The Steelers are playing in Chicago for the first time since Nov. 5, 1995, when they beat the Bears 37-34 in overtime. That
was their first win against the Bears in Chicago, where they had lost their previous 11 meetings against them.
While
these teams are infrequent interconference foes, they often seem to meet when the Steelers are at a turning point. And these
meetings are somehow intertwined with my personal life.
So perhaps it's fitting that on Sept. 19, 1971, the
Steelers played their first game in my lifetime that counted. They lost 17-15 at Chicago. It was Chuck Noll's third season.
They went 6-8. That was the year before the Immaculate Reception.
Staying connected
In 1992, Bill Cowher's first year as coach, the Steelers started the season 10-3. Then they went into Chicago and got hammered
by the Bears 30-6. I was a senior at Emerson College in Boston, and I had bad feelings about the game because the Bears were
honoring Mike Singletary that day (I think he kept his pants on). I figured it would fire them up. That loss in
the Windy City seemed to take the wind out of the Steelers' sails. They dropped two of their last three, finished 11-5 and
lost 24-3 at home to the Bills in the divisional playoffs.
In 1995, the Steelers started the season 3-4, then won
eight straight and went to Super Bowl XXX. Because of their lackluster start, the Steelers weren't first and foremost on my
mind that fall. I still spent many Sundays visiting friends from college trying to stay connected (if only Facebook had been
around back then).
So it didn't bother me at all that when the Steelers played the Bears in Week 10, my only peek
at the game came during ESPN's NFL Primetime. I was with a friend of mine at the Cask & Flagon in Boston. This guy hated
football, so he and I were on different wave lengths when on one of the televisions I saw a shot of Steelers players holding
hands on the sidelines. Norm Johnson kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the Steelers the win in OT. They improved to 5-4.
It was the second of eight straight wins. It was the start of something big. I just didn't know it at the time.
Good Mike Hunting
Ten years later, I reached a point in my life
where it was unfathomable to spend a Sunday afternoon in the fall with a guy who doesn't like football. I had watched every
Steelers game during the 2005 season. Then they lost three in a row and fell to 7-5. Their next game was at home against the
Bears. I planned to go to a sports bar to watch it. But, to quote a line in "Good Will Hunting," I had to see about
a girl.
In a decision influenced in part by the Steelers' losing streak. I spent the afternoon with a woman
I was seeing at the time and gave up the Steelers game. She and I just chilled in her apartment. I confess I did go to
her computer quite a bit for score updates on nfl.com. The Steelers beat the Bears 21-9. Like their win over the Bears a
decade earlier, it was the start of something big. The victory was the first of eight straight games the Steelers would win,
culminating in their Super Bowl XL victory.
Sometimes I wish I had watched that game. It was played in the
snow, which added to the drama. And it was Jerome Bettis' last great game as a Steeler.
And the girl?
Unfortunately, things didn't work out. We reconnected last year, but we drifted apart again, for much the same reason we
drifted apart the first time.
Now, the Steelers are playing the Bears again. I'll be watching the game as
a new member of the New York City Pittsburgh Steelers Meetup Group at the Public House on East 41st St. in Manhattan.
And, yes, there is a new woman in my life. I plan to see her Sunday.
(Editor's note: I updated this a couple of hours after posting it to add "NFL" before "power rankings"
for SEO purposes.)
I'd like to thank the staff at the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 24 in Bridgewater, Mass., for
providing me with photo material to go with my NFL power rankings.
On Monday, I was up in New England visiting
family when I bought a an ice coffee. I ordered a medium, so the plastic cup fit inside one of the hot
cups emblazoned with a Patriots 50th anniversary logo. For some reason, the person behind the counter decided to serve it
to me like that.
I put the Patriots cup in its rightful place before I drank the coffee:
We had a couple of great games on Monday night where the underdogs almost pulled off upsets. But with the possible
exception of the 49ers winning at Arizona (THAT was the team that almost beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl?), there were
no surprises in Week 1.
You could argue that Mark Sanchez's performance against the Texans was a surprise (the
Jets made the biggest move up, from 20 to 11). But if Sanchez can do the same thing at home Sunday against the Patriots, then
we'll know he's for real.
I plan to have my NFL power rankings released on Wednesdays. So instead of Prince Spaghetti
Day, Wednesday is now Steelahs.com Power Rankings Day. I know, most NFL power rankings come out on Tuesdays, but I figured
releasing my power rankings on Wednesday would set them on a stage by themselves. Or it could be that I need an extra day
to compile information for comments on the top 12 teams. I really wanted to have comments on all 32 teams, but I just don't
have enough time. I'm just one man!
But enough about me. Here are the rankings, with record and preseason ranking
in parentheses:
1. Steelers (1-0, 1): Don't give up on the running game just yet. The Titans have
a pretty good defense. 2. Giants (1-0, 2): Maybe if they had Osi Umenyiora last year, they wouldn't
have needed Plaxico Burress. 3. Patriots (1-0, 3): Were those throwback uniforms the Patriots wore Monday
night? Or was Tom Brady trying out his Steve Grogan Halloween costume? 4. Ravens (1-0, 4): Franchise-record
501 yards vs. Kansas City. 5. Colts (1-0, 6): Peyton Manning tied Johnny Unitas' franchise record of
118 career wins. 6. Titans (0-1, 5): Kerry Collins lost to the Steelers for the first time in his 15-year
career. 7. Eagles (1-0, 9): Forced seven turnovers vs. Panthers, the most they've forced in a game since
2000. 8. Falcons (1-0, 7): 9-1 when Matt Ryan does not throw an interception. 9. Chargers
(1-0, 8): Shawne Merriman doesn't look like his old self. 10. Packers (1-0, 11): Former Steeler
Kevin Greene is the linebackers coach and aiding the transition to the 3-4, which produced two sacks and four turnovers in
its debut. 11. Jets (1-0, 20): Mark Sanchez is the fourth rookie since the merger to win his first career
start on opening day on the road (John Elway, Joe Ferguson, Chris Weinke). 12. Vikings (1-0, 12): Of
Adrian Peterson's 180 rushing yards vs. the Browns, 155 came in the second half. 13. Bears
(0-1, 10) 14. Cowboys (1-0, 16) 15. Redskins (0-1, 14) 16. 49ers (1-0, 21) 17. Cardinals (0-1, 13) 18. Dolphins (0-1, 17) 19. Saints (1-0, 19) 20. Bills (0-1, 27) 21. Panthers (0-1, 15) 22. Texans (0-1,
18) 23. Seahawks (1-0, 23) 24. Broncos (1-0, 30) 25. Bengals (0-1, 22) 26. Jaguars (0-1, 26) 27.
Raiders (0-1, 24) 28. Buccaneers (0-1, 25) 29. Chiefs (0-1, 28) 30. Browns (0-1, 29) 31. Rams (0-1, 31) 32. Lions (0-1, 32)
