It's the end of the playoffs and still not topic? I guess you can tell that all our hearts belong to the college ball.

BUT. Who's going? Who are you supporting?

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Answers

Ok, I don't follow football or anything, but on the radio I heard them say that the Steelers might go to the superbowl or something.

If the Steelers go, I think you should totally root for them. I went to a great Steelers party in December, plus the Steelers have the "Terrible Towel" and I think that's the funniest fucking thing I've ever heard of.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

My father would sell his soul to Satan for both the Eagles and the Steelers to go. For the sake of my ears, I hope neither of them go. Actually, that's just cruel. Hard decision. I was born in Pittsburgh and went to Pitt for a year before transferring. I was raised and currently live in Philadelphia. Guess I better root for the Eagles unless I want to get killed. Or I could become neutral. I could change my name to Switzerland and go by Switzy for a nickname. Or Landy. It's so much easier when it's the Sixers. Well, and the fact that I actually like basketball.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Yesterday was a pretty damn sad day for me, watching the Steelers stomp my Ravens.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Jessa, you know you can't have my boo Iverson, now, don't you? But you can love the Sixers, all the same.

I was sad that the Bears lost. They seemed sad, too. I stopped watching after that.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Okay, I won't fight you for Iverson... But I'm not taking that ugly scrubby guy with the black hair. Whose name I'm apparently not gonna remember in the space of this post.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

Yesterday was a pretty damn sad day for me, watching the Steelers stomp my Ravens.

Um, I'm from Michigan. While I've never been a Lions fan, this season was downright embarassing... At least they won a couple.

I did, however, like Tampa and Minnesota... so I'm out.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Jessa, you could be the new pop act, Holy C.

I can't root for the Ravens after watching the Ray Lewis fiasco go down in Atlanta. Similarly I was kind of rooting for the Bucs after reading about Warrick Dunn's program of giving home loans to single mothers.

And I wanted the Packers to make it because cheeseheads are cute.

Sorry. Who's left? The Steelers? I have been so bad about this season. I swear I know more about World Cup '02 than the NFL now.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

You HAVE to root for the Steelers. Not only is their best player nicknamed the Bus, but he's been out due to injury and his "replacements" are some guy named Amos and then this huge south Polynesian with a name that everyone always trips over. I call him Falafel Muffalata and I love him.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

People, you need to back The Eagles. Know how many Superbowls they have been in? One. Know how many they have won? None, zero, bubkus.

And I've had enough with The Rams already. Kurt Warner this, Kurt Warner that. Marshall Faulk, blah, blah, blah.

If you have even an ounce of love for pro football or Pennsylvania, please make sacrifices to whatever diety you believe in, asking, no, pleading for an all PA Superbowl.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Steagles forever!

I think if that happened all the cheese in your heart might explode. Queso for everyone!

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

We're all rah-rah for St. Louis. My fiance's parents live there, and his dad is a hard core fan, and they dragged us into their football playoff craziness.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

That would be queso enough for all the world.

I have also had it with the Rams. They are like the NY Yankees of football. How good does one team get to be? And frankly, Kurt Warner needs a shave and a haircut. And he's a bit surly.

On a related note, I have to ask - do y'all think NFL games seem longer than college games? Because, damn, it takes a whole DAY to watch a stupid NFL game. I hate it. I watch for the sake of the MOC, who I am sure would rather I go away, but if this is going to be part of my life, I have to get a better understanding of the professional rules. It all seems unnecessarily complicated.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Yeah, I remember hearing that the Eagles might play the Steelers. I have to root for the Steelers, family obligations and I already have a Terrible Towel.

So Go Eagles and Steelers until they play against each other and then Go Steelers!

I think I like profootball better, because when PSU plays, the town becomes immobilized and I have to either stay at home all day or leave town the evening before. That's how selfish I am - I can't root for the hometown team because it inconveniences me.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Someone else please get involved in this college gametime v. pro gametime debate, because I have spent just about enough time trying to convince Al that 60 minutes of college football and 60 minutes of pro football both equal roughly 3 to 3 and a half hours of real time.

Really, she seems to think pro games last, like, 5 hours.

Help, please.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Oh, and go Eagles!!!

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

MOC -- give her a foot massage during the next game. She'll swear the time just flew by, and you'll have something to clutch during tense moments.

Please note that (a) no guy has ever given me a foot massage during a football game; (b) my boyfriend dislikes football; (c) were he actually to like football, and give me a massage during a game, I would probably fall asleep. So, grain of salt.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

All I know is, I wished that the Steelers-Ravens game would have went on longer, like maybe somehow the Ravens would finally get a second wind kicked in and win. Alas, alack.

Really, I think the games take the same amount of time.

Go Eagles!

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

MOC, I have to agree with Al on this one. Pro football games are interminable.

Here's why I don't like the Rams: have y'all seen Kurt Warner's wife? Like, when she was at the Superbowl in Atlanta a couple of years ago and she was all Brigitte Nielsen-looking with he rscary spiky hair? No wonder Kurt Warner runs so fast, y'all! Wouldn't you?

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Falafel Muffaletta??? HB, tell me you aren't defouling my sweet, sweet, Fu'umataMaa'aafala like that. He's a Ute, you know. And I must say, that my undergrad years, the punchline to every other joke was Fu'umataMaa'aafala. Just saying it makes anyone laugh.

The question is, though, if the Steelers go, what food is indigenous to Pittsburgh? A girl has to be thinking of her Superbowl menu.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Apparently, Pittsburgh is known for its keilbassa.

Other than that, I would say that as long as you avoid serving anything that is even in the neighborhood of being healthy, you should be OK. I mean, have you seen the crowd shots from Pittsburgh home games? I doubt the city has even heard of the word 'slim' let alone match it up with 'fast'.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

But saying falafel muffalatta is even funnier. I love him, you know.

Serve pieroges! T has a good receipe.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Ya know, you don't appreciate Pittsburgh food until you aren't in Pittsburgh. First, there's the Original. There are no other french fries in this world (except for the ones at Medici in Chicago). Okay, you can get really great eggplant parm. I recommend Del's. And you can get Kosher chicken really easily in Squirrel Hill. Which is cool cause it's better (salt + no blood = better).

I don't have a clue what real Pittsburgh food is. Ethnic food. My mother's family does the German thing and the home-cooking thing. Lots of pickled vegetables and cheese and sauerkraut and fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits. My dad's family does the German/Jewish and Russian/Jewish thing, which are complete opposites.

But yeah, after writing my dissertation on Pittsburghian food and not EVEN mentioning the best food ever - Potato Keegle (no, I don't mean kugel) - I gotta go with Chris on the Kielbasa. Something about Pittsburgh and sausages. But you gotta serve Iron City beer. Because everyone should try that horror once in their life.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Ooh, maybe I'll serve falafel and muffalettas!

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

All I know is, I wished that the Steelers-Ravens game would have went on longer, like maybe somehow the Ravens would finally get a second wind kicked in and win. Alas, alack.

I was happy the game ended when it did -- had it gone on longer, the Ravens might have lost by 100.

With the Redskins missing the playoffs, I have no rooting interest in who wins it all. All I hope is that Kurt Warner is taking a ton of crap from his teammates for those awful Chunky soup ads. Ditto for Donovan McNabb.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Speaking of football ads, has anyone else seen that Jack in the Box ad where they are interviewing the "Carnivores" team? Everytime he says "The chimps definitely gave 110 percent", I fall off my chair laughing. Is that just me?

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

The quintessential Pittsburgh food is, of course, a Primanti Bros. Sandwich. Since you probably won't send away for one, all you do is make a sandwich, like roast beast, rueben, whatever, and then pile your coleslaw, greasy french fries, and/or onion rings right into the sandwich. Top with your second piece of bread, squish down, and eat with Iron City beer.

Back me up, Em.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Ahhh, actually at the first Journalcon, many of us were herded to a sandwich place for these sandwiches with the french fries in them, but it was ass cold, and there was standing room only to order, and they had a mere two plastic table outside with three chairs.

So most of us went to Breuggers instead.

Now see, if the Ravens had won, you could be eating some fine crab dip and oysters on the half shell... but since you should really be cheering for Philly, just heat up a can of Campbells, and cream cheese on crackers. With a side of Scrapple.

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Ew. Scrapple. Why don't you just make some pepperpot soup while you're at it?

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

My love for Scrapple knows no bounds. With ketchup or grape jelly, mmmm boy!

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

Okay, I'll go with ketchup. It covered up many gross things as a kid - steak and salami mainly. But what's with the grape jelly?

-- Anonymous, January 22, 2002

I'm fond of all the breakfast meats, but scrapple is my absolute favorite. I know, I know, it's scrapple. But I'm telling you, pan fry a thick slab of the stuff and eat it with a nicely buttered English muffin and you are in breakfast heaven, my friends.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

I know, I know, it's scrapple.

Umm . . .

I know I went to school in PA for four years, but . . .

what's scrapple?

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

I looked it up. WG, you really, really don't want to know.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

You can find out everything you need to know about Scrapple right here.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

Oh, GOD. Gag, puke. Words cannot express the grossed-outness, coupled with extreme queasiness, that I am experiencing right now.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

Since the Superbowl is being hosted in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras, that pretty much lays out the menu its ownself, don't y'all?

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2002

THANK you! King cake for everybody!

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2002

okay, the required disclaimer: it's 3:08 am and I am less than sober.

that said... Allison, I have your back. NFL games last an eternity. I've never understood why... but always assumed it was the extra commercials? (are there extra commercials?) or possibly the fact that...

I haven't cared about pro football since my beloved Oilers left Houston. Because I am and always will be an Oilers fan -

(YES! for a team that no longer exists! You wanna make somethin' of it? come on down here to my H-town and then try to denigrate Bum Phillips, and watch me run away claiming I don't know you when Houstonians of all colors, shapes and ages beat you to a pulp)...

...and therefore, I must hate the Steelers. It's like how I love the 49ers (because any team that can play Dallas and beat them is a Winner in My Book)...

A lady from Pittsburgh came in to the Bar last week with an Austinite friend. She talked incessantly about Pittsburgh and the Steelers. She talked about this Iron City beer, and about some crazy-ass towel thing... she kept promising to send us an "authentic" one so we could "hang it up in the bar", and I kept telling her that we wouldn't even know what to do with it, because in Austin, football means the Texas Longhorns.

She also talked about the french fries-on-the-sandwich thing, and explained that "yins"* was actually better than "y'all", at which point you know I went off on my yall diatribe.

Not to put too fine a point on it: I have no use for this Steeler love of which you speak... and couldn't give a shit less who goes to the Super Bowl. I find the whole NOLA-suing-the-NFL over the Mardi Gras coincidence much more entertaining. I will attend my annual Super Bowl party with my usual dips and crackers and cookies in hand, but I will not be paying one whit of attention to the actual playing of the game.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

(I forgot the asterisk)

*"yins" is not only spelled in multiple ways, according to Miss Pittsburgh, (such as "yens" and "yinz"), but it doesn't even have an origin in grammatical propriety.

"Yins" is a contraction for "you ones." When would that ever be proper in American English as an address for the collective "you"? Never, that's when. If you are going to inappropriately contract, it should at least be off a phrase that is correct in and of itself, n'est-ce pas? You know, like "you all."

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

Actually, "younz" or "younzes" is how I've always seen it spelled. And as for the rest, I can't even respond until I've had cool off time.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

Could someone please tell me about the towel? I am intrigued.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

People. It's "yinz". Any and all other spelling is a mutation of what is real and true. And it does stand for "you ones".

The Terrible Towel, from what I understanding, being that I'm not a Steelers fan (I heart the Browns, shhh), is this stupid black and yellow towel that they wave frantically in circles above their heads (they being the fans), so that their team will rule the skool.

I could be wrong though.

And next time y'all see me, ask me to tell you my Pittsburgh accent stories. Funny shit, that. I can speak German w/ a Pittsburgh accent which is the funniest thing EVER.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

And I'd like to add that "you ones" isn't wrong and terrible as an address for a group of people.. what about "you'uns"? Isn't that something somewhere? I want to say "the south" but I don't want to be presumptuous.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

I always heard "yinz." As in "yinz go down 'ere."

Legend has it that the Terrible Towel started in the '70s when the Steelers reigned supreme across the land for like EVER. The fans brought yellow towels to distract the other players. Sort of like when people wave those big foamy things behind the baskets during free throws.

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2002

A Pennsylvania shut-out.

Boo.

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2002

The Rams vs. the Patriots? I care not.

Maybe we should have a fantasy cheese steak-scrapple faceoff.

-- Anonymous, January 28, 2002

And as for the rest, I can't even respond until I've had cool off time.

Robyn! No! No! I love you! I don't understand what I had did. Tell me. Rip on me. I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of things Pennsylvanian is lacking. Teach me, Obi-Wan.

-- Anonymous, January 28, 2002

I won the pool yesterday- I was the ONLY ONE who picked the Pats to win at all. And I won another dollar on a bet that the game wouldn't suck. I was quite smug.

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2002

Well, I'm glad the AFC team won, even if it wasn't the Steelers. Besides, that Brady fella is pretty cute.

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2002

Tell me about it! I kept ohhhing over the cute Patriot boys instead of listening to the post-victory speeches! The kicker, Adam, is pretty cute too, in a scraggily, unshaven way.

(Leave it to us to turn a sports thread into a "let's talk about boys" thread!)

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2002