Don't Be That Fan! Call-Out

So Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers accomplished what has been nearly impossible for the last 17 years, they beat the New England Patriots.  I detailed here exactly how I feel about the NFL in general, and the Roethlisberger-QB'ed Steelers in specific, but I'd be lying if I said that a petty part of me isn't delighted that the Men Of Steel finally got it all over the Deflatriots, especially after some rather sucky play on the Steelers' part the past month.

That's why I was so disappointed to hear about this bar fight on this afternoon's news broadcast.  Three people arrested in a bar after fighting with police and medics.  One woman knocked unconscious.  Wow, great idea, fighting with cops in a bar.  What are ya gonna do for an encore, geniuses?  Give a caged bear a noogie?

And two weeks ago, during the game vs. the LA Chargers, we had a twofer that took place in the stands.  The "head-butt seen 'round the world"  and a pregnant woman was choked.  Ugh.  Really, Steeler fans?  This is the face we want to show the world?

Six times since 2000, the city of Pittsburgh has been named "Most Livable" -- by Forbes, Places Rated Almanac, and The Economist.  "The City Of Champions", with multiple championship trophies earned by all three major professional teams.  World-class medical city, with a burn unit, transplant center, and Children's Hospital that are well-known pioneers of technique.  Major studies are done here, and pharmaceuticals developed.  We became innovators of communication nearly 100 years ago when the first radio station in the US, KDKA, signed on the air, broadcasting Harding-Cox election returns, and again in 1954, with WQED, the first community-sponsored TV station in the US.  We survived the death of Big Steel in the early 80's, and, hardly skipping a beat, we commenced a city-wide renaissance begun in the late 70's, bringing it to a crowning finish in the early 90's.

We are that original "big city with a small-town attitude", well-known for our friendliness to "ahta-tahners", you know, them that ain't yinzers.  So must we let football games, yes, even our beloved Steelers, ruin our good image?

And how about Chris Boswell?  The embattled kicker, who made 92% of his field goals and signed a big contract last year, has struggled to bang through a league-worst 61% so far this year.  No question his 32-yard miss earlier in the game looms larger in the minds of Steeler Nation than his 48-yard success late in the 4th quarter that kept it a one score game.  But after the earlier failure, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin indicated to Boswell he would go right back to him, showing confidence.  So why did some fans feel the need to kick the guy when he was down, immediately going into detective mode to unearth racist and homophobic tweets from five years ago, just to get him fired?

Does this blogger condone the content of Boswell's (now deleted) Twitter feed?  No, never.  Do I think he should be fired for it?  Yes, as long as we all understand that we have all had wrong attitudes and said dumb things, and that if all the dumb things we have ever thought and said were somewhere waiting to be ferreted out and exposed, I wonder how many of us would have jobs.  But to be fair, Roseanne Barr lost her TV show earlier this year for the same kind of content, so, OK, fire him.  But let's be real about why we want him out.  Is it because he is racist and homophobic?  Or because all of a sudden, he can't make field goals?  Cuz I didn't see none 'a yinz diggin' up this kinda stuff last year when Boswell went to the Pro Bowl for Da Stillers n 'at.

I think I liked you better in October, Pittsburgh.

https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2018/12/steelers-police-investigating-two-fan-incidents-caught-on-video-at-heinz-field-during-chargers-game-reports.html