With a 30-23 win over the Texans this week, Steelers’ fans can hang their hard hats on their team’s incredible Monday Night Football (MNF) home win streak that was extended to 16 games.
The Steelers were led to victory against the Texans by the strong offensive performances of Big Ben, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, but in all honesty they don’t deserve the majority of the credit for the Steelers’ current MNF record. It is the passionate football fanatics of Pittsburgh who have been consistently waiving the terrible towels ever since the win streak started in 1992.
People of The ‘Burgh can proudly claim this impressive winning streak as their own. They know that anyone coming into Heinz Field is in for a long night. The latest victims were the Texans. Considering the current Steelers MNF resume, it was surprising that Houston headed into the matchup as only a 2.5-point underdog. In the end, they experienced the wrath of the Steel City, losing by seven.
The last time anyone in Pittsburgh witnessed a loss on home turf was in a 1991 defeat to the New York Giants. At the time they were playing at Three Rivers Stadium, Chuck Noll was the coach, Bubby Brister was the quarterback and George Bush Sr. was president. That puts it in perspective of long the streak is.
Playing in the league for 11 seasons, Roethlisberger has had his fair share of Monday night exposure but we need to remember that the record goes a lot further back than his playing days in Pittsburgh. Big Ben was only 9-years-old when the streak began meaning lots of players have come and went before Roethlisberger’s arrival.
Roethlisberger has not showed well in recent primetime appearances. Since 2012 the Steelers have lost six of their last eight games being played at night on national television. Roethlisberger owes some thanks to the fans who provide an advantageous atmosphere at home.
With 16 straight home MNF wins since 1992, it only proves that the fans are the real strength behind this ongoing record.
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DrGeorge
October 23, 2014 at 4:00 pm
This silly article confuses cause and effect.
Steelers fans are among the most knowledgable, vocal, and demanding in the NFL, rabid when we win and rabid when we lose. The team represents us, and we take it personally, win or lose. Every pro team would love to have this fan base. BUT — fans don’t play fooball games, players do. The Terrible Towels and Heinz Field insanity may give the Steelers a psychological home field edge, but it is a slight one and a mixed blessing. When the Steelers were 13-0 against the Texans, the fans booed — loudly. Why? Because they know what good execution looks like, and they weren’t seeing it on the field. The players performed better later in the game when they modified their attack and the Texans began making egregious mistakes. Fan support didn’t turn the tide against the Texans; the players and coaches did.
The MNF streak has more to do with (a) timing (we’ve played MNF rather infrequently, 16 times in 22 years) and (b) network scheduling (MNF likes to schedule the Steelers when they are heavily favored to assure the network good ratings from the many Steelers fans nationwide). Otherwise, the string is a meaningless statistical anomaly and minimally related to raucous fan support.
There is one NFL team with a true home field advantage — Denver. And that is related to the altitude, not the rowdy Denver fans. But even that is a small advantage. The Broncos never had a winning season in their 10 years in the AFL or their first seven seasons in the NFL. They began winning consistently in 1977, when they got better talent.