The Steelers have had great success rushing so far in 2010, and their opponent this week, the Ravens, have had issues stopping the run. The Browns used Peyton Hillis this last Sunday to bowl them over for over 140 yards, a career high, and that should have Rashard Mendenhall drooling this week.
Word that the Ravens can’t stop the run must have gotten to their head coach, John Harbaugh. The coach seems to be in the business today of daring teams to run – including the Steelers.
“I would love for our opponents to think we can’t stop the run,” Harbaugh said on his weekly radio show. “Opponents listening, Ravens can’t stop the run. Just run it at us and we’ll see how it turns out.”
Mendenhall has been tough to stop, last week in Tampa Bay when the Bucs knew that he would be running in the second half, he still put up over 7 yards a carry. If the Ravens have issues stopping Mendenhall this week, Harbaugh will have some serious egg on his face about daring teams to run.
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EB
September 29, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Greetings from Maryland! I am coming to Pittsburgh for the game this weekend with a few other Ravens Fan couples. We are all really looking forward to it, but I’m also curious what to expect. I was in town a few weeks ago for a Charity golf outing and happened to go to Fatheads to catch the Monday night Ravens/Jets game. I was a little suprised how much hostility there was towards me, and not in a good spirited way. By the way I love the bar itself!
I’m just wondering what we can expect as Ravens fans coming into town? I love my Ravens and I’ll be cheering for them during the game, but is it unsafe to wear my Purple in Pittsburgh?
The Tony
September 29, 2010 at 6:45 pm
You will more than likely be ridiculed mercifully. The passion for the Steelers in Pittsburgh is incredible, and they truly hate the Ravens. It is all in good fun, but yet it is unfortunate that there are people out there that will take it too far.
mark
September 30, 2010 at 11:17 am
EB. Wearing your purple is more brave than samrt! Im sure you wont be physically intimidated, but the insults will come. Steeler fans are a lot classier than most, but you cant expect an easy day from them because of this intense rivalry! Good luck bro!
DrGeorge
September 30, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Dear EB:
You sound like a civil and intelligent man who believes, like 95% of the American population, that professional football is entertainment –‘just a game’ as they say. So in the interest of civility and good sportsmanship, let me set you straight.
In Western Pennsylvania, Steelers football is not ‘just a game.’ It is the closest some people will ever come to religion. I’m not being sacrilegious, EB. It’s true. Heinz Field is like holy ground, and our six Super Bowl trophies are venerated relics. The heroes that won those trophies are practically canonized in the popular mind. They are known by their first names, just like real saints – Terry, Franco, Jack, Rocky, Mean Joe and the Steel Curtain, Lynn and dozens more. With one more Super Bowl, Big Ben and Hines will soon join them. There are little shrines to these gridiron saints in every sports bar (and many homes) up here. We’re talking real serious fanatics, EB. Hardcore. Some may even be certifiable.
In other words, the Steelers aren’t just a sports team around here. For better or worse, they are our regional identity. So when you walk into a sports bar – any sports bar – in Western Pennsylvania wearing a Ravens jersey, it’s like walking into the Vatican with a ‘Satan Rules’ T-shirt. It just isn’t a wise thing to do. Do you get my drift?
Now the second thing you must understand, EB, is that Western Pennsylvania, like most of rural Appalachia, has more than its share of rednecks, bubbas, and cretins. Not all of them are truly classifiable as homo sapiens. On a Sunday afternoon, most of them hang out in bars, if they can’t find or afford tickets to the stadium. There they indulge in a few beers or a stiff drink (or sometimes both together). By game time, they have more swagger and less brains than your average Neanderthal. That’s just a fact of life up here, EB.
But I am surprised you had a problem at Fatheads. The fellows there are usually a good-natured bunch. If you experienced a problem while rooting for the Ravens against the Jets, it was probably due to something indelicate you said to inflame local passions. “Go Ravens” for example. Them’s fightin’ words up here, EB. Even if the Steelers aren’t playing. It’s a conditioned response. After listening to Ray Lewis pontificate for 15 years, Steelers fans are plain fed up with Ravens of all kinds. But especially on game day. Remember that nursery rhyme about ‘four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie’? Well, that’s how Steelers fans like their Ravens.
So if you really want to wear your Ravens jersey at a bar in Pittsburgh this Sunday, I suggest you find one of our more upscale watering holes, where yuppies order pink beer and chardonnay and drinks are served with little umbrellas. Those venues are generally more tolerant of Ravens fans and other social aberrations. If you can find a sports bar with sixteen TVs, all tuned to different NFL games, you’ve got it made. Just find the one with the Ravens game and sit down among friends of the same persuasion, if you can find any. During the game, you should be safe.
But after the game, win or lose, pull on a ‘Ward 86′ jersey over your Ravens shirt and wrap a Terrible Towel around your neck – and keep them on until you are safely back across the Mason-Dixon line.
And like Mark says: Good Luck, EB! Your going to need it.
Adam
October 1, 2010 at 1:22 pm
DR George, that was great. You probaly really are a doctor. Well as for me I am about to go pick up two tickets from an attorney who is selling them. His friend is a Raven fan and his Dad is seriously ill and I was able to pick them up last moment. Driving in from Dayton Ohio,the belly of the beast being Bengals country. Ill be the only one wearing the authentic Willy Colon jersey more than likely