Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark gave a heartfelt farewell to Steelers fans last night on Pittsburgh’s KDKA, calling Pittsburgh “one of the best organizations in sports.”

Clark was with the Steelers for the last eight years before signing with the Washington Redskins in March. During the interview with Bob Pompeani, Clark fought back tears while talking about the friends he misses in Pittsburgh. “I think the most important things are just my friends. Ike, Troy, and Will Gay, they’re my brothers man, and I think that’s the hard part about this game, because I don’t want people here to think that I’m not excited about it, because I really am,” Clark said about his new opportunity in Washington. He continued, “But, when I was sick, they came to the hospital, Troy cried with me. But, that’s the things I’ll miss, that’s the things I’ll remember. I’m just grateful to God that he let me be there”

Clark, who was always known as a fierce hitter, said that the hit he remembers most took place in New England in 2008. “My favorite [hit will] be Wes Welker until I’m gone from this Earth. The Patriots had this mystique about them, they still do, honestly. Wes Welker had this mystique about him, about being a scrappy, tough and whatever adjectives people always like to add to him. We just didn’t like those guys, we just didn’t, and it just felt so good, to hit him and it set a tone for us,” Clark said.

Here’s the obligatory youtube clip of that in case you forgot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E5c0uQEafs

Clark had nothing but nice things to say about the Steelers fanbase.

“Was the greatest years of my life as far as sports go, to be around such good people. People that embraced me and treated me the way they did. Man, it was just beautiful. I just thank them, I thank them all. The Rooney family, I’m just so appreciative they took a guy that nobody really wanted and they gave me a shot. To the fans, just amazing to go to places and like, take over stadiums. To be in San Diego where Terrible Towels overwhelmed anything they had. The Steelers are spoiled by the fans they have, it’s just awesome.

“I leave with knowing you guys are amazing fans in an amazing city and one of the best organizations in sports and I’m just grateful. A little kid from Louisiana, that no one wanted to draft, got to come in and be a part of something so great.”

You can watch the majority of the interview below.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”RyanClarkFarewell”]