The term "America's Sweethearts" is used far too much in professional sports. "America's Team" is taken also, either by the Dallas Cowboys or the Steelers - depending on where you are from.
As the Pirates continue their all-out assault on all that is holy in Major League Baseball, the national media have not only taken notice - they are literally stalking the Buccos. Once the season is over in October (or November, hopefully), the hype will die down. The Pirates will either be finished with their rise from the grave or they will have succumbed to the pressure of the dog days of summer. Either way, the Pirates will become a footnote. Anything less than a World Series win, and the Pirates will take their place next to the 2010-11 Oklahoma City Thunder and the USA Womens World Cup Soccer Team as the underdog stories of summer 2011.
Until then - the lovefest has officially started. America is having a sticky, dirty, summer fling with YOUR Buccos. It started with a peck on the cheek in June, when the National networks and websites began to notice the Pirates were hovering around .500, and it went into full make out session recently with the Bucs sitting 7 games over .500 and a game up in the NL Central.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have gone as mainstream as Captain America, as trendy as Rebecca Black, a curiosity that even the novice baseball fan is watching the highlights to see. Yes, from Sacramento to Salt Lake City, from Kalamazoo to Burlington, from New York to the great state of Florida.....its Bucco love 24/7.
The Pirates will become even more of a curiosity over the next 2 weeks. After taking 2 in a row from the Reds at PNC Park, they look to finish off a series tomorrow that will likely eliminate the Reds from the NL Central mix for a few weeks and maybe the season. Then its on to a 3-game weekend set against those hates St. Louis Cardinals in what could be considered a playoff series for both teams. Sweep the Cardinals, and the Pirates will likely enter the last week of July at least 4-5 games up on the rest of the division. Then its on to Philly and Atlanta. The NL-best Phillies will be looking to avenge the series loss they sustained at PNC Park earlier this summer, this time at Citizens Bank Park - a launching pad compared to PNC Park. The series with the Atlanta Braves will always be big, since the Braves are the team that pounded the nails into the coffin of Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992. They have owned the Bucs since then, and it will take a major effort by this team to win a series in ATL. That brings us to the trade deadline.
If the Pirates are within 3 games of the NL Central Divisional lead on July 31, they WILL make a deal to enhance this team. As I stated in my article the other night (available in the achived section of steelworldorder.com), the next 14 days are the most important 14 days in the history of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. The Bucs spend 2 straight weeks playing the best of the best in the National League, and it ends with the trade deadline. This is the real deal folks, a pennant race in Pittsburgh.
An open note to ESPN Magazine: If the Pirates make the playoffs, the Steelers do their thing (win), and the Pens rebound from an injury-riddled season to win the Cup again I fully expect Pittsburgh to be the #1 Sports City in the next ranking!
SWO 4 Life!
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