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Fierce Anticipation: January 9th – 11th
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a blogumn by Ryan Dixon
FIERCELY ANTICIPATING
The NFL Playoffs: The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. The San Diego Chargers
Three quick questions: Which NFL team has the best dynasty ever? Is responsible for the single greatest play in sports history? And has the most loyal fan base?
Answer: It’s not the San Diego Chargers.
While there is sadly not enough server space on FaN (or the entire web, for that matter) for me to tell you why the Pittsburgh Steelers are the Alpha and Omega of sports teams, I just want to share one piece of evidence with you in preparation for their AFC Divisional round game against the Chargers this Sunday:
Is there another city where the major regional theater’s yearly traditional production is not A Christmas Carol, but a one-man show about the hometown team’s late owner? Highly doubtful. And if there is, it’s definitely not as rousing as The Chief, Gene Collier’s and Rob Zeller’s one-man show about the late and legendary Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr., played, every year so far, by the almost equally legendary character actor Tom Atkins
(he of Maniac Cop fame). If you are ever in this great American city — and you should reserve at least one week per year to visit — and The Chief is playing, head downtown to the Pittsburgh Public Theater and see it. There isn’t 90 minutes anywhere that better captures the soul of a city.
And, for the one or two readers who may not be familiar with the most amazing play in sports history– dubbed “The Immaculate Reception”-– which, just like the Parisian woman forgetting her coat circuitously lead to Cate Blanchett’s character getting hit by a car in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, allowed the 1970’s Steelers to become the greatest dynasty in football history (a record four Super Bowl titles in only six years) and thus forge the most loyal fan base in sports, well, let me pop your Steelers cherry with this clip:
The game is Sunday at 1:45 PM on CBS
KINDA WANNA SEE
Bride Wars
Anne Hathaway could be co-starring in Baby Geniuses 3 and I’d still kinda wanna see it.
Now in Theaters
WOULDN’T GO IF YOU PAID ME
Che
“Once… a Roman slave was placed upon the cross, and after he had hung there for twenty-four hours, he was pardoned by the emperor himself, and somehow he lived. He wrote an account of what he had felt on the cross, and the most striking thing about his account was what he had to say on the question of time, “On the cross,” he said, “there are only two things, pain and eternity. They tell me I was on the cross only twenty-four hours, but I was on the cross longer than the world existed. If there is no time, then every moment is forever.”
–From Howard Fast’s novel Spartacus
I too now know pain and eternity. Not from crucifixion, but from watching (surviving?) Stephen Soderbergh’s 4 1/2 hour “epic” Che. And so, like Christ dying on the cross for our sins, I saw Che so you don’t have to.
Before today’s limited release, IFC Films maliciously provided an exclusive week of screenings this past December in New York City and L.A. presented in the old fashioned roadshow style, meaning that audiences were provided with a complimentary program and an intermission, at which point, like the Jews who are rescued by Daniel Craig’s many chiseled appendages in Defiance, escape and freedom from certain death was possible.
While there were several beautiful moments — not surprising since Soderbergh is a significant talent — as the movie progressed, hour after hour, one began to feel that each of Soderbergh’s artistic choices had the specific intention of NOT entertaining the audience. Unless, of course, your idea of entertainment is to watch an infinite assembly line of scenes where Benicio Del Toro struggles through various jungles, stopping at ever increasing intervals, in the throes of yet another asthma attack, to gasp for breath. If Che had access to an inhaler, this movie would have been 85 minutes.
By far my favorite moment of this experience was around hour 3.5 where, as Che and his gang were roaming about in yet another the jungle (Bolivian, if I recall), a super title appeared on screen that said: DAY 360. Contrary to popular opinion, this was not the amount of time we had thus far spent watching the film, but a designation of how long Che and friends had be trudging along in said jungle. At this point in the movie, the entire sold out theater collectively squirmed in their seats with the same mix of incredulous exhaustion and anger usually reserved for the hypocritical politician or religious figure who tries to pass off a shamelessly inappropriate act as merely par for the course.
And trust me, as one who is prone to loving overlong, beautifully poetic movies (read: boring to most people) such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Thin Red Line, and The Horse Whisperer, I am usually a sucker for this sort of film, but the only suckering in Che is its ability to suck your very will to live. By the time the film finished, and I stumbled out into the witching hour darkness, I was so distorted and fatigued that when, upon returning home, I emailed a NYC-based friend warning her not to go anywhere near the Zeigfeld where Che was playing, I couldn’t remember what day of the week it was and wished her a happy Thursday when it was only Tuesday. I’m not one to cheer anyone’s premature demise, but after watching Che I am relieved that the real Señor Guevara only lived to see 39.
Now in Select Theaters
P.S. That picture of the Franco Harris statue is actually at the Pittsburgh International Airport. It is the first thing travelers getting off planes see when they arrive. I love Pittsburgh.
P.S. That picture of the Franco Harris statue is actually at the Pittsburgh International Airport. It is the first thing travelers getting off planes see when they arrive. I love Pittsburgh.
I,too, love Pittsburgh!…. and I will definitely miss Che. Thank you Ryan for filling me in before I lost 5 valuable hours of my existence on earth.
I,too, love Pittsburgh!…. and I will definitely miss Che. Thank you Ryan for filling me in before I lost 5 valuable hours of my existence on earth.
You're welcome Delia, I'm just trying to do my small part in this grand human carnival we call life.
You're welcome Delia, I'm just trying to do my small part in this grand human carnival we call life.
The Dallas Cowboys qualified for playoffs 80% of the time (24 times), won 19 division titles, played in 14 NFC Championship games (which is more than 50% of all the conference title games between 1966 to 1996) and took the field for 8 Super Bowls (which is 2 more than any other team) and won 5. The team has earned 28 post-season appearances including another league record of 54 post-season games. They won 32 of those games. The Cowboys also played in 2 NFL championship games. That was before the NFL-AFL merger…any questions?
The Dallas Cowboys qualified for playoffs 80% of the time (24 times), won 19 division titles, played in 14 NFC Championship games (which is more than 50% of all the conference title games between 1966 to 1996) and took the field for 8 Super Bowls (which is 2 more than any other team) and won 5. The team has earned 28 post-season appearances including another league record of 54 post-season games. They won 32 of those games. The Cowboys also played in 2 NFL championship games. That was before the NFL-AFL merger…any questions?
Whatevs Chad. Throw whatever stats out that you want, we all know that the Steelers rock way harder than the Cowboys.
Ryan, will you be rooting for The Chargers this weekend? Do you like Anne Hathaway? And would you recommend Che? I only ask, because you weren't very clear about your feelings on this matter…
Whatevs Chad. Throw whatever stats out that you want, we all know that the Steelers rock way harder than the Cowboys.
Ryan, will you be rooting for The Chargers this weekend? Do you like Anne Hathaway? And would you recommend Che? I only ask, because you weren't very clear about your feelings on this matter…
From Wikipedia:
The rivalry between the Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys started with the Cowboys' first game as a franchise in 1960 (against the Steelers) at the Cotton Bowl with the Steelers coming away with a 35-28 victory. These teams hold a record for the most times (three) that two teams have met in a Super Bowl. The first two times the Steelers and Cowboys met came with Pittsburgh victories in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII to become the Team of the '70s (in fact, between the Cowboys and Steelers, Super Bowl XIII had the highest number of future hall of famers participating, which as of 2008 numbered 20 – 14 players and 6 coaches/front office, including Ernie Stautner, defensive coordinator for the Cowboys who was an HOF defensive tackle for the Steelers). The teams featured an all-star matchup at quarterback between the Steelers' Terry Bradshaw and the Cowboys' Roger Staubach, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame. In 1977, Staubach and the Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl XII, their second and last loss of that season being inflicted by Bradshaw and the Steelers, 28-13 at Three Rivers Stadium in November. In 1979, Staubach's final season, the two defending conference champs met again at Three Rivers, the Steelers winning 14-3 en route to winning their fourth Super Bowl title. The Steelers won six of eight meetings during the 1970s and 80s. The teams' first two meetings of the 21st century (2004 and 2008) were won by the Steelers.
Any questions?
From Wikipedia:
The rivalry between the Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys started with the Cowboys' first game as a franchise in 1960 (against the Steelers) at the Cotton Bowl with the Steelers coming away with a 35-28 victory. These teams hold a record for the most times (three) that two teams have met in a Super Bowl. The first two times the Steelers and Cowboys met came with Pittsburgh victories in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII to become the Team of the '70s (in fact, between the Cowboys and Steelers, Super Bowl XIII had the highest number of future hall of famers participating, which as of 2008 numbered 20 – 14 players and 6 coaches/front office, including Ernie Stautner, defensive coordinator for the Cowboys who was an HOF defensive tackle for the Steelers). The teams featured an all-star matchup at quarterback between the Steelers' Terry Bradshaw and the Cowboys' Roger Staubach, both of whom are in the Hall of Fame. In 1977, Staubach and the Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl XII, their second and last loss of that season being inflicted by Bradshaw and the Steelers, 28-13 at Three Rivers Stadium in November. In 1979, Staubach's final season, the two defending conference champs met again at Three Rivers, the Steelers winning 14-3 en route to winning their fourth Super Bowl title. The Steelers won six of eight meetings during the 1970s and 80s. The teams' first two meetings of the 21st century (2004 and 2008) were won by the Steelers.
Any questions?
Chad's just a bitter, bitter man since his beloved Cowboys haven't won a playoff game (let alone a Super Bowl) since Bill Clinton was serving his first term as President.
I'd probably wait for them to bring back BETA tapes and then, maybe, I'd rent Che. Of course, I'd then put the tape on a magnetizer.
BTW, I actually lived during my one of my team's many dynasty eras… can you say, 1992, 1993 and 1995. Unlike you, I've experienced complete and total domination, which is enough to last a life time.
Chad's just a bitter, bitter man since his beloved Cowboys haven't won a playoff game (let alone a Super Bowl) since Bill Clinton was serving his first term as President.
I'd probably wait for them to bring back BETA tapes and then, maybe, I'd rent Che. Of course, I'd then put the tape on a magnetizer.
BTW, I actually lived during my one of my team's many dynasty eras… can you say, 1992, 1993 and 1995. Unlike you, I've experienced complete and total domination, which is enough to last a life time.
If you want to go Wikipedia on me:
The Cowboys' streak of 160 sold-out regular and post-season games began in 1990, and included 79 straight sellouts at their home, Texas Stadium, and 81 straight sell-outs on the road.
An article from Forbes Magazine, dated September 10, 2008, lists the Cowboys as the most valuable sports franchise in the United States, and second in the world (behind the United Kingdom's Manchester United), with an estimated value of approximately $1.612 billion, ahead of the Washington Redskins ($1.538 billion) and the New England Patriots ($1.324 billion). They are also one of the wealthiest teams in the NFL, generating almost $269 million in annual revenue.
The Cowboys have been the most successful team of the modern era (since 1960). The team has won five Super Bowls and eight conference championships. The Cowboys have more victories (41) on Monday Night Football than any other NFL team; the Miami Dolphins are second with 39 and the San Francisco 49ers are third with 38. They hold NFL records for the most consecutive winning seasons (20, from 1966 to 1985) and most seasons with at least ten wins (25). The team has earned the most post-season appearances (29), a league record of 56 post-season games (winning 32 of them), the most division titles with 20, the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14), and the most Super Bowl appearances (8). The Cowboys also played in two NFL championship games before the NFL's 1970 merger with the American Football League. The Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in just four years (a feat that has been matched only once since, by the New England Patriots). They also have the most Super Bowl wins (5). The Cowboys' success and popularity has earned them the nickname "America's Team".
WHOOO!
If you want to go Wikipedia on me:
The Cowboys' streak of 160 sold-out regular and post-season games began in 1990, and included 79 straight sellouts at their home, Texas Stadium, and 81 straight sell-outs on the road.
An article from Forbes Magazine, dated September 10, 2008, lists the Cowboys as the most valuable sports franchise in the United States, and second in the world (behind the United Kingdom's Manchester United), with an estimated value of approximately $1.612 billion, ahead of the Washington Redskins ($1.538 billion) and the New England Patriots ($1.324 billion). They are also one of the wealthiest teams in the NFL, generating almost $269 million in annual revenue.
The Cowboys have been the most successful team of the modern era (since 1960). The team has won five Super Bowls and eight conference championships. The Cowboys have more victories (41) on Monday Night Football than any other NFL team; the Miami Dolphins are second with 39 and the San Francisco 49ers are third with 38. They hold NFL records for the most consecutive winning seasons (20, from 1966 to 1985) and most seasons with at least ten wins (25). The team has earned the most post-season appearances (29), a league record of 56 post-season games (winning 32 of them), the most division titles with 20, the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14), and the most Super Bowl appearances (8). The Cowboys also played in two NFL championship games before the NFL's 1970 merger with the American Football League. The Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in just four years (a feat that has been matched only once since, by the New England Patriots). They also have the most Super Bowl wins (5). The Cowboys' success and popularity has earned them the nickname "America's Team".
WHOOO!
While I won't induldge your Right Wing tactic of fear mongering by responding to all the lies and distortions you wrote above. I will respond to one of your facts with one of mine:
While the Cowboys' streak of sold out games is impressive. It, sadly, is dwarfed by the Steelers record which is almost double (as of the beginning of this past season): 299.
There is also a six year wait for season tickets. And, according to every legitimate source, no team "travels" better than the Steelers in terms of away game attendance. Granted, this may be because so many Pittsburghers were laid off in the 1970's and 80's and had to move elsewhere, but it is still an impressive fact.
Wanna know more about why Steelers Nation is the best, read this ESPN article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview08/columns/s…
Read the fine print, Yinzer. The Cowboys have the long-standing record of consecutive home AND ROAD game sell-outs…since 1990. Who has the most loyal fan base? The Dallas F-ing COWBOYS! So quit your yappin'!
While I won't induldge your Right Wing tactic of fear mongering by responding to all the lies and distortions you wrote above. I will respond to one of your facts with one of mine:
While the Cowboys' streak of sold out games is impressive. It, sadly, is dwarfed by the Steelers record which is almost double (as of the beginning of this past season): 299.
There is also a six year wait for season tickets. And, according to every legitimate source, no team "travels" better than the Steelers in terms of away game attendance. Granted, this may be because so many Pittsburghers were laid off in the 1970's and 80's and had to move elsewhere, but it is still an impressive fact.
Wanna know more about why Steelers Nation is the best, read this ESPN article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview08/columns/s…
Read the fine print, Yinzer. The Cowboys have the long-standing record of consecutive home AND ROAD game sell-outs…since 1990. Who has the most loyal fan base? The Dallas F-ing COWBOYS! So quit your yappin'!
Go Chargers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ernessa, I think your husband's rooting interest are very good grounds for a divorce.
Go Chargers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ernessa, I think your husband's rooting interest are very good grounds for a divorce.
Whatever dude, If Republicans and Democrats can stay married so can Chargers and Steelers fans.
Whatever dude, If Republicans and Democrats can stay married so can Chargers and Steelers fans.
Poor CH is deluded, but he's also from California, so I can forgive him, since h's repping for his state. However, if he was like Go Cowboys, we'd obvi have to talk.
Poor CH is deluded, but he's also from California, so I can forgive him, since h's repping for his state. However, if he was like Go Cowboys, we'd obvi have to talk.
I hate the cowboys more than any other sports team there is. I would never say go Cowboys never.
It's hard to really hate the Chargers since they've always been a fairly pathetic franchise with what, only one Super Bowl appearance? Granted, that was at the expense of the Steelers, but even so they are more to be pitied than despised or feared.
I didn't realize that you needed to have a winning team just to route for them. By your logic everyone should be a Cowboys football fan and a Yankees baseball fan.
You don't need to win, but you need to fell passionate about your team and a loyal fan base. I wonder how crowded Qualcomm Stadium was during all those years the Chargers were going 4-12? My guess is that it was about as packed as a Compton street at 10pm on a Wednesday night.
I hate the cowboys more than any other sports team there is. I would never say go Cowboys never.
It's hard to really hate the Chargers since they've always been a fairly pathetic franchise with what, only one Super Bowl appearance? Granted, that was at the expense of the Steelers, but even so they are more to be pitied than despised or feared.
I didn't realize that you needed to have a winning team just to route for them. By your logic everyone should be a Cowboys football fan and a Yankees baseball fan.
You don't need to win, but you need to fell passionate about your team and a loyal fan base. I wonder how crowded Qualcomm Stadium was during all those years the Chargers were going 4-12? My guess is that it was about as packed as a Compton street at 10pm on a Wednesday night.
Cowboys, Steelers, blah, blah blah. The New York Giants are the current Superbowl Champions which is all that really matters. Try living in the present.
And thanks for the Benjamin Buttons spoiler, jackass!
Cowboys, Steelers, blah, blah blah. The New York Giants are the current Superbowl Champions which is all that really matters. Try living in the present.
And thanks for the Benjamin Buttons spoiler, jackass!
ok. so. sadly, all of the comments are about football. which makes me laugh. deeply. on the other hand, i saw che in nyc with senor soderbergh in attendance, and, while i have deep problems with the film, i must respectively disagree. it is beautiful and uneven and fantastic. i wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if you have the testicular fortitude–or labialial–you must see it. i only wish–as soderbergh said in the q&a–that they had decided to go to hbo and do it as a 10-hour miniseries. then we would be celebrating che as have those fans of john adams.
so there. now go back to watching football. which is, after all, just a crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war.
Beautiful, uneven and fantastically BORING. You wanted 10hrs of Che!!!??? What the hell else would they have put in the movie? More asthma attacks? My God, I felt that they went through his entire life at least twice.
ok. so. sadly, all of the comments are about football. which makes me laugh. deeply. on the other hand, i saw che in nyc with senor soderbergh in attendance, and, while i have deep problems with the film, i must respectively disagree. it is beautiful and uneven and fantastic. i wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if you have the testicular fortitude–or labialial–you must see it. i only wish–as soderbergh said in the q&a–that they had decided to go to hbo and do it as a 10-hour miniseries. then we would be celebrating che as have those fans of john adams.
so there. now go back to watching football. which is, after all, just a crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war.
Beautiful, uneven and fantastically BORING. You wanted 10hrs of Che!!!??? What the hell else would they have put in the movie? More asthma attacks? My God, I felt that they went through his entire life at least twice.
I was playing football with my friends during the end of the game with it on the radio via a neighbor's driveway (no hometown TV games until 1973), and we all missed listening to the play live as it happened.
We all thought that the game was over, so we began playing our street game.
The New York Giants lost, my friend. And if you want to live in the present, how about, tuning in to see the Steelers play in the AFC Championship game.
The New York Giants lost, my friend. And if you want to live in the present, how about, tuning in to see the Steelers play in the AFC Championship game.
I was playing football with my friends during the end of the game with it on the radio via a neighbor's driveway (no hometown TV games until 1973), and we all missed listening to the play live as it happened.
We all thought that the game was over, so we began playing our street game.
Just so you know, i've been avoiding that part of the city entirely — the Ziegfield's been like cryptonite to me.. not that i was itching to see another movie about another revolutionary ;-)
Just so you know, i've been avoiding that part of the city entirely — the Ziegfield's been like cryptonite to me.. not that i was itching to see another movie about another revolutionary ;-)