The countdown on the MLB.com homepage said there were only 9 days, 13 hours, 53 minutes and 26 seconds until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
At that very moment it became even more real, because Bill Cowher was being given a Gatorade bath on the Pittsburgh Steelers' sideline.
The Steelers' dramatic 21-10 victory Sunday night over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL meant that a long drought was over for one of the NFL's proudest franchises, and it also meant a metaphoric passing of the torch in sports.
Baseball fans everywhere were among the expected 90 million or so viewers who took one last breathtaking look at football on a cold winter's night before getting ready for the national pastime to take its time-honored position in our collective psyche.
It was that way on Jan. 12, 1969, when Joe Namath made good on his guarantee of a New York Jets Super Bowl victory -- followed that year by the Amazin' Mets' World Series victory. It was that way on Jan. 22, 1989, when Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers past the Cincinnati Bengals -- followed that year by a Bay Bridge Series won by the Oakland A's over the San Francisco Giants.
If you are a wishful Pittsburgh Pirates fan, then first of all you are probably a candidate to miss work Monday, and understandably so. The new champions in black and gold just won it all for the first time since the end of their dynasty in 1980's Super Bowl XIV -- finally winning that "one for the thumb."
Secondly, you probably have to wonder if the Pirates, likely to be an improved team in 2006 with new manager Jim Tracy and key roster additions, and surrounded by the excitement of the All-Star Game coming to PNC Park, might be worth some Steeler-size hope. The last time the Pirates won it all was with Willie Stargell and the "We Are Family" bunch, and that was the 1979 World Series, just months before that 1980 Steelers triumph.
As if to emphasize that point about this annual "handoff" from the guys in shoulder pads, those same Super Bowl viewers who live for the ads almost as much as the action saw a 30-second World Baseball Classic ad with 6:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. The spot, part of a comprehensive ad campaign for the inaugural March 3-20 event, featured seven Major Leaguers who will participate: Roger Clemens and Derek Jeter (U.S.), Andruw Jones (Netherlands), Carlos Delgado (Puerto Rico), Albert Pujols (Dominican Republic), Mike Piazza (Italy) and Ichiro Suzuki (Japan).
Yes, baseball was just ahead.
And on this night, pretty much everyone was a football fan. The game itself had a distinctive modern-baseball ring to it as well. The Steelers were trying to end a long drought, and the Seahawks were making their first appearance in the event. That was the storyline of the last World Series, when the Chicago White Sox ended their long drought by sweeping a Houston Astros team making its first Fall Classic appearance.
Just like that showcase event, this also was a case in which the losing team certainly could say that it had its chances. Super Bowl XL was remarkable for many things:
• Stevie Wonder and a magical Motown performance in the Sixties-style pregame show, and Aretha Franklin completely on her game the moment she joined Aaron Neville and belted out "... and the rocket's red glare ..." during the "Star-Spangled Banner."
• An electrifying pregame introduction of past Super Bowl MVPs. Great touch. OK, it would be kind of ripping off the idea at this point, but you have to admit that it would be pretty cool to see past World Series MVPs introduced and walking out to a baseline before the first game of a Fall Classic.
• Watching an ABC broadcast team that included a brand-new Hall of Famer. John Madden was one of several people who were announced during the weekend as upcoming members of the NFL's 2006 Hall of Fame class. Others include Troy Aikman, Reggie White, Warren Moon, Harry Carson and Rayfield Wright.
• The Rolling Stones in a three-song halftime set that just made you shake your head in amazement that age does not matter. When Mick Jagger launched into "I can't get no ... satisfaction," you knew it was just a matter of time before either those Steeler fans with their Terrible Towels or those long-suffering Seahawks fans were going to be able to get their long-awaited satisfaction.
• Jerome Bettis hoisting a Lombardi Trophy in his hometown, and very likely executing one of the hardest things to do in professional sports: Go out on top. "I'm a champion," he said at that moment. "I think the Bus' last stop is here in Detroit. It's official, like the referee whistle."
• Big Ben Roethlisberger becoming the youngest winning quarterback in Super Bowl history -- and showing the maturity to overcome his 1-for-5 start in a first quarter in which Pittsburgh could not manage a first down.
• Cowher getting that Gatorade bath as a glorious breakthrough in his 14th season as the Steelers' coach.
"I've been waiting a long time to do this," Cowher said to Steelers chairman Dan Rooney before handing him the Vince Lombardi Trophy. "This is yours, man."
Most of all, it was just a gripping football game. It was not the most perfectly played game in Super Bowl history. The Seahawks seemed to invent one way after another to fail to capitalize on golden opportunities, and as the game progressed, one might have watched with a morbid curiosity over what squandering lay ahead next. Dropped passes abounded, and Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson actually took two touchdown receptions away from himself in the first half alone.
The most shocking moment of the night might have been when two monsters mated and a Baby Hummer was born on national television. And just like that ad, there were two shocking turns of event in the third quarter that decided this game.
Pittsburgh quickly made it 14-3 at the start of the second half when Willie Parker rambled for the longest touchdown run (75 yards) in Super Bowl history. Right after that Baby Hummer ad, Roethlisberger's pass into the end zone was picked off by Kelly Herndon, setting up a Seattle touchdown reception by Jerramy Stevens. Instead of 21-3, it was 14-10, and that is how the third quarter ended -- with Seattle trying to put together what would be one of the longest drives in Super Bowl history.
But that shocking swing of events was immediately matched at the start of the fourth quarter. Seattle's drive fell short because of an interception at the Pittsburgh 1, and the Steelers proceeded to go down the field and extend the lead on one of their renowned gadget plays -- a reverse pass thrown by ex-QB Antwaan Randle El for a TD to Hines Ward, who was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. That was the first Super Bowl TD ever thrown by a wide receiver, and instead of a 17-14 lead for Seattle, it was 21-10 Pittsburgh. One shocking swing after another.
"This is a tough pill to swallow," said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who was trying to become the first NFL coach to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises(also with Green Bay previously). "But we accomplished a lot this year. While you don't have a great feeling after a game like this, I want them to remember this feeling, so they can build on it."
It was a Super Bowl that was captivating in its buildup and its intensity, just like the World Series to which we have grown accustomed in this age. And in the end, it was the Steel Curtain's night in Detroit, the host city for last year's MLB All-Star Game.
"The Super Bowl is supposed to be a neutral setting," ABC commentator Al Michaels said during the game. "But if you looked around at the start of the game, this place was about as neutral as Lake Placid was when the U.S. team was in the 1980 Olympics." Well, he should know. After the U.S. hockey team beat the Russian team in the semifinals of that event, on its way to a gold medal, it was Michaels who asked: "Do you believe in miracles?"
Indeed, it seemed as if it was that kind of a home-field advantage Sunday night for the Steelers. But technically speaking, this was a rare case of an NFL team taking the full scenic route to get to football's promised land. The Steelers had to win on the road throughout the playoffs.
If you are wondering what the last Major League team was to win the title by taking the full scenic route, then you only have to go back to 2003. The Florida Marlins won the Wild Card that season and then beat the Giants on the road, ruined the Cubs' home-field advantage, and then clinched the title in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium after the American League's All-Star victory had given those Yanks the World Series home-field advantage.
In fact, the Marlins had it harder than these Steelers, because the Super Bowl is played at a pre-scheduled site. The home-field edge for Major League Baseball's showcase event goes these days to the victorious All-Star league. Thus, the 2004 world champion Red Sox had World Series home-field advantage despite entering the playoffs as a Wild Card. MLB's most recent champs, the Chicago White Sox, won with home-field advantage throughout the 2005 postseason.
The Super Bowl is a great segue for baseball fans -- one big party, and when it's over, those warm thoughts of Spring Training take over. Seattle fans were left without the big prize at the end of this one, but those same fans can take heart in knowing that the Mariners should be considerably improved and are expected to contend again in the compressed American League West.
Now it is time to prepare for pitchers and catchers in Florida and Arizona. Now it is time to prepare for the World Baseball Classic. Now it is time to prepare for another Major League season with dreams of drought-busters like the Steelers.
