I like to think I keep my extreme hometown bias low key most of the time on this show so I can provide a safe space for fans of all types to revel in the circus of hype that is The Alan Michael Show. All season long I have been honest without shoving my team down your throats. I know at times since I am not a Saints fan I can get on your nerves because I am not seeing it through your shade of Black and Gold. I do my best and hopefully when we talk NFL on this show it is enjoyable for you. And let’s face it, no matter what sports talkers say on the radio and T.V., they do have biases. Maybe those biases are not for certain teams, but are for certain players or certain owners or agencies that represent players and coaches. The more money your sports talker has the more likely they are rooting for individuals. Me, I am a common man who enjoys common things.
I enjoy watching my hometown teams win sporting events just like you. I enjoy a cold beer and multiple chips stuck together on one big piece of cheese just like you. I won’t tell you I get paid not to root because I do not. Nobody does. Fair and balanced does not exist in sports, especially at this time of year because when you get to this point in an NFL season, everybody has a rooting interest.
If you are a Saints fan, you are probably rooting hard for someone to stop Atlanta. If you are fan of decency and all that is good you are rooting for anyone but New England. If you are fortunate enough to have your favorite team still playing like I am, you begin to abandon all decorum and unabashedly root for your team harder than ever.
So with that said, I need to explain to you just how monumental the challenge on Sunday is for someone like me. I am a person who was born in Pittsburgh, PA. My family has strong ties to the team playing to get into the Super Bowl on Sunday in Foxborough. Season tickets in that town take 30 years to get now because people like my Pap held on to their season tickets since the 1960’s and passed them down generation to generation. It might not be healthy and it might be childish but I am sure many of you understand what it is like to live and die with your team. On Sunday my team faces their greatest challenge in my lifetime against the team that has beaten the Steelers in every big time match up they have had in the playoffs. Every game! New England has owned Pittsburgh in every Wild Card, Divisional Round, and Conference Championships game.
This time it is finally going to be different. This time the Steelers are too talented. This time the Steelers are playing for something more than a Super Bowl! This time the Steelers are too hungry. The Steelers are too strong! They’re too motivated! And New England is too weak! Especially you, Tom Brady, age 39, 4 time cheater, 225 pounds!
When the smoke clears and dust settles on Sunday up in Foxborough, the Steelers will have exercised the ultimate demon and be onto that final step on the Stairway to Seven.