PITTSBURGH STEELERS VS. ARIZONA CARDINALS
6:00PM ET - NBC
Posted on 02/01/2009 8:39:21 AM PST by mainepatsfan
PITTSBURGH STEELERS VS. ARIZONA CARDINALS
6:00PM ET - NBC
Is that right? Who are they? Which officials played for or ever worked for the Steelers? Give us some names.
Every member of the broadcast crew has Steelers connections, including everyone who did the Super Bowl (Bettis, Cowher, Dungy, etc.)
Oh brother. Now you are getting even beyond tin foil territory. Guys sitting on a TV set manage to fix the game? What are Al Michaels connections? And John Madden (other than getting beat regularly by Steeler teams 30 years ago. (Some folks say he still carries a grudge.) Bill Cowher works for CBS -- he didn't do the game. Dungey was a player (1 year) and then a assistant coach for the Steelers 30 years ago.
Do you figure the Steelers have some kind of secret handshake. Are they like the Masons or the Knights Templar?
They (most of the NFL) would sell their collective souls to make sure the Steelers win one every few years. Marketing goes through the roof, and money is made - everyone’s happy.
You mean they would rather a small market team like Pittsburgh win than a New York, New England, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta or even an Arizona market all of which are several times larger than the Pittsburgh market?
You are making zero sense. Try a little logic.
If the NFL would sell it’s collective soul for the Steelers to win an SB every few years then why did they go 26 years between them?
You’re just plain not making sense.
They got big on Dec. 27, 1972 with 22 seconds left in the AFC divisional playoff game when a rookie running back made a shoe string catch off of a deflected 4th down pass and took it in for a winning touchdown. 
The next week, they lost the AFC Championship in a very tight game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins. But the magic of Franco's "Immaculate Reception" and the Cinderella story of that team going from rags to riches in one year cemented the loyalty of fans that lasts to this day. (BTW. It was the first time a play was reviewed from the video tape.)
Before opening day in 1973, every Steeler season ticket was sold, and they have sold every ticket since.
This is exactly where the Cards should be next year. They had a great season and if they can put a couple of those together (and with their talent level, they should) they will be able to build the kind of fan base the Steelers have. Put a good product on the field, and people will pay for it.
The Steelers got good once Dan took over operations (in reality, not officially) and they got Chuck Noll from the Champ Colts. They started picking good players finally and got some good coaching.
As for the Immaculate Reception, that’ll forever be disputed. The only film I’ve seen of it doesn’t even show clear view of when Harris picked it off.
“You mean they would rather a small market team like Pittsburgh win than a New York”
Are you kidding me?
You Steeler fans yourselves love to brag (besides about everything else) how HUGE your existing BASE is, which is true; people all across the country and the world. Your market is huge already, regardless of the size of Pittsburgh.
But the existing base already spends a but load of money on the Steelers. I spent lots of money on Steelers merch in the “dry” years, I’m a fan they’re my team, if they never make the playoffs again in my life time they’re still MY team and I still spend bucks on them.
Success builds the fan base. Look how many more fans the Pats have now thanks to their 3 SB wins (two of which involved beating the Steelers in the playoffs). If the league has a rooting interest (much less a rigging interest) it’s in the teams that don’t have the history of success, not in the ones that do.
The NFL Network is showing the parade live from Pittsburgh.
The Super Bowl victory was sweet, and the parade brings it all together!!
And all the whiney little b!t@hes complaining here makes me smile just that much more!!!
STEELERS NATION!!!
That’s assuming EVERY “small” team is suddenly going to burst forth as a universal (not city) favorite because it won a champ or SB. That’s a poor assumption.
San Francisco was extremely successful with Joe Montana, but I never noticed then (granted, never much into football but then only a teenager) and certainly not now a huge fan base for the 49ers.
Which is my point. Win or lose, the Steeler market is what it is. It's maxed out on Steeler stuff.
The City of Phoenix has more than 5 times the population of the City of Pittsburgh. The Metro Area is twice as large as Pittsburgh's and the Phoenix area is growing while the Greater Pittsburgh area's population is stagnant or shrinking.
From a marketing perspective, you want to penetrate large but largely untapped markets and from the NFLs perspective, there is lots of room for growth of the fan base in Phoenix.
Noll's first year, they were 1-13. Second season -- 5-9. Third season 6-8. Only 12 wins in three years!
In most franchises, he would have been gone after the 3rd season. The Rooney's stayed with him.
That's the difference.
I agree that it was the sons -- Dan and his brother Art, who took over the draft, who were responsible for the turn around.
Hey!!! Happy Steeler Parade to ya!!!
Airborne (and all the Stiller Nation) those aerial shots are phenominal. They are saying more fans along the route than there were three years ago...around 300k in a metro area of less than 2mil. The parade looked well organized...wish I could have been there.
And you are sooooooo right. Waaaay too many crybabies (two days later) from a group that is suppposed to be conservatives.
Now that good karma has to make it to the Penz!!!
Actually Niners are in the top 5 on the national merch sales (PTI last week said they were #3), even now when they haven't been truly successful for a long time. The Niners clocked into a very similar market to the Steelers by becoming synonymous with a type of football (West Coast Offense for the Niners, defense first physical football for the Steelers) fans of that type of football tend to be at least second tier fans of the team. The Niners have gotten away from WCO during their recent lean years, but a lot of the fans have stayed.
I can see your point, but I still say since Steeler fans are rabid, this just encourages them to keep buying.
I will give you that if they can encourage Phoenix area to take real interest, that would add.
But then, perhaps you’re just adding MORE Steeler fans, too. New.
Hey, you have to give them a few years....after all, they were working from the bottom.
Wild Card game against the Falcons didn't sell out
Conference game against the Eagles sold out in 6 minutes
No level of success the Steelers could have would add that much to the bottom line. They're STILL selling Cards shirts on the street corners here in Tucson.
That is just crazy.
I hear a lot of people say the Steelers (or Patriots or whoever) are "lucky" but Chuck Noll told his players back in the early years when they were crying about their bad luck that 'luck' was simply the result of hard work and preparation.
Good teams always appear to be lucky but that is only because they are ready to take advantage when the ball bounces their way and they don't panic when it goes the other way. They just dig in and fight harder.
I football or life, we make our own luck.
I never said anything about the NFL fixing things. I’m arguing about the “logic” of the conspiracy regarding marketing, which generally does make sense to this outsider.
I agree about luck to a degree, but sometimes, there really is such a thing as luck - good or bad. As a RACING fan, I know that.
:) Here we go Steelers, here we go!!!
I am waiting for the Stairway to Seven graphic!
Btw, Guins just scored in Montreal...1-0 Sixburgh
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