Running out of things to clean to keep my mind off the game (currently cleaning the freezer). NBC is offering five hours of non-stop Bob Costas and Chris Collinsworth, which is kind of like being offered five hours of unmedicated root canal surgery. Tunch, however, is resting on the Steelers blanket on the couch. NBC just reported that both teams spent the night in an undisclosed location. I wonder who Cheney is rooting for tonight.
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Robin G.
Football commentary is the biggest reason I hardly ever watch football. (I also turn down the TV and turn up the radio whenever Joe Buck is pontificating on baseball. I don’t need to listen to a grown man crawl up Derek Jeter’s ass, thank you.)
Laura W
Come to NC! I’ve got Fareed the Grim on in the lr, the DTV man hooking me up in the bedroom (er…), and enough cleaning that needs doin’ to carry you all the way to Super Bowl Day, 2010.
JL
Fareed Zakaria is on CNN, Monk is on the Sleuth channel and animal planet is showing a dog show. Why is the Super Bowl on soooo late?
Ruth
In TX it’s in the 60’s so a great day for working the garden. I planted half a row of onions yesterday. Today the spinach goes in. When it gets dark, that’s time for Superbowlishness.
dr. bloor
I would imagine Blackheart is rooting for an Islamofascist attack on the game to prove that the Dems are soft on terra.
2liberal
LINK
Linkmeister
Are you not preparing exotic menu items for the hordes? Here, try my crab dip.
John Cole
@Linkmeister: I’m thawing a chicken breast and having a grilled chicken salad. Really not too worked up about food atm.
KRK
Take a flattering photo of Tunch on the Steelers blanket and post it here. That ought to take up some time.
2liberal
I can’t load this img HREF to this site….tech problems
Have i been banned? i can’t post comments or links…
robertdsc
it’s good to be the king.
The SI article about the Stillers and their fans warmed my heart, so I won’t root too badly against them/root heavily for the Cards today. This Nancy Boy Brady fan can appreciate the fans and the game, even if it’s a rival playing for the title.
Steve Ely
Tiki Barber, in an interview with Ken Whisenhunt, just expressed skepticism about Whisenhunt’s warm feelings toward the Steelers, considering that he was a leading candidate to replace Cowher before they hired Tomlin. Suggested he ought to have hard feelings. Costas echoed Barber’s sentiment. The snub of Whisenhunt by the Steelers is a storyline being pushed by Don Banks and Peter King, among others, as well. It’s BS and really pissing me off. Whisenhunt chose the Cardinals offer over remaining in consideration for the Steelers. He accepted the Arizona job on 1/14/07, the Steelers announced their candidates were then narrowed to Rivera, Grimm, and Tomlin on 1/15/07, and Tomlin got the job on 1/22/07. To suggest the Steelers spurned Whisenhunt for Tomlin ignores the facts, and it’s got me cursing at the talking heads already. They may very well have spurned him for Tomlin if Whisenhunt decided to pass up the Arizona job, but it’s not what happened. Are King, Banks, Barber, and Costas ignorant or dishonest?
Mike T
I always mute the TV and listen to the radio broadcast during Steeler games. Tunch and Bill Hillgrove are much more entertaining.
Ssgt. White
Something that I’ve been wondering, simply b/c I don’t know the story. But I thought J. Cole was from West Virginia, and if that is the case, then, does that make him by default a Steelers fan? Why not a Bengals or Redskins fan? I ask b/c I am unfamiliar with you eastern elitists and your geography.
Main underlying reason why I ask is that I am very suspicious of the sincerity of Steeler fans throughout the United States. It is no bigger, really, than Minneapolis, Detroit, or St. Louis, e.g., and yet, there seem to be Steeler bars in every major city. My theory is that the Steelers bandwagon is chalk full of front running fans with very tenuous connections to Pittsburgh, but who only root for them b/c they are a consistently good team.
Not saying that this is the case with you, necessarily, John, I just want to be properly informed before I negatively stereotype all Steeler fans across the U.S.
passerby
What KRK said.
And when I say "we’re BBQing ribs" it’s not like the royal "We", I’m referring to me + cat though he’s only a supervisor during food prep and he doesn’t give a damn about salsa. I do think kitteh’s pulling for the Cards judging by the way he staring at the bird feeder and the cardinals feeding there. And I’m taking that as a good omen for Arizona.
So, no John, you are not watching alone..um…technically speaking.
dr. bloor
@Steve Ely:
Facts count for very little when you have five hours of air time to fill. At least they’re not making shit up about weapons of mass destruction or how just one more trillion dollar hit will really, truly put the banks back in order.
passerby
@Ssgt. White:
It reminds me of St. Patty’s day when, suddenly, everyone is Irish.
I can be happy with a Steeler win just for them beating the Cowboys.
Laura W
@passerby: Back to my favorite topic: House Cleaning.
As I admitted publicly on NY’s Eve (loose lips sink comment threads), I’ve lived in this house for two years and have never mopped the kitchen floors. I vacuum them, and spot-mop them when cats puke, of course.
I might get myself a Swiffer for Valentine’s Day, or my Bday even, but then again…I may be moving out of here come summer, so why bother?
Domestic Anti-Goddess
JL
@Ssgt. White: I’m just guessing but I assume it is because WVU is only 90 minutes from Pittsburgh.
JL
@Laura W: Where would you go? Hey we need a few more progressive types in my neck of the woods. Actually we need a boat load more progressive types.
demimondian
@KRK: Particularly since John would need to go find a super-wide angle lens for his camera to capture all of Tunch in one shot.
TheFountainHead
There are Steelers fans all over the country because the Steelers and the Ravens are the only teams left in the League that play real football.
J.
Hey, five hours of the Bob and Chris show beats anything those clowns over at Fox could put out. Can you imagine five hours of Terry and the boys? Talk about painful.
Two questions for JC and the team:
1) Why no picture of Tunch on the Steelers blanket?
2) Any of you know what time Matt is interviewing the Pres? Doesn’t say on the TODAY site or anywhere else. And I do not want to keep the TV on all afternoon.
Anoniminous
Shorter Bob & Chris Show:
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Ssgt. White
@TheFountainHead:
If by "real football" you mean putting bounties out on other players’ heads and cultivating the dumbest looking fanbase around, then you are right. They sure do play some "real football."
Joshua Norton
Bob Costas was on "Monk" last night. He was pretty funny actually. I think it helps if all his stuff is gone over by a video editor first.
MikeJ
Is Olberman going to do a Worst Person in the world for the Super Bowl? That might actually be entertaining.
Failing that I’m going for a hike.
Poopyman
They’re a consistently good team, they’re pretty much a blue collar team that are easy to root for (vice Cowboys, Dallas), and perhaps the biggest reason there are fans all over the country is because of the diaspora in the late 70’s after Pgh’s economy collapsed. Those of us who could get out, did. But it’s our hometown, man.
TheFountainHead
In defense of Bob Costas, he was the Commencement Speaker at my graduation, and his speech was great. It was approx. 20 minutes long, and all he essentially said was, "I’m not qaulified to give this speech, and no one is qualified to tell you how to live the rest of your life. Remember that, and you’ll be fine." He got a standing ovation from the student body.
@Ssgt. White: Yes, that’s exactly what I mean by real football, in fact.
JL
@J.: I think I heard 5 pm. Maybe somebody else can confirm this.
John Cole
@Ssgt. White: I grew up in the northern pandhandle of WV, about 5 miles from the PA line and 45 mins from Pitt, and firmly in the Pittsburgh media market. I was several hours from Cleveland, farther from Cincinnati, and hours from DC.
I have been rooting for them since I was 7 in 1977. I am not a bandwagon fan. My mother was a Colts fan, having grown up in Baltimore a few blocks from Memorial stadium. How do I know it was called Memorial staidum? Because I was raised listening to lp’s of “the Greatest Game” and watching Arty Donovan and friends on videotape, mailed to us every week from friends in Baltimore. She finally quit the Colts when they were stolen in the early 80’s, and still refers to them as “that team from Indianapolis” rather than the Colts.
Calling us bandwagon fans is fighting words. You have been warned.
Crusty Dem
I’m only rooting for a good game, but I’m a little concerned about the "former coach vs his old team" factor. I know it’s been two years, not one as in the last case where this matchup made for a terrible superbowl (plus, the two teams have played one game against each other since), and Tomlin is a lot smarter than Bill Callahan, but there’s still the potential for disaster. Here’s hoping we don’t have Cardinal lineman calling the plays at the line of scrimmage…
smiley
@JL: Yes, that’s what I heard also. 5:00.
Kathy
Laura W, good luck on the move.
Yes, I am a fair weather fan but since I’m in PA and my iggles folded, I gotta root for the PA team.
Hubby is heading to the UK this afternoon for business and is PO’ed about missing the game.
But we are having wings and hoagies and chips and dip. My one diet day off between New Year’s and Fat Tuesday.
Love, to all.
J.
Thanks JL and Smiley — for sparing me 2.5 more hours of the Bob, Chris, Keith, Tiki, Bus, Al, etc. show. : )
Punchy
I just finished 3 hours of physiology lecturing to unmotivated undygrads. I will gladly take ANY football commentary, place my 15 props bets (in vegas, of course), grab a beer, and in all other ways prep myself for a fuckin awesum game. Cardz by 8.
Laura W
@JL:
Oh, probably stay in the same town I now reside in but a possible move into a Super Hot Awesome Insanely Amazing Uber-Fabulous house that my friends own here. It’s 15 min from where I now live, vacant, and has been on the market for a while. Once they finish building elsewhere in the area, and pull all the furniture, there is much talk of me moving in for same $$ I currently pay.
Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming…
And if it does sell, by some slim chance, between now and then, I have a great deal where I am now in terms of isolation, privacy, quiet, forested land…so it’s win/win for me any way it falls. I will say that the first time I walked into their house in Nov of 2006 I said to myself: "Self, some day I will live in this house." We shall see…
Laura W
@Kathy:
I cashed my "Get off of diet free" card in on Inaug Day so it’s roasted chicken and brussels sprouts (With Ginger!) for me. Could be worse things in life.
Ssgt. White
@John Cole:
Well, I think we ought to differentiate between life-long fans that grew up in the area-like yourself- and the people all throughout the country that just happen to root for the Steelers. Every time they play an away game, you have to hear about how the team travels so well. You never hear that about other teams from major metropolitan areas, and I think that the huge successes in the 70s and 80s are the reason for that. And don’t give me that blue-collar nonsense, either. There are all sorts of blue collar teams in the NFL, but since they hover around .500 every year, they don’t get a nationwide fanbase.
And as for the "diaspora" from Pitt mentioned above, I simply don’t buy it. Pittsburgh is simply not that big of a town to have magically spread its seed all throughout the U.S…. Hurricane Katrina spread people all throughout the country, but I haven’t seen any Saints bars springing up here in Minnesota.
So, I’m not calling all Stiller fans front-runners, but I sure am trying to build a case for a lot of them being "bandwagon."
JGabriel
John Cole:
While that’s no doubt productive, wouldn’t playing a video game – say WoW or something from the Quake franchise – be more successfully distracting?
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The Grand Panjandrum
Halliburton? Blackwater? You’re right, it’s hard to say.
That Anonymous Guy
Based on the anecdotes I’ve heard out of Arizona the last couple of weeks, I’d say "bandwagoning" and "Cardinals fan" are pretty much synoymous today.
Myself, I’ve been a Cards fan since the days of Neil Lomax and Stump Mitchell, roasting away many an afternoon on those hideous metal bleachers at Sun Devil Stadium. And most of the people now jumping the Cardinals bandwagon are probably the same types who used to mock me mercilessly for embracing such a sorry team.
And I could care less. The concept of having 60% of the country root for the Arizona Cardinals (or so sez ESPN) is so incredibly weird and refreshing that I will embrace it wholeheartedly.
This day is the reason I never ditched the Cardinals through all those sorry-ass years. I knew it would come, sooner or later; I did not anticipate it would arrive before I was in Depends.
passerby
@Laura W:
Nah, save yourself the money. I got one thinking it would make chores easier but it’s only good for under the sofa and bed and in the end, sits there next to the mop collecting cobwebs. An O’Cedar type angle broom takes care of most anything when I’m inclined to use it, IMHO.
Bryan Knox
I lived in Pittsburgh for most of my childhood. Although I have not lived in Pittsburgh for 12 years, i am still a loyal fan. There is no doubt that many fans are simply on the bandwagon, but there are other factors at work. Football is such a dominant part of the culture in Western PA, that anyone who lives there for any length of time usually becomes a life-long Stiller fan. This may explain why Katrina refugees have not created a "Saints Nation" the way that Steeler fans have. While the "blue collar" image is definitely overplayed, the Steelers have won a lot of games without controversial players like T.O. or Michael Vick. Players like Plaxico Burress usually don’t last very long in Pittsburgh whereas Hines Ward is a hero there. In other words, they win a lot, and there is little to dislike about them.
John Cole
@Ssgt. White: You have no idea how bad the steel industry downturn ravaged this area. The diaspora was real, and one of the reasons Steelers fans are so diehard is that it literally was the only thing to look forward to for a LONG while.
Bill H
Back in the day when I had a secretary booking flights for me, one who knew that my favorite airline was Delta (this was a long time ago), I asked her to get me to Pittsburgh one day. She got on the phone and then came in my office and told me that Delta didn’t go to Pittsburgh. She cracked up when I told her, "I don’t blame them, just book me on whoever does."
Ssgt. White
@John Cole:
Fair enough, but I still stand by my point that the Saints don’t have a huge away presence despite their fans’ massive relocation, and I would like to add that even though people have and will be flooding out of Detroit for awhile, we won’t see a ton of Lions fans everywhere…… wait, bad example.
TheFountainHead
I’m thinking of seasoning my cheesesteak beef with some cumin. Any thoughts from the PA crowd?
Freemark
Here in York, PA this has always been a Steelers dominated area even though Baltimore is the closest city, then Phila, then Pittsburgh. But we also have lots of Eagle’s fans and imported Raven’s fans which can make for some very interesting work environments. One I enjoyed immensely this year.
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But if you want to know why the Steelers have fans everywhere look at the Steelers Organization. It has been under the same ownership since cavemen rode dinosaurs. Has only had 3 coaches in 38 years. And is the single most respected organization in the NFL.
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And it doesn’t hurt that our offensive players (i.e Hines Ward) are better hitters than most other teams defensive players. This a tendency to get peoples respect and admiration. Steelers play football the way it was meant to be played.
JL
Why is Palin on my TV?
Steve Ely
I keep turning on the TV to check and see if NBC is doing a piece on Polamalu or LeBeau or Tomlin, and I keep seeing Jimmy Fallon with Al Roker or the Top Chef stuff or, just now, Sarah frakking Palin. Gdmmit. TV goes back off again, of course. I imagine there are Polamalu, LeBeau, and Tomlin pieces I’m missing b/c they’ve buried them in this pile of stinking garbage.
Laura W
No one told me there would be Top Chef Stuff!
Damn that addictive xmradio Coffeehouse channel.
smiley
@Ssgt. White:
Actually, I think it’s a good example. Neither the Saints nor (recently) the Lions have anywhere near the winning tradition that the Steelers have. So, if the Saints (or Lions) had won 5 going on 6 superbowls, I think you very well might see Saints (or Lions) bars spring up in other areas of the country.
cosanostradamus
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The NFL asked Cheney to pick their MVP. He didn’t even wait for the game to start. He just picked himself.
Anti-Superbowl Rock’N’Roll music video party!
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Ssgt. White
@Freemark:
I think you are describing reasons why they are successful, and it is only that success that attracts fans. I seriously doubt people choose to become Steeler fans because their organizational structure is so stable and because their possession receivers are such good blockers. I think it has everything to do with titles and not really all that much to do with how they play the game (which I certainly do respect as a football fan, btw.)
JGabriel
TheFountainHead:
Cumin? I’m a member of the "grew up in PA" crowd. Assuming that’s a good enough credential, especially since I pretty much lived on cheesesteaks during my late teens and early twenties, I can’t really approve of cumin on a cheesesteak, except maybe as a mild addition to a sauce.
I recommend cheesesteak with pizza sauce, onions, bell peppers, all chopped and mixed together, with provolone (or swiss) on top, mushrooms optional.
A brown sauce (instead of pizza sauce) can be good too.
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jurassicpork
Cheney? He’s rooting for the corporate sponsors.
Meanwhile, away from the ranch, let’s examine the first 1000, er, 10 days of Obama’s legacy, as the GOP would have it.
Steve Ely
smiley @53, I think that’s what SSgt White is criticizing. The winning tradition. The Steelers have fans all over the country not only because of connections many of them have to Pgh but also because a lot of people were impressed with that dynasty in the 1970s and the way the Rooneys and their team have generally handled things since then.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though. These fans in Georgia and Florida and California and whatnot, they’re not just rooting for the Steelers during the playoffs. I’ve been in sports bars in distant states early in the regular season where southerners, for instance, were cheering at least as enthusiastically for the Steelers as I, a native Pennsylvanian, was. Wrong to call them bandwagon fans then. They just recognize which NFL franchise is most deserving of admiration.
Edit: While I was typing, White confirmed the guess of my first two sentences. We just differ on the interpretation of the implications of the fandom that winning tradition cultivates.
Ninerdave
Yeah it’s basically a big fucking ad for NBC. I’ve got the mythbusters marathon going on until we get near start time.
JenJen
As a Bengals fan, at least I never run the risk of being accused of jumping a bandwagon. :-) There’s a silver lining in everything!
For what it’s worth, I’ve always thought of most of West Virginia as Steelers Country and the smaller, closer-to-DC residents were Redskins fans. Don’t know of any areas of WV that would be pre-disposed to rooting for our Bengals, but then again, would they admit it at any rate?
The Tim Channel
I’m invited to a superbowl party this evening. I don’t care who wins, as I usually cheer for the underdog, (so I guess that means the Cardinals). My wife has been out of the country for four months and returns Tuesday. I have WAY TOO MUCH cleaning to do to ever worry about running out of stuff to do while waiting for the big game
This big event, like most of them, is just a good chance to sit around with people I like, smoke a little weed and drink a beer or two. And that’s just fine by me.
Enjoy.
Ssgt. White
Enjoy the game, everybody.
Andy K
When the Packers and Stillers are playing at different times, I listen to Bill and Tunch, so I’m not exactly neutral on this. But I think Pittsburgh is facing the team they least wanted to see. Wisenhunt and Grimm are just too familiar with Pittsburgh’s schemes and players, and Warner is a guy who’s comfortable (that Arena League pedigree) getting rid of the ball quickly after 1 1/2 step drops.
I’ts going to be close, 24-16 with about 3:30 left, and the Cards will force Ben to turn it over, leding to the score that will put it away.
Sorry, Cole, the final score is:
Cards 27 (or 31), Stillers 16.
ps- Does anyone know if the (Chicago) Daleys are still Cards fans? The machine wasn’t very friendly to the Bears when the McCaskeys were looking to move or upgrade Soldier Field.
cosanostradamus
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No sauce on a cheesesteak. Just extra grease.
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Freemark
Ssgt. White
SSgt. White I disagree somewhat. Yes if Pittsburgh wasn’t so successful there fans wouldn’t be so numerous. But other franchises have been as successful and have nowhere near the wide support. San Francisco, New England, and Dallas come to mind. If what you say is true they should have the same level of support, they don’t. The Steelers went 25 years without winning a SuperBowl yet never lost their fan base
Thom
Best comment of pregame: "It’s a good sticky."
Indylib
@Laura W:
Swiffers aren’t bad, but I replaced mine with a similar set up with micro-fiber cloth. I can clean most anything I want with just hot water and a very small bit of elbow grease. I only buy a few cleaning chemicals now, which I love and saves money.
Kathy
As a former Detroiter, now living in Philly let me assure you, I still root for the Lions (however futile it maybe) but since they have never played in a Super Bowl I figure I gotta root for someone, might as well root for the classy team from the west side of the state I live in.
My one beef with Pittsburgh, for some weird reason El Rushbo seems to be on their bandwagon. There was even a rumor he was interested in buying the team. I have to say, that would definitely push me off the bandwagon.
Watching the Mythbusters marathon myself right now. Anyone ever slide down a ski-lift line using their jeans?
Snail Darter
@JenJen:
The same could be said for we Brown’s fan. We got thrown under the Bandwagon, but wait’ll next year. Though this is a special Superbowl that offers the opportunity to cheer for a Steeler’s loss.:)
JL
Don’t forget that the animal planet is airing the puppy bowl.
Swifters aren’t the best for dusting floors but you can put just an ordinary washcloth on it to wipe down ceramic floors.
Andy K
Fans of the Big Blue Star are out there, they just don’t have to go to sports bars w/satelites to watch the games too often. Even if they don’t have a Sunday or Monday night game, Dallas gets more than its fair share of 4pm games, featuring either Fox’s or CBS’s #1 crew. Makes me want to check how often in the last 20 years Dallas has played any of its NFC East rivals at 1pm.
JGabriel
cosanostradamus:
Yeah, um, in PA? That’s what they call sauce.
Don’t believe me? Boil some sliced Pork sandwich meat, put it on a hamburger roll, and add relish – they call that a Pork Barbecue.
Just two of hundreds of reasons I left PA for the city. (Ok, actually that’s just one – because I liked the grease we called "sauce" on a cheesesteak.)
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JL
Matilda the beagle won the puppy bowl mvp.
Andy K
Kathy-
My mom’s side of the family here in west MI are still Lion’s diehards. I think they’re all secretly wishing William Clay Ford will kick the bucket in the next minute.
It really hurts to see the Lions fall to 4th in the Detroit sports’ pecking order. OTOH,it’s always easy for us Packer fans to score, at Ford Field, good seats cheap.
Ninerdave
Speaking of Cheesesteaks. The Cheesesteak Shops are all over the Bay Area, and are fantastic. In fact it’s the only cheesesteak I’ll eat.
Can anyone compare these with the real deal for Philly?
freemark
Yes, but I don’t see them take over the other teams’ stadiums the way Steelers fans do. And I think Big Blue Star fans are more fans of the cheerleaders than the team. Steeler fans go to the game to see the game.
Indylib
As a lifelong Bronco fan, I’ll be cheering for the Steelers today, despite the fact that I lived in AZ for 10 years. During my time in AZ the Broncos lost 3 Superbowls ugly-style and all of my friends whined at me to switch over and be a Cardinals fan after they came to town, and I got sick of it. The Broncos took a lot of beating from the Steelers in the 70’s but Bronco fans never hated them like a couple of other teams I could mention, mostly because they didn’t act like assholes when they won or lost, they played fair. Good enough reason for me to cheer for them today.
JL
Who is this Matt Lauer who is asking the President substantial questions? After Bush retired was Lauer overtaken by the body snatchers?
Freemark
When it comes to cheesesteaks I’m a purist. If it doesn’t use cheeze whiz its a steak w/cheese not a cheesesteak.
JL
@JL: Changed my mind on the substantial questions.
demkat620
@Ninerdave: I’m not a big fan of Amoroso’s but they also have Tastykakes and a krimpet or a kandykake is the only thing to eat after a cheesesteak wit.
J.
Great interview with the Pres, Matt! God, I love our President. What an amazing thing to have a smart, fun, funny, truly caring and intelligent human being leading our country. And yes, Matt did a good job. Amazing. Though Bob Costas is getting punchy. Start the game already, people. (I loved "the catch," too, but did we really need to dissect it and go over it yet again for, like, an hour, people? Sigh. What’s next, more clips from "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"? Doris Kearns Goodwin on a Segway?)
South of I-10
So was that the first shout out from a sitting president? Loved it.
smiley
@Ninerdave:
All I can say is that I became acquainted with cheese steaks while living in "up state" PA. They weren’t exactly what I now understand the Philly cheese steak to be. To my best memory, after drinking a bunch of beer and smoking a bunch of weed, that sandwich was awesome… and produced the foulest gas, from both ends, as I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve lived in Mexico.
Your endorsement of the Cheesesteak Shops kinda reminds me of a "gumbo" restaurant a friend took me to in Seattle years ago. The owner convinced the locals that the chef was from Louisiana and really knew his stuff. There were about a dozen "gumbos" on the menu. When mine came I said, "That’s not gumbo!" And my friend said, "Yes it is. The chef is from is from New Orleans." It was served on a flat plate.
BTW, the photo on the Cheesesteak Shops’ web site looks pretty much like an authentic cheesesteak.
demimondian
@Andy K:
that they are, that they are…
Way. Out. There.
Comrade Jake
I suspect right-wing-nutjob heads all across the country are exploding because Barack Obama wasn’t wearing a tie in the interview. You can almost bank on this sort of nonsense.
South of I-10
@Smiley: That is just wrong.
gopher2b
"Tunch, however, is resting on the Steelers blanket on the couch. "
This only matters you put out both a Cardinals and a Steelers blanket. But who could risk that kind of rejection; I couldn’t.
After watching the Sunday News programs, here are my thoughts.
The Congressional GOP is a special kind of joke. Both MTP and This Week reps were just embarassing. How many times can you say "tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts." In fact, DeMint kept saying even after two CEO, yes CEOs, openly disagreed with him. Idiots. Who are these guys even representing?
The "stimulus" is 75% crap. Everyone knows but that’s the way it is. If we have a real GOP, a meaningful alternative could have been proposed. What a lost opportunity to can some cool shit in the country.
TARP II will look like this: the government will create a "bad bank" managed by the FDIC. They will only buy $25-$500 billion of the toxic debt from the banks that are the worse off. In exchange, they will get some common share but not much. They will also guarantee future purchases if the prices don’t rise. This will enable the banks to mark those value of those loans at the minimum price the government is paying. This may actually work.
TARP II is the only thing that matters. The stimulus always was and always will be a joke.
MikeJ
It was a slap in the face.
Freemark
demkat620
The best is a Pat’s whiz wit, cheese fry, and then a butterscotch krimpet for desert.
Freemark
Fianlly the pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-game is over and now we are down to the pre-pre-game.
Laura W
@Freemark: I can hardly wait for the post-game!
Ecks
I can twenty-second the thought: My SO is from the burgh, and while she is in general terms firmly oblivious (bordering on hostile) to sports in all forms, she is an affirmed stillers fan (just don’t make her watch too many games).
I have personally seen her wear a Stillers cap, out in public, which is all the proof anyone should need that the team has achieved near religious status there. It’s not surprising Pbg’s diaspora is keeping the faith hard everywhere else.
JGabriel
Freemark:
Not much of a purist. Any PA asshole can tell you that the proper cheese for a cheesesteak is provolone, and that Cheez-Whiz(tm) is only sold in Philadelphia to fat midwestern tourists.
Seriously.
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cosanostradamus
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@JGabriel
‘ "No sauce on a cheesesteak. Just extra grease." Yeah, um, in PA? That’s what they call sauce. Don’t believe me? Boil some sliced Pork sandwich meat, put it on a hamburger roll, and add relish – they call that a Pork Barbecue. Just two of hundreds of reasons I left PA for the city. (Ok, actually that’s just one – because I liked the grease we called "sauce" on a cheesesteak.) ‘
In NJ, also. Greasy Tony’s in New Brunswick had it on the menu: "Extra Grease." Da bes’! "Mutsarell’" is sometimes used, though I prefer provolon’. NEVER Cheeze Whiz. I mean, come on, a cheese wizzed on it! And hot sauce, like Tabasco, is acceptable. Add tomato sauce, and we’re talking pizzaiola or Parmesan, not cheesesteak. Brown gravy? Eeeech! "Eh, Vinny, what’s dis SH*T on my f**kin’ san’wich?" A guy coul’ get whacked!
You can’t get a real cheesesteak more than a hundred miles from Philly, even in NYC. And you can’t get decent BBQ in the NE. Period. Not Southern style, unless some guy comes up from North Carolina or Texas. And they don’t know SH*T about pizza down there. It’s like Mexican food outside the Southwest. Fuggeddaboutit. You gotta have authentic goombahs to get authentic ethnic cuisine, Chinese, Cuban, Cajun, whatever: Cooks AND customers, to keep ’em honest. Like I always say, never go in a Chinese Restaurant called "Bob’s," and never eat in a Mexican place without Mexicans eating there. Punto.
Even then… The only decent ethnic food we have in Hawaii is Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai, ‘cuz they all live & cook here. But the Chinese food in Honolulu is gross, even though they live & cook here too. People just don’t appreciate good food here. Maybe the Chinese just gave up after 200 years in Hawaii. The more recent ethnic arrivals will give up on quality eventually, too. Common complaint: "The food is lousy, and they don’t give you enough of it." "Local" people only appreciate quantity, not quality. Serve it on a shovel, and they love it.
Hey, anybody hungry, now? Let’s kau-kau! Go [the team that wins]!
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