Oakdale son, dad declare Jets-Steelers truce
Michael Peacock, a New York Jets fan, with his son, Liam, 8, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, at their home in Oakdale. Tension is high in their house because the Jets are facing the Steelers this weekend in the AFC Championship game. (Jan. 18, 2011) Credit: John Dunn
Someone put a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet on Liam Peacock's head when he was 2 years old and, as his father Michael tells it, he's been a Steelers fan ever since.
Which presents a dilemma: The elder Peacock, a New York City firefighter who lives in Oakdale, is a die-hard Jets fan.
Father and son reached a truce when the whole family wore Steelers jerseys on Saturday during Pittsburgh's divisional playoff victory over the Ravens, and then Jets jerseys on Sunday for New York's upset of the Patriots.
That won't work this weekend, when the Jets and Steelers face off.
Peacock says he really, really wants the Jets to win and go on to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969. But he acknowledges a conflicting desire: He wants his 8-year-old son to be happy.
"It's a win-win for me," Peacock said. "Either the Jets or the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl. I definitely want to see the Jets win, but a big part of me would love to see my son's team win. But I think he would understand if the Jets won as well."
But for his part, Liam says he is not deeply worried that his father will be disappointed if the Steelers win. "I'll feel a little bad for him," said Liam, a third-grader.
Liam is a rabid Steelers fan, to put it mildly. In his bedroom he has a Steelers comforter, clock, curtains, hats, eight jerseys and life-size Fathead decals of some of his favorite players. His father says Liam "probably knows more about the NFL than anybody I know."
When the family traveled to Pittsburgh last month for a regular-season Jets-Steelers game, Liam evoked cheers from a restaurant crowd when he correctly answered football questions posed by a host with a microphone.
Liam says he and two of his friends are the only Steelers fans in their 350-student elementary school, Idle Hour. And mom Krista, a Jets fan like Liam's little brother, Connor, 5, thinks that's great.
"I love that my son has his own independence and doesn't need to be a follower," she said. "I think it's fantastic. We encourage it."
Liam has little doubt who will win Sunday's game - the Steelers.
"They really want revenge from the last time they played," in December, when the Jets won 22-17.
His father isn't so certain about his team's chances. "I would love to see the Jets win, but I don't think the Steelers are going to let that happen twice in a row and back-to-back like that," he said.
Snow totals may be less across the South Shore A winter storm is expected to pummel LI as artic air settles in across the region. NewsdayTV meteorologist Geoff Bansen has the forecast.
Snow totals may be less across the South Shore A winter storm is expected to pummel LI as artic air settles in across the region. NewsdayTV meteorologist Geoff Bansen has the forecast.
