Styx Sticks It To The Windy City
I have to admit that the old antennae went up this morning when I received the following press release:
"The multi-platinum rock band STYX will be performing the National anthem at this Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"In addition to their Anthem performance, STYX will also be performing a special a capella rendition of their hit song 'Renegade,' which has become a battle cry for Steelers fans cheering on the team's defense."
So far, so good – that, is, until I came upon this quote from Styx guitarist James "JY" Young:
"Having been a fan of the Steelers ever since the days of Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene and the Steel Curtain Defense, and counting former '90s era linebacker Kevin Greene as a friend and fan of our music, STYX is proud to have the Steelers continue to use our song to rev up their defense and their fans in attendance at Heinz Field. Having met Jerome Bettis at a charity event a number of years ago in Chicago and then seeing him become MVP of the recent Steeler Super Bowl victory, it just makes it that much sweeter for me and my Styx band mates to know that our song 'Renegade' helped motivate this great NFL franchise to another championship moment."
That's when the sirens started going off. Because if there's one thing anyone knows about Styx (that is, besides their former keyboard player Dennis DeYoung inflicting the likes of "Babe," "Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto" on the world), it's that this, er, "classic" rock group has always been associated with the "classic" city of Chicago, Illinois. It's where virtually all Styx's members were born and raised, where they originally formed the band and Styx has always been based, and where Mr. James Young has always, and continues to, reside.
It's also well known that JY is the biggest sports fan in the band, and that's he's an especially huge football fan. And guess what team he's always rooted for. From the statement above, you'd think the Steelers, right?
Guess again.
Here's an excerpt from an article we found from Canada's Slam Sports, published just before Styx performed at Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, in which the Colts defeated Da Bears 29-17.
"It's not really a surprise to find Chicago native James Young and his STYX band mates performing at the Super Bowl--they've performed at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa in 2001 and two years later at Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego. But his trek to Super Bowl XLI in Miami holds special significance--he'll have the chance to root for his favorite team, the Chicago Bears to down the Indianapolis Colts.
"'It's been 22 years since the Bears last won the Super Bowl (1985) and before that it was 21 years (1963), so every couple of decades or so we seem to back ourselves into a Championship game,' said Young."
Isn't it comforting to know that this guy is only too willing to turn on a dime from the hometown team that he's rooted for all his life, and basically throw the Bears--and by inference the entire city of Chicago--under the bus (and I don't mean Pettis, either), simply to try and get some commercial mileage for his dinosaur rock band? And they're going to let this Benedict Arnold sing the National Anthem? Is nothing sacred?
James Young just better hope Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus and Brian Urlacher aren't watching the game Sunday. Because if they are, by Monday morning old JY may find himself headed up the real river Styx. And without a paddle, either.
Styx rules and so do the Steelers
but the dude that wrote this blog is an idiot. obviously you can like 2 professional sports teams. chicago and pittsburgh aren't rivals in anything and in fact some might say they are similar blue collar type cities. so basically this blog is meaningless other than giving some good info about steeler nation.
Just wait until January 20.
Lovers of the English language might enjoy this......
How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word,and that word is 'UP.'
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UPto the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing:
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixedUP about UP !
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP .
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets UP the earth.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP, so ....
Time to shut UP .....!
Oh...one more thing:!
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?
U P
nobody cares WHO does the national anthem, as long as it only takes a couple of minutes so the game can get underway.
plus its styx, so who cares?