I had about 70% of a post ready for today but I'm completely spent. I have no emotional energy left of any kind. My reaction calls to mind the words JFK used to describe a stubbed toe – you realize you're too big to cry but it hurts too much to laugh.
Ginandtacos.com will award a certified check of $1,000 to anyone who can provide an explanation for why Kurt Warner threw that ball on the last play of the 1st half. There were 500 things the Cardinals could have done and only 1 that they couldn't do – throw a slant that someone could step in front of and run 100 yards the other way.
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Anything else would have sufficed. Anything. An incomplete pass. A holding penalty. Fumbling the snap and falling on it. Warner being struck by a meteor. Anything except what he did. The second half of the game, for all the excitement at the end, consisted of nothing more than trying to make up for that error.
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Pittsburgh fans are louts, only marginally better than Eagles fans, who are only marginally better than Yankee fans, who are only marginally better than rectal cancer.
John Ferrigan says:
Ed,
As a loyal ginandtocos reader for several years, thought of you all day. I feel for you (loyal Buckeye fan -went to Nawlins for the LSU loss . .. ). Your Cards should have won the game. They were the better team in the game – at least you have that.
Savor the trip – that's all I can offer. Counts for nil – other than you were able to enjoy the experience.
PS – the site is the bomb -you and John Cole are the most thought provoking bloggers on the whole Intertrons.
Take care,
John
dbsmall says:
Can't explain the 1Q pass.
As a general rule, the best play for ARI, all year, has been "get the ball to Fitzgerald or Boldin, and figure they can make something of it." Warner just wasn't the guy to do that, I guess.
Next year, there should be a fixed up defense. Next year, Leinert could be back in charge, with more experience. (And next year, my team will still be ruined by Al Davis' control problem. By the way, the year Oakland drafted Robert Gallery, it was because they passed on Fitzgerald.)
(BTW, I was going to correct your comment about Larry's athleticism…was going to comment that I thought Andre Johnson was actually the standout athlete. But watching Fitzgerald pull away from some of the fastest defenders, yesterday, and watching him almost pull down the PIT LB…he's certainly in an elite group, an I'm willing to consider that he may be #1.)
Dustin says:
Man, I don't know who is further past their prime… Warner or Wintersteen.
Oh, and the Steelers fans are not louts! They are some of the most patient and loyal fans in all of professional sports. I know that you are bitter about losing (it was an amazing game and could have gone either way) but please do not take it out on the Steelers franchise. They are a very classy organization.
Rob says:
the steelers fans are so classy that many pittsburgh school districts are having 2 hour delays tomorrow so people can "get some sleep" (read: sleep it off) after the game went so late. like, 10:30…damn.
Ed says:
I don't know, Dustin. The 50,000 fans at this game behaved like overgrown children on a bender. I'm used to being the "visiting team" fan in a stadium full of the opposition but it's been a while since I've been taunted so much, so poorly, and in such a juvenile manner.
Classy these people were not. Not in the least. The organization may be a classy one but the median emotional age of the Steelers fans in attendance was about 12. And I've never seen so much Natural Ice in my life.
Patti says:
Kurt Warner threw that pass because he understands how much we enjoy watching 250 pound linebackers run.
Dustin says:
Point taken, Ed. I wasn't there, so I'll take your word for it. I've only ever seen Steelers fans in their native Heinz field.
Also, the fault was not so much Kurt Warner for his forgivable misread (this is the best defense in the league), as it was your entire damn team for letting a 275 pound linebacker run 100 yards back for the TD ;P
Scott says:
Re: the worst fans – I would have to go with Red Sox fans. I've been around them a couple of times at Tropicana Field and they are really obnoxious. I think it's a heady mix of a persecution complex and a recent sense of entitlement.
And, while I hate to admit it, Gator fans can be really obnoxious, too.
My condolences about the game. At least it was warm in Tampa while you were there. Did you check out Dinosaur World?
Ed says:
Whisenhunt said after the game that the worst part about that INT return was not the throw but the failure to tackle him. I don't know. I've replayed that play over in my head about 10,000 times and I can't shake the conclusion that only one pass could be easily picked off and returned for a TD – a slant. So regardless of his reads or whether he thought Boldin was open, I'd tend to think that the absolute last thing in the world he would throw is a quick slant.
I've seen more abusive fans than Steeler Nation, but I've never encountered cockier ones. Man, they were full of themselves and they thought we were a great big joke. Lucky for them, the team took us more seriously than the fans did.
It's cute watching them all brag about their vaunted defense which held us to 410 yards and 23 points.
Matthew says:
Isn't the median emotional age of any football fan around 12?
Ed says:
This is true, Matthew, but there is a big difference in the margins. Some teams have a median age of 12, others are about 15. That might seem inconsequential but it's like the difference between a temperature of 101 and 106.
Chris says:
The game was a solid Super Bowl. I was really impressed with Fitzgerald. The TD pass where he outran the entire Steeler secondary from the middle of the field was just freakish. The interception at the end of the 1st half was a complete nightmare scenario and probably cost the Cards the game. They at least would have gotten a field goal. I think the huge pass play on the Steelers last drive where the WR went to the 6 yard line was also a killer.
I also have my reasons for hating the Steelers: the '95 AFC Championship game and the 2005 Playoffs. The '95 Colts were a lot like the Cardinals team this year, and the AFC Championship game was a heartbreaking loss (maybe the best football game I've ever watched). The Colts were 13-0 at one point in 2005, and they beat the Steelers' ass during the regular season. However, the Colts had an epic meltdown at the end of the season and lost to the Steelers in the playoffs. The Steelers didn't so much win that game, but had it handed to them by the Colts. I would have been embarrassed to win that way.
My pick for the worst fans of all time: Ohio State fans. Complete fucking assholes. Don't even want to get into it.
Scott says:
Amen about the Ohio State fans. I wasn't at the 2006 BCS Championship Game, but by all accounts, the OSU fans were complete assholes towards the UF fans. That's why one of my favorite pictures of all time is this one:
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd59/Deebrown1983/crying_fans.jpg
beau says:
Great game. Tough luck on the finish. My heart goes out to ed, and all card. fans. So close. So, so close.
On the obnoxious fans thing – I can't imagine anyone could be worse than Australian cricket fans. But as y'all are americans, and only Casey Jones has ever heard of cricket over there, the oversight is understandable.
Brandon says:
This is probably little consolation, but you really can't obsess about one play. If the Cardinals had managed to get a field goal or even a touchdown to close the first half, the Steelers might have gotten their asses chewed during halftime and come out with extra fire to start the 2nd. It is tempting but misleading for football and basketball fans to focus on single plays, and assume that the rest of the game would have gone exactly the same even if the play hadn't happened.
Dustin says:
Brandon, this is especially true with the Steelers, as they typically go into a cocoon-like state when they take the lead (no matter how small). It's something that has pissed me off watching them for about 15 years.
Jason Harx says:
"Ginandtacos.com will award a certified check of $1,000 to anyone who can provide an explanation for why Kurt Warner threw that ball on the last play of the 1st half."
A: Because he's Kurt Warner.
That and what Patti said, nothing funnier than a lineman not able to figure out if he actually wants to get to the endzone or would rather just get tackled so he can stop running.