That’s it.

Author’s Note:  I wrote this in the wee hours of Monday morning after being rightfully PISSED OFF about Sunday’s game.  I’ve sat on it and spent all of Monday trying to cool down and get some perspective.  I’m re-reading it on Monday night to see if I want to take it down or run it.  I’ve decided I’m still running it. If anything, I added to it. 

I knew we would lose.

Yes,  Moose,  WE.

I mean,  that’s what we follow this stupid sport for,  isn’t it? To feel a part of something?

Well,  I’m done.  Moose,  you’ll be happy to know there is no longer a WE. I can’t do this anymore.

After the first quarter,  I told my dad to put on the Real Madrid game.  After the third quarter,  I put on a movie.

The whole point of watching football is supposed to be to enjoy yourself.  I did not enjoy one bit of Sunday’s game,  even though I was watching with the sound off.

The outcome was so predictable, even a ditzy Russian stripper could see it coming from a mile away.  If it was easy to blame the coach, like I’m sure many people are doing, then I’d be joining the hordes asking for his ouster.  This is not Mike Tomlin’s fault.

In most sports, the smart teams see what the best teams are doing and figure out a way to beat them.  They build teams specifically to compete against the best teams.  The Steelers, as an organization, are built to beat the Baltimore Ravens.

This is stupid.

The best team in the NFL is the New England Patriots.  The Patriots are not, however, unbeatable.  There is clear evidence of the types of teams that can beat them:  tough, physical teams that exert pressure on the QB, are able to cover receivers closely using man-to-man coverage, and have an offense capable of scoring somewhere in the high 20s/low 30s on a consistent basis.  It is not an easy formula, but it is doable if you draft towards achieving that goal. The Ravens have. The Steelers haven’t.  This is why the Steelers have a horrible record against the Pats and why they will never win a significant game against them. The organization seems pretty content to be the Patriots’ bitch. For over a decade!

***

I knew we would lose.

RTD asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to watch the game with him.  I declined, telling him that I’m no fun when my team loses.  It’s not the fact that the Steelers lost, it’s the inevitability of that loss that has gotten to me.

How the fuck do you run the same zone defense in the secondary that the Patriots have feasted on every single time that they play you?  How, after 15 years of this shit have you still not tried something else?  How is it that an offense that should be scoring at will doesn’t even have a QB sneak in its playbook and is held to 18 points in one postseason game and 17 points in the other?

Again, it’s not coaching.  Tomlin didn’t drop passes for long gains and sure touchdowns.  Tomlin isn’t the quarterback that fails to recognize that a QB sneak from the one foot mark is a hell of a lot better than a run to a backup running back that hasn’t been playing almost all year?  Tomlin doesn’t determine the roster that only has two running back options and that has run out of defensive linemen.

The three Super Bowl trips that the Steelers have earned in this century were all thanks to someone else knocking off the Pats.  So, basically Steelers fans are left with two choices:

1. Waiting for Brady to retire or get a career-ending injury.
2. Hoping each year that some other team beats the Patriots in the playoffs.

What’s the point of that?  In addition, the window of opportunity for the Steelers is almost closed.  Roethlisberger is due to either retire or get a career-ending injury soon.  After that, it’s the 80s all over again.  No, thank you.

The organization has failed its fans in many ways.  It has refused to draft to beat the Patriots.  It has refused to counter the rule changes that have allowed the “death by a thousand paper cuts” approach to the game that the Patriots have followed.  It has refused to stand up to Roger Goodell and his arbitrary fines.  I can’t continue to support this organization.

I’m SO glad that I finally ended the last little bit of money that I was contributing to the NFL when I cancelled Sunday Ticket. There was no merchandise bought this year and I did not attend any games.

Going forward, I will be actively rooting for and enjoying the failure of NFL franchises in Los Angeles as both the Chargers and Rams will lose money and then eventually move somewhere else.  From this point forward, I just want to see the NFL burn, fail, and cease to be the #1 sport in the United States.  Fuck Roger Goodell, Fuck Robert Kraft, Fuck Tom Brady, Fuck them all.

It’s not all gloom and doom, though.  I will enjoy my Raider fan friends finally enjoying football again and possibly join them on a road trip to Vegas to watch their team. Of course,  I won’t buy a ticket, I’ll just go to Vegas to have fun with them.   Trust me, this is the only NFL news that LA is actually excited about.

I’ll never see the NFL the same way again, though.  Truth be told, it’s actually been that way for a while.  Our Steelers season preview pretty much foretold today’s post.  When it’s win the championship now or you’re fucked for the next ten years, it’s time to re-evaluate the level of interest you have in your team.

I can’t even say I like the way the Steelers play. And if I feel this way about a team that reached the AFC Championship, what the fuck are you people doing supporting teams like the New York Jets or the Cleveland Browns or the San Francisco 49ers?  What’s the fucking point?

I mean, honestly, what keeps you all going?  I don’t get it. Unless you are Patriots fans (and God have mercy on your soul if you are and if you still have one), why would anyone care about the NFL these days?  Supposedly, according to all the NFL media, the Steelers are among the “best-run” organizations.  That’s total bullshit, but compared to some of the other teams in the league, I can see why people would say that.  If the organization of your team is so shitty that every year brings the same shitty result, why do you people keep supporting that organization?

Never mind when those organizations show utter contempt for the fans by relocating in search of more money and/or by not investing in the on-field product.  I can count on one hand and one foot the number of organizations that really try to do the best for their team and try to win:  New England, Dallas, New York Giants, Seattle,  Baltimore, Denver, and Green Bay.  If Atlanta can somehow make 2017 a great year and beat the Pats, I’ll add them to the list.  If the Raiders can invest in keeping Carr healthy and surround him with talent, I’ll add them to the list despite their proposed move to Vegas.

Who else?  Seriously, go through the divisions.  The Eagles?  Chip Kelly laughs at you while collecting millions.  The Redacteds?  I can’t even type their actual nickname that owner is so contemptible.  The Steelers?  The Steelers basically have the narrow gap between Brady’s retirement and Roethlisberger’s retirement as the remaining window to contend.  Depending on how the luck rolls out, that gap may not actually materialize. After that,  good fucking luck.

I love everyone connected to this site and I’ll continue to write and comment here as long as you’ll have me, but, in the immortal words of Roger Murtaugh,