Through nearly two generations of impressive defensive performances by the Pittsburgh Steelers, they did something on Thursday night that they haven’t done in more than 33 years.
As noted during NBC’s broadcast of the Titans-Steelers game, the Steelers had their first four-interception, five-sack performance since October 1. Of 1984.
That was a Monday night game against the Bengals at Three Rivers Stadium. And that stirred a very vivid memory for yours truly. In 1984, I was a sophomore in college, and my roommate and I decided to drive to Three Rivers Stadiumt and buy tickets to the game from a scalper. The budget: $25 each.
Unfortunately, the going rate for tickets outside the venue, back when people actually sold tickets outside a venue, was $55. So we circled Three Rivers Stadium past kickoff, looking for something more in line with the budget of $50 for two.
As the game went on, the price never dropped. Even at halftime, they still wanted $55.
I remember saying to one of the scalpers, “Enjoy not selling those tickets.”
The response: “Enjoy not watching the game.”
If we had, we would have seen what turned out to be the four-pick, five-sack performance from the Pittsburgh defense before last night.
And now you’re asking yourselves, “Did he point out that stat simply so that he could wax nostalgic about a night from 1984?”
The answer: Yes. I absolutely did.