Tim Benz: The intangibles behind great Pittsburgh sports memories - TribLIVE

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Full marks to my radio colleague Adam Crowley at ESPN Pittsburgh. On Monday, Crowley put up a web poll — clearly designed to tweak the masses.

A tactic I fully embrace, by the way.

More overrated Pittsburgh sports moment

— Adam Crowley (@_adamcrowley) June 22, 2020

Psst! Adam, there’s a Mr. Cliff Harris on the hotline. He’d like a quick word with you.

Now as we all know, those are iconic highlights in local sports lore. Half of the memorabilia shops in Western Pa. turned yearlong profits off sales of those memories alone.

I’ve still got a Max Talbot “SHHH!!!” T-shirt from 2009 somewhere in my dresser.

Because there’s nothing that Pittsburgh sports fans love to do more than to affix emotional attachment to a play — good or bad — as the “key turning point” in a game.

We are experts at it. Masters. No one does it better than us.

This play “pumped up the crowd and got the juices flowing.” That play “deflated everything and took the wind out our sails!”

The latter usually has to do with an overly intricate third-and-2 play call from any offensive coordinator at any point in Steelers history.

Even if plenty of other things took place in terms of X’s and O’s that impacted a game, we love to glorify (or wallow) in those intangible freeze-frame moments that trigger emotion.

Perhaps even more so than those that lead to an end result.

So here’s a look at some of the complementary sparks in time before — or after — those low-hanging pieces of sports-history fruit. The accompanying notes that helped write the masterpieces in our city’s collective sports time capsule.

The “moments that made the moments,” if you will.

Because without the right results, well, then you’re just Roosevelt Nix signaling first down after a failed fake punt.

The highlight: Max Talbot’s “SHHH!”

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia. One of the most heated rivalries in all of sports.
@Max25talbot played a huge role in the momentum shift of Round One, Game 6 back in 2009.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back: https://t.co/Dn3gIoopq3 pic.twitter.com/JF8d8oSa2C

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 22, 2019

The situation: Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers.

The Penguins are trailing 3-0 in the second period in Philly — a contest they need to win to avoid a decisive seventh game — when Talbot baits Flyers goon Dan Carcillo into a fight 15 seconds after the Flyers scored their third goal.

Talbot loses the fight. Doesn’t care. Gives Flyers fans a “SHHH!” on the way to the penalty box anyway.

The result: Pens win the game, the series, and eventually the Stanley Cup.

The moments that made the moment: After

The heroes: Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko.

Just 14 seconds after the fight, Evgeni Malkin barreled into the Flyers offensive zone, put on a great shake move behind the net, and got a puck on goaltender Martin Biron. Fedotenko poked it under the goalie for a score to make it 3-1.

Less than two minutes later, Fedotenko would assist on a goal by Mark Eaton. Before the period would end, Sidney Crosby would score, too, and there was a new hockey game.

Malkin would then assist on a game-winning slapshot by Sergei Gonchar, and Crosby would add an empty netter.

Talbot may have inspired some emotion. But the rest of the team—Fedotenko and Malkin especially—seized it and made the intangible tangible.

The highlight: Johnny Cueto drops the ball.

The situation: The Pirates are leading the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the second inning of the 2013 National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park. Taunting Pittsburgh fans seem to rattle Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto and he fumbles the ball on the mound.

Russell Martin follows with a solo home run.

The moment that made the moment: Before

The hero: Marlon Byrd.

The way the story is told, PNC Park’s fans goaded Cueto into being shaky in the middle of Martin’s at bat.

Well, Byrd’s home run to left field two batters earlier may have had a little something to do with that, right?

After all, if you play the clip, you aren’t hearing a lot of “Cueto! Cueto! Cueto!” chants in the background as Byrd unloads on the pitch to make it 1-0.

But from the minute the ball left the park onward, that chorus was non-stop.

If Byrd doesn’t homer first, does the crowd get on Cueto? Does he drop the ball? Does Martin homer two batters later?

Who knows?

It’s Martin’s homer that’s remembered. However, Byrd’s was the catalyst.

By the way, Byrd’s time in Pittsburgh was underrated once he got picked up at the trade deadline that year from the New York Mets. He hit .318 with 3 home runs, 9 doubles and finished with a 137 OPS+ in his 115 plate appearances.

Byrd also had six hits in the five-game NLDS loss to St. Louis.

Maybe the Pirates should’ve paid a little extra money to keep him in Pitts….

Ha! I kid. I kid.

The highlight: Jack Lambert tosses Cliff Harris.

The situation: Down 10-7 in the third quarter of Super Bowl X, Steelers kicker Roy Gerela misses a 36-yard field goal against the Cowboys.

Cowboys safety Cliff Harris taunts Gerela by patting him on the head. Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert takes exception and throws Harris to the ground.

The moments that made the moment: After

The heroes: Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, and the Steelers defense.

With an interception under their belt already, the Steelers defense grabbed two more after Lambert’s outburst. From that point, the unit also registered three sacks and a safety and forced three punts.

Meanwhile, Bradshaw hit Swann for 64 yards and a touchdown.

The Steelers won 21-17 and brought home their second Super Bowl trophy.

There are plenty of other examples of “the plays behind the plays” in Pittsburgh sports history.

Pirates catcher Hal Smith’s eighth-inning homer before Bill Mazeroski won Game 7 of the 1960 World Series in the ninth. Steelers rookie cornerback Bryant McFadden getting tested twice before Mike Vanderjagt missed that field goal in the 2005 playoffs. Frank Pietrangelo pitching a 4-0 shutout in Game 7 of the 1991 Patrick Division semifinals after he made “The Save” in Game 6.

But that was all sports stuff.

The emotional component is what Crowley was talking about. And you need to make plays in order to cash in the emotional currency.

Luckily for Pittsburgh fans, we’ve had plenty of profit in that regard over the years.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Penguins/NHL | Pirates/MLB | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz