schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, (German) noun: A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.
I love pro football. Always have. I was a die-hard Bengals fan from long ago. I can still remember watching Joe Montana beat Cincinnati in the Super Bowl after the 1988 season. The years after that were not kind to the "Bungles."
I gave up on them when I got to New Haven. I wasn't a fan of one particular team, I was just a fan. There were teams I liked, like Denver, Green Bay, St. Louis and Buffalo. Teams I disliked usually had some loudmouth wideout who spent too much time trying to get on SportsCenter, or a star player who also was involved with violent crime or the drug trade. And then there were the Northeast teams.
Every fan I met from the Giants, Jets and especially the Patriots was an obnoxious twit. Perhaps it was a product of the beginnings of sports talk radio, but these mouth-breathing, smirking wastes of DNA just drove me nuts. It didn't matter if their teams were terrible, in the playoffs or anywhere in between. Constant, incessant attitude. It wasn't that hard to start hating these teams.
I couldn't stand the Patriots long before I got to Pittsburgh and "adopted" the Steelers along with the new city. The killer AFC championship loss in 2002 only cemented that loathing. I saw the Pats as everything that drove me nuts about Northeast teams: got all the calls, all the bounces and swaggered in the adulation of their legions of moronic fans as they cashed their paychecks from the richest and most unethical owners in the league.
Loss after loss by the Steelers to the Patriots only rubbed salt in the wound. I started following the Pats, if only to cheer anyone playing them. I despise the Pats so much, I would cheer for (shudder), the Baltimore Ravens. This is hatred.
So and thus I hail tonight's defeat of the Pats by the Broncos. Schadenfreude. Watching all these prima-donnas lose in the same way they would win was sweet, very sweet. They could move the ball up and down the field. They dominated the total yardage, 420 to 286. They held a huge time of possession advantage until the final quarter. But they fell, losing turnover after turnover, piling penalty upon penalty. They got screwed over by the refs (that fumble on Bailey's INT return went out of the end zone. The Pats got screwed and I LOVED IT!) Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal. Sweet, sweet, all of it sweet.
The Steelers could lose tomorrow. I would be disappointed but wouldn't be too crushed. Indianapolis is a great football team and I've always liked the Colts, mainly because they would always lose to the Pats. I'm finally in a position where I actually like all the teams remaining in the NFL playoffs. I will enjoy the Super Bowl this year, no matter the outcome.
Categories: Football, Personal
11 comments:
I have to agree with you about being happy to see the Patriots lose in the same way they have been winning. I know I am in the minority, but I think Tom Brady is not the superstar many sports writers are claiming he is. When it is all said and done he might be put in the same category as the greatest QB's in the NFL, but right now he isn't anywhere near it.
The Colts are going to win it all this year (just my opinions anyways). :)
14-3 Steelers at halftime. I'm not getting excited yet, the Colts are far too explosive, and the Pittsburgh secondary is too vulnerable. But it's been a fun 1st half.
Forced a punt on the first drive. Good sign.
Halfway through the 3rd quarter. Time to run the ball a little more, looks like the right side is getting more space.
A laptop with wireless watching the game is fun. I get to comment the whole time. Drive stalls, but lots of time off the clock. I don't think that 14 points will win this game though.
"Bettis in the endzone. Cower spitting. Steeler football." Great quote.
This game is looking great. The dome is quiet and there are Steeler fans all over the place. They're making noise when the Colts have the ball!
I suppose this game might have a great lesson for my crews: even if you're not favored to win, be ready to take it to the other team. Who knows? You might just shock them.
Manning picks up the first down as the 3rd quarter expires. Anyone believe this game is over?
Troy Polamalu salts away the win with a huge int. Then the ref screws the Steelers. What's funny about him is that he's always looking to score after a pick, especially after he ran over Carson Palmer for a score last year. Perhaps this means he'll start concentrating on catching the DAMN FOOTBALL!!!!
These announcers are idiots. "Throw early." Morons. You run the ball to kill clock. That's how the championhip teams win football games. If the Steelers end up losing, they know exactly who to blame: THE REFS!!!
Ben looks like his arm is sore or off from that hit earler in the game. A few thrown low.
2mins remaining. Can the D win it or will the secondary do its usual choke job?
Been a hell of a game. I'll still be ok if the Steelers lose, but the city of Pittsburgh will explode if they do.
Terrible game by the refs. Great game by the Steelers D. Great game by Ben, saving the whole thing with a tackle on the Bettis fumble.
Lesson of life: play every play through to the end. Every stroke, because you never know when the other team will fumble on the goal line.
The Steelers should win vs. the Broncos. 1st 6 seed in the Championship game. 1st 6 seed in the Super Bowl!
It's a shame about the Patriots. Unfortunately, if you recall, Robert Kraft screwed over Connecticut in an attempt to get a better stadium in Mass. We built the team a friggin' stadium and they just said, "uhh... we changed our minds." We vowed then and there to hate the Patriots. Its funny what a few Super Bowl victories will do to people.
On another topic, I know we were supposed to have Sunday off, but I hope you don't mind I kept my heart rate elevated for about 60 minutes. I was thinking about showing the referees my collection of high-powered sniper rifles. (It's right next to my shovel collection in the back year, by the shed.)
"Schadenfreude" is also the name of a very catchy song from the musical Avenue Q. Go Stillers (phonetic spelling). Let me tell you how awesome it was to watch that game in Philly amongst Eagles fans (who were all rooting against the Steelers).
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