It's late and I shouldn't be up.
I am, though, and I wish I wasn't. Just waitin' for the painkillers to kick in.
Oh, right, so the knee. Yeah, we played the Chargers on Monday, in San Diego, and they were pumped, their first MNF since like, 1996. It was one of the biggest crowds at Qualcomm and there was about 10,000 Steelers fans, which was real awesome. The officiating was...pretty bad, but it was a good game (meaning, of course, that we won...field goal to end the game.)
I did think, for sure though, that we were gonna fight on the field. Us and them. Their defense was doing enough jawing of their own, actin' a little dirty, but I hear it was twice as bad from their offense (either that or it's the linebackers bein' typically exaggerating.) I mean, when Troy Polamalu is mouthing, you know it's bad. Troy, basically, is the quietest, most humble guy I ever met, so for him to be riled like that you know it was bad. I gotta steal a comparison the media made - you'd be more likely to find Barry Bonds hugging a cameraman than Troy runnin' his mouth. So there you have it, but everyone stayed under control pretty much, especially after Coach Cowher started screaming. Yeah, that did it, for sure.
Anyhow, it was a good game, and most of those guys're nice guys. Just heat of the moment.
Anyway, the knee, so it's like a minute left in the game, I throw off a pass and I see this helmet comin' straight at me. Slams right into my knee, and I'm already tryin' to fall backwards to avoid it, which was my saving grace. I don't wanna think about what woulda happened if I was falling forward. But it hurt, I was screaming, and all I could hear was my teammates sayin', "Look at the replays up there, man, that looks nasty" which really inspires confidence, you know? It was only a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise, coulda been so much worse, and I dunno if it's luck or prayer but something's working for me.
Wrap's off, crutches are off as of yesterday, today I even put on pads and practiced. Limited practice, and I think I'm still listed as doubtful - 25% chance I'll play. But I wanna go, I wanna play so bad. It'll hurt worse, me bein' on the sidelines, than the knee'll ever hurt. And I can play through this pain, I know I can. Coach Cowher ain't declaring a starter til Sunday, mostly cause he wants to see what tomorrow'll bring, but also cause he wants to make the Jags have to prepare for three different QBs. So I got about 24 hours to convince him I'm good to go. And I ain't gonna tell him about tonight, why I'm still awake, the knee is sort of givin' me this dull ache that I'm findin' it hard to sleep through. He don't gotta know, though.
So I hear there's a hockey game tomorrow, and I'd definitely like to go but it ain't gonna happen. Need a real early bed time on Saturday, and anyhow I promised dinner to someone. See, we're playin' the Jaguars, which is always special cause their QB, Byron, is one of my best pals dating back to college. (I say that like it's so far away, right?) And any time I can, man, I love playin' against him. But I promised dinner, so I'm doin' that. And anyway, how many hockey games you boys play? I got plenty of opportunities, and Marty, I promise to see at least one.
Alright, painkillers're kicked in, maybe I can finally sleep.
Oh, right, so the knee. Yeah, we played the Chargers on Monday, in San Diego, and they were pumped, their first MNF since like, 1996. It was one of the biggest crowds at Qualcomm and there was about 10,000 Steelers fans, which was real awesome. The officiating was...pretty bad, but it was a good game (meaning, of course, that we won...field goal to end the game.)
I did think, for sure though, that we were gonna fight on the field. Us and them. Their defense was doing enough jawing of their own, actin' a little dirty, but I hear it was twice as bad from their offense (either that or it's the linebackers bein' typically exaggerating.) I mean, when Troy Polamalu is mouthing, you know it's bad. Troy, basically, is the quietest, most humble guy I ever met, so for him to be riled like that you know it was bad. I gotta steal a comparison the media made - you'd be more likely to find Barry Bonds hugging a cameraman than Troy runnin' his mouth. So there you have it, but everyone stayed under control pretty much, especially after Coach Cowher started screaming. Yeah, that did it, for sure.
Anyhow, it was a good game, and most of those guys're nice guys. Just heat of the moment.
Anyway, the knee, so it's like a minute left in the game, I throw off a pass and I see this helmet comin' straight at me. Slams right into my knee, and I'm already tryin' to fall backwards to avoid it, which was my saving grace. I don't wanna think about what woulda happened if I was falling forward. But it hurt, I was screaming, and all I could hear was my teammates sayin', "Look at the replays up there, man, that looks nasty" which really inspires confidence, you know? It was only a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise, coulda been so much worse, and I dunno if it's luck or prayer but something's working for me.
Wrap's off, crutches are off as of yesterday, today I even put on pads and practiced. Limited practice, and I think I'm still listed as doubtful - 25% chance I'll play. But I wanna go, I wanna play so bad. It'll hurt worse, me bein' on the sidelines, than the knee'll ever hurt. And I can play through this pain, I know I can. Coach Cowher ain't declaring a starter til Sunday, mostly cause he wants to see what tomorrow'll bring, but also cause he wants to make the Jags have to prepare for three different QBs. So I got about 24 hours to convince him I'm good to go. And I ain't gonna tell him about tonight, why I'm still awake, the knee is sort of givin' me this dull ache that I'm findin' it hard to sleep through. He don't gotta know, though.
So I hear there's a hockey game tomorrow, and I'd definitely like to go but it ain't gonna happen. Need a real early bed time on Saturday, and anyhow I promised dinner to someone. See, we're playin' the Jaguars, which is always special cause their QB, Byron, is one of my best pals dating back to college. (I say that like it's so far away, right?) And any time I can, man, I love playin' against him. But I promised dinner, so I'm doin' that. And anyway, how many hockey games you boys play? I got plenty of opportunities, and Marty, I promise to see at least one.
Alright, painkillers're kicked in, maybe I can finally sleep.