I think this is the way almost all of us feel about the team right now.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who is a die-hard Steelers fan (which, I can tolerate because he’s from Pittsburgh so, I can’t begrudge him) and I was telling him about something I saw. I’d seen this video on facebook about the Steelers Drumline group (or something like that, I couldn’t remember their exact name because it’s the Steelers and I didn’t really care) and they were out in the parking lot at Heniz field, wailing away on these drums, getting the crowd all pumped up and basically having a hell of a time.

I told him that, it wasn’t jealousy, and it wasn’t envy that I felt, but it was a sadness that I had when I watched it, because I remember what it was like to feel that way about your team. It was grief. I remember the 80’s and early 90’s. I remember players on the cover of Sports Illustrated, being picked to win superbowls, and being proud of a tradition-rich and storied franchise. I remember what it was like to watch and Sundays, surrounded by friends and family. Going to games at Muni and having that immense sense of optimism and pride. I remember what it felt like, seeing those fans, being so excited about their team. Then the dark days of the move came, but the groundswell to bring the team back and the victory that we recieved by doing just that got us all back again. We knew that we would suck the first couple of years, but we didn’t care, our beloved team was back. Then 02 comes, we go on a nice little run, make the playoffs, and everyone is feeling that “yeah, the browns are back, and man this feels great”. We were so sure that things were getting back to what they used to be. What has transpired over the last 13 years since then is without question the most depressing, embarrassing, and soul-crushing things to watch in all of proffessional sports.

If Big Ben throws 2 picks in the 1st half, there is no QB controversey. No one is booing him. They know they’re gonna win anyway. If they lose a game, no one cares, they know they’re going to win next week. The draft is a great time, because they know that they’re just going to draft another Ryan Shazier, Big Ben, Leveon Bell, Anotnio Brown, or Troy Polamalu, because they always do. They’ve had 3 coaches in 40 years.

We have a Syrian refugee camp.