Why I dislike the Pittsburgh Steelers...

When people ask me what my favorite NFL team is, my response if rather simple: whoever is playing the Steelers that week.

I often get asked about my lack of loyalty to the Pittsburgh Steelers since I was born and raised in the Burgh and more importantly, I am a huge supporter and longtime fan of the real sports team in this town...The Pittsburgh Penguins.

So why exactly DO I dislike the Steelers?

Let me be very clear in my answer so I don't muddy the issue. When I say that I dislike the Steelers what I am referring to is the current Pittsburgh Steelers, not the good ole' days of the 1970's team that was the best NFL team ever assembled, no I am talking about the recent era of the team.

Many of my gripes about the Steelers is not exclusive to them as well, in fact I am sure it pertains to many NFL players and teams, but I have to live in Pittsburgh where I hear about it all the time, things like their arrogance, cocky attitudes, trash talk, and of course their drug addictions, drug-selling, and other things that role models should not do. Again, this pertains to many athletes, but is one of the many reasons why I prefer to watch a sport like Hockey where this is nowhere near as much a problem. Take for example the fact that NFL players get more fines than any other sport, they celebrate every single time they make any sort of play, and then trash talk to the media...it's a tired parade. You don't see Sidney Crosby celebrate every time he passes the puck? I was watching highlights of the Lynn Swann catch from the superbowl many years ago and it was interesting how after he made one of the most amazing catches in all of football history he simply took the ball and handed it to the referee. Nowadays guys celebrate as if they won the entire game. It's really beyond rediculous.

Back to the Steelers...

Another upsetting aspect of living in Pittsburgh with this sports team is the unfair media coverage that happens in which the news stations cover more unrelated Steeler talk year round and have total disregard not only for the other sports that are happening in the city, but other important news stories. Why don't they cover some of the good and charitable things that some of the Steeler players do instead of only cover their poor behavior with things like speeding tickets, drug dealing, and Big Ben and his hurt finger?

Now I know that the media coverage has little to do with the Steelers fault, but either way it over-satures the issue and takes things beyond the gag-factor.

Arrogance...

Most people are well-aware by now of many of the Steeler players and their off-field arrogance and personalities, the biggest is that of Big Ben, who will barely talk to fans or sign things for them. I often wonder how him and his ego can even fit into that helmet each week. If you are a sports player (Big Ben included) you have every obligation in the world to treat your fans like royalty. They are the ones paying your salary so that you can live the 'good life' with million dollar homes, exotic cars, and all that glitters, so if you don't have the decency to say 'hello' to fans or sign your name a few thousand times a year, then you are in the wrong business. If anything that sports player should be honored that someone wants their signature, but people like Big Ben have had their entire life given to them and have lost perspective on the meaningful things in life and it's a shame that a role model like that shows such poor taste.

I am sure this is the case with many sports figures, but it seems like the NFL is overloaded with more egos and money-hungry players.

One reason that I have always respected NHL players and especially Pittsburgh Penguin players is that they love playing in this city and really have respect towards their fans. There are numerous accounts of Penguin players who took pay cuts just to remain in Pittsburgh simply because they loved the fans and the team. Not only that, but they show true appreciation for their fans and are humble when around them. NHL players are classy and NFL players in general (especially many of the Pittsburgh Steelers) are anything but classy.

Ok, my final reason(s) for not liking the Steelers has mainly to do with the fans and not the team. Most Steeler fans like the Steelers because they were born here and feel obligated to like this team. I understand that this is the hometown, but people can root for any team that they choose. Just because I live in Pennsylvania does not mean that I am going to root for teams from Philadelphia. People are more tolerate of border-crossing when it comes to College Football when people can root for out-of-state teams. I prefer to like a particular team because of the DNA of the team with it's players. I root for the Green Bay Packers because they had Brett Favre who I always thought was a good player and had respect for him, when he went to the New York Jets this past season I still rooted for the Packers, but also rooted for Favre, despite not really liking the Jets all that much. I suppose if he had played there long enough I could become a convert.

Pittsburgh Steeler fans assume that everyone loves this team and thinks that you are less than them if you choose to root for someone else. I think the majority of the people who go to the games only really love it because they are so drunk that they could be watching just about anything. Maybe fans are more attracted to the spirit of their fandom rather than the sport itself, I know many people who root for the Steelers, but couldn't even name 2 players on the team. Perhaps it's just a tradition, but I prefer free thought where I can choose to love any team that I want without feeling obligated to love a team out of sheer tradition.

Eh, enough about the Steelers already, they won the Superbowl and the only positive thing about that is that for the next week the people of this city will be a little nicer than usual. Then it'll all go back to the same ole thing.