I don’t know what to do today. Well, I’ll naturally go to a Super Bowl party and eat too much. That’s a given. But I don’t know what to do during the game.

I might actually have to root for the Steelers.

I know. Things are that bad.

Now before all you Steeler fans hunt me down and Terrible Towel me to death, I come by my dislike of Pittsburgh honestly. This is no passing fad.

My best friend growing up loved the Steelers. He had some family from out there or something like that. Like all young boys should, I immediately grew to loathe the team he loved.

It’s the same reason why I can never root for Clemson in anything because that’s where his Dad played college football.

So with my best friend loving the Steelers and me following the Bert Jones-led Colts, I had good reason to seethe whenever I saw black and gold. It didn’t help that they won what the Colts couldn’t.

As the Colts spiraled toward their exit from Baltimore, I started to view the Steelers with apathy. I really didn’t care what happened to them.

Then I went away to college. Ninety miles north of Pittsburgh. Sundays became unbearable again. Everywhere I turned, I ran into someone from Pittsburgh telling me how great the Steelers were. It didn’t help that the team did pretty poorly during most of my college years.

That’s when I really grew to loathe Steeler fans. The San Francisco 49ers were threatening Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl records and my friends from Mount Lebanon, Fox Chapel and Shady Side kept reminding us of the glory days while they lay their trust in the hands of Bubby Brister.

Just typing his name pushes my blood pressure up 10 points.

I thought I could escape Steeler Country, but does that ever really happen? These fans pop up wherever you go. Now that I follow the Ravens, I have started to feel all those bad old feelings resurface.

But something happened this year. Somehow, the Steelers became likeable. I don’t know if it’s Ben Roethlisberger proving people wrong or the realization that Bill Cowher will never go away or the fact that I am growing up and would like to see my friends who support the Steelers enjoy a Super Bowl win.

Actually a little bit of it comes down to the rest of the teams just annoying me more this season. It can’t be maturity.

The playoffs, however, have tested my resolve. I have some sort of reaction when I see those towels waving in the air. Bridget thought I called it a “Terrible Towel” because I thought it was terrible.

Sometimes 5-year-olds can be incredibly perceptive.

So I will face a big choice when the game starts this evening. Do I go against my nature and root for the Steelers or jump on Seattle’s bandwagon just to be a pain to others?

Actually I think I’ll just root for the food to not run out and the score at the end of each quarter to help me win some money. Those are things I can get behind regardless of who is playing in the game.