If the recent offseason issues of Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Rashard Mendenhall, James Harrison, and other Steelers have taught me anything, it’s that all I really care about as an NFL fan is winning games and championships.
Fan and media reaction to each player’s issues differed, but a least a decent chunk of the Steelers fan base wanted all of the above players traded because of their indiscretions. In Holmes’ case, they got their wish. I evaluated each off-the-field incidents individually and each time I came to the opinion that trading or releasing each player would be a giant mistake. It wasn’t because I condoned or approved of their actions or words in any way. But deep down, I really didn’t care what kind of troubles they got into as long as they would be an asset on the field in the upcoming season.
If last offseason gave the Steelers a black eye, Hines Ward’s DUI, James Harrison’s bizarre interview and Rashard Mendenhall’s tweets have turned the Steelers entire franchise into the bad boys of the NFL. ESPN has been running all kinds of reports on the Steelers image. Yahoo! Sports wrote a blog post profiling the most hated Steelers in recent years. To a lot of fans, these days may be embarrassing. But I think it’s time to embrace the team’s new image and focus solely on the only thing that fans, players and owners really care about: winning.
Last offseason, we were getting emails and comments calling for the Steelers to trade Ben Roetlhisberger. Columns in major newspapers were written saying it was a wise move for the team. Fans were quoted as saying they would never root for Roethlisberger again. Bob Smizik wrote that “The Steelers need to reclaim their special brand. The best way to do that is to trade Roethlisberger.”
That all changed during week 5 last season when he came back and started dodging blitzers and throwing TD passes. Quickly, his reputation among fans improved and it was because we all remembered that he is a really, really good football player.
Had the Steelers followed Smizik’s and other’s wishes and dealt Roethlisberger, the Steelers almost certainly wouldn’t have made the playoffs. Players like Harrison, Ward, Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith would spend their last few years in the league playing for a team without a leader on offense and their careers would likely end without another deep playoff run.
Would such a trade really have been worth it to reclaim that “special brand” of football Pittsburgh is known for? Would dealing the best QB in franchise history have been worth 4 straight seasons of missing the playoffs afterwards? I don’t think so.
At the end of the day, there are hardly any fans that truly care about their team’s “image” or “special brand.” We all just care about winning. Do you think Ravens fans resent their 2001 team because Ray Lewis was under investigation for murder the prior summer? Do New York Jets fans wish the team hadn’t signed a bunch of ‘troublemakers’ and not have beaten the Patriots last year? Are Pirates fans okay with Barry Bonds’ departure in 1992 because he turned out to be a really mean-hearted person and would have cast the team in a bad light the next 20 years?
If anything, this year’s Steeler team is easier for me to root for than those in year’s past. The 2010 Steelers embody the “us against the world” mentality that so many Pittsburgh fans seem to love. The team believe the NFL hates them. The team believes the Commisioner hates them. And Rashard Mendenhall probably believes last year’s Super Bowl loss was an inside job.
It is going to be very fun to root for the team that everybody else despises. If the Steelers win the Super Bowl next February, people will write that they did it on the backs of criminals and other undesirables. Some jagoff at work will call you out at the water cooler for cheering on a menace to society like Harrison.
But the Steelers will still have the identity that matters most and it isn’t their “special brand” of football: It is winning. Plan and simple. That is what the team is known for.
I will have more fun cheering on a gang of crooks who are making a run towards the Super Bowl then I would watching an all-white team of choir boys go 2-14. I’m guessing other fans would too.
And, seriously, if James Harrison gets a blindside strip-sack of Joe Flacco after Renegade plays at Heinz Field on some big 3rd down and you won’t cheer because he uses slurs when he talks or because he called Brian Cushing mean names, then I don’t think you watch sports for the right reasons.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
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