Thank you. I’ll leave him to you

Glad I could entertain you for a change

Through the years, bobzilla has had dozens of chances to behave like an adult both here and on the college site but chose to behave like a jerk–just as he behaved like a jerk when I answered his question with an adult response above. You didn’t know any of that when you attacked me without provocation–nor do you care that you attacked me without provocation. You just keep whining and sucking your paw because I slapped at it. Maybe next time you’ll learn to stay out of something that doesn’t concern you. But since you keep painting yourself as a victim (and giving all women a bad name ) I doubt it. And since learning doesn’t seem to be in your skill set, yes, let’s cancel classes.

Yes, I’m sure I’m older than you, mentally speaking. But on the bright side … you’re perfect for one another.

My comments are as football-based as yours, and you know it. In fact, I’ve often agreed with your take on various issues. But you persist in referring to me as a Roethlisberger groupie when I’ve often been one of his biggest critics. My own experiences as a rape survivor, writer of medical research books, writer who has covered court cases, and someone who read every document and had the added benefit of access to people involved in the case allowed me to thoroughly break down and discuss the evidence. That has nothing to do with being an apologist–a silly and demeaning description for someone taking a serious approach to a situation.

And yes, I found your comments on those issues sexist. Rape survivors don’t discuss rape cases in serious, clinical terms because they have a “crush” on the athlete involved. I’m not 12. It was and remains a serious matter. Roethlisberger isn’t my favorite person, but that doesn’t make him guilty of a sex crime when the evidence says otherwise. I wish you’d just grow up and stick to the game instead of assuming anyone who tries to take a balanced approach to assessing our quarterback must be a giddy fan. I have many issues with Roethlisberger. The difference between us is that I can also see that he does have some strengths.

No, you were not stating a fact based on my comment. You were stating an opinion based on my comment. And you were the one who assumed you knew everything about all the previous discussions with bobzilla that I was characterizing as chauvinistic. You were the one who assumed none of those discussions had been chavinistic but had only been simple differences of opinion–and you decided this with no evidence whatsoever. Then you decided to insert yourself into a conversation that had nothing to do with you, call me out, accuse me of playing the victim–when I am no one’s victim–and tell me I give women a bad name.

You had no idea what was being discussed here and simply wanted to call out another woman for the sake of ingratiating yourself to the boys on the football blog. Mission accomplished. Now, babe, please stop wasting my time.

Well, babe, as I said, the guy has been dogging me for four years. You just popped in without having any idea what the conversation was about or what I was referencing. Stupid babes who jump in to defend the guys without having any knowledge of the conversation’s context also give women a bad name. But thanks for your input.

You’ve been dogging my posts on this site for at least four years, and when another commenter called you on your neverending chauvenism, you posted some idiotic nonsense about him sending me a valentine. That simply underscored your sexism. You’ve repeatedly made clear the only people you consider qualified to be fans–or coaches–for the Steelers are old white males.

Grow up. Without fans, there are no teams, and if some of us choose to refer to ourselves as part of the collective, it has nothing to do with our knowledge of the sport–or with you. No one in the Steelers ownership or coaching staff reined in Roethlisberger before Tomlin came along–something Jerome Bettis lamented publicly when he left the organization. But suddenly Tomlin is to blame for all his behavior and the problem is that he needs to grow a pair.

Many longtime, loyal fans live outside Pittsburgh. They have this thing now called the Internet–perhaps you’ve heard of it. We can all read the Pittsburgh papers, watch local newscasts, and keep up with our team just as well as you can. Of course, we don’t all pretend we’re sitting in the locker room the way you do. But that has nothing to do with living in Pittsburgh.

On the other hand, Tomlin is not responsible for Roethlisberger’s passive-aggressive comments regarding Haley’s offense. He hasn’t said anything blatantly explosive. Yet you harp on that nonstop. As usual, if it happened on Cowher’s watch, well … these things happen. If it happened on Tomlin’s it’s cause for dismissal.

And do not tell me how I’d react if Tomlin were fired. If the Rooney’s fired Tomlin right now, I’d be upset to see they’d suddenly started peeing their pants over one season missing the playoffs. Do not presume to think you can gauge how I feel about anything. You don’t have the depth.

But … the best indicator of future performance is past performance. I know this group of personnel guys and coaches has a good track record. I know this organization has a good track record. I know Roethlisberger–for all his failings–is one of the most naturally gifted QBs in the league and still in his prime. I know the o-line should be better this year and the offense should have a better grasp of Haley’s system. I know the defense still ranked #1 overall last season. I know the strengths of our major competitors–but I also know their weaknesses. We’ve made some good off-season moves. As knowledgeable fans, we have reason to be concerned, but we don’t have reason to panic.