superbowl week

sorry for the lack of a legitimate post today.  i had the trots, which is british for saying that i had the hershey squirts.  figure it out. 

anyway, check back in tomorrow for a slideshow of my favorite images from the steelers' 2010 season.  i don't know about you, but i'm getting amped for this game!  (oh, better go, the bathroom is calling my name...)

soaking it all in

here we are, nine days away from the 45th edition of the national football league's biggest game, and the extra anticipation time gives me a chance to reflect.  for those of you who are steelers fans, i would encourage you to think about this along with me, lest you let this moment slip by without savoring it.  and for those of you who are not steelers fans, i would simply want you to know that while i understand if you resent the steelers for their frequent success, i also don't want to rub it in your face. 

if it is possible, i simply want to enjoy these moments while i can without gloating.  you might think that i am a spoiled sports fan, and you might be right, i don't know.  but i can tell you one thing: i'm doing my best to enjoy every moment of this journey; every printed word; every blog; every black and gold picture in the sports section; every scrolling ticker across the bottom of the nfl network.  i want to soak every bit of it in.

i was born in southwestern pennsylvania, nearly an hour south of pittsburgh.  i was born in 1976, at a time when the steelers were the muscle and guts of the nfl, in the midst of winning four super bowls.  i was three years old when the steelers won their fourth in january of 1980.  i was more interested in climbing curtains than the steel curtain.  an unfortunate accident of the cosmos caused me to be just a few years too late to enjoy the mania that was being a steelers fan in the seventies. 

still, i loved pittsburgh.  we didn't go there very often, and so it represented something holy and sacred, big and magnificent, full of radio stations and rivers, skyscrapers and something better than all of it: sports.  i started falling in love with sports at an early age.  i played football for the green demons, i played baseball for the local sports store, the locker room.  i spent many late nights secretly listening to the pirates on my little am radio under the sheets.  my sweetest dreams would be when lanny frattare would croon into my craning ears: there was NOOOOOOOOOOOO doubt about it! 

but the steelers, oh the steelers.  i turned 11 in 1987.  by then, the dynasty of the seventies was a distant memory, as mean joe green was inducted into the pro football hall of fame that year.  starting in 1985, the steelers went 7-9, 6-10, and then 8-7 during the strike season of '87.  football wasn't so fun, except when dad and i would throw football in the yard.  i'd pretend to be louis lipps, but dad was probably bradshaw.  we only called him mark malone when he would throw an awful pass into the bushes.  such was steelers football in the eighties, when i was finally old enough to care. 

nonetheless, i liked it.  whether it was a gene passed to me in my dna, or a kind of infection i caught as a baby, or even a coming-of-age event in my early childhood, i cannot say.  what i can say is that i was black and gold, through and through.  i had a bedspread with matching curtains and i would spend hours just staring at the steelers logo like it was an icon of the deepest religious sort.  even at that age, without a solid team to cheer for, i began a lifelong obsession with that logo and the team that wore it. 

my bedspread as a child

me with my steelers corkboard, circa 1987

my fanaticism only grew in 1988, when my family packed up our belongings and left the center of the football universe to live in the heart of bluegrass country.  i resented the fact that most people in kentucky only cared about basketball, and those who did like football mostly cheered for the bengals.  this merely served to steel my stubborn fanaticism, and ink my very soul with a rabid and robust obsession. 

this is something i made in 1990, and it shows my developing insanity.  "#6 in the black and yellow cadillac" is a reference to bubby brister.  you can also see references here to rod woodson and merrill hoge.  i was already beyond help at this point.

still, there were more losing seasons, until things began to change for the steelers in 1992 when i was a sophomore in high school.  the rooneys hired a local boy by the name of bill cowher to be the new head coach, replacing legendary coach chuck noll, who had been the head coach of the steelers for 23 seasons.  they began to put together winning seasons under cowher, and by the time i was a sophomore at grove city college - back in black and gold country - they had reached the superbowl for the first time in 16 years.  finally my moment had arrived!  finally, this team that i read about and listened to music about and cut out newspaper clippings about had made it. 

i grew up in the shadow of the greats.  we had to stop and genuflect at the mere mention of the name franco.  to me, the graceful animal known as a swan had only received that name because of its resemblance to an even more graceful wide reciever for the steelers.  if mean joe wasn't the embodiment of the steelers, then jack lambert was, and his toothless scowl was emblazoned on my psyche as a symbol of what the steelers would never again be: warriors; wild men; winners. 

"our greatness will never be repeated," lambert seemed to be scowling at me

so this was it, right?  finally redemption.  we had lloyd and green and levon.  we had woodson and carnell lake.  we had bam and yancey and hastings and dermonti.  we had....o'donnell?  i watched in despair as neil o'donnell shrivelled before not only the dallas cowboys, but also the formidable ghosts of steelers past, who made sure he would always remain the average quarterback that he was. 

i would have to wait some more. 

but i never wavered.  as i've already said, my blood is black and gold.  turns out my tears are, too, as i learned after watching cowher console his wife and daughters after that superbowl XXX loss.  still, i wiped them with myron cope's official terrible towel, and faced the future with unbridled fanaticism. 

in the spring of 2004 i was a full-grown man, still enamored with his childhood obsession.  i still ritualistically sat down in front of the television each sunday in the fall and watched my steelers.  i still decorated my walls with pictures and clippings.  i still listened to steelers songs and doodled the logo on scrap pieces of paper.  i still read everything i could get my hands on, including steelers digest, a weekly publication of steelers news.  i had been doing my research about college quarterbacks, since the steelers went 6-10 in 2003 and were going to get a decent draft pick.  for months i had been hoping that this kid phillip rivers would still be on the board when our number 11 pick came up.  i still remember where i was when i heard that rivers and (eli) manning had been taken early, and the steelers drafted some kid named roethlisberger (what kind of name is that) from miami of ohio (where?).  i was sitting outside of a target store in my car, listening to the radio, and trying to ward off my disappointment.  

"why can't we just get a franchise quarterback?" i wondered in disappointment.

less than two years later (wow, that is amazing!), the steelers were taking the field for superbowl XL, ten years after their loss to the cowboys.  and you know the rest.  they won.  they had their franchise quarterback.  then, three years later, they won again.  and now, two years after that, they have a chance to win their third in six years.  it would be their seventh, if they were to win it, and many people would look with contempt on a franchise and its fans that seems spoiled rotten.  maybe, if i were in your position, i'd do the same thing.  i don't know.   all i know is that i'm not in your position.  i'm in the enviable position of rabidly rooting for a team that is finally forcing the ghosts of its past to stay in the past.  i'm in the overwhelmingly blessed position of having a lifelong obsession with a team that personifies much of what i believe to be good and right and important.  i'm in the surpassingly wonderful position of cherishing each and every moment of this run because i've also been in the position of cheering for a team with several-year-long losing streak.  i'm in the only position i really know how to be in: watching the black and gold, terrible towel poised, hope springing eternal, passion boiling over, fanaticism uncontained.  i am a pittsburgh steelers fan. 

whatever happens next sunday, win or lose, i recognize that i am abundantly blessed as a football fan.  don't think that i don't realize that.  i do.  i appreciate it.  that 14-year old kid in me still wants to doodle little sayings and sketches; the 9-year old in me wants to pretend to be hines ward running down the sideline with a touchdown to win the game; and the grown man in me wants to remember that, while sports is such a tiny and ultimately rather insignificant part of life, i didn't always have this.  and i won't have it forever.  i have it now.  and i intend to enjoy every word, every note, every play, every ticker, every click of the mouse, every black and yellow headline.  i will soak it all in. 

i promise. 

random thursday: lots of ones, but no cheerleaders

-if you like the number one, this is your year!  2011 offers some pretty cool dates like 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, and 11/11/11.  not only that, but if you take the last two digits of the year you were born and add them to the age that you'll turn in 2011, you'll get 111 (or 11 if you were born after the year 2000). 

-here's a cool fact about the superbowl:  there won't be any cheerleaders.  according to my research, there are only three teams in the nfl that don't have official cheerleading squads (the steelers, packers and browns), although the packers cheat and use local college cheereleading squads at their home games.  still, they won't be bringing these along for the big game, so it will be a cheerleader-free super bowl, which means there will be no obligatory and gratuitous shots of scantily clad gyrating women.  i have never quite understood the purpose of cheerleaders at professional football games where 60,000+ people are in the stadium, other than the aforementioned sex appeal.  so this little tidbit of news makes me happy.  by the way, the steelers did have a cheerleading squad called the steelerettes for a total of 9 years during the 1960's.  they haven't had them for the last 50 years. 

-i just read in the news that the color-coded threat advisory system that our county has used since the september 11th, 2001 attacks is being decommissioned.  which means i will no longer be confused about what it means that the threat level is currently orange or yellow, and why we never go to have threat level lavender or raw umber.  still, i will miss the publicity for the color orange, even if it was bad publicity.  it'll be harder to keep orange in the news now. 

-shannon interviewed the boys the other day and wrote down their answers.  this is something we've done from time to time just to have something for them (and us) to look back on someday and smile at their answers and see the ways things have changed or remained the same.  she asked caedmon what he loves about daddy, and he told her, "his money."  great.  my three-year old only loves me for my money.  which really sucks because it won't be long until he's old enough to realize that i don't have any money.  ha!

-i'm preaching this sunday about hope, one of my favorite topics, which i'm passionate about.  and i'm curious, what makes you hopeful?  in a broken world full of despair and pain and bad news, what is it that stirs the embers of hope in you and can breath them into a full fire of warm expectation?  what is it in life that gives birth to (or restores) hope for you? 

-in other news of the completely unsurprising sort, jimmy buffet fell off a stage and had to get stitches.  i wonder if he was too busy looking for his lost shaker of salt?

-10 days until the bowl of superness.  i plan to enjoy each and every one of them. 

-if you like brett keisel's beard, you can go to this website and put one on a picture of yourself.  i did one for jackson:

-that's all for today.  hope you all have a great (unsnowy) day.  don't forget to hit me up in the comments about what gives you hope. 

happy 6th birthday to the birthday human!

ZACK, ZACK, HE'S A LEGO MANIAC!

anyone remember those commercials?  i do.  but my son doesn't  they're WAY before his time.  after all, he just turned 6 yesterday.  and he wanted a lego-themed party.  and his name is jack.  so, you can sing to him:

JACK, JACK, HE'S A LEGO MANIAC!

i know, so clever. 

in any case, shannon and the boys made a pretend cake out of actual legos:

we had trouble finding lego-brand party supplies, so we just went with primary colors, the cake of legos, and this awesome cake that shannon made, which is an extra-large blue lego brick.  check it out:

we used three lego guys to help hold some of the candles.  and the green around the bottom of the cake is fondant that was imprinted with a lego base.  the top part of the big lego is made out of oreos covered in fondant.  didn't shannon do a good job?  she's amazing. 

and now here is the birthday boy opening his presents.  did i say birthday boy?  oops!  i called him that yesterday and he corrected me, "not birthday boy, dad, birthday human!" 

ok.  birthday human it is. 

anyway, here is the birthday human opening some legos (of course) and a gift he has really been anticipating, a remote control snake. 

blowing out the candles:

yesterday they celebrated the birthday human's big day at school, and he said he would rather have cookies than cupcakes, so shannon made cookies that looked like legos and ones that look like the heads of lego guys.  seriously, these are awesome.  check them out:



we've had a great birthday celebration so far with one set of grandparents already having visited, and it will continue this weekend as his other set of grandparents will join us for round 2.  we party hard up in here.  from my perspective, i have to say that we are so blessed with such a wonderful, healthy, happy, talented, six-year old human.  he blesses me each and every day, and even at night when i go and check on his warm, sleeping body.  he, along with his brother, have enriched my life in ways i could never have imagined.  so happy birthday, little human.  i hope you have a great one and continue to build on it (get it?  legos...building...right?). 

sometimes you just want it more: afc champions

 well, now that i've had some time to let it sink in, i couldn't be any happier. what a feeling it is to know that of the 32 teams that started the season, there are only 2 teams left, and your team is one of them.  i am so proud of the steelers and the journey they've taken this year.  it's been fun to watch, and it ain't over yet! 

last week, for the divisional round, i made an unprecedented sixteen pictures for your enjoyment.  this week, since it was the afc championship game, i upped it to twenty-four!  there are two right here for you to see, and all you have to do is click the "keep reading" link below to see the other twenty-two.  enjoy!

pittsburgh's goin' to the superbowl

i'm exhausted this morning, after watching that hotly-contested afc championship game last night.  i know you are probably looking for my regular steelers photos, but you'll have to give me a day or to, just to let it all sink in:  PITTSBURGH'S GOIN' TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!! 

wow.  just wow.

plus, we have two weeks as fans to celebrate this win and look forward to the matchup against the green bay cheeses.  so, just let me celebrate this, plus get a ton of work done today, and i'll be back with some photos tomorrow. 

in the meantime, watch this video nonstop. 

Go Steelers!

let's do this thing

my mancave

a couple of years ago i shared a video of my living room which i turned into a steelers room during the playoffs.  you can see it here.

since then, we've moved, and i got a room that i could designate as my own mancave.  i thought i would share a video with you so you can see it.  you also get the added bonus of my children dancing around like fools.  enjoy. 

go steelers!



ps.  i'm going to the mall in selinsgrove, pa today to meet former steeler great andy russell.  i'll post pics when get home.

*****update*****
i got to meet andy russell today.  i got his new book:

and he signed it for me:

as well as a football card i had of his:

and i got my picture taken with him:

he was super nice and it was so cool to meet him, shake his hand, and see that superbowl ring (he was wearing the ring from superbowl IX).  to celebrate, this afternoon i watched "america's game" superbowl IX, in which andy russell is one of the main storytellers about the 1974 steelers and their successful season.  it's been a great steelers today, and i've got a great feeling about tomorrow!

LET'S GO STEELERS!

home of the towels

who would've thought? 

who would've thought that the steelers would be playing for the chance to go to the big game (peter king did!), and that they would be playing the game at home? 

raise your hand if you predicted that back in august..

*crickets chirping*

that's what i thought. 

and yet, here we are.  just a couple days away from the heinz field's second afc championship game in 3 years.  do you remember that game in january of 2009, against the baltimore ravens?  do you remember how the game was in question late until troy polamalu picked off joe flacco and returned it for a touchdown?  do you remember how heinz field came unglued?  i do.  but i also remember after the game, how none of the fans left.  they just stayed and sang.  and the players stayed on the field to celebrate with the fans.  it was magic. 

i want to see that again.  i want to see the place shake.  i want to hear "here we go steelers" echoing through the bitter-cold corridors of the city long after the game.  i want to see the steelers take the next step to seven.  and i want to see terrible towels.  zillions.  the swirling towel is the hallmark of heinz field.  and the best part is that nobody has to promote it.  when other teams (i'm looking at you baltimore) have tried their own version of the towel, they had to get a corporate sponsorship and pass the towels out to fans when they arrive.  not in pittsburgh, baby.  you bring your own towel.  sometimes two.  it's a necessity, just as important as your ticket.  and you better wave that thing like there's no tomorrow.  i don't care if you hurt your rotator cuff at last week's game.  i don't care if you don't have any arms - just put that thing in your teeth and twirl it around your head.  just twirl that thing and yell like everything depends on you being as loud as humanly possible.  heck, that's what i'll be doing and i won't even be at the game! 

so join me, steeler nation!  let's make some noise and wave our terrible towels.  let's join together like a nation of unity with one goal - one purpose.  let's enjoy this ride and, hopefully, take the next step to a 7th lombardi trophy. 

an open letter to the nfl

a few months ago, when james harrison was being fined every time he stepped on a crack in the sidewalk, some steeler fan started a campaign on facebook to help pay his fine, not because we thought we would really put a huge dent in these unbelievable fines, but because we wanted to show the nfl and the commisioner that we don't like his arbitrary enforcement of the rules.  it was a really powerful demonstration, and you can see the overwhelming results here on facebook.  (if you look close enough you can find my contribution). 

after sending my dollar and note in to the league office, i just kind of forgot about it.  then, yesterday, i received a letter in my mailbox with the nfl logo.  curious, i opened it up and found the following letter:

Dear Greg Milinovich,

We received your letter containing money to be used help pay for a fine incurred by Steelers linebacker James Harrison. 

The player is solely responsible for paying his fine.  Player fines collected by the National Football League are used to support retired players in need and other charitable initiatives supporting youth, education and sports-related medical research. 

At the request of the organizer of this initiative, however, the money from fans like you is being donated to the Beaver County (Penn.) YMCA's Sacks for Kids program.

One of our most important priorities is protecting our players from needless injury.  In recent years, we have focused on minimizing contact to the head and neck, especially where a defenseless player is involved.  This season we have further emphasized the importance of teaching safe and controlled techniques and of playing within the rules.  It is incumbent on all of us to support the rules that we have in place to protect players while serving as an example for all levels of football. 

We appreciate your support of the NFL and hope you enjoy the remainder of the 2010 season. 

Sincerely,
Rob McBurnett
NFL Public Relations

and while it was nice of them to respond to our effort, i found myself very frustrated at their lack of transparency, as well as their lame and tired P.R. verbiage about player safety.  and so, here is my open letter to the NFL, in response:

Dear Commissioner Goodell and the National Football League,

Thank you for making one of your Public Relations staff members write a letter to me and other football fans around the world who were upset about some of the developments in the NFL this year.  I want to say that I appreciate the effort, but in all honesty I was very disappointed in the content of the letter.  After further reflection, it would have been better had you not sent the letter at all. 

But you did.  And you made three major points.  First, you made the point that James Harrison has to pay his own fines.  Second, you indicated that my money is going to a charity in Pennsylvania.  And then you went on to make to describe your admirable stance on "player safety." 

Please allow me the opportunity to briefly respond to these points.

First, you say that James Harrison has to pay his own fine, and that fines collected from players by the NFL are "used to support retired players in need and other charitable initiatives supporting youth, education and sports-related medical research."  That sounds really good.  It does.  But we need more.  We would like to know which particular "charitable initiatives" are being funded, and who are on the boards of these initiatives.  When you somewhat arbitrarily fine your players, and then don't really let anyone know where that money goes, you must understand that people have legitimate concerns.  Someone is benefiting from these immense fines.  Who?  And who decides who?  Are we supposed to feel better that you know how to use words like "charity" and "youth?"  Because we don't.  We want to know who's getting paid. 

Second, you indicated that my money is going to a charity in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, because the player is solely responsible for paying his fine.  Bogus.  Absolutely laughable.  Since when does that happen?  If Dan Rooney owed me $10, and you sent me a couple bucks to help pay the debt, do you think I would give your money to someone else and tell Dan he still owed me a ten-spot?  Nope.  Not only would it be unfair, but it would be immoral.  The money that we sent to you to pay James Harrison's fine wasn't your money.  It was James Harrison's money, and the only one who is saying it can't be used to help pay his fine is you.  That's bogus and unacceptable. 

Finally, you included a paragraph about how you are very serious about player safety.  I would like to believe that is true, but it is hard to believe, considering that you are more concerned with lining your corporate bank accounts with loads more cash by extending the season by two more games.  Do you really care about these young men?  If so, why are ads for alcohol so prominently featured in the NFL's product, even to the point of having an "official beer" of the National Football League?  In a league where you are trying to avoid situations like DUI's (and DUI's resulting in death) and other unfortunate alcohol-related situations, why do you continue to use alcohol as a way to make money?  Could it be that you're less concerned with player safety than you are personal monetary gain? 

I am 100% in favor of making some changes to make sure that players are safe and to try and cut down on the number of concussions and other injuries in the game.  But as a fan, I am pleading with you to find a way of making and enforcing rules that is fair and reasonable, not knee-jerk, and certainly not arbitrary.  Please Sir, with all due respect, it appears to me that you have allowed the power of your position to cloud your judgment just enough to put yourself in a bad position.  I don't think that is good for the game, or good for you as a man.  From an outsider looking in - a fan who cares very much about the game - I urge you to consider taking a second look at the way you've handled the situation this year, and make some much needed and healthy changes next season.  Please feel free to be in contact with me as I would love to discuss these things with you and hear your side of things.  I love the NFL, and want it to continue to succeed. 

Sincerely,

Greg Milinovich, a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers

PS.  Good luck on reaching a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players union.  I really REALLY want there to be an NFL season next year. 

countdown to kickoff

time is tickin', friends.  it's about this time that i feel like the hands of the clock are stuck in cold molasses.  but i thought i'd put a little countdown on here so you could see how quickly (or slowly) it's approaching.  can't wait 'til kickoff, baby!  let's beat those J...E...T...S...jets...jets...jets!

my favorite chef: a random wednesday

-yesterday the kids had a snow day.  shannon made them some kind of spaghetti-o's or something and while shoveling them down, jackson lovingly and sincerely stated that chef boyardee is his favorite chef. 
-thanks to all of you for the traffic on my blog the last few months.  it's been amazing to see that so many of you are checking in and seeing what's going on.  now if i could just get you to comment and start some discussion, that'd be fantastic. 

-i did a funeral yesterday.  there were about 70 or so people here at the church for the funeral.  there were about 5 or 6 folks sitting together that i took to be mennonites, or something of that ilk, wearing the kind of traditional dress associated with them.  i took particular notice of them, and noted that they were locked-in on me during the service, studying my every move.  i felt analyzed, but i know how i am when i attend another church, so turnabout is fair play.  whatever.  but then there's this:  as i was about 3 sentences away from the conclusion of my message, one of their cell phones rang - a high-pitched and violently loud ring.  he seemed to turn it off and show the appropriate embarassment, but then it rang again a few seconds later. 

really?  if i had to guess who's cell phone would ring during the service, i wouldn't have guessed it to be the mennonite dude.  you never know.

-we had ice everywhere yesterday.  i had to wait until the afternoon to start to remove it from our driveway and sidewalks, and by then, someone had apparently glued it all down with industrial strength glue.  my snow shovel folded up like joe flacco at the prospect of facing that ice.  so i had to go around with a sledge hammer breaking up the ice before using the shovel to remove all that ice and throw it into the yard.  i guess it was over 90-minutes later that i finally collapsed in the warm living room.  seriously, whoever glued that ice down, i'm looking at you. 

-actually, the location of my collapse wasn't the living room, it was the mancave, where i've been spending alot more time lately.  it's like my little steelers oasis in a world of ice and loud cell phones. 

-speaking of the steelers (i tried to get all the way through this random post without mentioning the steelers, but i knew it would never happen), how great has this season been?  with ben suspended for the first four games, and with all the significant injuries they've sustained, i never thought that the steelers would be playing in the afc championship game in heinz field.  i'm predicting the steelers beat the jets sunday, but no matter what happens on sunday, i'm going to be thankful for a great season. 

-we stopped at goodwill the other day and bought a 1,000 piece puzzle of the united states for 97 cents.  best 97 cents we ever spent.  we've been having a blast as a family sorting through the pieces and putting it together. 

-i hope everyone's having a great wednesday, and that, if it's as gray outside where you are as it is where i am, i hope you find ways to discover the unseen color of life, lurking below everything, the Spirit and the essence of it all, the great scarlet coursing blood of life; the deep blue throbbing echo of deep calling to deep.  may you be reminded on this day that there is more to it all than what your eyes can see. 
grace|peace,
greg.

sometimes you just want it more: playoff edition

hey friends!  happy tuesday to you.  i didn't do my obligatory steelers victory recap yesterday because i shared some big family news.  in case you missed it, i shared the news that we'll be having our third child sometime this summer, and we are, of course, very excited about it.  

but we are also very excited about the status of the steelers' season (and by "we" i mostly mean "i.").  so, without further ado, let's take a look at some pics from the game.   

well, there were so many exciting moments in this game, but without question, one of the most exciting was antonio brown's thrilling "that's-using-your-head" catch late in the fourth quarter.  and it just exemplified what i've been saying about this team all season long: that they just want it more. 

look, are the ravens a good team?    you bet. 

did they want to win, to keep their season going, advance to the next level, and end the steelers' season?  you bet.

yes, the ravens wanted it.  but the steelers wanted it more. 

if you doubt that, you weren't watching.  yes, the steelers were down by 14 points at halftime, but some of that was on a really flukey play.  and the ravens, with a 14 point lead, couldn't cash it in, because the steelers imposed their will and their want-to. 

i make another 17 or so pics for your enjoyment.  want to see them?  just click the orange "keep reading" button below.  enjoy!

we interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

i know that you probably thought you'd come here today to find me celebrating the steeler victory and subsequent home field game against the jets in the AFC championship game.  i know you clicked here thinking that you'd get a good chuckle at my ridiculous fanaticism, or at least some decently cool (although wildly amateur) steelers images about how they wanted it more and whatnot, but....

i interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you those breaking news:

my family currently consists of 2 adults, 2 kids and a dog.  somewhere around july 23rd you will be able to change that number to 3 kids.  yep.  we're having a baby. 

so as much as i would love to fill your screen with images of black and gold today, i'm uber-pleased instead to share this joyful news.  we've been sitting on the news for a bit, and we finally shared it with our church yesterday and now with all of you today.  i hope you'll rejoice with us in this incredible blessing: a new member of our family, and a new member of steeler nation (sorry, had to work that in there somewhere). 

i hope you are finding your life as blessed and richly abundant as i am.  peace to you. 

(and on this MLK day, how about we end with a quote from the great man himself)...

"i love you.  i would rather die than hate you."
(taken from a sermon called "loving your enemies")

so, so sweet

it's time.

game day: rise up, steeler nation!

well, it's game day and, even though it's a saturday i'm up at 6am.  i got up at 5 and tossed and turned for a while and finally got out of bed.  it's like christmas morning up in here.  i am just too excited!  it's steelers - ravens day! 

in about 10 1/2 hours i will either be incredibly overjoyed or very disappointed.  that's just the way it goes.  but for now, in anticipation, i will let the excitment fuel my adrenaline and anticipation.  and while we wait, i invite you to enjoy some steeler-inspired music.  i'll start with this, my favorite favorite steeler song ever.  it's by a guy named joby harris, who is a very cool man, and this song is just really well done in my opinion.  so turn it up loud, get your terrible towel, and let's get this thing cranked up! 



hit the "keep reading" button below for a bunch more!

day before the game: punch the ravens

i know i posted this before, but it seems especially appropriate and awesome this week as the steelers play the ravens tomorrow.  i know if my son were out there on the "ballfield" he would be seeking some revenge!  enjoy this:

there will be blood

when the pittsburgh steelers clash with the baltimore birdies, recently history has proven that the results are brutal.  while the personnel has changed over the years, the style of play has remained largely the same:  violent.  this isn't a game that showcases offensive genius and skills.  instead, this game is always marked by defense - crushing, blood-inducing defense.  quite literally, these games can be bloody, as evidenced by big ben's jersey the last time these two teams met, when his nose was bent like a elbow noodle by the club-fist of a raven defensive lineman (the raven's coach has since "joked" that he was glad they broke ben's nose). 

and so, in light of the tenor of the games between these two bitter rivals, i thought this movie poster would be appropriate:

joe flacco loves the steelers

in case you missed it, it's ravens week.  so, get used to steelers-ravens related posts this week. 

not your favorite?  deal with it.

anyway, i've been known to pick on joe flaccid flacco in the past, but i just can't let this one go.  apparently, during his days at pitt, the unibrowed one couldn't help but wear his true colors, sporting a nifty shirt that proclaims his love of the steelers for life. 

okay, so maybe i played with this photo a little bit, but still, it sure does look like joe does love the steelers:

 

part three

well, i avoided talking about it for a whole day, but i can't hold it in any longer:

IT'S RAVENS WEEK, PART THREE!

even though this wasn't the scenario i was looking for, it's almost as if the stars aligned, and this was the way it had to be.  the pittsburgh steelers will host their bitter rivals, the baltimore ravens, for their third matchup of this 2010 season.  it will be brutal....it will be salty (to borrow a word from mike tomlin), and it will be heartbreaking for one of those two franchises.  one team gets to go play for the conference championship, the other gets to go home and lick their wounds.  one team gets to celebrate, the other has to think about what could have been.  one team has a 1 in 4 chance to win another lombardi trophy, the other has to wait 'til next year. 

i think we all know how this is going to turn out. 

on snot and hate.

it was sort of a bad weekend.

it didn't really have a fighting chance right from the very beginning, since the whole family is right in the thickest part of a pretty good cold.  i mean, let's just say that we currently set the table with plates, silverware, drinks, napkins, and a box of tissues.  i'm pretty sure the dog even has a cold.  it's nasty. 

so it was a weekend of blowing snot. 

but on saturday afternoon we decided to head over to the high school to watch a couple of the girls from our church in the j.v. and varisty basketball games.  so we changed out of our pj's and headed to the gymnasium.  we found the family that we know and we settled in on the uber-comfortable bleachers.  and then it started. 

i guess i am naive, or have too much faith in human nature or something, but i spent the next couple of hours losing my faith in human decency at an alarming rate.  there we were with two young children, while the surrounding parents and spectators rained down insult and malice on the referees and coaches, and even sometimes the high-school girls playing the game.  as if the people on the court weren't really, well, people, the crowd berated, belittled and bemoaned.  now, being as competitive as the next person, i can understand getting upset when the ref makes a terrible call that hurts your team.  i get that.  but this wasn't that.  no matter what the refs did, they were wrong.  according to the people directly behind our family, there should have been about 55 fouls on one team and absolutely none on the other team.  it made me wonder if i'm that blind when i'm rooting for a team, and i concluded that i'm not.  still, this did nothing to improve my morale or my constantly dripping nose. 

then i got home and saw the news that someone had shot a bunch of people in arizona, and that it appeared that some sort of political vitriol and hatred was behind it.  then, later in the weekend, i read this article about fred phelps and his "church's" public statement about the arizona shootings.  and my disappointment was complete.  and i cried.  i'm not ashamed to admit it.  heck, my tear ducts are probably full of phlegm anyway, so it wasn't really a big deal.  but the heaviness of reality; the weight of all the world's hate: that's a big deal.

sometimes it just feels too big.  too crushing.  too overwhelming.  how are we supposed to represent christ when a few loudmouthed, closeminded, fearful, spiritual terrorists are already cornering the market on representing him, nevermind that they are doing it completely wrong?  how are we supposed to show love at a basketball game when the resounding sound is anger and bitterness?  how will love win when the world seems so hellbent on snuffing it out? 

and then there is my faith, which tells me that somehow, beyond my wildest imagination, love does win.  that my job isn't to figure it out, but just to show love in each and every moment that i've been given.  i don't have to fix the world's hate, i just have to choose love when i'm given a choice. 

and so, with that snot-load of a weekend behind me, i embrace a new week by wiping my nose (again) and choosing love. 

love. never. fails.

saturday song: winter winds

here, for your saturday viewing/listening pleasure, enjoy this 'winter into spring' song by my favorite band of 2010, Mumford and Sons. 

do not be afraid

after yesterday's anthemic and catchy song, including a not-so-subtle reference to pat robertson, today i want to talk about something else, but it also involves pat robertson. 

as the calendars have all closed their last page and we've all torn the cellophane off of the new ones, the news is full of projections and predictions for the new year.  one of the things that goes along with this in today's current climate is fear.  so much fear.  so much anxiety.  about money.  about the nation.  about the future.  check out mr. robertson's "word from the Lord" (and someone please tell me how this is any different than a collective palm-reading):



so there you have it.  things are bad already, and things are going to get worse.  watch out, because God will continue to divide the good people and the bad people, even depending on what university you go to, or if you prefer the ACLU or the ACLJ (that was hilarious).  blah blah blah....

now, compare that to these words from Jesus from Luke 12:22-31

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?



 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!  And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.  For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.  But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

interesting, right?  quite the juxtaposition.  one seems to be saying, "be very afraid" and the other seems to be saying "don't be afraid."  i wonder which one is truth.  i wonder which one will truly set us free. 

interestingly, Jesus goes on in luke 12 to talk about the future, about how no one can know the date or time of the return of the master, that it will be like a thief in the night, and so we ought not worry about when it will be, but instead we ought to get busy being ready. 

the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Jesus is addressing a huge group of mostly poor folks here in luke 12, and do you know what he talks about?  money, and the future.  the same things that mr. robertson is talking about.  the same thing that olbermann and o'reilly and beck talk about on their news programs.  money and the future.  but the major difference is what they are saying.  most of those who get paid to "report" use fear as a motivational tool, and as a ratings magnet. 

but the One who speaks Truth, dispels fear.  listen to what he says in verse 32 of Luke 12:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

see that?  do not be afraid.  and why not?  because God wants to give you all you need.  in fact, more than that, God longs to give you what you need.  nothing gives God more pleasure than giving you exactly what you need: the kingdom. 

so, as you find your way through the final introductions of the new year, do yourself a favor and turn off the tv for a few minutes.  shut off the podcast.  put down the newspaper.  stop googling and instant messaging and texting and listen for a moment. see if you can hear the voice of life and love trying to comfort you:  do not be afraid. 

God is not a white man

i came across this on a friend's facebook page yesterday, and i love it.  it is both whimsical and unswervingly true to the gospel.  it is exactly the kind of anthem that contemporary christian music has needed for a long time, and i'm glad to see that not only is someone writing a song like this, but that a record company is allowing them.  watch it, and sing along!
the song is called "God is not a white man"
by Gungor

my own 5 simple rules

a friend asked me the other day about what my word would be for 2011.  as i thought about it, i realized there is no way i could pick one word for the whole year.  i do, however, have 5 basic truths that i always keep coming back to.  each year - each day! - is an adventure in remembering and living into these 5 truths. 

here they are, roughly (they are always in some flux):

1.  i am beloved.

2.  i am made to love.

3.  today is an amazing gift: a great day to be alive.

4.  today is a day to be great.

5.  even though i mostly fail at it....die trying. 

there you go.  that is greg's life in a nutshell.  if there was a sixth one it might be:

6.  go steelers! 

just kidding. 

hope your wednesday is great!  and that you are great in it! 

recharged: reconnected

this january here at Catawissa Avenue United Methodist Church we have started a series called The Recharge Project, in which we are admitting that many of us are spent, burned out, washed up, and worn out.  after a long year, after the busy holidays, and facing the continued dark and cold of winter, many of us are running low on energy, passion and maybe even hope. 

so we are looking at ways that we, as people of faith, can be recharged.  last week we talked about being Redeemed, that God is ulitmately our power source and provides us with the energy and life we need by forgiving us, loving us, and giving us a new chance.  unbelievable stuff, that is.  we call it grace, because we have to have a word for it, but there really is no way to capture it.  it is beyond comprehension.  we are loved!  hallelujah!

this week we will be talking about being Reconnected, in terms of the importance of being part of a community of faith.  when we are low on energy, out of hope, or just on cruise control, the community of faith can really help us discover new life.  they show us love.  they demonstrate forgiveness.  they imagine new ways of living.  they hold us accountable.  we live in a culture that wants to crucify the institutional church, and i understand some of that anger, but we can't deny the fact that people of faith need each other, like teammates or parts of your body.  we absolutely need one another, not just for survival, but to thrive and to rediscover our passion and our first love.  so join us this week as we delve into this topic in our continued effort to be Recharged by the One who is our power source. 

ps. my lovely wife designed all of our printed materials for this series, a couple of which you see above.  she is awesome!

12-4: sometimes you just want it more

well, steelers fans, here we go.  the 2010 regular season is (already) over, and the steelers find themselves in a great position.  they finished with 12 wins and 4 losses, and they won the AFC north division.  in the process of that they have earned the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs, and have thus bought themselves a week off in the form of a bye week, while 4 of the other teams have to play.  for a team that played the whole first quarter of the season without their franchise QB, i would call this a successful year for mike tomlin and the pittsburgh steelers.  when you add in all the injuries they've had to face, not to mention the off-field distractions with commissioner's mid-season effort to reshape football as we know it, there can be no question but that this has been a very good year for the steelers.  there's still alot of work they want to get done, but at least as a fan, i can acknowledge that it's been a good year. 

and now,  on with the pictures, which is what you really care about. 

the defense was awesome yesterday.  i wish they had only allowed the three points, but the touchdown came in "junk time" with many backups playing.  when our starters were in, they looked hungry, mad and quick.  exactly the way you want them to look at this time of the year. 

it was great to see steelers nation in full swing at the brownie-bowl yesterday.  once the beatdown was sufficiently in place, most of the browns "faithful" left the premises, making a mini-heinz field in cleveland.  it was awesome.  i love steelers nation. 

i have really enjoyed watching rashard "the spin doctor" mendenhall do his work this year.  he's not the most "downhill" runner i've ever seen, but he sure does work hard and often make something out of nothing.  i'd love to see what he would do with an above-average offensive line. 

ben looked terrific yesterday.  he was sharp and authoritative.  he has only thrown 5 interceptions all year, and he has been great tucking and running when he needs to.  the offensive line did a great job protecting him yesterday, and his first-play bomb to wallace was a thing of beauty.  it's had to have been a tough year for ben roethlisberger as a man, but i'm proud of the way he's handled himself, and i have to believe that it has all only helped mature both on and off the field. 

ever since training camp, i've loved this rookie, and have been hoping for him to succeed.  i never would have guessed, though, that he would have succeeded this much!  he not only has become the #3 receiver, but he keeps making big and smart plays.  i love this kid and hope his future is as bright as it looks from here. 

LAWrence timmons might not have finished the deal on this attempted sack, but he had a good game yesterday and looked quick, like he did early in the season.  i am anxious to see how this defense looks after another week off.  they should be in great shape. 

both of our "w" receiver, ward and wallace, caught touchdown passes yesterday.  here you have the seasoned vet and the second-year kid.  the master and the protege.  w squared. 

all of steelers nation was biting their collective fingernails when aaron smith went down with an injury early in the season.  but ziggy hood sure has been a great force on the line and part of the reason why the steelers had the best run defense that the NFL has seen in 4 years.  way to go, ziggy. 

and i end with this reminder that even though it's been a great ride, the ride isn't over.  there are miles yet to go.  and, under tomlin's leadership, with the talent on this team, i am excited to see where the road leads. 

here we go, steelers!