Is the pride gone?

Not to sound too cheesy, but do you think there is any pride in donning the Black and Gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore? We are one of the most storied franchises in all of sport and have more Lombardis on the shelf than any other NFL team, but it just seems to me that players don't seem to take any pride in that anymore. A few years ago, Ryan Clark took less money to stay with the Steelers. Chris Kemoeatu did the same thing. Free agents would pursue the Steelers as a place they wanted to settle. But the last couple of years it just seems different. With Mike Wallace thumbing his nose at an offer that would have kept him in Pittsburgh with a quality QB like Ben throwing him the ball and his HS buddy Keenan Lewis jumping ship at he first opportunity, it just seems that the pride factor is gone. Casey took a paycut to finish his career with the Steelers. The Bus did the same thing. Harrison said heck no when presented with that option. Sanders is proactively shopping himself around the league it seems.

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but it seems with he mercenary nature of the NFL anymore there is no longer any pride in being a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I do appreciate what Jonathan Dwyer did in signing his tender without shopping himself, citing that he has something to prove. That gives me a little hope that there are still players who appreciate the tradition of the greatest franchise in the history of the NFL.

 

WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

EASY COME EASY GO

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we need to stay away from the SEC players

i was all ready to buy my Beanie beanie oh wells


actually it's just the nature of the business and business is good
and greed is business and greed is good

 

Maybe a little, but I don't think it has anything to do with the Steelers in particular. It's all over. Wallace made a lot more money than he would have made by sticking around. Sanders will see what he can get. Dwyer staying here another year is probably the best thing for his wallet (it's like staying in school an extra year because your last one sucked - he'll want to put on his best show before hitting the market). Keenan, in my opinion, did exactly what you are talking about with pride, except his pride lies with another team and city, where he's from. Nothing wrong with that, it's just a bummer.

I have a lot of memories of the Steelers being something of a farm team. We draft great, turn nobodies into stars, lose them to free agency, and start over. And these aren't recent memories. It's nothing new.

 

Whether it's black'n'gold pride or whatever, another thing that attracts free agents and keeps players here is the promise of championships.

We're in a transitional period, which everyone can see - add that to a weak showing last season, and it's not such a big pull to stay at a team which isn't a play or two away from a superbowl.

 

The NFL and players are changing but I don't think it has anything to do with a lack of pride.

 

Why do we need to stay away from sec players?

 

I don't think it's pride but rather life in the salary cap era as it is. All we have to do is look to our division rival to see that it's a league wide phenomenon.

 

1031
because it's all you pick
that's all i got
CC : case closed

of course i'm guilty with my TARHEELS

my feeling is that SEC players are just looking for

a ticket to ride

AND THEY DON'T CARE
AND THEY DON'T CARE

 

They always think the grass is greener,when only the money is.

 

oh ok. that makes sense

 

you VOLUNTEERED

JOHN PAUL STARR HARRISON

 

Do you think they are worried in Green Bay (Jennings), Indy (Freeney), New England (Welker), St. Louis (Jackson), or any of the other places that big stars have left????? It's just the business. Every couple of years, you find new stars. The reason the Steelers are relevent year in and year out, with a few exceptions, is because they have people in their front office making the decisions, and not us fans......

 

Its all about the money,this is a cut throat business.The players the owners see all this money (TV)
and then they all get greedy. Can someone explain to me how the owners can afford to pay Roger Goodell
27 million dollars last year? Doesn't that tell you something? And you wonder why the players ask for these
ridiculous contracts?

 

I honestly think that we as fans think MUCH higher of the Steelers than these kids coming out of college. I mean just think of how many young football players you know that are thinking "man I wanna be the next Jack Lambert" or "man the legacy of the black and gold is something I would like to get in on"? I think if most of our recent draft picks over the last ten years probably were given a Steelers history quiz the results would probably be very discouraging. I honestly think they SHOULD have to go through sort of an orientation though. I really think they SHOULD have to learn about the legacy of this team and why it is such a PRIVILEGE to play here. Maybe THEN they would realize why we hold them to such a high standard. They should know that it's inevitable that if they wanna be a linebacker they are gonna be compared to Jack Lambert. If they are gonna be a corner they are gonna be compared to Mel Blount. If they wanna be a rb they are gonna be compared to Franco and the Bus. If they wanna be a qb they are gonna be compared to Bradshaw. They need to know there is a huge shadow on this franchise and they should be motivated to step out and try to be the next big Steelers legend. Instead it seems most guys just wanna play good so they can have personal success (I'm looking at you Mike Wallace) as opposed to bringing honor to a beloved franchise. It really would be cool though to bring in some players that have a genuine love for the franchise.

 

Insightful post, BFT. I'm with you, if there isn't an orientation on Steelers history for new players there should be. As for Mike "show me the money" Wallace, he'll have less success chasing the $$$ than he would have if he had stayed with a stable organization and a quality QB who actually liked throwing him the ball, maybe too much.

 

Fans of other teams look at me stupid when I say this but as a Steeler fan, its a way a of life. The Rooneys take a bunch of NO name players, pay them peanuts compared to other teams, and win games. You dont become and stay a Steeler star player bc you demand a lot of money. You stay for the pride of being known as a Steeler. A prime example is Dallas and Washington. They try to buy a team but they have no heart, its all about "ME" and what "I" can do.

Theres just something special about Pittsburgh. Prime examples are just recently, Joey P and Hines. Peezy wanted to retire a Steeler, so he did. Hines chose to never wear another color.

 

loyalty is a 2 way street....there are no guaranteed contracts, why shouldn't players try to get all the money they can?

Willie Colon showed the Steelers loyalty and they cut him.

 

Money talks, always has and always will. Especially now with the new rookie pay scale being put in a few years back. Rookies still make a good bit of money, but not what they would have made a few years ago. When their original contract is up, they look at it as their big chance to get their biggest contract they will ever have in their prime. So now days, guys jump at the chance for FA and big contracts if their original team doesn't give them one.

I think most who leave Pittsburgh for another team eventually realize that Pittsburgh is a special place like no other in the NFL. Just ask Plax, Porter, and any other FA of ours who left or was released. They don't realize what they had til its gone. But there are still guys out there like the Clarks, Bettis's, and Ward's who bleed for their team and want no part of being somewhere else, but these types are far and few between.

 

BC they needed to get under cap. $4.6 mil for a 35 yr old LB who just had back and knee surgery? I bet they didnt cut his pay when he was out injured last year. They could have cut him then with no offer. With no chance to play for low money.

The Steelers werent LOYAL to him? Maybe you should edumacate yourself on what LOYALTY they showed him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(American_football) THEY made him a superstar.

Him actively seeking out our #1 most hated rival should enrage any Steeler fan. Maybe its just me but I hate the Ratbirds so much I dont even want to visit the **** city.

 

Willie Colon has been practically stealing money for the last 3 years. The team showed loyalty to him for about 2 1/2 years. A lot of guys get an injury settlement, some workout gear, and a nice box of chocolates.

 

I hear where the O.P. is coming from...
We don`t seem to hold a special place in many player`s hearts anymore.
But that`s no just us. It`s the nature of the game nowadays.
I was very surprised to read of a Lion`s lineman(I think that`s who it was), who actually just retired from them without ever having played for another team. It`s VERY rare nowadays.
Sometimes the player wants to stay with the team, but new ownership doesn`t want him. (See Josh Cribbs with the Stains, this year...)
Anyhow, I agree. It sucks. But it is what it is.
And as for drafting from the SEC... I dunno, after Santonio(Who stated he was playing for a team he was a die hard fan of growing up... "Living his dream", etc,) and some other Buckeyes from my home state have let us down, I`m not sure if it matters whether you draft from sec, big 10, or wherever else.
Young kids with the chance to become multi-millionaires, tend to follow the money. Can`t really blame them, even if I don`t agree with it.
If it makes you feel better, think of the people like Hines Ward, or Keisel, or the Lineman from Ohio State(Having a brain fart,on his name, right now, we just drafted him last year after DeCastro), that we took off our draft board, after a failed pot test, who came in on his own, to say he was dying to play for the Steelers, and would do whatever it takes, including forgoing his signing bonus(or something like that), until he could prove to us, that he was a changed man, learned from his mistakes, and wanted nothing more in the world, than to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
Our fans sure show the pride when we fill up opposing stadiums... Players... Well... what do you expect?
Most of them are spoiled brats from the time they are identified as a "blue Chip" target for the NFL.
Can`t blame them for wanting to get rich.
Do0n`t we ALL wanna hit the lottery?!?
Those people are still out there, they are just few and far between.
GO STEELERS