Can the Steelers Save the Super Bowl and the NFL?
First, a bit of follow-up to my last column 'The Unbridled Bigotry Beyond the Manny Situation', I got a ton of important responses and constructive criticism from you folks and will follow up on the topic and the discussion in my next posting.
Nobody prefers talking about the GAME to talking culture more than Guru, it is what I love about my Yankees - the blending of Pinstripers into the whole and the lack of opinion relating to matters other than Baseball that eminate from their clubhouse...it is a stance that gets CRITICIZED in the New York Press as reporters openly COMPLAIN about the Yankees 'relentless professionalism' (William Rhoden, New York Times) and the lack of newsworthy quotes supplied by Captain, Derek Jeter.
Modern sportswriting/reporting has two schools, that of Legendary Turf Writer, Joe Hirsch (2/27/28-1/9/09) who kept his insight on the sport and shone his insight into people's lives only upon their request or their notable worthiness (his use of language, knowledge and graceful way of removing himself from the work was the finest column work I ever had the pleasure of reading and he inspired me in everything I attempt, you may not be a Horse Racing fan, but if you are someone who puts keyboards to work - you owe it to yourself to google up samples and then, you'll know...). Sadly, the Hirsch (or Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News) methods did not translate well to tabloid coverage or cross-promotional gossip/culture war...the man who started that school, the DOMINANT one in American media, circa, 2009, was Dick Young (10/17/18-10/30/87) of whom it was said "With all the subtlety of a knee in the groin, Dick Young made people gasp... He could be vicious, ignorant, trivial and callous, but for many years he was the epitome of the brash, unyielding yet sentimental Damon Runyon sportswriter". Young was the first reporter to go into the locker room and consider players lives and backgrounds fodder for his opinions, every time you hear a reporter demonize a guy (Jim Rice, Barry Bonds) for being surly with media, rather than simply judging him on his ABILITY and PERFORMANCE, that is thanks to Dick Young. The combination of this change and his open bigotry and conservatism single-handedly changed The New York Daily News coverage into what it remains today, a pugnacious, xenophobic, lily-white enclave and it contaminated mainstream outlets like TSN - when you read Richard Justice, you are reading a Young-disciple.
When you read Guru, you are getting a guy who aspires to Hirsch, but is not immune to the Young-like tenaciousness that is part of him. My politics and outlook may be 180 degrees opposed to Young's, but I am capable of losing my cool in his manner - and I regret that. My plea contains the caveat that I feel I MUST respond to monolithic coverage, particularly that leveled upon minority athletes. Reading these pages, as we all do, it would be EASY to come to the conclusion that there are no divergent opinions relating to Manny, to Barry, to T.O...and FACTS don't seem to intrude upon those opinions. Manny goes to LA, lights up a city, gains the admiration of men like Don Mattingly...and Joe Magrane still feel empowered to say that bit about him needing 'adult supervision' on NATIONAL TELEVISION.
We ALL need to understand what is behind that and how corrosive it is to American discourse. Their is no wiggle room left, we either come FULLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY into the 21st Century, embrace our diversity and move BEYOND the differences between us or start to watch entire portions of the USA devolve into wastelands, the way old mining towns in the West have.
Take a look at Michigan. Take a look at Kansas. Ask yourself, what happened here? Every time a person in one of those places tells themselves it's 'because the hispanics took my job or the companies shipped my job away', they are building a crutch, the same way the Nativists who tried to fight off the Irish, the Italians, the Germans, the Jews did. Those people disappeared over time and the newcomers are now some of the same people complaining about the brown or the gay or the female or the 'immigrant' - in the ultimate irony. Every minute you spend thinking about what a 'great world this would be' if more people were JUST LIKE YOU, is a minute wasted and builds a likelihood that you will be left behind. Don't do it, let's ALL move forward and challenge ourselves to do better.
I am. I will. I do.
Onward...
Guru is a Cowboy fan. You know that. Guru had critical parts of his youth reduced to agony because of one franchise, a team that denied my Cowboys in two historic Super Bowls ('76 21-17, '80 35-31) by a total of EIGHT POINTS on their way to FOUR Super Bowl Championships in my formative decade, the 1970's. Later, as I grew up (a little!), I looked back in awe at that team - The Pittsburgh Steelers (in my archives is a column devoted to that illustrious squad, but there are so MANY columns that I can't locate it---just re-read them ALL, then tell me which one it was!). When a team places NINE of its twenty-two starters in the Hall of Fame and at least one of them from every position group on an NF team, it becomes easy to go from feeling bad about losing those two Super Bowls to being PROUD to have competed with their like and hung around. That the Cowboys got a measure of revenge when the talent equation was in their decisive favor ('96 27-17) would probably have provided a measure of solace, if it wasn't the LAST playoff game the Cowboys have won, a thirteen year stretch that would have been unimaginable to even the creepiest Cowboy-hater in those days, but then again, in 1996, if you said Dubya would be a two-time President, folks would have medicated you - and not the fun way!
While the Cowboys fell on hard times and then fell over themselves even as they restored the talent, the Steelers kept on doing what they have done since Chuck Noll walked in the door and took the historic losing, threw it aside and ushered in the marquee franchise.
Make no mistake. The Steelers are THAT franchise. The Cowboys have had distinct periods of success in every decade of their existence, and won Five Super Bowls...the 49'ers built their own horde of HOF types and won their own Five Super Bowls, but those Cowboy teams in the '70s and '90s were better 1than the 49'ers and those Steeler teams were better than Dallas. San Francisco was irrelevant for years before Walsh and for years after him, the New York Giants have had periods of greatness, but long stretches of pathetic play...the Patriots were awful for decades and have only the recent era to point to, the Green Bay Packers were the dominant club in the 1960's and had that brief shining moment in '97...
The Steelers, under just THREE coaches and one ownership group, in 40 seasons, are the best franchise in the sport. The Rooney Family, who started the franchise in 1933 and had to wait decades to see their investment come to the fore, have handled the ensuing decades of success to perfection. Of the pre-cap dynasties, ONLY the Steelers have remained in the mix of NFL elite and claimed a Super Bowl Championship under the different systems. Whether it was Noll (1969-1991), Bill Cowher (1992-2006) and now, Mike Tomlin, the Steeler way is a winning way. You have to tip your cap in admiration, even if you are a Cleveland Browns fan - ESPECIALLY if you are a Browns fan, who know only too well what bad management results in, having lost their historic franchise for several years.
One only needs to look at the fortunes of the Steelers (or the Penguins) or to Pittsburgh's renaissance as a new-economy model after being buried in the collapse of the Steel Industry (see Red Sox Steve's work on VagabondGuru.com or the New York Times article relating to Pittsburgh, sorry for lack of links...) to put the lie to claims by Pirate management that they 'can't compete'. Pittsburgh is and was a big time place with a can-do attitude and 'can't compete' should be taken in another way - SELL! Not as a siren call to change the scope on the game. Winners win. The Steelers are winners.
Which brings us to this season's playoffs.
I asked a friend of mine, a Washington Redskin fan (tolerant Guru!), what he would say to someone who invited him over to watch a game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, he laughed in my face and said 'I'd rather work in the yard or sleep!'. When I asked him about a potential 'Ravens' Cardinals' Super Bowl, he said 'who would watch that?'.
Who. indeed.
Obviously, if you are an Arizona Cardinal, Baltimore Raven, Tennessee Titan, Philadelphia Eagle fan, you are or were, enjoying this year's playoffs. The teams have taken care of their business on the field and have every right to be proud.
In Arizona, the 'Steeler' way taught by former coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, a Pittsburgh boy who played for Joe Gibbs, on Redskin champions has provided tough to blend with the flash of their wide receivers and the big arm of Kurt Warner. They are an 8-8 team from an awful division who gave up FIFTY-SIX points to the Jets. A GREAT team is not on the list of possibilities for them.
BUT..Warner is one of the NFL's dreariest personalities and was seemingly 'washed-up' just a few years ago...he will always be a hero in St. Louis and they are behind him in Arizona, but to the National fan - he's a turn-off on a team that is both the OLDEST franchise in the NFL and one of six to never play in a Super Bowl. Impossible to care for, about or root for, at least in the Aerie.
In Baltimore, the expansion Ravens have had a serious competitive history, winning the Super Bowl during the trough of post-Cap football that almost killed the sport, the dreary years from 1997-2004 that saw many of THIS year's Playoff heroes have their best moments (Warner, '99, Kerry Collins, '99, Ray Lewis, '00, Donovan McNabb, '03, Jake Delhomme, '04). The Ravens have played solid Defense, as always, and gotten decent play from their rookie QB, Joe Flacco, but Joe is a Delaware grad (air rushes from the Aerie...) and the team is one only a Marylander could love...they have no national profile and no chance at being a GREAT team.
Like Warner, the hope is that Lewis (as with Collins and Delhomme and, hopefully, McNabb) will be eliminated at SOME point...although with McNabb and Warner facing off in the NFC Title Game, some dreariness is assured.
The Eagles have been on a terrific tear, but they are also the team that tied with Cinncinatti, they are a testament to coaching, resilience and their mercurial leader, Donovan McNabb, what they are NOT is an interesting story or a GREAT football team.
Which leaves only ONE team standing that can truly claim the mantle of GREAT and provide the non-represented fan with a rooting interest in these festivities.
We'll examine the games themselves later this week, but needless to say...the Aerie and the Magic Carpet are rooting HARD for Mike Tomlin, Big Ben Roethilisberger, Troy Polamalu, Willie Parker, Hines Ward...big names, big talent, team history, recognizable fan base and uniform...
GO STEELERS! Save America from the Dreariness of the 2008 Season by winning impressively and sending the ghosts of the NFL's worst years to sleep.
Nobody prefers talking about the GAME to talking culture more than Guru, it is what I love about my Yankees - the blending of Pinstripers into the whole and the lack of opinion relating to matters other than Baseball that eminate from their clubhouse...it is a stance that gets CRITICIZED in the New York Press as reporters openly COMPLAIN about the Yankees 'relentless professionalism' (William Rhoden, New York Times) and the lack of newsworthy quotes supplied by Captain, Derek Jeter.
Modern sportswriting/reporting has two schools, that of Legendary Turf Writer, Joe Hirsch (2/27/28-1/9/09) who kept his insight on the sport and shone his insight into people's lives only upon their request or their notable worthiness (his use of language, knowledge and graceful way of removing himself from the work was the finest column work I ever had the pleasure of reading and he inspired me in everything I attempt, you may not be a Horse Racing fan, but if you are someone who puts keyboards to work - you owe it to yourself to google up samples and then, you'll know...). Sadly, the Hirsch (or Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News) methods did not translate well to tabloid coverage or cross-promotional gossip/culture war...the man who started that school, the DOMINANT one in American media, circa, 2009, was Dick Young (10/17/18-10/30/87) of whom it was said "With all the subtlety of a knee in the groin, Dick Young made people gasp... He could be vicious, ignorant, trivial and callous, but for many years he was the epitome of the brash, unyielding yet sentimental Damon Runyon sportswriter". Young was the first reporter to go into the locker room and consider players lives and backgrounds fodder for his opinions, every time you hear a reporter demonize a guy (Jim Rice, Barry Bonds) for being surly with media, rather than simply judging him on his ABILITY and PERFORMANCE, that is thanks to Dick Young. The combination of this change and his open bigotry and conservatism single-handedly changed The New York Daily News coverage into what it remains today, a pugnacious, xenophobic, lily-white enclave and it contaminated mainstream outlets like TSN - when you read Richard Justice, you are reading a Young-disciple.
When you read Guru, you are getting a guy who aspires to Hirsch, but is not immune to the Young-like tenaciousness that is part of him. My politics and outlook may be 180 degrees opposed to Young's, but I am capable of losing my cool in his manner - and I regret that. My plea contains the caveat that I feel I MUST respond to monolithic coverage, particularly that leveled upon minority athletes. Reading these pages, as we all do, it would be EASY to come to the conclusion that there are no divergent opinions relating to Manny, to Barry, to T.O...and FACTS don't seem to intrude upon those opinions. Manny goes to LA, lights up a city, gains the admiration of men like Don Mattingly...and Joe Magrane still feel empowered to say that bit about him needing 'adult supervision' on NATIONAL TELEVISION.
We ALL need to understand what is behind that and how corrosive it is to American discourse. Their is no wiggle room left, we either come FULLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY into the 21st Century, embrace our diversity and move BEYOND the differences between us or start to watch entire portions of the USA devolve into wastelands, the way old mining towns in the West have.
Take a look at Michigan. Take a look at Kansas. Ask yourself, what happened here? Every time a person in one of those places tells themselves it's 'because the hispanics took my job or the companies shipped my job away', they are building a crutch, the same way the Nativists who tried to fight off the Irish, the Italians, the Germans, the Jews did. Those people disappeared over time and the newcomers are now some of the same people complaining about the brown or the gay or the female or the 'immigrant' - in the ultimate irony. Every minute you spend thinking about what a 'great world this would be' if more people were JUST LIKE YOU, is a minute wasted and builds a likelihood that you will be left behind. Don't do it, let's ALL move forward and challenge ourselves to do better.
I am. I will. I do.
Onward...
Guru is a Cowboy fan. You know that. Guru had critical parts of his youth reduced to agony because of one franchise, a team that denied my Cowboys in two historic Super Bowls ('76 21-17, '80 35-31) by a total of EIGHT POINTS on their way to FOUR Super Bowl Championships in my formative decade, the 1970's. Later, as I grew up (a little!), I looked back in awe at that team - The Pittsburgh Steelers (in my archives is a column devoted to that illustrious squad, but there are so MANY columns that I can't locate it---just re-read them ALL, then tell me which one it was!). When a team places NINE of its twenty-two starters in the Hall of Fame and at least one of them from every position group on an NF team, it becomes easy to go from feeling bad about losing those two Super Bowls to being PROUD to have competed with their like and hung around. That the Cowboys got a measure of revenge when the talent equation was in their decisive favor ('96 27-17) would probably have provided a measure of solace, if it wasn't the LAST playoff game the Cowboys have won, a thirteen year stretch that would have been unimaginable to even the creepiest Cowboy-hater in those days, but then again, in 1996, if you said Dubya would be a two-time President, folks would have medicated you - and not the fun way!
While the Cowboys fell on hard times and then fell over themselves even as they restored the talent, the Steelers kept on doing what they have done since Chuck Noll walked in the door and took the historic losing, threw it aside and ushered in the marquee franchise.
Make no mistake. The Steelers are THAT franchise. The Cowboys have had distinct periods of success in every decade of their existence, and won Five Super Bowls...the 49'ers built their own horde of HOF types and won their own Five Super Bowls, but those Cowboy teams in the '70s and '90s were better 1than the 49'ers and those Steeler teams were better than Dallas. San Francisco was irrelevant for years before Walsh and for years after him, the New York Giants have had periods of greatness, but long stretches of pathetic play...the Patriots were awful for decades and have only the recent era to point to, the Green Bay Packers were the dominant club in the 1960's and had that brief shining moment in '97...
The Steelers, under just THREE coaches and one ownership group, in 40 seasons, are the best franchise in the sport. The Rooney Family, who started the franchise in 1933 and had to wait decades to see their investment come to the fore, have handled the ensuing decades of success to perfection. Of the pre-cap dynasties, ONLY the Steelers have remained in the mix of NFL elite and claimed a Super Bowl Championship under the different systems. Whether it was Noll (1969-1991), Bill Cowher (1992-2006) and now, Mike Tomlin, the Steeler way is a winning way. You have to tip your cap in admiration, even if you are a Cleveland Browns fan - ESPECIALLY if you are a Browns fan, who know only too well what bad management results in, having lost their historic franchise for several years.
One only needs to look at the fortunes of the Steelers (or the Penguins) or to Pittsburgh's renaissance as a new-economy model after being buried in the collapse of the Steel Industry (see Red Sox Steve's work on VagabondGuru.com or the New York Times article relating to Pittsburgh, sorry for lack of links...) to put the lie to claims by Pirate management that they 'can't compete'. Pittsburgh is and was a big time place with a can-do attitude and 'can't compete' should be taken in another way - SELL! Not as a siren call to change the scope on the game. Winners win. The Steelers are winners.
Which brings us to this season's playoffs.
I asked a friend of mine, a Washington Redskin fan (tolerant Guru!), what he would say to someone who invited him over to watch a game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, he laughed in my face and said 'I'd rather work in the yard or sleep!'. When I asked him about a potential 'Ravens' Cardinals' Super Bowl, he said 'who would watch that?'.
Who. indeed.
Obviously, if you are an Arizona Cardinal, Baltimore Raven, Tennessee Titan, Philadelphia Eagle fan, you are or were, enjoying this year's playoffs. The teams have taken care of their business on the field and have every right to be proud.
In Arizona, the 'Steeler' way taught by former coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, a Pittsburgh boy who played for Joe Gibbs, on Redskin champions has provided tough to blend with the flash of their wide receivers and the big arm of Kurt Warner. They are an 8-8 team from an awful division who gave up FIFTY-SIX points to the Jets. A GREAT team is not on the list of possibilities for them.
BUT..Warner is one of the NFL's dreariest personalities and was seemingly 'washed-up' just a few years ago...he will always be a hero in St. Louis and they are behind him in Arizona, but to the National fan - he's a turn-off on a team that is both the OLDEST franchise in the NFL and one of six to never play in a Super Bowl. Impossible to care for, about or root for, at least in the Aerie.
In Baltimore, the expansion Ravens have had a serious competitive history, winning the Super Bowl during the trough of post-Cap football that almost killed the sport, the dreary years from 1997-2004 that saw many of THIS year's Playoff heroes have their best moments (Warner, '99, Kerry Collins, '99, Ray Lewis, '00, Donovan McNabb, '03, Jake Delhomme, '04). The Ravens have played solid Defense, as always, and gotten decent play from their rookie QB, Joe Flacco, but Joe is a Delaware grad (air rushes from the Aerie...) and the team is one only a Marylander could love...they have no national profile and no chance at being a GREAT team.
Like Warner, the hope is that Lewis (as with Collins and Delhomme and, hopefully, McNabb) will be eliminated at SOME point...although with McNabb and Warner facing off in the NFC Title Game, some dreariness is assured.
The Eagles have been on a terrific tear, but they are also the team that tied with Cinncinatti, they are a testament to coaching, resilience and their mercurial leader, Donovan McNabb, what they are NOT is an interesting story or a GREAT football team.
Which leaves only ONE team standing that can truly claim the mantle of GREAT and provide the non-represented fan with a rooting interest in these festivities.
We'll examine the games themselves later this week, but needless to say...the Aerie and the Magic Carpet are rooting HARD for Mike Tomlin, Big Ben Roethilisberger, Troy Polamalu, Willie Parker, Hines Ward...big names, big talent, team history, recognizable fan base and uniform...
GO STEELERS! Save America from the Dreariness of the 2008 Season by winning impressively and sending the ghosts of the NFL's worst years to sleep.