People Lined Up to See the Titanic Sinkin’ Instead We Rose from the Ash Like a Phoenix

Morning, glories, and welcome back to the Kingdom.  To quote a terrible song, "Where have all the cowboys gone?"  And by cowboys, I mean those former full-time Kingdomites like Lauren from Baltymore via Boston, Grampy Staub, Bruce Banner, and the ever-lovin' Kujo.  Man, I know I've been stinkin up the joint for the better part of six months or so, but can't anyone come back? I'm tryin, folks. Really. But my life is damn boring.

Anyway, thanks to good ol' Topshelf for stickin' with me.  You the man with the master plan, buddy. 

There's tons going on this week, first and foremost in everyone's mind is, of course, the SUPER BOWL.  This city is just buzzing, awaiting kickoff and hoping and praying that we're all celebrating on Monday.  It's just hands-down phenomenal.  We've got buildings with "GO STEELERS" written largely enough in big yellow letters that they can be read across the river.  We've got big video screens in the Cultural District that have foregone their normal ballerina and recital footage in favor of video after video of Arn-Drinkin, Black-'n-Gold-clad Terrible Towel-wavin' Stillers fans.  We've got the county Christmas tree turned into the "Terrible Tree," resplendent in black and gold.  We've got Washington, PA, renamed "Steeler, PA."  We've got 35,000 fans showing up at Heinz Field last Friday for a pep rally.  We've got about 300 million Stiller fight songs on the radio, including classics like the Steelers Polka and "Here We Go," to be matched up with newfangled comedic songs like "Polamahlu" (which, if you've not seen the video, is first recorded instance of a song being both "annoying" and "endearing" at the same time).  Hell, even the Phantom of the Opera had a terrible towel when I took my mom to the show on Sunday.  It's Stillermania, to be certain, and I'm loving every second of it.

Except for one thing. "Steelers Nation."  Turnabout is fair play, if you ask me.  I've griped long and hard about "Red Sox Nation," and how it's a super-lame catchphrase, and one that barely even makes sense, at that.  Frankly, I just never see a lot of Red Sox fans all over the place.  Though Steelers Nation is, by and large, an annoying name, I will admit that it seems like Stillers fans are flat-out everywhere.  There was a great piece on a local radio station last week about there really is a Stillers Nation, and that it was created when the mills shut down and everyone was forced to disperse.  I wasn't around back then, but it seems to have some legs. Is it possible that the Stillers are really "America's Team"? I sure hope so… Though I'd just much rather win.

Seriously, Pittsburgh, PA will probably cease to exist come Monday. Either jubilant fans will burn it to the ground, or despondent ones will commit mass lemmings-like suicides off of the hundreds of bridges in town, leaving the disinterested citizens (both of them) to re-populate.

I'll try to come back later with 24 seconds on 24.  Last night's episode was awesome.  That simple.  Song of the Day is "Diamonds of Sierra Leone (remix)" by Kanye West (f. Jay-Z), which has enjoyed a meteoric rise into my Pantheon of Rap/Hip Hop Songs.  Just awesomeness. Track it down if you can.  Sampling "Diamonds Are Forever," is pure genius.

Be good to each other,

Here We Go.

-apk

18 Days Until Pitchers and Catchers Report