A House Divided

Original post 1/23/2011

Eight years ago when Julius and I started dating, we drew a proverbial line in the sand when it came to football. He was a Falcons fan, and I was a DIE HARD Steelers fan. We were young in our relationship; so being on two different sides of the fence didn’t mean much. However, as the years went on, arguments definitely began to ensue. Trivial right?! No, trivial my ass! Julius began making the ultimate mistake of rooting AGAINST the Steelers. Well maybe not rooting against them, but he would cheer when the other team had a good play. His excuse: “I mean, I just like good football!” Well, to any Steelers fan, that is complete bullshit. Not only do you just root for the Black and Yellow, but you are just as equally pissed at any good play the other team achieves.

After a solid 6 years of arguing, we made the decision that we would only root against each other’s team when the Falcons and the Steelers were playing each other. This worked fine for the first year or so…and then it happened...

If you remember, the first regular season game this season, the Falcons and the Steelers played each other. This was the first time since we had been together that we found ourselves on opposite sides of the field. Please understand that shyt got REAL in the Johnson household. Of course the Steelers won, and everything went back to normal. But when we got to the post season Julius kept finding himself constantly putting down the Steelers. “Ben ain’t nothing.” “The defense can’t handle this team and that team.” “Y’all better hope y’all don’t play the Patriots in the playoffs.” YADA YADA YADA. I mean he actually had a leg to stand on since the Falcons were 13-3.

So here we are in the Post-Season. Both teams had a bye the first round. One team has 6 Super Bowl Rings, one team has 0. One team has been to the AFC Championship 8 times, one has been to the NFC Championship 1 time. It should be clear what was going to happen, but “Julius NAYSAYER Johnson” had hope that the Falcons would do something worth talking about. Bottom line, they didn’t! They lost in their first game 48-21. While the Steelers are on their way to their THIRD Super Bowl since Julius and I have been together.

It should be clear that our kids would grow up being Steelers fans. I mean what kid wouldn’t want to cheer on a winning team? Yet, my loving husband still fights me on this topic. I don’t think anyone would judge him if he decided to become a Steelers fan. I wouldn’t. Instead, he’s holding his ground, and I will continue to live in a house divided.

While he’s sulking just like every other wack team in the NFL, I’m looking for every fan whose team has won 6 Super Bowls to STAND UP!

Ooops…that would only be the members of the Steelers Nation. #BlackandYellow