Alas, many of my brethren are not as guilt-free as Kimo: some Steelers fans were actually applauding when Carson Palmer was injured. First of all, shame on anyone who revels in and/or wishes an injury upon another person. First and foremost, Carson is a person; he may make 90 million dollars, but he is still a human being. Better still, he is someone's child. And for those of you who have children, you can totally understand what I mean by that statement.
Furthermore, the competitor in me wanted to beat the Bengals at full-strength. Not only would it have eliminated the "What if?" hypothetical rhetoric that has been driveling out of Ohio, it simply would have felt good to whoop up on every single one of the Benglas...every single one of them.
And, make no mistake, Carson Palmer or not, the Bengals would have lost that game.
Even if Carson had played, he would not have made a single tackle on Jerome Bettis (who, at one point, had four carries for three first downs and a touchdown). Carson would not have been fooled by Pittsburgh's double-pass*. In fact, Carson would not have helped the Cincinnati defense at all. In other words, Carson Palmer did not give up 31 points to the Steelers. *(note: had Carson actually played defense, he might have indeed been fooled by the double-pass...because it was such an incredible play).
Sure, Cincinnati's offense would have been more potent with Carson on the field: I will even give them two more touchdowns. But, fourteen more points merely ties the game...and, at the end of the game, the Steelers knelt down in field goal range. In other words, even with Carson Palmer, the Bengals would have lost 34-31.
Anyway, enough about the Bengals; it is time to focus upon the Colts.
Speaking of playing the Colts and the Bengals, here is an interesting point to consider: the Steelers had to play the Bengals and Colts in back-to-back weeks earlier this season...except in reverse order. Unfortunately, the Steelers lost both of those games. But, this time around, the Steelers beat the Bengals...which got me to thinking: maybe, the tables have been turned. In other words, during the regular season, the Steelers lost to the Colts and then to the Bengals (Yin). Now, during the play-offs, the Steelers will beat the Bengals and the Colts in back-to-back weeks (Yang).
Along that same line of thinking, the Steelers were 0-4 on the road in the play-offs under Cowher: three road losses, and a loss in the Super Bowl in Phoenix (Yin). Ergo, using the same line of reasoning that I used above, the Steelers are obviously going to go 4-0 on the road in this year's play-offs: three road wins, and a win in the Super Bowl in Detroit (Yang).
From the looks of things, I might be the only person outside of western Pennsylvania who agrees with this logic. Sportscasters in all media outlets have already slotted the Colts into the AFC Championship game. Obviously, they have overlooked the simplicity of my reasoning.
All I can say to those doubters is this: when the Steelers win, please keep your belly-aching to yourself...unlike a certain group of fans from the Buckeye State.
