NFL Network aired an "America's Game" show about the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers the other night. This was the first Steelers' team to win a Super Bowl, and was the start of a run of four championships in six years -- and the start of a lifelong fascination with this team for a lot of us who grew up in or around Pittsburgh.
This is from an email thread between me (in Roman) and Sean Duffy (in italics).
Duffy: I just watched America's Game about the 1974 Steelers and I cried throughout--pretty much every time Joe Greene spoke. What a great show. I was reminded of why Joe Greene is one of my heroes. Franco and Russell did a great job too. But when Joe described being in the "zone" only one time in his 13 year career -- and that coming against the Raiders in the playoffs in '74, I was blubbering. Does that make me less of a man? Great, great television. God help me, I loved that team.Me: I got choked up when Andy Russell talked about giving the trophy to The Chief. Seriously.
So if it makes you less of a man, then so am I.
And you know, the more I think about it, the more I realize what a great team that was. I love 'em too -- today's Steelers not so much. I root for them, I'm passionate about them, but I don't have that emotional connection the way I do with those 70s teams.
Duffy: It's true. There was something special about those guys -- the way they got Noll, for example. Modern players might not get it. Though Dungy is a Noll protege and his players seem to get him for the most part. Still, these days I feel like i'm rooting for a jersey, with a few notable exceptions: Hines, Bus, Troy. But Joe Greene, Franco, Stallworth, Ham, Lambert, Russell, Blount, Webster, even guys like Banazak and Kolb -- come on, those guys were special.
Me: I think part of the reason I like them so much is that it was a simpler time in the NFL; I can't admire the Patriots machine nearly as much because the NFL is so overexposed. I mean, if Brady had an Italian army like Franco, you know some publicist would arrange with Sinatra's people to have him show up at a gathering that would be sponsored by Budweiser, Dodge Ram trucks and Levitra. But when the chairman of the board decides he wants to be part of Franco's Italian Army ... well, it just happened, or at least happened with far less artifice and marketing tie-ins than today.
Another reason: nostalgia for a time when living in that area meant a good job, neighborhoods, etc. I'm not just talking Pittsburgh, either ... the Valley was a good place to raise a family, a man could find decent work for a decent wage, etc. Those times are as gone as '79 Steelers, and probably will never return. It makes me sad, and strangely enough I thought of it while reading an op-ed piece in the Maui News last week. Several 18-year-olds were interviewed about their prospects for jobs in Hawaii, and all of them said that they would love to return home and make their livings where they grew up, but that economic realities on the islands make that impossible.
It really sounded familiar, but for different reasons ...
Duffy: You're right about the hype. That's why I enjoy mixed pairs badminton these days -- no hype, just shuttlecocks and sweat.
-- "Those times are as gone as '79 Steelers, and probably will never return.."
That's what they said about Ireland, my friend.
btw, "if Brady had an Italian army like Franco?"
Remember Steve Young's 'Dobre shunka?' Weird Polish Mormons.
Me: I couldn't figure out what "Brady" is ... Irish? I can't tell these things very well.
Duffy: Yes. He's Irish. Lace curtain Irish.
Me: What does that mean?
Duffy: Well Grasshopper, the "lace curtain Irish" were the immigrants who were successful financially. The poor "bog Irish" immigrants often regarded them as sellouts, or at the least, "soft."
Me: Tom Brady? Soft? He's as hard as steel, clutch as ... uh ... whatever is "clutch."
I kind of got myself into a corner with that analogy there.
Duffy: Which analogy -- Tom Brady's Italian army or Tom Brady's clutch of steel? Either way, I smell a man crush.
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