RICHMOND, Va. — It’s funny how, if you watch sports long enough, history seems to repeat itself.
As I was watching the Steelers’ playoff debacle unfold Sunday at Heinz Field, I couldn’t help but recall a similar situation and result from 23 years ago. A home game in January, an exceptional team for whom the sky seemed the limit, an inferior opponent overlooked and taken lightly, and a disastrous, humiliating result. When the shock wore off following the loss to the Chargers in the 1994 AFC Championship game, it was immediately replaced with a level of emptiness I’ve seldom felt, and a couple really cold and depressing days followed.
Then, as now, came the Penguins to the rescue!
What a fun start to the season that was, and getting to enjoy Luc Robitaille in Pittsburgh’s diagonal-lettered Snoop Dogg sweater was icing on the cake. True, the shortened season ended with a bit of a thud in the second round against the Devils, but the first round saw another comeback from 3-1 down to Washington, which was supremely entertaining, and must have made the Capitals wonder if they were cursed. (Before the series in 1996 proved it beyond a doubt.)
I won’t pretend I invest the same level of emotion into the Steelers as I did when I was in my early 20s. I now find defeats like Sunday’s more baffling and almost frustratingly hilarious than I do crushing or demoralizing. That’s the privilege of having experienced a little success, I suppose. But any way you look at it, it’s comforting to be able to immerse oneself immediately in hockey and the Penguins, riding a four-game win streak as if on cue! Hope springs eternal, right?
Hang in there, Pittsburgh!
ROB ULLMAN / DKPS
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