Being a Steelers fan is about more than victory parades and Lombardi trophies

[stillers4me]

In the wake of two underwhelming performances by the Steelers in Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2014 season, the pundits' traveling medicine show is out in full force, bearing every manner of snake-oil tonics reckoned to quickly cure the grievous and myriad ills now ailing the Black and Gold. But a significant portion of their prescribed alchemy appears to be based on a misreading of that venerable motto: "The standard is the standard."
The Steelers' vaunted standard of organizational excellence isn't the child gone missing in this case. The Rooneys are still the Rooneys, and their outstanding track record stands as compelling testimony to their proven ability to adapt to changing times in the NFL. In reality, the nagging issue that has spurred so much hand-wringing among Steelers fans nowadays involves the fleeting nature of consistency as it relates to the team's performance on the field.


Perhaps we need to smell the coffee and recognize that the current Steelers roster comprises a mishmash of aging veterans and green youngsters. The quick-rebuild scheme envisioned by many Steelers fans, which would vault the Black and Gold back into the thick of the NFL championship hunt, appears to have taken a significant detour.............

Read more @ http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/pittsburgh-steelers-opinions-reactions-news-updates/2014/9/13/6145143/steelers-history-family-art-rooney

[Mojouw]

Nope. We need to fire the coaching staff, change scheme, and maybe the Rooneys should sell the team. The lack of accountability and outdated beliefs about football strategy have finally become too much to overlook.

[Steelerette]

While being a fan does mean rolling with the punches, sticking with the team through good years and bad, there also has to come some expectation that the "bad years" serve a purpose - the league is pretty cyclic after all. Patience, often times, builds success.

Being a fan doesn't mean "shut up and take it" though. Remember the 80s guys? We were bad in the 80s, but we were never pathetic, and I'm afraid that's what we're seeing now. I can't even come close to agreeing to "sell the team". I can even buy the line that, okay right now we have a lot of turnover. But you at least want to see some effort out there. We need to take a hard look at whether what LeBeau is doing still is relevant in this league. We need to stop waffling on defense - are we a 3-4 or not? Either get a real nose tackle, or switch. I'm still optimistic about what Munchak can do with this O-line unit but he can't work miracles on everything he inherited, so the Gilbert extension is starting to look boneheaded, maybe a desperation move.

The team mortgaged the future to make that 2010 Super Bowl run. It almost paid off even (thanks Mendy!). But we should be recovering from that by now - we have a lot of young talent true. But you have to realize that we have an elite QB riding into his twilight.. they should have fixed the O-line first and there's no excuse for the situation we're in with our tackles.

[Shoes]

Dan Rooney is the one person who turned this ship around, it remains to be seen where it goes from here with Art II at the wheel. Steeler fans started in the 70's, because there weren't many at Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium in the 60's. I can remember most of the people at the games were rooting against the Steelers! I didn't have one friend that was a Steeler fan, not one. That is until the early 70's…..

[fansince'76]

Remember the 80s guys? We were bad in the 80s, but we were never pathetic, and I'm afraid that's what we're seeing now.

Well, yes they were. You don't remember 1985-1988? The team was worse then than it is now. About the only thing that saved it from four consecutive losing seasons during that stretch was the player strike in '87 and every team in the league playing with scabs for 1/4 of the season. Two 8-8 seasons and a slow start so far in this one pales in comparison to that stretch of suck. Not to mention the 0-2 start in '89 when they were outscored 92-10, including getting blanked 51-0 in TRS by the Browns on opening day. About the only saving grace for the '89 team was that the AFC was even weaker in the late '80s than it is now.


The team mortgaged the future to make that 2010 Super Bowl run. It almost paid off even (thanks Mendy!). But we should be recovering from that by now...

Hard to do when the team has been hamstrung by a salary cap that stayed flat for 5 straight years and to top it off it had the additional albatross of Woodley's contract around its neck. They FINALLY just got out from under that.

[MrPgh]

Nope. We need to fire the coaching staff, change scheme, and maybe the Rooneys should sell the team. The lack of accountability and outdated beliefs about football strategy have finally become too much to overlook.

Your sarcasm might be justified if the Steelers weren't coming off two 8-8, non-playoff seasons.

[Texasteel]

Yes, the mid 80s were pathetic, and a lot of people were calling for the head coaches head, can't remember is name right now, or finding another team to follow. I was a fan in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and will remain a Steelers fan in the future, even if we go 8 and 8 again, or even 1 and 15.

[Polamalu Princess]

I am a fan - the good, the bad and the ugly. I have been and I always will be.

[Iron Steeler]

Always a fan ... Tattoo on my league lol so I'm going to the grave with these chumps ! Haha!

[Texasteel]

I am a fan - the good, the bad and the ugly. I have been and I always will be.

We have seen some ugly in the past 30 some years, haven't we.

[silver & black]

We have seen some ugly in the past 30 some years, haven't we.

LOL!............ You have no idea what ugly is!

[Count Steeler]

In retrospect, probably should have blown the team up after 2010, or at the very least 2011.

At least a full rebuild would have put the team, the fans and the expectations in a different light.

There is still way too much unproven talent on this team and the coaches don't seem to have the stomach for putting out the young kids and let them learn. Yeah, we may have burned 2-3 years of Ben's career, but we are no further ahead now. In fact we may be further behind.

[MrPgh]

In retrospect, probably should have blown the team up after 2010, or at the very least 2011.

At least a full rebuild would have put the team, the fans and the expectations in a different light.

There is still way too much unproven talent on this team and the coaches don't seem to have the stomach for putting out the young kids and let them learn. Yeah, we may have burned 2-3 years of Ben's career, but we are no further ahead now. In fact we may be further behind.

I think a red flag should have been raised when the organization felt only minimal changes needed to be made on the defense after the Wild Card game in Denver.

[Shoes]

LOL!............ You have no idea what ugly is!


We love ya Bro! :chuckle:

[Texasteel]

LOL!............ You have no idea what ugly is!

Ugly is loosing to the Raiders.

[blackngldblood]

Whenever I start to really get down about the current situation with the Steelers, I just think to myself that hell to a Steelers fan is back to back 8-8 seasons. Try being around cowboys fans 24/7 that the norm is 8-8 with the possibility of 4-12 on the horizon year after year until that insane owner kicks the bucket! I bitch about the Steelers and they look at me as if they were homeless and I'm complaining to them about a slightly over cooked filet mignon.....


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[HollywoodSteel]

In retrospect, probably should have blown the team up after 2010, or at the very least 2011.

At least a full rebuild would have put the team, the fans and the expectations in a different light.

There is still way too much unproven talent on this team and the coaches don't seem to have the stomach for putting out the young kids and let them learn. Yeah, we may have burned 2-3 years of Ben's career, but we are no further ahead now. In fact we may be further behind.

I don't know what "blow the team up" means exactly. You can't play all rookies. The Steelers have made some bad decisions and some not so bad ones. We gave AB a contract and let Wallace go. That's one decision that looks good in hindsight.

[silver & black]

Ugly is loosing to the Raiders.

I know. I have no explanation for it, either! :noidea: It's almost inconceivable that the Steelers could lose to the Raiders, and yet................

[HollywoodSteel]

I know. I have no explanation for it, either! :noidea: It's almost inconceivable that the Steelers could lose to the Raiders, and yet................

Well, we'd never lose to Raiders if they played a rookie QB… oh, wait.

[steelreserve]

For some reason, certain people have this notion that being a Steelers fan involves some noble effort of stoicism and blind faith, and always keeping your chin up and never questioning.

lol ... seriously, it's a football team. They make good moves and bad moves like everyone else. I know we're nothing like the bottom-feeder franchises, and I'm thankful for that, but give me a fucking break. If the team looks mediocre and is turning in mediocre performances for three years in a row, what kind of fan sits there and goes "WELP, it's all good, wouldn't change a thing ... and we won a lot six years ago - just gotta believe harder!"

That's not what you do. Theorizing and arguing and debating and all of that are a perfectly normal part of being a fan. In fact, if you don't ever think these things, I'd say there's something wrong with you and maybe you should see if they're holding cheerleader tryouts. It's not some religion, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it or "spoiled" for wanting success every year. So fucking what? Every fan is supposed to want success every year, duh. It's disappointing when you don't get it, but nobody's confusing this team with the Bills or the Browns, and nobody's going to throw themselves off a bridge over it. And if all our theories turn out to be wrong, so what, it's just a bunch of fans talking football for fun.

Seriously. It's a football team. Nothing bigger than that. No need to take it so much more seriously.

[fansince'76]

For some reason, certain people have this notion that being a Steelers fan involves some noble effort of stoicism and blind faith, and always keeping your chin up and never questioning.

lol ... seriously, it's a football team. They make good moves and bad moves like everyone else. I know we're nothing like the bottom-feeder franchises, and I'm thankful for that, but give me a fucking break. If the team looks mediocre and is turning in mediocre performances for three years in a row, what kind of fan sits there and goes "WELP, it's all good, wouldn't change a thing ... and we won a lot six years ago - just gotta believe harder!"

That's not what you do. Theorizing and arguing and debating and all of that are a perfectly normal part of being a fan. In fact, if you don't ever think these things, I'd say there's something wrong with you and maybe you should see if they're holding cheerleader tryouts. It's not some religion, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it or "spoiled" for wanting success every year. So fucking what? Every fan is supposed to want success every year, duh. It's disappointing when you don't get it, but nobody's confusing this team with the Bills or the Browns, and nobody's going to throw themselves off a bridge over it. And if all our theories turn out to be wrong, so what, it's just a bunch of fans talking football for fun.

Seriously. It's a football team. Nothing bigger than that. No need to take it so much more seriously.

By the same token, there's also a certain subset of the fanbase that needs to have the razor blades hidden from them and be talked off the ledge after every loss as well. This subset of the fanbase also needs to get a grip.

I personally follow the Steelers for a nice little diversion during the fall and when the cards fall right, into the winter as well. Nothing more. I don't give a shit about hockey or baseball and never have, and I dropped the NBA flat when it embraced the "Hip Hop Culture" and the resulting massive infusion of insufferable punkasses took that league over (see: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as the highest profile examples, but there are PLENTY more).

That being said, do I like seeing the Steelers lose? No. But if it made me as bitchy and miserable and just downright angry as it seems to make some people, then what's the point? There's enough crap to deal with in real life that can make me feel that way already.

Like you said, it's just a football team, and there's no reason to take it any more seriously than that or assign any real importance to it.

[Steeldude]

By the same token, there's also a certain subset of the fanbase that needs to have the razor blades hidden from them and be talked off the ledge after every loss as well. This subset of the fanbase also needs to get a grip.

I personally follow the Steelers for a nice little diversion during the fall and when the cards fall right, into the winter as well. Nothing more. I don't give a shit about hockey or baseball and never have, and I dropped the NBA flat when it embraced the "Hip Hop Culture" and the resulting massive infusion of insufferable punkasses took that league over (see: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as the highest profile examples, but there are PLENTY more).

That being said, do I like seeing the Steelers lose? No. But if it made me as bitchy and miserable and just downright angry as it seems to make some people, then what's the point? There's enough crap to deal with in real life that can make me feel that way already.

Like you said, it's just a football team, and there's no reason to take it any more seriously than that or assign any real importance to it.

Precisely. I also dropped the NBA. They no longer call the game by the rules so it is pointless to watch. I wonder how long it will take the NFL to fall apart? Goodell is doing a good job of killing real football. I certainly hope they get rid of that clown.

[GBMelBlount]

Two 8-8 seasons and a slow start so far in this one pales in comparison to that stretch of suck.

Is it possible the only reason we have been 8-8 and not 4-12 is Ben?

[Mojouw]

Is it possible the only reason we have been 8-8 and not 4-12 is Ben?

Yes.

I think it was last year that Bill Polian, who knows a bit about QB play, argued that Ben should have been the run-away MVP of the league. Argued that what Ben was doing to make the Steelers offense successful was more impressive than any other QB in the league.

Look at what happens when Ben has a kind of bad day. Not a 4 interception 8 sack awful one, but something like the Ravens game where he leaves a few big plays on the field and commits a turnover and takes a couple of unnecessary sacks. There is no one else on the team who can step up and overcome that. Maybe Bell is on his way to being that guy.

[XxKnightxX]

To me is sometimes the effort or the coaching. I don't think we also have found true leaders after the departure of ward and farrior. Yesterday I sat in amazement how the Eagles managed to win a game when they have a 3rd string tackle and rookie guard against an impressive Colts front. Meanwhile if we have to do that then were destined for a blowout. We tend to fail to adjust to change and improvise just to maintain this "image" of what got is there when it clearly doesn't work anymore.

[Texasteel]

I know. I have no explanation for it, either! :noidea: It's almost inconceivable that the Steelers could lose to the Raiders, and yet................

Now that one hurt bud. I think my nose is bleeding.

[steelreserve]

To me is sometimes the effort or the coaching. I don't think we also have found true leaders after the departure of ward and farrior. Yesterday I sat in amazement how the Eagles managed to win a game when they have a 3rd string tackle and rookie guard against an impressive Colts front. Meanwhile if we have to do that then were destined for a blowout. We tend to fail to adjust to change and improvise just to maintain this "image" of what got is there when it clearly doesn't work anymore.


I'm not so sure that's true, owing to the fact that many of our starting linemen don't play much better than a 3rd-string tackle or a rookie guard to begin with. It'd be business as usual.

See? That's like a KIND of secret weapon, anyway.