Wiz Khalifa made a song "Black And Yellow" paying tribute to his hometown teams, Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. I was preparing myself to hear it being played on the loud speaker at the conclusion of what was supposed to be a Super Bowl win by the Steelers. But was supposed to be a dream, turned into a nightmare and a win for the Packers. As the confetti started to drop after Super Bowl XLV, I couldn’t help but to wonder, "What if??!!" What if Pittsburgh had won the game Sunday over the Green Bay Packers? What if Ben Roethlisberger would have capped off his story of redemption with a Super Bowl win? I mean it was just 10 years ago a similar situation played out for one Ray Lewis. But Ray Lewis not only played and won the Super Bowl that year, but he won Super Bowl MVP. We almost had a situation where Michael Vick would have been able to do the same thing. I mean how crazy would that have been to have had an all Pennsylvania Super Bowl? All of these thoughts ran through my head as I watched one of my favorite coaches in the NFL walk off the field after losing a heartbreaking game. Mike Tomlin is the blueprint now. Young, fiery, intelligent, articulate, hungry and oh yeah, successful. Now you have Leslie Frazier and Raheem Morris, joining Jack Del Rio and Todd Haley as the new crop of younger coaches make their way into the NFL ranks as Head Coaches. But just as the new guys are going to have a long time to dominate, one Mike McCarthy, a throwback of sorts, reminded us that having a few years of experience under your belt doesn’t hurt either.
I think I have made it extremely clear. I am a Redskins fan first, a Steelers fan second and a “good football organization fan” third. When I see organizations doing things the right way, I will tip my hat to them and wish them the best. Green Bay is one of those organizations. They draft and develop players and sign big name Free Agents only as a necessity. Charles Woodson was probably their best Free Agent signee in the past 10 years. And over the past few years, the Packers have drafted Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Greg Jennings, A.J. Hawk, Clay Matthews III, Donald Lee, B.J. Raji and Jordy Nelson. And to add to the mix, guys like Sam Shields and Tramon Williams were picked up as Free Agents. Then you have old guys like Donald Driver who were drafted in the 7th Round in 1998 from Alcorn State. Who the hell drafts players from HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges/Universities)? Most of those players end up in the Free Agent pool. Do you think Donald Driver was a good draft pick? Do you think that Green Bay has a clue as to how to build a championship franchise? I think that they answered that question last night. And the old guy had something to do with it.
See Mike McCarthy, love him or hate him, had to stand firm against a Green Bay legend. Brett Favre held the Packers hostage for about three seasons. Aaron Rodgers was ready to take over by at least his second season. McCarthy had to let Brett know that he was welcomed to come back, but the young stud at QB was going to be taking over the reigns. Favre didn’t like it, and neither did some of the Packer fans. Favre departed in a trade to the Jets, and Rodgers was given the starting QB job. But Rodgers had to endure ribbing and heckling from fans at training camp. Now up until this point, Rodgers hadn’t spoken a word to the major media. So why was he being treated this way? People are afraid of change. The Packer fans thought that a change at QB would be the beginning of a long rebuilding phase. But Coach McCarthy saw it as a reloading phase. And with guys like Ryan Grant and Nick Barnett not even in the fold for most of the season this year, we might be looking at the beginning of a dynasty. I just hope people don’t start hating them like they are starting to hate the Steelers.
Pittsburgh suffered though the 80’s and part of the 90’s with losing and underachieving teams. So now that Pittsburgh has gotten things going in their favor, please respect their organization. In the 80’s San Francisco, N.Y. Giants, Denver and Washington were the teams that made multiple Super Bowl appearances. It was fashionable to hate on them. In the 90’s it was Dallas, Denver, Green Bay and Buffalo who made multiple Super Bowl appearances, and guess what?!! People were hating on them. Buffalo really became the darling of the NFL because a lot of people wanted to see them win, but then they became a punchline to many jokes. Why make fun of a dynasty? So what the Bills lost 4 Super Bowl. There were 28 teams (the NFL didn’t expand until the mid 90’s and then the realignment didn’t happen until 2002) that would have traded places with them in a second. In the 2000’s it was the New England Patriots who made multiple Super Bowl appearances. Now people can’t stand the New England Patriots. Why??!! If you don’t want to see teams make multiple appearances, tell the other teams to do something about it. No one gave them anything, they earned the right to play in a Super Bowl. So now it is the Pittsburgh Steelers. You don’t have to like them, but you should respect them. Their organization does things the right way and this is what happens when you know what the hell you are doing. Green Bay has been doing the right things for years, so Sunday’s win does not surprise me. I just hope that that average fan can see that.
I can honestly say that teams like Cleveland, N.Y. Giants, N.Y. Jets, New England, Miami, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Seattle, St. Louis, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Tampa Bay know what they are doing. They are the blueprint to how to build a winning franchise. Don’t let the records fool you. There is a lot that goes on before the teams even take the field. Some of it takes years to unfold, but when it does everyone says stuff like “unexpected contender” or “surprise team.” There was nothing surprising about Cleveland knocking of teams like New England, or the Giants “upsetting” the Patriots in the Super Bowl, or even teams like Baltimore and Indianapolis or New Orleans making the playoffs frequently. Their organizations don’t make big splashes in Free Agency or even in the draft, but their teams are always competitive. Have you ever asked yourself how do they manage to do that? The Colts never have a top draft pick yet their Rookies are always prepared to play, especially their Offensive Linemen. The same goes for New England. How did the Jets all of a sudden become a contender? What about Tampa Bay having a winning record this season? What about Miami? Miami has been floating under the radar for some time now. Don’t be surprised to see them make the Playoffs and really make a push for a Championship. My team to watch next season is the Detroit Lions. For years they made mistakes, but with moves to acquire Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Bryant Johnson (who I have had the pleasure of meeting, he is really cool), Kyle Van Den Bosch, and drafting the manbeast Ndamakong Suh, they are about 2-3 seasons from winning the NFC North. It sounds crazy now, but remember you heard it from me first.
See people can make fun of my boys from Pittsburgh for losing the Super Bowl, but I remember in the 80’s when Pittsburgh was irrelevant. I remember when Bubby Brister, Dermonti Dawson and Louis Lipps were playing with guys like Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd, and even Rod Woodson and carrying an underachieveing team. Now they are reaping the benefits of paying the price for years to build a winning organization. The same can be said about the New England Patriots. For years they were the team that was known for getting blown out by the Chicago in Super Bowl XX. And it took 11 years for New England to make another Super Bowl and they lost that one as well to the Green Bay Packers. So when you see teams like Baltimore, New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Green Bay, Atlanta and Miami dominating now, just remember it didn’t happen overnight. They did all the grunt work months, even years ago. They may have had a few sub .500 seasons, but the foundation was being laid. Now you see the fruits of their labor. So please celebrate the Green Bay Packers and their unbelievable Super Bowl run, but just remember Pittsburgh did the exact same thing 5 years ago and have made two more appearances since then. Now Pittsburgh is being hated on. I just wonder if the same thing is going to happen to Green Bay in the next 5 years
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