Megatron might be on the cover but Tebowing will be inside the game of Madden 13. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

What We Learned This Week In the NFL Off Season:

• Tebowing makes it into Madden ‘13
• Steelers shake up offensive line
• OTA’s begin this week without key players across the league

For video game nerds everywhere a new highlight to the upcoming Madden game has been released this week.  The game is set to feature “Tebowing” as part of player celebration, which apparently is an essential part of the game.  Awesome.  Just to make sure the Tebowmania doesn’t settle down even if he’s stuck behind Sanchez, millions of 13 year old boys and 13 year old boys-at-heart can relieve the phenomenon as long as they hit the right buttons on the controller.  The Steelers retooled their offensive line a bit, shifting veteran Willie Colon from right tackle to left guard.  The announcement came out early to allow Colon to have plenty of preparation time to ease into the new position as well as allow the rookies time to learn the snap counts and formations in the upcoming OTA’s.  Speaking of OTA’s, many will start today and tomorrow across the league without some key players suiting up.  The Saints will start without QB Drew Brees, the Ratbirds will start without RB Ray Rice, and the Steelers begin OTA’s without Mike Wallace as well as their top two draft picks, David DeCastro and Mike Adams. (more…)

Ben Roethlisberger held roughly his fifty-seventh Super Bowl XLV interview session yesterday afternoon.  A reporter from Dallas, after drying the tears from his eyes, asked Ben if it irked him that the Cowboys are called “America’s Team.”  Ah, Big D, keep grasping tightly at whatever straws you can in order to avoid the fact your team has become totally irrelevant because they haven’t won a damn thing in almost twenty years.  Ben’s response was perfect, noting people can proclaim themselves whatever they’d like but he knows there is no larger or more passionate fan base than Steeler Nation.

Unfortunately, the Nation may find themselves in the minority this coming Sunday.  Despite an infinitely larger national following than the Green Bay Packers, recent trends have shown a larger percentage of neutral football fans siding with the Cheeseheads over the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Hollwood Reporter magazine released its first ever Super Bowl Poll in the issue hitting newsstands today and the results are quite disheartening.   Once upon a time, this country embraced greatness and looked up to their heroes with admiration while today they seem overcome by jealousy towards those who are wildly successful.

Then again, these same people said Fox was their favorite NFL broadcaster and Troy Aikman was their favorite analyst.  Clearly we’re dealing with folks of dubious taste.  Unless your idea of top-notch coverage is a break dancing robot.

According to the poll by Penn Schoen Berland, Americans are rooting for the Packers by a 45% to 39% margin.  The spread is likely heavily influenced by the general unpopularity of Big Ben.  Muckraking Georgia DAs and skanky college girls everywhere can rejoice because their disreputable behavior and character assassinations have succeeded in making Ben the fourth most disliked player in football.  The three ahead of him are Bret Favre (proven pervert), Mike Vick (convicted animal abuser), and Tom Brady (uh, he’s just a dick).  Which goes to show how media types with hidden agendas, aided by a biased commissioner, can convince the great unwashed to believe just about anything they tell them.

In a way, though, I’m kinda glad the Steelers are being underestimated this time around.  Despite holding a number two seed and playing through a much tougher conference than the Pack, Las Vegas has maintained the Black and Gold as 2.5-3.5 point underdogs since the match-up was set.  While Green Bay has wisely avoided providing any bulletin board material to fire up the proud Steelers, this gives Mike Tomlin plenty of fuel to fire the blast furnace.  When these guys are written off like they have been all season, it only serves to make them want it more.

And, hey, at least one “expert” is picking the Steelers.  The Madden NFL 11 video game, which I’ve passed up booty calls in order to continue playing because I’m a dork, predicts the Steelers will win by a score of 24-20.  If you look over this history of Madden Super Bowl simulation, you’ll see the game is remarkably accurate.  It missed the final score of our victory in Super Bowl XLIII by only two points.  So let’s hope this Reverse Madden Curse holds true once again.

In the meantime, I’ll proudly wear my team’s colors and wave my Terrible Towel this weekend as will millions of fans across the country.  Because at the end of the day, the Pittsburgh Steelers are and always will be “America’s Team.”

Oh and speaking of Steeler Pride, don’t forget my Stiller Pride Coveroo Contest running all the way through Friday.  I’ve received about two dozen fantastic submissions but there’s still plenty of time to submit your most unique, funny, touching, sweet, clever, frighteningly obsessive, or (dare I say it?) sexy photo for a chance to win some awesome Steelers swag.   Full details and how to enter by clicking here.

I’m a superstitious man. I won’t walk under a ladder. I don’t open an umbrella until I’m outside. And if the Pittsburgh Steelers win on Sunday, I make sure to put aside my socks, underwear, and whichever of my twelve jerseys I was wearing so I’m sure to wear them again next week.

Hey, don’t laugh. They won the Super Bowl didn’t they?

So you can imagine my horror when I found out Troy Polamalu was going to be on the cover of the Madden 10 video game. You see, there’s this thing known as the Madden Curse. Whoever graces the cover is doomed to a season filled with injury and failure. This isn’t superstition, this is fact.

Ray Lewis was the cover boy for Madden 05 and suffered a season ending hamstring injury. Okay, in that case, it wasn’t so much a curse as divine justice. Donovan McNabb was featured on Madden 06. His season ended with a torn ACL. Shaun Alexander, the running back who propelled the Seahags to Super Bowl XL where they were humbled by the Steelers, was rewarded with the cover of Madden 07. He sustained a foot injury that caused him to miss almost half the season and was never the same again. There are several more examples.

When Polamalu left Thursday’s season opener against the Titans, many thought he’d eventually return. I knew better. I knew he had been Cursed. The only question in my mind was what misfortune had the Football Gods chosen to bestow upon him.

Turns out, Polamalu got lucky. He only suffered a sprained MCL which will keep him out for 3-6 weeks. If that diagnoses sounds familiar, it’s because that is the same injury Hines Ward suffered in the AFC Championship victory over Baltimore. Although Hines returned only 2 weeks later, he’d be the first to tell you he was in tremendous pain and only operating at about 1/5 of his regular ability.

Polamalu has a history of knee problems, likely due to his Tasmanian Devil style of play. In 2007, he missed several games with a nagging quad injury which severely limited him most of season. The Steeler defense had a lot of problems that year, culminating in a humiliating referee-assisted first round playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. We’re a deeper team than back then but a healthy Troy is still vital to the team’s success.

Nobody wants to go a month without one of their best players. Considering his knee got folded up like an accordion, this is definitely a best case scenario. Of course, we should know by now to never trust the Steelers when it comes to accurately reporting injuries. However, in this case, I’m going to rub my rabbit’s foot, kiss my blarney stone, and cross my fingers while hoping for the best.