Hines - In Rememberance

for those of you ready to leap from the clemente bridge (although i doubt it would do the trick - maybe hypothermia, but not the fall really . . . ), maybe it's time to stop crying over hines's departure and remember him for what he did while he was here. this time was inevitable and i believe it's the right time.

feel free to add anything that i may be forgetting (some clips of some bone-crunching hits would be nice), but here's . . .

the TOP TEN things i will remember hines ward for:

10.) the ambassador - going back to his roots, honoring his mother, and creating a foundation for 'mixed race' kids will be something that he will always be remembered, and respected, for.
9.) the shovel pass - his 1,000th catch wasn't, on its own merit, the most memorable play, but i will always remember watching it for what it was and for what it represented.
8.) the dancing - i thought it was great that he not only went out and repped the black and gold on dtws, but he won the damn thing. it really shined brightly on the organization and brought us even more fans (is that even possible?). a girl i went out with recently said, "oh, you like the steelers? i love the steelers! i don't really watch football but i love hines ward from dtws and he plays for them!"
7.) the catches - you could always count on 86 around the end zone or when you needed a big first-down catch. he was extremely consistent and unbelievably reliable.
6.) the celebrations - one of my favorite memories of hines was his 'copycat' end zone celebrations. mocking everyone from T.O. to the riverdance to the icky shuffle. entertaining, hilarious . . . hines.
5.) the tears - his post-game interview after the '04/'05 afccg loss to the pats showed how unselfish he was as a part of this organization and as a person.
4.) the skip - an image of him skipping into the end zone at ford field ending a quarter-century of frustration and sending the bus out as a winner.
3.) the hits - the way he blew up opponents (particularly our division rivals) with de-cleating hits earned him the reputation as one of the league's most hated players (for doing all the right things - more of a 'derek jeter' kind of hatred - they all wish they had him) and firmly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest blocking wr's of all-time.
2.) the number - no other player should ever wear 86. he was the heart of this organization for a solid decade. he represented this organization with integrity (ignoring the 'reckless driving' charge) and class, set every receiving record in the team's book, and was a major contributor in bringing two trophies back to the burgh.
1.) the smile - they better damn well carve a smile into his bust before they place it on the shelf in canton. it's his trademark. when anyone thinks of hines ward they picture him running all over the field with an enormous smile plastered on his face.

 

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

What-a-DICK!!!

 

Great Post! I Totally Agree.

 

:-D HInes Ward :-D
:swordsman: :hello:

And many more!

 

There are three plays that I remember the most about Hines, not sure why, but they are:

1) Smashing Keith Rivers and breaking his jaw.
2) Catching a short TD pass this year, I believe against Baltimore, where he got rocked on a 2-yard slant pattern and still held on.
3) The weird interception that he dropped and then kicked up into the air, again I think it was vs Baltimore.

Others have it right: #86 should be retired.

 

1. "Hey medical staff, you'll need to look at Ed Reed when this play is over."
2. SBXL: Catch from Randle El
3. The kicked ball for the interception...yeah

I'll also remember our shootout with Atlanta in 2006 (which we lost), where he lost his shoe around midfield, and outran DeAngelo Hall for a touchdown, anyway.

That would be a huge deal. We've never officially retired 75 or 12. I can't justify retiring 86 without retiring 12 and 75; at the same time, it feels right to retire his number.

 

Holy crap, never knew that!

 

The Steelers don't retire numbers they just never hand out that particular
number. Kinda neat wouldn't you say?

 

Slightly off topic, but I wonder how many numbers 80-89 have been retired? It was only recently they let receviers take 10-19 as well, after all.

 

Yea. I can picture the equipment manager opening day of camp handing out the jersey's like the soup nazi on Seinfeld. "What, #12 ? No 12 for you !! Go to the back of the line! "

 

Was it Ward who did the eagle flap as one of the copycat touchdown celebrations. That was one of the funniest ones I remember.

 

This actually makes me feel better so thanks for the great post and THE SMILE is what I will remember the most and you are right- it better be on his bust in Canton!

 

One of my all time favorites, I remember when my 4 year old picked out Farriors number instead of Wards for his jersey. I was like are you sure...

One more thing reading that the Steelers don’t retire numbers, it’s a good thing I think, team before individual – besides we wouldn’t have any numbers left (I think, as someone mentioned the nfl sets like 9 or 10 numbers for postion, like WRs are given 80-89 and lately 10-19) . But I was like - really, so I checked. The Steelers have retired one number: #70 Ernie Stautner. He played 1950-1963.

 

I believe Ernie Stautner is the only "officially" retired number but yeah there's quite a few that are unofficially retired. However I BELIEVE they don't hand out these numbers anymore...

12- Bradshaw
32- Franco
36- Bettis
52- Webster
58- Lambert
63- Dawson
75- Mean Joe
47- Blount

86 should definitely be added to that list.

 

i may be wrong, but i believe 47 is handed out to someone during the preseason. it seems like it's almost always someone who has no shot of making the team but i'm pretty sure i've seen 47 on some players in the past during the preseason. i could be wrong . . .

actually, i looked it up . . . scott shields wore it in '99-'00 (blasphemous). ron stanley in '06, cameron riley and bruce jones in '87, and steve morse in '85.

i feel like andre frazier wore it in the preseason one year and switched numbers upon making the team but can't get any verification on this.

 

yeah, i referenced that. T.O. had just signed with the eagles and that was his celebration. he'd put the ball on the ground, stand on the ball, and flap his 'wings.' we played philly that year ('04) and embarrassed them (mcnabb ignoring TO on the sideline) as part of a great back-to-back run (killed new england on halloween as well) that year.

hines scored a td in the philly game and mocked the TO td celebration.

 

Deion Branch did that when they played the Eagles in the Super Bowl. I don't remember Ward doing it. It does sound like something that he would do, though.

 

great vids. okay, now i want him back. ha!

lmfao at him 'kicking dirt' with his hind leg and 'burying the shlt' in the dawg pound in cleveland. forgot about that.

 

Hines Ward brings back memories of the teams of the 70s for me. First of all - because of the way he played, I just couldn't help but think of the Steeler greats of the 70s. There are so many names of that era that when you think of the individual, you think of the team.

Hines is just that type of player. The smile, the hits, the hard-nosed play, the clutch catches, everything that we think of when we think of a "Pittsburgh Steeler" are present in Hines Ward.

I know it's time for him to go, but I still cannot even imagine seeing him play in another uniform next year.

 

All this is great but it just makes me all the madder the way it went down. Hines means as much to this team as the Bus, he should be able to go out his way like Jerome did.

 

he could have. unfortunately, unlike the bus (and more like jerry rice), hines doesn't know when to hang up the cleats. he's done.

people might not have to worry about seeing him in another uniform next season because, honestly, i don't see a lot of teams going after him and his $925,000 price tag.

 

love my boy - my fav Steeler of all time
Stay low Hines