I’m generally ambiguous about “civil religion” with one magnificent exception—when the Pittsburgh Steelers play in the Super Bowl. And then, there’s nothing ambiguous about it.
In the Pavlischek household just about everything is open for criticism and debate with the exception of the Holy Trinity, the United States Marine Corps and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Our family is part and parcel of the Pittsburgh Steelers Diaspora, those of us who hail from Western Pennsylvania, having grown up loyal Steelers (pronounced “Stillers”), but now forced to reside in Babylonian-type captivity, elsewhere in America. My personal burden is enduring the suffering that comes with being surrounded by Washington Redskins fans and the infinitely more insufferable Baltimore Ravens fans.
But it is a burden we happily bear for the sake of the black and gold. We proudly display our Steelers flag, which flies in the front of our house, I have several terrible towels dating back decades, Steelers T-shirts, hats, Steelers pajama bottoms, Steelers socks, an Iron City Beer can commemorating the first Steelers Super Bowl win, a bunch of Steelers books and videos, and most recently a Steelers Gnome , the perfect Christmas present from my future daughter in law, a recent (forced) convert to Steelers nation.
My wife wears a Troy Polamalu (#43) jersey but the rest of us, my daughters, son, future daughter in law all sport Hines Ward (#86) jerseys. We like Hines Ward, a lot. We like him because he is a wide receiver who is also a football player . He actually blocks downfield. Hard! He likes drilling defensive backs and linebackers. He plays injured. He doesn’t whine. He always has a big grin on his face. He epitomizes all that is good, decent and virtuous about the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And so, it really ticks me off when the mainstream media tries to gin up controversy by asking Plays Hard, Plays Dirty: Ward Gets a Split Decision . What unmitigated drivel! The entire case for “plays dirty” is an anonymous comment by a head coach (a loser, no doubt) who “who went into great detail describing how Ward would pass up head-on blocks, then circle behind his targets and drill them through the ear holes. “Why do you think everyone hates the guy?” he said.
First of all, “everyone” does not hate him. I don’t hate him, for instance. And secondly, you will note that this anonymous losing coach isn’t whining about illegal blocks (clipping, for instance). That ain’t “dirty,” it’s good clean football.
And so, to Hines Ward, I offer this from Psalm 109:1-3 for Super Bowl Sunday:
O God of my praise, Do not be silent! For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause.
Go Steelers!
