The Big Game

From the title, you might think I'm referring to the Auburn Tigers victory in the 2010 BCS National Championship on 10 January. Sure, this was A-U-some, but it's not really the point of this post. I will say that yes, we watched the game (stayed up to 0100--damn this east coast time zone) and were terrified when Cam fumbled. But in the end, the sure-footedness of Wes Byrum (not to mention the deity-like balance of Michael Dyer) won the game. Wareagle! Who's up for a repeat?

The big game to which I refer is this past weekend's gridiron match between the Steelers and Ravens. My Aunt Marnie (or as she likes to be called, Bode's "Great" Aunt) and her husband Dave, have season tickets. As luck would have it, the weather was particularly cold. Dave has some thin blood so he offered me the opportunity to go. I, of course, had to accept. Ashley, Bode, and I drove to Pittsburgh Saturday morning and got there by lunch. The game was at 4:30, so we headed for the stadium around 2:00. Did we take the Beamer to the game? Heck no. We went in a classy car. And what's more classy than a limousine. That was the way to travel, away from the masses of (drunk) people. It's hard to not think of them as peasants when you're in a limo, driving by nice and warm while they're walking many blocks in the cold. Here's a picture of Marnie in me in our plush surroundings.

The weather wasn't all that bad, with the temp being a balmy 25 or so. Fortunately there wasn't much of a wind. I stayed warm for most of the game. The playoff atmosphere was amazing. Everyone was pumped up, and I was surprised that everyone was wearing a black-and-gold jersey. Throughout the game, I snapped some photos. Here are some of the better ones. First, we have the pregame introduction of the players. Before the National Anthem, two Marines were awarded Purple Hearts, which was pretty neat to see.

Right before kickoff, Marnie and I snapped a quick photo--we wanted to be sure we were smiling in case the Steelers lost!

The game started off great, with a quick Steeler touchdown. The team then fell asleep, committed some awful turnovers, and we found ourselves down 21-7 at halftime. We were sad, but thought we had a chance. I was quick to point out Auburn's 24-7 halftime deficit versus Alabama. Fortune was shining down on the Steelers because they scored 17 unanswered points and went up 24-21. The Ravens tied it 24-24, but Pittsburgh scored a TD with about 1:00 left in the game. A solid defensive stopped sealed the victory! Here are a couple game-photos. In no way am I SI-ready :-) Here's the opening kickoff.

Here is a shot of the offense in the second half getting ready to run a play. I've no idea how this play ended.

After the game, we headed home. Bode was zonked out. Evidently he spent the day going up and down the stairs bringing Ashley and Dave (Marnie's husband) imaginary scoops of ice-cream. It's funny what goes on in the little fellows'minds...

Sunday was a lazy day. We lounged and relaxed and ate. Bode's other "great" aunt, Geri, had driven in from Johnstown on Saturday. Here's a picture of Bode showing her how to play video games.

Finally, here's a picture of me and Dewey, Marnie and Dave's yellow lab. It's an awful picture of me, but it's the only decent one of Dewey.

We had a wonderful trip to Pittsburgh and look forward to seeing everyone again. Pleasant week to all.