Sunday's Super Bowl features two teams that weren't supposed to make it to Tampa. The Steelers were considered a good team, but most thought (remember, this was back in August) that the Patriots were too strong. Then, after Tom Brady got hurt, the Titans and Jets emerged as the favorites in the AFC.
But, one, by one, those pretenders went down. The Jets failed to make it to the playoffs and the Titans were upset in the divisional round of the playoffs (so much for the bye week). The team left standing? The Steelers.
In the NFC, the Cowboys started the season as the resounding favorite to make it to the NFL's biggest stage. The Giants were a trendy pick as well, and the Panthers emerged as a contender as well.
The Eagles came on strong, and there was a lot of love going to the Atlanta Falcons, but in the end, your NFC Champion was... the Arizona Cardinals?
Yes, the Cardinals.
What you have here is a matchup of what was once considered the worst franchise in professional football taking on what is considered one of the best franchises in football. The Cards were the NFL's version of the Los Angeles Clippers. A team that moved from city to city. A team that had no identity. A team that changed coaches every year and a half. A franchise who couldn't tell you what stability is if it hit them in the face.
And then you have the Steelers. If you look closely at what the Rooney family has built, you have to come to the conclusion that they are the most stable franchise in professional sports.
Sure, the Steelers don't have the same cache as the Cowboys, Yankees, Lakers or Celtics, but this is a franchise that wins (five Super Bowl in case you were keeping score at home) and it's a franchise that is almost totally devoid of controversy.
You don't believe me? Try this on for size. I'm thirty-seven years old. In my lifetime the Steelers have had a total of three head coaches. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin. There isn't a franchise in professional sports that can say the same thing.
Think about it. The Cowboys have had more head coaches. the Yankees used to hire and fire managers like you and I change underwear. The Celtics went through their lean times as well (does the name M.L. Carr mean anything to you?). The Lakers have been almost as exciting off the court (Shaq v. Kobe, The Phil Jackson Experience) as they have been on the court.
The Steelers have had very little, if any locker room controversies either. When was the last time the Steelers had to deal with a character like Terrell Owens? When was the last time there was any finger pointing going on in that locker room? I can't remember.
Sure, the Steelers have had players like Joey Porter, but when a guy like Porter emerges as a diva, he's quickly shown the door. That's why Mr. Porter is now an ex-Steeler.
The Steelers, in Dan Rooney, have one of the best owners in all of pro sports. This is a man who never, and I mean never looks for the spotlight. He's the anti-Jerry Jones. He's the anti-Mark Cuban. He's the anti-George Steinbrenner. Heck, this is a guy who walks to Heinz Stadium from his house for every single home game. There isn't a pretentious bone in that man's body.
And did I mention how the Steelers have been consistent winners? It is even more incredible when you consider that they are a small market team. There was a time that this franchise lost player after player to bigger cities. There was a time when players left year after year for bigger money. The Steelers went about replacing them, and they never complained about it.
It kind of makes you think that Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio should have just kept his head down and gone on with the business of building a team instead of complaining that the Yankees were spending too much money.
Maybe there's something in the water in Pittsburgh. But then again the Pirates have been losers for the better part of the last twenty years. And the Penguins were very close to leaving the city on a number of occasions.
So, it's not something that's in Pittsburgh's water. It's the Steelers. They know how to run a professional sports franchise.
They are, simply, the best franchise in all of professional sports.
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