I support this:
Steelers Nation is gripped by playoff fever and it seems the man in charge of Pittsburgh has been severely afflicted.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has asked to be known as Luke Steelerstahl — at least for this week.
“On behalf of the Steelers Nation, I’ve decided to remove the word ‘Ravens’ from my name just like the Steelers will remove them from the AFC Championship,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in regards to the upcoming playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Ravenstahl began the process of a legal name change, but his paperwork has not gone through because it wasn’t complete. The civil court in Pittsburgh also said it didn’t receive the required $108 check to process the request, the Post-Gazette said.
Stupid, a waste of time, but funny.
r€nato
But will Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon show solidarity with the Cards by changing his name to Phoe Gordon?
Also, Philadelphia Eagles delenda est.
Desargues
But Stahl is German for ‘steel’ (cf. also the Russian Stalin, ‘Steely’). So the honourable mayor should just drop the prefix ‘ravens-‘ from his name, and leave it at that. He should go with Luke Stahl. It’s cooler than Steelerstahl, which just means "steeler’s steel." That’s dumb.
wilfred the shoe throwing Norwegian
Luke Ravenstahl to Luke Steelerstahl.
Gothrock to GayPorn?
r€nato
…well actually, shoulda been Ariz Gordon.
shit. I suck.
Adolphus
When the Ravens win, and the Steelers have therefore failed to remove the Ravens from the AFC championship, will he make the change permanent.
And I am not up on where the Steelers and Pittsburgh stand on the new-stadium-and-public-official-blackmail cycle, but I wonder if the Steelers will show the same civic spirit the next time they want the good people of Pittsburgh to pay for more well appointed luxury boxes.
horatius
Great!! Tempting the football gods repeatedly. Mission Accomplished. Ravens to anal rape the Stillers in the AFC championship. Ed Reed notches two touchdowns, and BenBurger notches up his fourth concussion.
Bootlegger
Parker takes the handoff and looks for a hole, Big Ben sits in a collapsing pocket, the linemen knock, knock, knocking on the door. Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Tim F.
We have the dumbest mayor in history. Too bad the last time a Republican won Pittsburgh was called the-hilly-junction-of-three-rivers-that-often-floods, so Ravenstool basically has a lifetime appointment.
Keith G
Ok, I thought that it was agreed that the sports related phrase, "_____ nation" would not be used (with the possible exception in relation to the Red Socks) after New Years.
It needs to be retired, hopefully along with "game-changer", "tipping point", "gaining traction" and "informed".
Bootlegger
@Keith G: Or this gem that makes me puke every time: "The team that wants it more will win." Cuz at that level, you know, most athletes just don’t want it.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s
Do they still make steel in Pittsburgh?
Maybe he should change his name to ‘Abject Poverty’ for the week.
Keith G
@bootlegger: My retching point is during the now universal keys to the game segment (sponsored by….) which always includes such gems as: They’ve got to convert on third down, or they must take away the long pass. No sh%t.
DougJ
I say we publish his address and have everyone send him Ray Lewis starter jerseys. That’s the only appropriate response here.
gbear
What is this ‘football’ of which you speak?
Mazacote Yorquest
This is not nearly as embarrassing as the name change forced on the mayor of Boise, Luke Airportstahl.
blackfrancis789
@Keith G: now that’s thinking outside of the box!
Just a few more days until Ben Worthlessburger is in his proper place. Tossed from the NFl playoffs.
Bill Belichick
In related news John Cole, gripped by the rut, changes his name to "Thom" Brady in the hopes of landing himself a supermodel to call his own. The ploy appeared to pay off when he was contacted by "Jisele" Bundchen. Things went limp when Jisele turned out to be former tennis player Renee Richards and Thom turned out to be, well Cole. Both immediately purchase high end spell checkers.
Stay tuned for further developments…
Paul in KY
IMO, ‘Luke Steelerstahl’ sounds like a German pornstar name.
r€nato
indeed, all of these tired sports cliches have jumped the shark and should be thrown under the bus.
Mazacote Yorquest
I love the "football" modifiers: "football" field, "move the football," "great football play," a real "football player". As if, without those continual specifications, I might mistakenly think the player was a bowler, or that Heinz Field was a cricket pitch, or that the reverse was actually best understood as a brilliant jai alai event.
passerby
No, it’s not a stupid waste of time. Anyone who lives in an area that has an NFL team knows the excitement and energy it can generate during playoff season.
The people are in a better mood and grocery stores have their party food displays at full bore. (Most) everyone gets the fever, and during the game there’s not a soul on the streets.
We can’t do much about the economy except hope for the best. We can’t do much about whether our team wins or loses but we’re excited and partying as we hope for the best.
So, Ravenstahl changing his name may seem frivolous, but it’s all in good fun and I’m happy for Pittsburgh and its well-known fan-dam-tastic fandom.
Signed,
Long-suffering Saints fan forced to live vicariously.
p.s. uh..but after this weekend I want Card to win.
snoey
Anyone who lives in an area that has an NFL team knows the excitement and energy it can generate during playoff season.
Well most everybody.
By the time the Vikings were in their fourth Superbowl it was mostly hide in your living room with maybe some cheese and crackers and a sixer of cheap beer hoping that they wouldn’t embarass us too much this time.
passerby
@snoey:
Heh. You’re describing 30 years (give or take 2 or 3) of regular-seasons for Saints fans.
Limniade
The Vikings prefer their humiliating performances to be played in front of as large an audience as possible. Regular season just doesn’t cut it.