steelers
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heartache
I woke up snuggled in bed, a distinct chill in the air, and I was both excited about the fall, and all the wonderful things it holds, but also mournful of the season that has passed ~ cold drinks on the patio, the warm heat of the sun, sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, barbeques …. Ah well. Adieu ’til next year!
Despite wanting to have a low key weekend (I think of it as a battery recharge for the five days of work that wear me out completely) this one seemed to be jam-packed with things to do. Today, after a yum breakfast courtesy of my lovely Mama, we went over to the storage unit to assess the workload necessary to clear it out of extraneous… stuff (I’ll refrain from saying ‘junk’ because it probably isn’t junk … but it has been in storage for years, so I don’t think one could call it necessary). It’s amazing the amount of stuff I thought I’d lost, but it has been sealed up in boxes instead! Very exciting stuff ~ and probably a lot of work for an upcoming weekend.
Then, I watched the Steelers’ painful loss to the Texans with my father. No matter how much I try to be calm and collected, watching them this season (and with total honesty, the end of last season) is absolutely gut-wrenching. Where is the fire? And ~ say it with me Steeler Nation ~ where is our Offensive Line? Ugh. Not to mention the salt in the wound reading the news ribbon the rest of the day stating that Ben boarded the plane on crutches and a boot on his foot. For me, being a fan is deep-seeded. The Steelers are part of who I am. No matter what happens this season, or any other, I will always love them beyond what is considered normal. I have to have faith that they will figure this out and triumph as well. But I’d like to think it won’t take until we’re 7-5 to find the fire.
Today also launched my third go-round with Shaun T and Insanity. For some reason, those work outs work better for me than anything else. I’m disciplined about it, and I find it challenging, so I keep up on it. I was thrilled beyond belief that Workout #1 (Plyometric Cardio Circuit) was challenging, but not impossible (as it was the first and second time). Yippee!! I still think the man is crazy, but clearly, also very motivating.
On the food front, the peach cobbler has remained illusive thus far, but fingers crossed, it’s baking away happily tomorrow night. Monday is coming again …. and this girl must get some shut eye before the rat race begins.
the search for a jersey
Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot tell a lie. These past few weeks have been hectic for me, and while trying to balance long days, intense work requirements and a bundle of social commitments (this girl just can’t say no!), my blog has been woefully neglected. It doesn’t mean I’m not cooking … but it does mean that my time management skills have been pushed to the max.
I’m hoping between the Giants game this afternoon, and the Steelers SNF game tonight, I can finally do some baking, and (dare I say it?) some cooking! Thoughts from readers on this ~ I feel like people fall into two categories: either you’re a baker, or a cook, but rarely do people do both with passion. I love baking, but at the end of the day, I like making savory meals (and creating beautiful presentations) much more. Do you think that people fall on either side of the line, or do you think people do both? More on this later!
Today, we finally ordered jerseys online (something we have been discussing with much enthusiasm since … well, I’d say mid-July, but as early as the end of last season). Choosing a jersey, if you’ve never done it, is quite a commitment. A lot of factors come into it. What player do you like the most? What player represents your franchise best? What player is committed to your franchise?
I own three Steelers jerseys. My first was Hines Ward, #86, a Christmas present from my parents (that I strategically asked and lobbied for through my brother and his fraternity brothers). I still wear this one the most. (I have it on right now). My second and third were also both presents: Troy Polamalu #43 ( & IMHO one of the best free safeties playing the game right now), and a customized throw-back jersey with my last name and favorite number (#12). Twelve also happens to be Terry Bradshaw’s number ~ the Steelers QB from the ’70s who won four Super Bowls with Pittsburgh.
The man has had less luck with his jerseys (a few of his jerseys are players who are no longer Giants, and that’s a bummer, because they are really nice, stitched jerseys). He’s been wanting a new jersey for awhile, but with budgets, and a thousand other things going on, it kept getting pushed back. As of today, a blue New York Giants jersey has his name on it (not literally … figuratively, as in, it’s his), and should be coming our way via the United States Postal Service in (we hope) a timely fashion.
It went down to the wire, as he hemmed and hawed, and debated the pros of each of the players he was contemplating (a throwback Bavaro, a retired great Strahan, or one of the current players Bradshaw, Jacobs, or Nicks). He’d made his mind up over the summer that if Kevin Boss remained a Giant, that was the jersey he was going for … but unfortunately, Kevin Boss left the Giants to go play for the Raiders. (Boo. And ps. Boo to the Giants for letting him go).
The man had different prerequisites than me, and his final choice of Brandon Jacobs (my fav Giant … hey, I watch them every week, so I’m bound to have a favorite!) reflects his thoughts on what makes a Giant player worth wearing. While Nicks may go down in the history books as one of, if not the best, Giants wide receiver in franchise history, my man doesn’t wear receivers. He doesn’t go for flash. He goes for the guys who sweat it out yard by yard. And after today’s beautiful touchdown by Jacobs, I think he’s quite pleased with his choice.
I may have mentioned this, but we really love football.
On another note, pumpkin bread and muffins are cooking in the oven right now ~ watch this space for the recipe. The man and his pops leave at the end of the week for their hunting adventure, and I’m trying to bake them some snacks to take along for the ride!
here we go …
The first day of football season (Thursday’s debut game notwithstanding) is always such an exciting day. The jersey comes off the hanger, the hats come down from the rack. As the weather cools, the sweatshirts are cuddled up in at night. My whole life exists, especially on Sunday, in black & gold.
Ah Pittsburgh. I love yinz.
There is something utterly exhilarating for me to watch my team come out onto the field in their uniforms, faces stony in concentration, hair cut, beards shaved ~ everyone clean cut, fresh and new.
This year we play the Ravens on Opening Day ~ our biggest Division Rival ~ the salt in many wounds. I watched the AFC Divisional Game in January 2009 with my little brother, in Row 521 (or there about) in the endzone as the wind whipped and the snow fell. It was the best NFL game experience I have ever had. We barely sat down (the benches were coated in ice), we screamed, we swung terrible towels (sidenote: my arm actually hurt the next day ~ true story), we screamed until we couldn’t scream any more …. It was worth all the blood, sweat and tears it took to get there. (Dave came down to Philly from NYC, I picked him up at 6am, we drove down to my parents, got my dad, and the three of us drove across the state in a snow storm).
At the beginning
In a sea of black & gold
This game isn’t as heavy as that game ~ but it’s a doozy of a way to start the season. May Ben play well, may our O line play well, may our defense be epic, and may we suffer no season-ending or crucial injuries to our major players.
One can’t really ask for more than that.
Here we go Steelers, Here we go!
childhood memories
Tonight was the first televised pre-season game that I got to enjoy, and I have to tell everyone, it was most assuredly exhilarating.
I was smiling like a giddy child as Ben dropped back to assess his first pass ~ smiling like a giddy child when all the numbers and names that I followed with dogged devotion last seaon (well … not all of them, but a lot of them) came back to me, in inky black and vivid gold. Yes, I understand it’s pre-season; but pre-season precedes a season, and for that, I am infinitely excited.
The Steelers are tradition to me. They are the fall, and hopefully the beginning of the wretchness that is January, and the bleak days of winter. I have memories of my father wearing a Steelers tossle cap to shovel the driveway … in Noblesville, in Exeter, in Flemington, in Gibsonia … in Wyomissing. Black and gold were bred into me like most fathers indoctrinate their sons. I love them now, I loved them then, I will love them always, in a totally fanatic, unabashed way.
I remember eating brunch at Station Square and taking the ferry across the river to games that were more bitterly cold than anything I could imagine.
I think with utter fondness of watching games in college, surrounded by a sea of black and gold.
I know where I was when we beat the Broncos at Mile High Stadium in the AFC Championship, and headed to Bill Cowher’s 2nd (and sole victorious) Super Bowl.
I know where I was when we faced the Ravens to battle for the AFC title again ~ standing in row 521 in the endzone with my little brother, wrapped up like the son in “A Christmas Story,” drinking IC Light and screaming at the top of my lungs.
I know where I was last year, when we fell in defeat. It was heart-breaking.
I love the Steelers in a completely biased, ridiculously enthusiastic way. (I drive a black & gold Mini Cooper, for goodness sakes’). I’m chomping at the bit for football season, and I’m so grateful that the man loves the game as much as me.
Despite eating a completely green-themed meal for dinner (dates wrapped in proscuitto with a basil/garlic/honey dipping sauce, shaved aparagus salad, green ravioli with broccoli & pesto … and the piece de resistance, the mint green whipped dipping sauce for kiwis, green grapes & honeydew) tonight was a wholly black & gold evening. Whew!
And so I say, in the spirit of utter fan devotion ~
Thank you, Football Gods, for settling the lockout, and allowing us a full NFL season. I deeply appreciate it. As I am sure all true fans nationwide do as well.
And to all teams across our great nation I say, Good Night & Good Luck! (PS. Such a good movie!!)
From last night … Hamlet speaks those immortal lines in … you guessed it … Hamlet. 🙂
D5 Creation