The energy of the crowd was dynamic. After every San Diego score, the fans wearing powder-blue would cheer until their faces matched the color of their jerseys. Similarly, whenever Pittsburgh would score, those of us clad in black and gold would erupt in a frenzied chant of "Here we go Steelers! Here we go!!!" Furthermore, considering that there were five lead changes, neither set of fans ever felt that their team was "out" of the game. Along those same lines, the lead changes allowed each group a chance to recuperate while the other group roared and screamed.
As hard as it may be to believe, the barrage of penalties barely had any effect on the ebb and flow of the game. I can understand how on television, the game might have been a difficult one to watch, but since I was in the crowd, it could not have been better. In fact, when those pauses in the action did indeed occur (and, believe me, there was a plethora of flags), it merely allowed the Chargers fans and Steelers fans to lob friendly, sportsman-like epithets at one another.
Speaking of stoppage of play, I am confused about the Hines Ward touchdown that was called back. I understand and do not want to argue about the fact that he might have been touched. What I have a problem with is WHEN Ward was touched. To me, if the defensive back did indeed touch Ward's foot, it was before Ward had possession of the ball. Then again, what difference does it really make, because the Steelers eventually scored on that drive. That said, I would have liked to have seen Ward be the one to have scored, considering the effort he put forth to make that touchdown. In fact, the effort that Ward displayed epitomized why he is a four time Pro-Bowler.
Speaking of Pro-Bowlers and poor officiating, the "unnecessary roughness" penalty on Troy Polamalu was, to use the parlance of our times, "weak." That said, I wish to thank the referees for unleashing Troy. Essentially, that call revved Troy's engine from from 100 mph to 150 mph. In other words, he went from being ubiquitously present to smashing into every single living thing on the field. If a player dropped a pass, Troy was right there ready to hit him. Pretty soon, players began to "hear footsteps." Furthermore, on every single play, Troy hit Antonio Gates...whether Gates caught the ball or not. If Gates blocked, Troy ran into him. If Gates released off the line of scrimmage, Troy drove a shoulder into him (before allowing Gates to release). And, when Troy covered Gates, Gates rarely caught the ball. In fact, it is no wonder that Gates' touchdown grab came on a play Troy was not covering him. In short, Polamalu did an outstanding job of covering San Diego's Pro-Bowl tight end. Sure, Gates had a decent game (5 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown), but considering that Polamalu pretty much covered Gates all by himself...well...no other player in the league could have done better than Troy did.
To think, people actually thought that Troy was a bust as a rookie. I know that I bring this topic up every once in a while, but that is because it still irks me how this generation can not grasp the idea of player development. People want immediate superstars, and they become impatient when immediate success is not presented. In other words, today's fans would have driven Johnny Unitas out of Pittsburgh...uh...hmmm.
Before I step off of my soap-box, I must say that Quincy Morgan should be cut...right now...no second chances. I have never seen a player so wide open as he was and that first down play right before half-time. Alas...