Steelers’ Super Bowl odds: It took 26 years to win one for the thumb, and if these odds are right, it may be 2034 before the Black and Gold can win again

One for the Thumb: e-Bay

… By then, I will be 87



I have a 15-year-old grand-nephew out here in the upper Midwest who is so frustrated with his Minnesota Vikings. “You do not know what it’s like to lose year after year and never win a Super Bowl.”


Patiently, I say, “Yes, I do, Ben. I was 25 years old before the Steelers ever won a playoff game, and 29 before they won a Super Bowl. You have to be patient.”


Ben is not patient, nor was I during the Steelers drought from 1933 until 1974, though I remember only about 20 of those years.


Then, after Dan Rooney hired a coach named Chuck Noll, a veritable genius, we won four in six years, and we did so because the quiet guy talked the team into drafting a guy from a small remote college in Texas as the number 1 pick in his first year as coach. 


Mean Joe Greene, the foundation of what is now known as Steelers Nation, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, and arguably the greatest defensive lineman in history. 


Four Super Bowls in six years? Amazing. 


One for the Thumb?


Then, the Steelers went into a nosedive. They kept saying, 


This year, we will win “One for the Thumb.”


The last Super Bowl won by Chuck Noll was 1979, and the Steelers did not win another one until 2005 as Coach Bill Cowher, who had lost four AFC title games at home in five years, finally one a wild-card berth and a spot in the Super Bowl in the 2005 season. 


A win over Seattle finally gave them “One for the Thumb.”


But that was 26 years later, a period of despondency for Steeler fans. 


Then, they won another three years later, and now have six. However, those despicable New England Patriots now have six, too, so before I pass from this life, it would be nice to have another Super Bowl win. 


Past decade has not been good for Pittsburgh


However, since that win after the 2008 season, we have been shut out for 12 years, though we had a shot at one in 2010. 


The past decade the Steeler fans have started to feel like it was back to the “One for the Thumb” era. 


Will it take 26 years for another ring? That would mean another 14. 


Fans this year were excited when the team started off 11-0, only to lose their next three, two of which were to teams with losing records. 


The Steelers have clinched the AFC North title for the first time in what seems like a long while, so tomorrow’s game with the Cleveland Browns is inconsequential. 


What are the odds?


I have never bet on football except for a $1 poll we teachers had back in the 1970s. It was just straight up, no odds, nothing major. 


So, I know nothing about odds. I do, however, know where to find them. 


When I looked at what the Steelers odds of winning this year are, I was shocked. 


Here is the listing of the top 10 teams on a major list,


2020-21 Super Bowl Odds


1. Chiefs

2. Packers

3. Saints

4. Bills

5. Seahawks

6. Ravens

7. Buccaneers

8. Rams

9. Steelers and Titans tie


Most of the other sites were close to this, but look at where the Steelers are. We defeated the terrible Ravens yet they are above us. And teams like the Buccaneers who have never won a Super Bowl are ahead of us. 


I feel like Rodney Dangerfield.


There is good news


If the Browns win tomorrow, which is likely since the Steelers are resting many veterans, the likelihood is that the Steelers will host the Browns next weekend. 


The Browns have not been in the playoffs since the 20th Century, only once in 22 years since Art Modell moved his previous Browns team to Baltimore to become the Ravens.


I would rather play the Browns in the playoffs than the Ravens, who are rated ahead of us. 


So, that is the good news. The bad news is that beating the Chiefs or the Bills seems like a pipe dream to some Steeler fans. 


Why?


Tomlin from hero to goat


Mike Tomlin succeeded Bill Cowher one year after The Chin retired to the booth, and immediately became a hero when he won Super Bowl number six in his second season. 


Since then, 12 years, things have gone downhill though he had a good shot at defeating the Packers after the 2010 season. 


They have missed the playoffs four times in this decade, lost in the first round twice, and won two games only once when they were pummeled by the Patriots. 


Here is the really bad news


If they do not win it this year, that aging offensive line will start to disappear, 21 free agents may leave, and a 38-year-old QB whose arm seems to be weakening will retire. 


In short, if we do not win this year, it may take 26 years like The Thumb did, and in 2034, I will be 87 — or more likely, no longer with us. 


This may be our last chance for a long time. 


Frankly, I have not watched any NFL or college football this year, but have read stories about them. So, I know a little. 


But, if the Steelers make the Super Bowl, I will watch that because I will not be around in 2034.


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