THE FRUSTRATION OF BEING A STEELER FAN

Jay from "On The Sportslines" here. Those of you who know me or regularly watch the show know that I am a DIE-HARD Pittsburgh Steeler fan. What you may not know, unless you too are a Steeler fan, is just how frustrating that can be.

Now I know you're looking at me the same way my boy AP does when I say that. AP is a LOOOOOOOONG suffering Cleveland Browns fan, so he can't fathom that a fan of the team with the most Lombardi trophies would have anything to complain about. As he so often reminds me, "Dude, at least your team WINS."

Yes, the Black and Gold do win. Only the Patriots and Colts have more regular season wins in this decade coming into the season. Only the Patriots have more playoff wins and Super Bowls wins this decade than the Steelers.

When you root for a team that ALWAYS loses, you get numb to it. AP's passion for the Browns is no less than mine for the Steelers, but he's so used them playing badly and losing that his emotional investment isn't what it used to be. A Steeler fan's emotional investment would break the Richter Scale.

Spend a day like I did today (and like I do on a decent portion of the 16 football days that the Steelers play) in a Steeler bar filled from stem to stern with rabid fans in Black and Gold and you might begin to understand.

Yes, the Steelers do win more than they lose, but they NEVER do either the easy way. They don't get blown out nor do they blow their opponents out. In their 6 wins, their average margin of victory is 10.33 points, but most of that has happened in the second half or fourth quarter which means that us fans spend anywhere from 30-45 minutes riding a roller coaster of exhilaration and frustration before we can exhale a HUGE sigh of relief.

In their 4 loses, their average margin of defeat is 3.75 points and in all of them, the Steelers were ahead or had a chance to win but lost in the fourth quarter, thus subjecting their fans to pretty much an ENTIRE game on that same roller coaster before we collectively spew forth a stream of expletive-deleted invective. Today's overtime loss on the road at Kansas City was a prime exhibit.

The Steelers allowed the opening kick-off to be returned for a touchdown (they seem to allow special teams returns for TD's every week). Coaster going down. They followed that with a dominant 17 point second quarter giving them a 10 point lead at the half. Coaster going up. The third quarter was all Chiefs. Outscoring the Steelers 10-0 largely due to a pair of Ben Roethlisberger interceptions. Coaster going down. The high of the go-ahead touchdown was followed by the low of KC once again tying the game with a TD which ultimately sent the game into OT.

The Steelers won the toss and drove down the field, but just as they reached the outer edge of Jeff Reed's FG range, they INEXPLICABLY ran a sweep that lost 2 yards, knocking them out of FG range instead of just running it straight up the middle. They then elected to punt which resulted in a touchback (does ANYONE know how to execute a Coffin Corner punt anymore?). The Steelers then did the other thing they seem to do every week: give up a HUGE pass play that leads to a score. Matt Cassel to Chris Chambers, 61 yards. One chip shot FG later and the Steelers had their second 2-game losing streak of the season.

Every time the Steelers got a big run or pass play; every time they sacked Cassel; every time they stuffed the Chiefs, the bar was in ecstasy. Every time Ben was sacked or threw a pick; every time the Steelers were unable to convert a third down; every time the Chiefs scored, the entire bar was in agony. When it was all over and the Steelers had lost, there was absolute silence. You'd have thought someone had died.

I know, I know, a lot of you reading this will have ABSOLUTELY no sympathy for me and that's fine. But don't tell me that all you long suffering Browns, Jets, Lions and Raiders fans (I know that I'm leaving some others out, my apologies for the oversight and your suffering) wouldn't sell your football souls to go through the whiplash-inducing change-on-a-dime emotional roller coaster that just flat out drains Steeler fans every week - win or lose - especially if it meant you had a better than 50-50 chance to make the playoffs practically every season.

Steelers have done a lot of winning in my lifetime, including all 6 of those Super Bowls. Cheering them on to victory has been joyous as all heaven. It's also been frustrating as all hell.