Could this finally be the year when the planets align and the Super Bowl becomes an all Pennsylvania affair?
Stop laughing! I am totally serious, and this past week just strengthened that very possibility.
My son Ryan and I made the trip to Pittsburgh on Sunday evening to see the Green Bay Packers play the Steelers at Heinz Field. Although the Steelers eked one out 31-28, they have looked like they could be a legitimate Super Bowl contender since a mid-season hiccup.
While the “Stillers” didn’t play their best against a shorthanded Packers team (playing without their starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and star linebacker Clay Matthews), they did what it took to win, a sign of all championship teams, coming from behind on several occasions. Kicker Chris Boswell, who had missed an extra point earlier in the game, kicked the game-winning, 53-yard field goal on the game’s final play to boost the Steelers to a tie for the best record in the AFC.
Meanwhile, across the state, the Philadelphia Eagles are having their best season in years and throttled the Chicago Bears, 31–3, at Lincoln Financial Field earlier in the day. They seem to have found in Carson Wentz a franchise quarterback who could keep the Eagles relevant for years to come.
By the way, someone please explain to me how so many Power 5 conference college coaching staff’s could miss a 6-5, 220 pound quarterback, who ends up playing at FCS Division North Dakota State and is the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2016?
Suddenly the idea of the Steelers vs. Eagles Super Bowl is no longer just a dream. It could actually happen. Obviously there is still a long way to go and both teams would have to keep their star players healthy. But make no mistake about it, there is a real possibility that Pittsburgh and Philadelphia fans could invade Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII.
For me the real question becomes whether Minneapolis is really ready to survive having the passionate Eagles and Steelers fans in their fair city for an extended time together?
Will it turn into the “Brawl in the Mall (of America)”? Will the state of Minnesota have to contract with the Pennsylvania State Police and Pittsburgh’s and Philadelphia’s finest to come to the game to keep the peace? I can see it now, the drunken hordes from the “City of Brotherly Love” battling it out on the streets of Minneapolis with some of the worst hooligan’s from the “Steel City.” To borrow a line from “Rocky’s” Apollo Creed, “… Sounds like a damn monster movie.”
No doubt that both teams reaching the Super Bowl would infuse a significant amount of money to the Keystone State especially if they both could lock up their respective conference No. 1 seeds and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs en route to a showdown in the Twin Cities.
Think about the battle lines being drawn, even right here in State College restaurants and bars, if this epic Super Bowl matchup would materialize? I can just see the local police officers losing several nights sleep over the thought of such an event.
I have long held the belief that a Flyers vs. Penguins outdoor game in Beaver Stadium would be epic. I believe a stadium series game could take place the first weekend after the Big Ten Football Championship Game before the stadium needed to be winterized. I would, however, not be surprised if the delay in this event occurring has just as much to do with the fear factor of Philly and Da Burgh fans being in such close quarters.
The mere prospect of dealing with the potential headaches that might ensue when thousands of Flyers and Pens fans suddenly find themselves in the same hotels, restaurants, and bars in peaceful Happy Valley may give pause. All could be going along well and suddenly a staunch, but snippy Sidney Crosby fan provokes a Flyers supporter into a flashback to the Broad Street Bullies era and a wannabe Dave “The Hammer” Schultz squares off with a reincarnation of Bob “Battleship” Kelly. (Surely only fans of “old-time” hockey will remember those enforcers from the 1970s,)
Given the holidays are just around the corner, perhaps we can set the proper mood with a chorus of “Let There Be Peace on Earth”. We just may need to pull it out again in February if the Steelers and Eagles actually do meet in the Super Bowl.
