Watching Super Bowl LII as a Steelers fan: who do you root for?

Another year, another Super Bowl we have to see the Patriots in and not our Black and Gold.

I’ve had time to recover from the Steelers disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so now I can take a look at both teams playing in Super Bowl LII: the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots.

I think it’s pretty obvious who to root for in this game, but is there any upside for either outcome?

Let’s take a look.

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A Patriots Win

There isn’t much of a bright side when it comes to the New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl. If it were possible that the Baltimore Ravens and the Patriots could play each other in the Super Bowl, I might find myself rooting for the Ravens at this point.

So, is there any good that can come from a Patriots win? The only thing I can muster is that it would again, shut Eagles fans up. I’m not as upset with them as I am Jacksonville fans (like in my previous article), but they are still extremely crazy.

For example, here are a few instances where Philadelphia fans went too far.

In 1978, the Eagles were hosting the Washington Redskins and a fan (Zema Williams or better know as Chief Zee) always dressed up as a Chief and would go to games. After the Eagles lost to the Redskins, he taunted a few Eagles fans and they responded by attacking him in the stands. Then, in the parking lot, the same two people as well as a couple more, beat him up, and broke his leg.

He was wheelchair bound for over a year.

And there are many more:

  • There are multiple times where Eagles fans have thrown snow balls to opposing players, coaches, referees, and broadcasters.
  • When he came back, a woman threw a beer bottle at his face.
  • When Michael Irvin had his career-ending injury, Eagles fans cheered.
  • Former Eagles quarterback Doug Pederson said fans whipped him with D batteries.
  • They booed the team when they picked Donovan McNabb in 1999 (I wonder how that turned out Philly).
  • The burning of DeSean Jackson‘s jerseys when he was cut.
  • They threw cheesecake at former Redskin Chris Baker when he was ejected.
  • The city had to grease light polls with Crisco so fans would not climb them and cause worse riots.

How about Eagles fans are now celebrating playoff wins by punching horses? First of all, that is one of the dumbest things I think you could do. Those are big, huge animals that are strong and can kick pretty darn well.

But Eagles fans didn’t just pick horses to punch: they picked police horses to punch!

How dumb can you get?

Recently, a 19-year-old got arrested for punching a police horse. (This doesn’t even include Phillies and Flyers games.)

Imagine not feeling safe after a team just made the Super Bowl, let alone if they were to win the whole thing? For the citizens of Philadelphia, a Patriots win would contain many of the inevitable riots that would ensue.

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An Eagles Win

This is the easiest answer for Steelers fans: rooting for the Eagles because you don’t want the Patriots to win the Super Bowl.

First and foremost, the Patriots winning would tie the Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories ever. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been pretty comfy sitting on top of the entire league when it comes to Super Bowl victories. It would also add another ring to Bill “Belicheat” who is an incredible coach but is still tarnished by his various cheating scandals.

A Patriots win would also more-or-less solidify Brady and “Belicheat” being the best quarterback and coach of all time, as much as it pains me to say. Both would have a two Super Bowl lead on Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw (and Joe Montana). Right now, you can debate who the best coach and quarterback is of all time. Obviously, there are many arguments already for both, but there is still doubt. It’s not like Brady has been deemed the same level as Michael Jordan for basketball, yet. (Or has he?)

Lastly, this would just open up conspiracy theorists to the maximum. All of the “close” calls over the season that went their way, the “clean” football the Pats have been playing during the playoffs, all of it would just solidify that the league wanted the Patriots to win the Super Bowl.

The Eagles winning would make sure none of those things would happen, at least until next season where the Steelers will obviously beat them to the punch.

Conclusion

Overall, Steelers fans, you just need to sit back, hang out with friends and family, and just have as much of a good time as you can (hopefully) watching the Patriots lose. Make a night out of it, and in the meantime, we’ll gear up for next season.


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