“Yes, the Steelers won the big one, and yes, it sucks for any true Akron-area football fan. Yet the only way to find true happiness is to find the positives in any unfavorable situation, including a Steelers Super Bowl win. So let’s focus on the individual performances that could make Ohioans proud (or at least somewhat less pissed).”
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Yes, the Steelers won the big one, and yes, it sucks for any true Akron-area football fan.

Yet the only way to find true happiness is to find the positives in any unfavorable situation, including a Steelers Super Bowl win. So let’s focus on the individual performances that could make Ohioans proud (or at least somewhat less pissed).

Northeast Ohio is the cradle of football civilization, and we contributed heavily to the Steelers’ championship.

Take, for instance, James Harrison, who was born and raised in Akron and studied his craft at Coventry High School. Granted, he played his collegiate ball at Kent State, but any football fan from the Rubber City should be proud that one of our own played such an important and momentum-changing role in the Super Bowl.

Wouldn’t you take millions of dollars from the Steelers if they offered to sign you as an undrafted free agent?

Seven players on the Pittsburgh roster come from Ohio, and most of them probably hated the Steelers at much as you or I at some point. Can’t we cut them some slack?

Take Ben Roethlisberger, of Lima, Ohio, who ESPN pundits around the globe are already calling one of the best Super Bowl signal-callers to ever suit up.

They have a point.

Big Ben has won both big games in which he has appeared, completing 30 of 51 passes (59 percent) for 379 yards.

Keep in mind that Roethlisberger was only 23 when he won his first Super Bowl in his second year in the league, making him the youngest ring-bearing quarterback in NFL history.

In the box score, Arizona veteran Kurt Warner (31/43, 377 yds.) outplayed Roethlisberger (21/30, 256 yds.).

But big games are won in big moments when the crowd is roaring and your heart is racing, and Roethlisberger thrives in such situations.

Big Ben made bigger plays in bigger moments, culminating in his perfect toss to Santonio Holmes to earn his ring.

Though each quarterback threw an interception, Warner’s pick was returned the entire length of the field for Pittsburgh touchdown, swinging the momentum in favor of the Steelers going into halftime.

Roethlisberger’s game-ending drive on Sunday could easily be called the best drive in Super Bowl history.

With 2:37 left in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger went 6-of-8 for 78 yards and the final, game-winning touchdown.

Students of the game and casual pigskin fans alike can appreciate a two-minute drive run to perfection, topped off with former Buckeye Santonio Holmes’ immortal touchdown catch.

Northeast Ohioans can hate the Steelers and still appreciate such a clutch player, especially when he grew up and learned the game in the state we call home.

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