For decades the Pittsburgh Steelers were like the most well-known geyser in the world, Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. For the better part of my childhood, Old Faithful would erupt every hour on the hour, down to minutes and even seconds. Upon visiting our greatest National Park, my family and I would get ice cream from one of the many vendors around Old Faithful and watch the digital clock count down until the next eruption. It was fun, reliable, and beyond our ability to understand or comprehend. It simply was and nothing would change it.
Then, in my late teens and early twenties, something odd happened.