TheSunGod,

You're absolutely right there. If Ben weren't hurt, they'd have gone 13-3. And if Ahman Green, Javon Walker, Robert Ferguson, Bubba Franks, (continue list for 15 or 16 more people) weren't hurt, The Packers would have gone 13-3 and beaten the Steelers.

Amazing that they won the Superbowl and still feel defensive about it, I wonder why...

Hadn't checked in for a while. My, how ticky-tack the thread has gotten!

Who's been holding the Steelers and the Seahawks to different standards? The Steelers, in their playoff game against the Colts, faced what appeared to be an officiating staff favoring the Colts (ask any of the Giants-loving patrons at my Brooklyn watering hole). But the Steelers were able to keep their emotions in check and stay focused on winning--one of the marks of a great team. The Seahawks, faced with a similar situation in the Super Bowl, let their emotions get the better of them. It absolutely sucks, but championship teams can't afford to do that.

And King, my friend, if we're going to continue talking about football--or at least what the rest of the world considers football--that means the next grand topic is the World Cup (people only care about who gets voted to the Pro Bowl; no one actually watches).

So! I'm pulling for Ghana and the Czech Republic, I think. Pity, though, that after playing so well in the 2004 Olympics, the Iraqi team didn't make the cut. Wonder why?(oops, not supposed to talk about such things here! sorry!)

SunGod,

I haven't seen anyone here claiming this Steeler team as of today is one of the all time great teams. Just like no one in Feb 1975 could claim the 74 Steelers as an all time great team. They aren't an all time great team, and that is totally irrelevant.

There have been 40 Super Bowls. Around 25 or more have been won by "not great" teams. Same with any championship. If the core of this Steeler team wins a slew of rings, then XL will turn out to have been won by a great team. If not, it won't. I don't suggest anyone holds their breath waiting to learn the ultimate answer about this core Steeler team.

What we do know is this team beat the #1, #2, #3 AFC teams, and the #1 NFC team when it counted. That's all any team can hope to do in a single year. Play the best, beat the best.

I have to say something about this idea that the Seahawks didn't do what it takes to win. A cursory glance at the stats shows that Seattle was the better performing team. They knocked Pittsburgh up and down the field, particularly in the first half. They did put the ball in the end zone in that first half. Pittsburgh didn't. But the result was a 7-3 halftime lead thanks to poor officiating.

Sure, Seattle made mistakes. But so did Pittsburgh. They had more turnovers than Seattle. They were three and out plenty of times and had the least time of possession. The vaunted Steelers defense was shot full of holes. One gadget play set up by poor officiating, and one breakout run constituted their entire offensive success. The only other score was a gift from the refs. A 22.6 quarterback rating? Not exactly a performance deserving of a Super Bowl ring. But he gets one anyway.

As for the idea that the fix was in: if you combine the ubiquitous East Coast media bias, plus the two weeks of non-stop Steelers Love Fest from the sports media and a 90-10 ratio of Steelers fans in the crowd and the officiating which heavily favored the already favorite team I can see how a Seahawks fan can get the idea that an agenda was set. That their team could be summarily dismissed if they should dare to crash the darling Steelers' party. The Seahawks did rise to the challenge and the poor officiating came at what seemed like just the right time for the Steelers to profit. The feeling was palpable, like an invisible hand holding Seattle by the horse collar. I can see how someone would become suspicious.

Regardless of that give Seattle the credit they deserve. They played well enough to make it to the Super Bowl. That's no small thing. Statistically they performed better than Pittsburgh in front of a very pro-Pittsburgh crowd after two weeks of heavily pro-Pittsburgh media events. Yes, I know people will point to the scoreboard and say that's all that matters. But it doesn't mean the Steelers were the better team and that Seattle played horribly. Seattle did do what it took to score and had to do even more thanks to poor officiating. Pittsburgh didn't have that extra hill to climb and ultimately the Super Bowl fell into their lap.

It was a frustrating experience for Seahawks fans. They deserve to vent that frustration.

I have to say something about this idea that the Seahawks did enough to win... to wit, if they had done enough... they would have.

The Steelers, in their playoff game against the Colts, faced what appeared to be an officiating staff favoring the Colts...But the Steelers were able to keep their emotions in check and stay focused on winning--one of the marks of a great team.

not only did little joey porter whine before the indy game complaining about--get this--'trick plays' not being real football and that audibles make his head hurt, he then still had the time to complain afterwards about referee bias towards indy being the reason for a clear interception being overturned even though they squeaked it out. if ol' ben didn't make that tackle (and be lucky enough to not get called for 'tripping' or something ridiculous like that) we'd still be hearing the pitt fans whine today.

and we seattle fans sat through a week of bitching from giants fans about how field goals should be stricken from the game after dr. feely blew it for them. no mention of course that his two earlier field goals were the only thing keeping the giants in that game--another weak performance by both teams, but by our count seattle had more touchdowns than new yersey.

the complaints will die down and be forgotten. the officiating will be a footnote, the steelers will have the glory. and we'll see you (or perhaps the favored colts or pats) in miami next year.

wah.