Thread by @JoshuaCypess

1/ Reflections on the final #NFL week, esp. related to my team, the #Steelers. We needed a narrow set of circumstances to make it into the playoffs: (1) beat our hated rival (BAL) on the road (2) the worst team must beat a playoff bound one (JAX vs IND) & (3) one more tiny thing

2/ The tiny thing was for the Raiders & Chargers not to tie. Ties are very rare; only one this season (#Steelers, of course, because ugh). This should have been so unlikely not to even be a worry. But I'm a sports fan, ruined by years of #Mets watching; I knew not to relax.

3/ Of the three events, the tie was the least likely, then the Colts losing to the hapless Jaguars, and the "easiest" (very hard) step would be for the Steelers to beat the Ravens. We were terrible on the road, the Ravens were better than us, so it wasn't great odds.

4/ But records are meaningless in a division/rivalry game, and the hardest ask - JAX over IND - was the easiest step! 26-11 beatdown and it was never close.
espn.com/nfl/game/_/gam…
OTOH #PITvBAL was a brutal battle that went into overtime, but we won.
espn.com/nfl/game/_/gam…

5/ The whole #NFL world felt it was a foregone conclusion that PIT made the playoffs, because a tie is too improbable. Yet, as the OOTS said above: "A 10% chance is pretty unlikely, but everyone knows that a one-in-a-million chance is a sure thing!"
giantitp.com/comics/oots058…

6/ There's a TVTrope about that story element and it feels hokey but since it's real life, why should I worry?
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.…
Because, well, on Sunday morning, PIT was given an 8% to make the playoffs. Improbable was the order of the day, already

7/ And, as the evening game unfolded, a tie started to look ever more likely! If it wasn't my own team's fate in the balance, I would have enjoyed every single improbable play. It was epic! LAC completed 5 4th downs to tie the game in the last second!
espn.com/nfl/game/_/gam…

8/ It took incredible skill and grit by LAC to tie that game! Elan's Dictum (the improbable odds rule) seemed to be confirmed play after play. Even the ending seemed to be designed to tie (I won't get into the conspiracy theories, but it was creepy)

https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/1480407984911966210?s=20

9/ All the while, on NFLTwitter, there were 3 main reactions: (1) Steelers fans were dying, (2) NFL normies were enthused by the improbability factor (that would've been me if instead of PIT it was a neutral team, e.g. MIN), and (3) PIT haters were out of their minds with glee.

10/ In the final group were the usual rivals (e.g. BAL/CIN/CLE fans) and I would've felt the same if the roles were reversed. I also noticed a number of people who wanted PIT to lose b/c of our QB. And I understand & respect that hate.

See me agree here:

https://twitter.com/JoshuaCypess/status/1476593104547364884?s=20

11/ In the end, the Steelers are in. I'll say now, though, that if #LACvLV did tie then - after the teeth gnashing - I'd accept how incredible the result and ride would have been. As C.S. Lewis said “Adventures are never fun while you're having them.”
goodreads.com/quotes/183394-…

12/ I have to go to a meeting now. I'll finish this later. #HereWeGo

13/ The image below is making the rounds in #Steelers twitter and it's astounding to me how much we fans think alike. Because this is me. (I cleaned up the original)

I showed it to my son and he agrees. We then had the following exchange...

14/ We acted out the 2 parts & then I continued the inner monologue: "We're gonna beat the Chiefs then beat the Titans and then go to Cincinnati for a revenge game then the Superbowl against the Cowboys it will be glorious!"

He added: "After that, we go and beat the Monstars!"

15/ He just turned 15 and he has a brilliant sense of humor and with that line I lost it, hysterical. It was the perfect line, which shows that he really was thinking the same way I was.

(n.b. "Monstars" are a team of space aliens who embody the greatest players in history)

16/ @MikeTanier has been highly critical of the 2021 #Steelers. Appropriately so, I should add. But his preview of the game made me smile. Because he's right! ("Square jawed" is perfect. I'm a Tomlin fan, too)
footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/20…

17/ There's a great #NFL fan custom that if a team helps you make the playoffs, you donate to that team/player's charities.
The Jaguars (who had nothing to gain by winning, poss. even losing the #1 pick!)

https://twitter.com/Alex_Kozora/status/1480320159298605060?s=20

The Raiders kicker:

https://twitter.com/DanielCarlson38/status/1480647327224254465?t=6NILGs4oGya11Z9ojcpjYQ&s=03

18/ For posterity, some snapshots from that day:
The tying play:

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1480401672501444610?s=20

The official Raiders account sending support to their PIT counterpart:

https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1480410769317502978?s=20

A HOF Steeler explaining why we shouldn't have doubted Al Davis' team

https://twitter.com/afan66/status/1480407951185694722?s=20

19/ Our team captain elaborating another reason not to have worried for an intentional tie:

https://twitter.com/CamHeyward/status/1480408274860130308?s=20

and confirmed by the Raiders QB:

https://twitter.com/Danny_Heifetz/status/1480413602423128064?s=20

And Kimes' analysis is spot on, i.e. why a tie felt more likely than it should've

https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1480413372898111488?s=20

20/ My browser/internet capabilities are maxed out right now so I'll end this. The #Steelers will definitely get smoked Sunday night (see above) but, hey, you never know. #HereWeGo

@threadreaderapp please unroll.