Behind Enemy Lines

It�s starting.� The cold sweats��the middle of every night.� I know we�re supposed to take one game at a time.�� No using the �P� word (playoff) the �C� word (Championship), or god forbid, the �SB� word (�guess what).� But�.my thoughts, for very personal reasons are on the �C� word.

Since the Halloween Massacre, the Steelers & Patriots seem to have been on a collision course, and this locomotive is only gathering steam�heading for a head-on this coming January 23^rd at��.and therein lies the rub.� Will it be in Foxboro, will be in the friendlier confines of Heinz Field?

Yeah, yeah, I know�.Heinz hasn�t been very friendly in AFC Championship games during the Cowher era�.but Kordell was our QB for two of� those.� No one could ever argue that our Steelers would be better off traveling to Foxboro.

Anyway�.living in New Hampshire, right on the Massachusetts border, I can�t help but contemplate my fate should the Steelers lose this game.� I�ve already told my wife, a native New Englander, but an anti-fan� (roots against everything) that we shall have to move should the Pats beat the Steelers again.� I�ll become suicidal otherwise; I know I will.� Maybe the decision will be made for me�.similar to that of the Acadians in the Canadian maritimes.� Instead of sending me to Louisiana though, maybe the New Englanders will make me move to�..CLEVELAND!!!� Actually, Cleveland might not be so bad.� I could drive to every Steeler home game!!!

It�s been kind of tough living in Patriot country for the last few years, ever since the AFC Championship debacle in �01.� I�ve lived in New England since 1979�.and we ALWAYS� had the upper hand.� The Patsies had no Super Bowls, no hall-of-famers,� a new coach every other year.�

Then it evened out some.� There was the utter darkness of the Fog Bowl (�96 Divisonal playoff)�.the sheer happiness of winning the Immaculate Interception game and seeing 60,000 Patriot zombies stream out of Foxboro; then we beat them again 3 weeks later at 3 Rivers.

Then it all changed on a very dreadful Sunday afternoon at Heinz, on a January day in 2002.

Thing is�.I like the Patriots as a team.� I like their players, I like Belichick, I like that they all say the same thing�.and it�s always the right thing.� I like their team concept.� I like their philosophy.

I HATE their fans!!!� HATE THEM!!!� And many of these people are my friends; my relatives.� I don�t care.� I want to seem them lose, see them suffer again!!!

I HATE their sports talk radio.� They�ve conveniently repressed the memory of the severe and thorough ass-whippin� that they suffered on Halloween.� I particularly hate the idiots on WEEI (850), and of them, I particularly hate Fred Smerlas.� He gives all of the capable ex-athletes, now in broadcasting, a very bad name.

They�re yahoos�.and they HATE us, too.

It would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sweet to play and beat them in the AFC Championship.� But I hope they lose in the first round instead.

I�m scared�..the cold sweats are back.