Cleveland and Detroit. None of those teams, Chicago included, should have come close to beating us. It turned out they didn’t. Even the first-round playoff win in Cincinnati was less than satisfying because the Bengals had to play without Carson Palmer, their best player. A John Kitna he ain’t. Coach Bill Cowher deserves a big pat on the jaw for the game plan he and his staff devised on both sides of the ball. Remember, these were the Colts. The team the media had penciled in as this year’s Superbowl winner. It was great to see that pout on Colts quarterback Peyton Manning’s face for most of the game. He looked as if someone had poured sour milk into his “De-Caf! De-Caf!” coffee. The Steelers overcame so many obstacles to win this game. Not the least of which was the referee crew. If you believe in conspiracy theories, you could make a case that the NFL wanted the Colts to go all the way so badly, they made their wishes known to the men in the striped shirts. The non-call against Antwaan Randle-El was a blatant boo-boo. Randel-El had three steps on the defensive back Marlin Jackson and was wide open for the long bomb. At that point, Jackson did the only thing he could do. He mugged Randel-El. No flag. Even the avuncular color commentator Dan Dierdorf, friend to the NFL, called it highway robbery. The referee crews’ crowning goof was the reversal of Steeler safety Troy Polamalu’s fourth-quarter interception. Even the network was convinced it was an interception. They cut to a commercial before we even knew Colt’s coach Tony Dungy threw the red flag. Going to a commercial break gave the Colt’s staff a ton of time to review the play to see if there were any chance the call might be reversed.. And didn’t you know that since it took so long for the refs to make the call, it was going against us? Even Steeler hater Boomer Esiason agreed that the refs blew that one. On the network post game show, he even went so far as to say the Steelers deserved the victory, that it would have been a shame had we lost because of the way the refs bungled Troy’s interception. And wasn’t it nice to see the redemption of Jerome Bettis at the end, when Colt’s kicker Mike Vanderjagt flubbed the field goal? You couldn’t get mad at The Bus for fumbling the ball (ironically, his first of the year) at the end, not after all he did yesterday and has done for us over the years. Denver has won nine games in a row at home. They dethroned last year’s Superbowl kings, thanks again to some nice calls that went their way and five New England turnovers. It won’t be easy to beat them Broncos. Not only that, but they have to be relieved that they’re not traveling to Indianapolis to play the Colts, who’ve beat them like a dusty rug the past few years. In fact, this is the precise scenario Denver surely wanted—a home championship game in the Mile High City against the #6 seed in the playoffs. Well, Broncos. Be careful what you wish for. |