There’s nothing worse!
I’ve now had over a week to fully digest the fact that the Steelers lost the Super Bowl. And I can now say from experience that time does NOT heal all wounds. It still hurts just like it did when the final whistle blew. Frankly, after reading this week’s Sports Illustrated and their love-fest for the Packers, I think I feel even worse.
But now that I’ve had time to reflect on all of the implications of the loss, I’ve come to realize that losing is even worse than it originally seemed. In fact, losing the Super Bowl may be the worst fate in all of sports.
Some of you probably think that I’m exaggerating. But I’m not.
Let’s look at some of the worst sports memories that I can recall, then I’ll show you why this is worse.
When the Penguins lost the Stanley Cup, that was pretty bad. But the team had a very young nucleus, and the team that beat them was aging in dog years. It was clear that in time, the Pens would overtake them. And that’s exactly what happened the next year. So losing wasn’t so bad. It gave a young team the experience they needed to win the Cup later.
Or how about when the Pirates lost their young stars Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla? While that seemed like a terrible thing, I was certain that it was only going to be a matter of time before the Pirates signed new star players and got back to their winning ways. Ummmm, I was obviously wrong about that one. But still, the pain the Pirates bring me on a daily basis is manageable. It’s not even in the same neighborhood as what the Steelers just put me through.
Dave Wannstedt got several extremely talented Pitt football teams to under-perform miserably. In fact, he seemed to have a special talent for that. No wonder he’s no longer the head coach. But I always felt confident that he would recruit another strong class the next year, and they’d under-perform once again. So Pitt losses were never truly painful.
But what the Steelers did was much worse. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud that they got to the Super Bowl. Mike Tomlin did a fantastic job with this team. Most fans didn’t expect the Steelers to make it to the Super Bowl this year. But despite the pride in seeing the Steelers make it to the Super Bowl, I still think that losing the Super Bowl is the worst fate in sports.
There are several reasons that I feel this way. Firstly, the Super Bowl is the biggest stage in sports outside of the World Cup (and we know that Americans don’t care about soccer). So losing the Super Bowl is essentially failure of the greatest imaginable magnitude.
Secondly, the feeling of hope that being in the Super Bowl brings also leads to an incredible feeling of letdown when the hopes aren’t realized. The NFL drags on the anticipation by making us wait a full two weeks before the Super Bowl is actually played. That two weeks is about as enjoyable as Chinese water torture. If I had to listen to one more analyst ask “who has better hair, Troy Polamalu or Clay Matthews?”, I think I would have shot myself.
Frankly, unless your team actually wins it, the Super Bowl and all of the events leading up to it, are actually pretty miserable. Think about it.
Perhaps I’m the only one, but I think I’d rather have the Steelers lose earlier in the playoffs than lose in the Super Bowl. An early playoff exit just doesn’t seem to hurt as much.
And finally, the NFL essentially penalizes the team that loses the Super Bowl. Because they made it to the Super Bowl, the Steelers will get the 31st pick in the draft. So we have to watch Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Cleveland pick talented players while we wait patiently for the 31st pick to come around.
Do you think there will be a Pro Bowl caliber left tackle still on the board at pick #31? Neither do I. Or how about a top-tier cornerback? Do you think the next Darrelle Revis is going to be sitting there at pick #31? Neither do I.
When the Steelers first lost the Super Bowl, I comforted myself by saying that “30 other teams would have loved to have been where we were”. But now I’m not so sure about that.
When the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Indianapolis Colts are all picking ahead of us, do you think that any of them are going to envy the Steelers, or want to swap picks with them? That’s what I thought.
I know that this has been a bit of a rant. But I had to get it out of my system. Losing the Super Bowl sucks! And it sucks on multiple levels.
In the future, I think I’d prefer that the Steelers either win the Super Bowl, or get eliminated from the playoffs as early as possible. Heck, if we can’t win it all, then at least we can get a good draft pick to help us win the following season.
Hmmmmm, I wonder if Mike Pouncey will be available at pick #31?
I disagree. Picks 25,26,27… won’t be all that hot either. Going to the Sb is an accomplishment that two teams, in a very tough NFL, get a chance to do. The excitement of every week leading up their playoff game is fantastic…..let alone the great feeling you get when you win and move on to the next round. Then you get the two weeks of pre-SB hype, with everyone and everywhere displaying their teams colors, playing songs and just an overall super atmosphere. Yes, to lose was tough, but get over it, the Pittsburgh Steelers were in SB XLV!!! I look at it like this in laymen terms. Lets say you go over to your girls house one evening. You have a few drinks, make out a little and you get all excited because your going to get laid. The next thing you know she drops your fly and performs orally on you. Hence, you didn’t get the prize, but you still played in the game.
1sooo true, but u know if we had some GOOD corners who could play that would have helped alot, and hate to say it but Troy hasn’t been seen or mentioned in the last 2 games we played…that isn’t Troy.
2My gut told me that the Packers were good and we had to play our best and we didn’t , so therefore we lost.
You couldn’t have expressed my feelings more exactly. I am still not over it and no one seems to understand why. This article was perfection!!!!!!!
3There isn’t a pro bowl caliber LT in this draft at #31…or #21, or #11, or even #1. This year’s tackle class is pretty lackluster. CB is pretty deep, so we could potentially grab Brandon Harris or Jimmy Smith. The front 7 portion of this draft class is extremely deep as well.
Also, just because a player is picked early it doesn’t mean he is going to be successful. Also, just because a player falls to the lower first round or lower, doesn’t mean he’s inferior. There are always teams with poor front offices that reach for players and make bad decisions. Case in point: The Bills with C.J. Spiller last year. Don’t assume that all NFL execs know what they are doing.
Furthermore, there are 7 rounds in the draft, not just one. I think fans tend to forget that. The Steelers certainly haven’t, as they have been having success in those later rounds lately. Last year’s class is already looking like an epic draft.
Here’s the deal: losing the super bowl sucked. However, it’s hardly the end of the world, especially since the Steelers are one of the best drafting team out there. Our pick is at #31. Don’t forget, we got Ziggy Hood at #32. And Mike Wallace in the fourth round. And James Harrison was an undrafted free agent. We will be fine with a late pick.
Oh, and Pouncey goes off the board at the #15-25 range, I think. No worries, plenty of other guards in the draft.
4Art,
5I must say that this was the first time anyone has used an oral sex story to illustrate a football point on this blog. Well done!
Dan,
I know that we’ll be fine in the draft. But Colbert can do more with the 15th pick than he can the 31st. Unfortunately, getting good picks means having a bad season.
As much as Steelers fans hate missing the playoffs, it is just that which allowed us to get Big Ben. Same with Pouncey. Every now and then, missing the playoffs actually helps a team to reload faster. Of course, there are always team like the Bills, Bengals, and Raiders that always seem to have early draft picks, yet never seem to get any better. I’ve always wondered how that’s possible.
6It’s possible because those teams don’t know how to draft. There is a reason why those teams are in the top ten every year. For Example: The Bills taking a third down back with a top ten pick. Teams like The Steelers, Colts, Pats, and Ratbirds are always drafting late due to always being successful. They are so good because they know how to handle those late picks.
7Sorry to see that Art’s sexual comment was not only allowed but praised. It’s sad that you can’t even escape that discourse on a sports blog. I will not return. Bye
8Sorry that the comment offended you, Tony.
I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t please all of the people all of the time. I guess it’s still true.
I understand why you were offended, but I’m sure you’ve heard worse. I don’t allow any cursing on here. Nor do I allow it in the comments on my Facebook page (and believe me, it’s hard to keep up with all of the “F-bombs” that people drop in their comments).
One of the reasons why I don’t go to Steelers message boards is because they are full of immature people who spend too much time attacking one another and cursing. So I get it.
I didn’t think his comment was quite as bad as you did. Particularly when it was at the end of a very long season. I am basically taking a break until I start my draft coverage. But I respect your opinion. You’ve been here for a long time. Hopefully, we’ll see you again.
9i agree totally with you it is march 4th and im still not over it just one turnover from winning i think i feel so bad about this one because nooooo one thought the steelers would even make the playoffs then who wanted ben in the sb? no one its a shame he didnt win a 3rd ring maybe next yr if we even have football go steelers
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