What do you do?
What do you do when you’re watching a friend kill himself?
When you’ve talked to him, over and over and over, about his choices and their consequences?
When you know he needs comfort, but all you really feel is anger?
When you’ve told him before you’d walk away?
What do you do?
Bang:
@ I’ve seen Santonio do that before. Over and over and over.
@ Thanks to the Steelers’ meager 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, I was a winner in the office pool. I may or may not be spending my winnings on hookers and blow.
@ Actually, I didn’t win enough to even think about hookers and blow. But a case of nice beer isn’t out of the question.
@ Unless The Wife asks about the money. In that case: savings account. (Honest, honey!)
@ I’m having some kind of mild-but-sudden allergy problem. And I just ran out of Kleenex. Help.
@ In Punxsutawney, a chunkier-looking Phil was blinded by all the Terrible Towels in the audience on Gobbler’s Knob and thought he saw his shadow. That, of course, means I’ll be skiing for another six weeks. At least.
@ We’re having a low-key Groundhog Day. No FOG party this year. And other than dragging myself out of bed to watch the Punxy broadcast on PCN after working my normal late shift on Sunday, we weren’t planning on any official observations.
@ We had a kick-ass time with HP on Saturday, starting with about two hours in the Strip. It reminded me of Christmas, but with different colors:
@ The original impetus for HP’s visit didn’t turn out to be much of a Groundhog celebration either. We were ready to stop at the Harris, until we drove by and noticed that there was no one standing outside along the beautiful ice bar they had set up on the patio. I’d guess that party got going later, but we didn’t feel like waiting; we headed instead to AA’s Living Room and waited for the rest of the YinzTeamers to show up. And they did. And it was good.
@ A word about AA’s Living Room. That’s a great little bar, and I’d say that even if I didn’t have a good friend who is unofficially in charge of the place.
@ One Groundhog thing we may do tonight: re-create the cheeseburgers from Nick’s Corner Lunch in Punxy. Mmmm.
@ Seriously: Congrats, Pittsburgh folks. That was a great game and a great season, and yinz should enjoy it.
@ Now. Nobody talk to me about pro football until September. Thanks.
Three years ago, the Steelers’ Super Bowl win over the Seattle Seahawks sent me into a long, deep funk. The team I loved to hate above all others — with the exception of that stolen team in Baltimore — had reached the pinnacle once again, and I was forced to endure the postgame celebrations that seemed to stretch on for months, each one another reminder that my own team hadn’t yet even played in the game.
We’re hours away from the same possibility today — but this year is a bit different.
What’s changed? The people I know. I was surrounded by Steelers fans back then — colleagues, neighbors, sources — all of whom were thrilled about the win.
This year, a win over the Cardinals would do the same thing — except that many of the happy people will be the friends I’ve found in the last couple of years. I can’t say my feelings towards the local football team have changed a great deal in that time, but today, seeing yinz guys enjoying yourselves seems to be more important.
So. Guys? I still hate your goddamn football team. But today? I’ll be pulling for them to win.
Uncle Crappy 