A boy can dream, can't he?
In life, I've never bought this stuff about how "He who dies with the most toys wins." Juvenile. Shallow. Inversely proportional to intelligence and maturity. But in the NFL, it's all about the hardware, the "toys" if you will. It's all about Lombardi Trophies. Right now the Steelers are on top of that ledger, and it makes me crazy. And, no, I'm not being juvenile or shallow. I'm just keeping score. And we're behind. Did I mention that it makes me crazy?
Us--five. Them--six, with a chance to climb the "Stairway to Seven" next Sunday at OUR place.
I normally reject hypotheticals, and wouldas and shouldas. As Dandy Don said, "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, what a merry Christmas we'd all have."
But our 'Boys could so easily have more goodies under the tree than anyone else, including the "Stillers."
A boy can dream, can't he?
Okay, we're 5-3 in Big Ones. Should be 6-2 at the very least. Dallas was clearly superior to Baltimore in SB V. It wasn't easy to give that game away, but we found a way to do it. Super Bowl X, I'm gonna let stand. The upstart Cowboys fought valiantly and brilliantly, but the '75 Steelers were bad to the bone. Dallas could have pulled the upset, but it would have been an upset. I'm not gonna get all worked up about that one.
Then there's SB XIII, which broke my heart completely and forever. Understand, Pittsburgh deserved to win. The Steelers made plays when the game was on the line, while the Cowboys committed a series of mistakes that proved fatal. But I still believe the '78 Cowboys were actually the best team of the Landry Era, and at least the equal of the Steelers squad they faced at the Orange Bowl on that rainy (and ultimately, for us) gloomy Sunday. That game determined everything, including "Team of the 70s" and ensuing Hall of Fame selections.
So. Dallas "ought" (yeah, I know, I'm looking at the world through metallic blue glasses) be 6-2 or even 7-1 in Super Bowl appearances. Steeler fans who want to say they could just as easily have won SB XXX had not Neil O'Donnell gone brain-dead and spoon-fed Larry Brown, I get you. If I can go hypothetical, so can you. Fair is fair.
But, I can't help it. Guys do this. We keep tabs on what "might have been."
The Cowboys lost to the Packers in the 1966 season NFL Championship Game. Historically wonderful game (much better than the Ice Bowl). We coulda, but maybe not shoulda. OK.
But a year later? Sorry, I hate it when I whine. But I will. Dallas would have mopped the floor with the Packers on any kind of reasonable surface. There. I said it. And the Cowboys would have destroyed the Raiders in the second Super Bowl (still known as the NFL-AFL Championship game at the time). That's now seven, possibly eight, titles in the Super Bowl era.
The Dallas meltdowns against the Browns in '68 and '69? A matter of historical record. Those Cowboy teams, however talented, were simply not mature enough to get it done.
Super Bowl V just completely honks me off. Have I made that clear?
Breakthrough in SB VI in New Orleans. One of the most deep-down satisfying days of my life.
Dallas then advanced to the NFC Championship Games following the '72 and '73 seasons. Gotta be objective. The Redskins and Vikings, respectively, handed us our hats. No sense "what if-ing" either of those games.
The record reflects playoff defeats at the hands of the Rams in '76, '79 and '83. All right. We deserved to lose.
"The Catch" following the '81 season? Fifty one seconds from victory, and even after that, Drew was gone with the winning TD had he been wearing a tearaway jersey. We woulda wasted the Bengals in SB XVI.
And then there's 1994. Yeah, I know. If my aunt had male genitalia she'd be my uncle. I get that. But if not for flat-lining for fifteen minutes at Candlestick, our 'Boys would have beaten the Niners and crushed the Chargers in SB 29 (enough with the Roman numerals!).
A boy can dream, right? The Steelers are trying to roll seven. We could so easily already have ten, or more. Yeah, I know. And Amanda Peet could call me later tonight. Thanks for your indulgence.