sadly: the pittsburgh steelers are losing one of thier last way……..
The manner in which this 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers team is winning and losing, as well as all of the frustrations that have resulted, is not the first time the Steeler Way has been called into question
Consider when the Steelers truly began to deteriorate. They made the playoffs in 2016 and have won every postseason since. Dan Rooney the Steelers’ patriarch, died the following year
Players looked up to Rooney from the time he was given complete control of the franchise in 1975
until his death in 2017. They were determined to win for him and the Black and Gold. For decades, everyone wanted to play for the Steelers
However, cultural issues became more serious after a 2017
After several headline-making incidents during Bell’s holdout, Antonio Brown left for the greener pastures of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019
At least a portion of the Steeler Way appeared to be eroding. And it’s only gotten worse this season with some of the younger players not fully grasping what it means to be a Steeler and represent the team as such
Roethlisberger, whom both Bell and Brown blame for their desire to leave Pittsburgh, had this to say about the contentious issue
It just feels like [certain guys aren’t in it for the team, they’re in it for themselves], it just feels like something that’s kind of been lost on this team a little bit,” Roethlisberger said on the Dec. 11
episode of his “Footbahlin podcast. It feels like ‘the Steeler way’ is just not [there]. … Maybe the
tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done. Maybe it needs to be formed a new kind of way. I don’t
know 93.7 The Fan’s Paul Ziese argues that the Steeler Way isn’t the way anymore because it’s a
different generation of players. And it’s not a Steelers-only issue, it’s league-wide. What was once about winning is now about notoriety and money
The whole idea of culture, of winning culture, of winning being a valued thing to most of these young guys, it’s gone,” he said on the Dec. 14 “Paul Zeise Show
Zeise pointed to how, decades ago, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers was all about winning. And for a while now, it’s been all about money and exposure.
“It’s all about getting my bag. Gotta get my bag. Wanna get mines. Want to get my hits on TicTok and want to get my hits on snapface and Instagram and all this other stuff. That’s what it’s about.”
“25 years ago, guys played because they love the game. 25 years ago, winning actually mattered,” he said. “Now, not so much. And the younger we get, and the more generations we get — and I hate to use it because it’s a cliche, but the further deeper and we get into the whole everybody-gets-a-trophy culture, guess what, the less of a winning culture we’re going to have.”
No matter what the reason the Steelers have lost their way, it’s hard to see an end in sight. And for the generations of fans who lived when it was an honor to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s a sad time
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