Silverback Retires

This from his FB page

I have made the difficult decision to retire as of today. My love for my family and the need to be there for them outweighs my desire to play the game. I have missed too many experiences with them because I devoted SO much time to my career. My love for the game isn't strong enough to make up for missing one more birthday or first day of school. I am retiring as a man who is truly grateful for all of his blessings. I am sincerely thankful to the people who have supported me over the years, first and foremost my family, the Rooney family and my Steeler family, also Mr. Brown, the Bengals organization and fans, and last but FAR from least, Steeler Nation. Thank you.

 

Enjoy life Mr.Harrison. You're truly one of the greats! See ya in Canton.

 

Good for him. I always liked JH.

But there's a little bit of spin in there. "My love for my family and the need to be there for them outweighs my desire to play the game." Translation: I couldn't find anyone to pay me. Guaranteed had someone offered him a contract that he liked, he would have found the desire to play and dealt with not being there for his family for another year.

 

Loved James, but don't think he's a HOFer

 

The best I ever saw at the position.

 

Now the Steelers should sign him to a one day contract so he can retire a Steeler.

 

[video=youtube;RqnQwKAI4OE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqnQwKAI4OE[/video]

[video=youtube;m9k1QtpbDXI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9k1QtpbDXI[/video]


[video=youtube;42-7KJM2Vao]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42-7KJM2Vao[/video]

 

Thanks for the memories James, especially the 100 yard touchdown run!

As much as I didn't think the Steelers should bring him back, I sure was a huge JH fan while he was here. I feel sad to see him retire, but I will always remember him as one of the great Steelers.

 

Sad to hear but nice to see he is choosing to be there for his family. As a father who has missed plenty of first in my kids first few years because of shift work I understand where he is coming from. I hope he keeps working out because you never know when they might need a superman.

 

2nd nastiest OLB ever employed by the Steelers,
good luck Silverback in what ever you do. Thanks for the memories.

 

I think BobbyBiz said it best...

Thanks for the memories, JH.

 

nteresting. He was posting a whole lot of family stuff this last week.

 

interesting... I liked him but that is a huge statement

 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. When I read that I thought "In other words, the Steelers won't sign me for what I want and therefore I'm done." Maybe we are just cynical? Nahhhhh...

 

A one day 6 million dollar contract. LOL.

 

(in my best Bob Hope voice) Thanks. For the memories..............

 

Dude you sounded just like him! Impeccable!

 

That's why I said it, and I stand by it. Unfortunately it took him awhile to get going so he didn't have the longevity of so many other greats, but while he was great, he was the greatest. And as much credit as he got, I believe is still arguably the most underrated player of his time period ('07-'10).

 

They guy put his heart and soul into being a steeler! Thanks for everything JH!

 

Still get wood when I see that return for a td by silverback

 

He sure was a lotta fun to watch... of all the memories though this one keeps popping into my head (after the INT):


http://www.theonion.com/articles/james-harrison-comes-up-from-bottom-of-pile-with-h,18902/

 

I always said he thought he was worth much more than any team was willing to pay.

Thank you for your years in Da Burgh 92. Enjoy your family in your retirement.

 

Very true, but I don't blame him for putting his own spin on it. Nobody is going to come out and say the truth in matters like this.

I bet one of the biggest regrets of his life is leaving the Steelers for more money. If he had stayed with us, he likely would still be playing as a starter in the NFL. The grass always appears greener on the other side, but it almost never is. A lot of NFL players are somewhat system dependent, sometimes even the great ones. Careers often die when players switch teams, especially when it's a very different system.

Still, appreciate everything he did for us. He gave us the greatest play in Superbowl history and is a big reason we have that SB ring. He was one of the best for a few years, unfortunately his career as a star player just wasn't long enough for him to get the recognition as one of the NFL's greats.

 

His career wasn't long enough. When he was great he was among the tops in the league, but he didn't go it long enough to make it to the HOF. It won't happen for him