# Super Bowl XLV **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 1, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789 "2011-02-01T16:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/21 "2011-02-02T08:36:02Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if a guy goes to court and gets acquitted, he’s innocent, but if he’s not even tried in the first place, he’s guilty? Bwuh? I disagree with your generic absolutes. You should allow some shades of grey into your simplistic worldview. When it comes to the law, I reserve the right to judge on a case by case basis. For an example that denies your first simplistic absolute, OJ was acquitted but no way would I ever call him innocent. He was guilty as all get-out. Ben is also guilty; the only reason he wasn’t tried was because the victim changed her mind and decided not to cooperate. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/22 "2011-02-02T09:45:01Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You mean a low-scoring game? I’m pretty sure **LateComer** was making a funny. [QUOTE=Ellis Dee] …the only reason he wasn’t tried was because the victim changed her mind and decided not to cooperate. [/QUOTE] That she decided not to cooperate was incidental. The real reason [Roethlisberger] wasn’t tried is [An emergency-room doctor and two nurses examined her and noted in their report a “superficial laceration and bruising and slight bleeding in the genital area”, but could not say if trauma or sexual assault was the cause; A rape kit was collected, but no semen was recovered, and the amount of male DNA found was insufficient to create a profile or establish that an assault had taken place; The doctor’s report also quoted the alleged victim telling them that, “A boy kind of raped me;” district attorney Fred Bright held a press conference to announce that Roethlisberger would not be charged. Bright said “…looking at all the evidence here, I can not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Roethlisberger) I guess all the threads about Super Bowls involving the Steelers will now devolve into a debate on Roethlisberger’s legal issues. I’m not saying the guy hasn’t earned it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/23 "2011-02-02T11:26:13Z")
No, it was not incidental. The only reason he couldn’t prove guilt was because she wouldn’t testify. Did you actually watch that press conference? I did. He made his feelings pretty clear that he wanted to put Ben away and thought he could until the girl backed out. That wikipedia article is either deliberately misleading or horribly written. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/24 "2011-02-02T13:34:38Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > No, it was not incidental. The only reason he couldn’t prove guilt was because she wouldn’t testify. Did you actually watch that press conference? I did. He made his feelings pretty clear that he wanted to put Ben away and thought he could until the girl backed out. That wikipedia article is either deliberately misleading or horribly written. > [@](#): > > We do not prosecute morals. We prosecute crimes. [cite.](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=5078977)The prosecutor clearly stated that there was no crime. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/25 "2011-02-02T13:48:23Z")
[“Packers are horrendous”](http://www.urlesque.com/2011/02/01/packers-super-bowl-upset-little-girl/) :D:D:D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/26 "2011-02-02T14:41:51Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m also rooting for the Packers, so that’s a nice coincidence. Pride of the conference, baby! If the Packers win, that would mean the NFC won three of the last four Superbowls. (Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers.) > > Also factoring in is the QB battle. Aren’t you worried about your “scrambling QBs can’t win” principle being undermined? Rodgers ran for 356 yards in 15 games… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/27 "2011-02-02T16:36:00Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I’ll be damned if I’m posting my thoughts on this game in a Steeler thread. Maybe you should have titled it “1st Annual Cheeseheads March to the Super Bowl?” And started it 6 months ago? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/28 "2011-02-02T16:41:29Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Aren’t you worried about your “scrambling QBs can’t win” principle being undermined? Rodgers ran for 356 yards in 15 games… 😃 Only because the Packers don’t have a running game, and Rodgers also got rung up for two concussions doing that. He will also be facing the best defense in the NFL this time. He’s not going to able to do that shit against the Steelers, even though they will undoubtedly try to hold James Harrison on every play. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/29 "2011-02-02T16:44:53Z")
> [@LateComer](#): > > [cite.](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=5078977)The prosecutor clearly stated that there was no crime. The prosecutor only said he couldn’t _prove_ a crime, but it was pretty obvious he believed a crime happened. You know something that’s telling about that incident? Not one of Roethlisberger’s teammates ever defended him. Not one player or coach or anyone else in the Steeler’s organization spoke up for him or supported him or defended his character. I wonder why that is. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/30 "2011-02-02T16:49:36Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You know something that’s telling about that incident? Not one of Roethlisberger’s teammates ever defended him. Not one player or coach or anyone else in the Steeler’s organization spoke up for him or supported him or defended his character. I wonder why that is. Because they were already considering what they were going to do without him. Don’t want to look even worse, defending a rapist. They were under a strict gag order. Like I said in the other thread, if there really was anything to it, the Rooneys would have dropped him like a hot potato. They were just waiting for the other shoe to fall, which of course it never did. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/31 "2011-02-02T16:55:11Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > I cannot articulate an answer to this question. The best I can do is say to you, grow up in Chicago as a Bears fan; that’s why the hate. I don’t care if the Packers consist of 45 [cuddly kittens](http://ak2.ostkcdn.com/images/products/L10814149.jpg) who each gave up two kidneys to save 3-year-old abused orphans, you put that G on your head and you’re worse than an amalgam of Satan, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Josef Mengele. But I can only feel it; I can’t express it. You know, stupid me, I didn’t even look as to where he lived :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Beniamino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Beniamino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beniamino)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/32 "2011-02-02T18:08:27Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I disagree with your generic absolutes. You should allow some shades of grey into your simplistic worldview. When it comes to the law, I reserve the right to judge on a case by case basis. > > For an example that denies your first simplistic absolute, OJ was acquitted but no way would I ever call him innocent. He was guilty as all get-out. Ben is also guilty; the only reason he wasn’t tried was because the victim changed her mind and decided not to cooperate. A jury found OJ killed his wife in the civil case. He also wrote a book called “If I did it”. There has been no such civil case re Roethlisberger. Your analogy does not hold. I think it’s presumptuous of you to opine as to what the “only reason he wasn’t tried was”. There was no rape; he fooled around with a college girl who later thought she could make something out of the deal, and when the evidence came up short, she recanted. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/33 "2011-02-02T18:10:37Z")
She didn’t recant. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/34 "2011-02-02T18:20:09Z")
This is turning into a Steeler thread. Hamlet’s going to be pissed… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/35 "2011-02-02T18:28:28Z")
With that, the National Weather Service says Dallas will get back above freezing sometime Friday and Sunday temps will be mid 50s. As you know the roof WILL be closed on gameday. Next year’s SB is in Indy but the year after in the open confines of the New Meadowlands in N.J. That’ll be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/36 "2011-02-02T19:35:30Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > I cannot articulate an answer to this question. The best I can do is say to you, grow up in Chicago as a Bears fan; that’s why the hate. I don’t care if the Packers consist of 45 [cuddly kittens](http://ak2.ostkcdn.com/images/products/L10814149.jpg) who each gave up two kidneys to save 3-year-old abused orphans, you put that G on your head and you’re worse than an amalgam of Satan, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Josef Mengele. But I can only feel it; I can’t express it. I grew up in Central Illinois, and back in those days (1970’s and 80’s) we were all pretty much Bears fans. The rivalry with the Packers was always heated, but it was always pretty good natured at its core. We always wanted to beat the Packers first and foremost, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that we hated them. I moved away from there in the early 1980’s, but I took my childhood team loyalties with me. Then something interesting happened. At some point back in the mid-90’s, I started seeing something disturbing in my visits back to my family in the old stomping grounds. I started seeing people wearing Packers gear. Lots of it. People that I grew up with - people who had been Bears fans for as long as I could remember. I remembered seeing this on a different level growing up - a bunch of people became self-professed Reds fans back when they were winning a bunch. And then the Reds weren’t as good, and they moved on to the Pirates or whoever else was the flavor of the month. I simply can’t abide that. Fair weather fans piss me off. So while I suppose that I can be happy for Hamlet getting to go see his team in the Superbowl (wish I could have come up with the money to do it either time the Bears were there), and I can’t stand some of the players on the Steelers, I still want to see the Packers go down in flames and lose this game 49-0. Maybe that way, some of those Packers “fans” that I grew up with will move on to the Rams or Colts next year. Just don’t come back the the Bears. We don’t want you. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/37 "2011-02-02T19:39:55Z")
The bandwagon shit is truly annoying. Packer fans are bad enough, but even worse are the ones who have no connection to Wisconsin or to the region but just decide they want to become Packer fans for the fashion of it. This is especially bad when they come from Vikings or Bears territory. That’s akin to treason. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/38 "2011-02-02T19:54:05Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The bandwagon shit is truly annoying. Packer fans are bad enough, but even worse are the ones who have no connection to Wisconsin or to the region but just decide they want to become Packer fans for the fashion of it. This is especially bad when they come from Vikings or Bears territory. That’s akin to treason. Yeah I live in Indiana. There is nothing worse in this world than a bandwagon Colts fan. Which is pretty much every Colts fan. It is absolutely brutal. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/39 "2011-02-02T20:02:45Z")
I don’t get the vitriol against bandwagon fans except as thinly veiled elitism. So they jump on when things are good and jump off when they aren’t; so what? It’s their prerogative, and if they need to be associated with “winners” to make themselves feel better, who cares? I feel more sorry for them than am bothered by them. Besides, it’s not like suffering through some disappointing seasons makes a person a better fan than one who hasn’t experienced that. Personally, I’m happy when bandwagon fans support one of my favorite teams because they buy tickets and merchandise and they contribute to the live experience and home field advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Nadir](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nadir/32/7302_2.png) [@Nadir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789/40 "2011-02-02T20:19:19Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > I don’t get the vitriol against bandwagon fans except as thinly veiled elitism. Everybody likes to feel better about themselves in one way or another, whether it’s just backing a winning team or being a “true” fan, as opposed to a fair weather fan. Here’s an odd fan angle: The displaced Steeler fan (me, for example). I’ve literally been all over the planet since leaving home back in 1983. Alot of people moved away from the area after the steel industry collapsed prior to that. We as fans, are pretty much universally reviled in the NFL cheering sections wherever we go, mostly I assume because of the Steelers success, in many cases at the expense of whoever the local team happens to be. Yet we are true fans through and through. Kinda ironic. Go Steeler nation!! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-bowl-xlv/569789.md?page=3)