is it time to start: The Steelers- A Thread of Laughs
Mar 25, 2021 6:38:51 GMT -5
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Post by texaspat on Mar 25, 2021 6:38:51 GMT -5
The "me first" culture that has grown so prevalent within the Pittsburgh Steelers has gotten to the point where its tuning off both their legion of fans, and the scribes that cover the team. Here's a good article that covers this matter - to the point where the author, Mark Madden, grudgingly praises Tom Brady and the Patriots!
Here's the Madden article:
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ egocentric, me-first culture dates to Antonio Brown’s de facto takeover of the team and is carried on by the cast and crew of the “Corvette, Corvette” show. The cameraman on that project reportedly branched out into bar fighting.
Does it affect results?
I don’t know that it does. You don’t know that it doesn’t.
Is it embarrassing? Embarrassing is in the eye of the perpetrator.
NFL legend and pioneering Black activist Jim Brown once called the NFL’s latter-day celebratory antics as practiced by modern Black athletes “buffoonery.”
“The things we fought to get away from: The stereotypical gestures, the rolling of the eyes, the dancing and all the Walt Disney stereotypical racial disgraces. You wonder how these individuals can be so stupid not to understand how the general public is looking at them,” Brown said at the time.
That’s what the greatest football player ever thinks.
But I wonder how many on the current Steelers roster even know who Jim Brown is.
There’s no definite answer to any of this. It’s like leadership and team chemistry: There’s no way of knowing the exact impact of intangibles.
A few things do seem evident.
The Steelers have faltered since Antonio Brown’s antics became prevalent. Three playoff wins in 10 years roughly parallels the timeline of the perceived culture breakdown. If you’re weary of hearing how much the Steelers have underachieved despite top talent, I’m weary of reminding you.
Also evident: This crap doesn’t happen on Tom Brady’s watch.
“It’s just how the NFL is now! All over the league! Let the kids have fun!”
OK, but paid professional athletes are not kids. It’s also not how Brady’s team is.
The way the Steelers’ culture has totally detached me from the franchise has made me appreciate Brady. (Maybe Brady cheated some. Big deal.)
Untoward shenanigans are minimized on Brady’s team. Teammates respect him, fear him and know what he expects. They know he is part GM and part head coach.
Is that why Brady has won more Super Bowls than any franchise? Well, he is a real good quarterback first and foremost. But I’d bet Brady thinks culture is at least a small part of the equation.
When Brown joined Brady in New England, Brown’s buffoonery never materialized. When Brown followed Brady to Tampa Bay, Brown’s buffoonery never materialized. Even if you don’t believe that sort of stupidity hurts a team, Brady doesn’t give it a chance.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin often gets credit for getting Brown on the field and keeping him productive. Brown signed a three-year, $50 million contract with Oakland in 2019, and the Raiders couldn’t even get a single game out of him.
But in the end, what did the Steelers get out of Tomlin’s enabling?
The furthest they got with Brown as a regular was the 2017 AFC championship game (2016 season) against New England (and Brady). The Steelers lost 36-17. Brown threw a sideline tantrum when somebody else scored the Steelers’ first touchdown.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is less toxic than Brown. Not as good, either.
But Smith-Schuster was committed to dancing on the opposition’s logo. It was so important to him. When Tomlin made it an issue, Smith-Schuster stopped. But he pouted.
If Smith-Schuster is on Brady’s team, he wouldn’t dance on the foe’s logo once. He wouldn’t feel he could. He would have long since dialed back his branding/narcissism.
That which is juvenile, ancillary and superfluous can be stopped. But somebody has to want to stop it. The so-called Steelers “leaders” won’t. Tomlin won’t.
At this point, Tomlin can’t. He hit his expiration date a while back. The Steelers will not legitimately contend for a Super Bowl or repair their culture with Tomlin in charge. The enabler can’t become the fixer.
That only applies if you believe culture is important and that the Steelers’ is flawed. I do, and I do.
At the very least, there’s less probability of embarrassing yourself in defeat if you have a mature, professional culture. Exhibit A: “The Browns is the Browns.” Exhibit B: “The Browns are going to get clapped next week. It’s all good.”
Criticism of the current culture generally leads to its defenders pointing out that Ernie Holmes shot at a helicopter, or Frenchy Fuqua dressed like a pimp, or Hines Ward was ego-driven.
OK, but those guys won Super Bowls. That covers for a lot of sins, real or imagined.
I laugh out loud when Smith-Schuster’s toughness is compared to Ward’s, as ex-Steeler and Mensa member Ike Taylor did. Ward isn’t on my Christmas card list, but he is a winner who put the team and winning first. Ward was Super Bowl MVP. Smith-Schuster is known for season-defining fumbles. Smith-Schuster couldn’t carry Ward’s jockstrap in a hockey equipment bag.
The Steelers’ culture has made me lose all interest. I wouldn’t watch if it wasn’t work-related. I grew up thinking that logo was sacred. But too many of those who wear it now think anything but, and nobody is willing to show them the error of their ways.
LOL!!!!!!!!!
triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-steelers-me-first-culture-has-made-me-disinterested/
Here's the Madden article:
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ egocentric, me-first culture dates to Antonio Brown’s de facto takeover of the team and is carried on by the cast and crew of the “Corvette, Corvette” show. The cameraman on that project reportedly branched out into bar fighting.
Does it affect results?
I don’t know that it does. You don’t know that it doesn’t.
Is it embarrassing? Embarrassing is in the eye of the perpetrator.
NFL legend and pioneering Black activist Jim Brown once called the NFL’s latter-day celebratory antics as practiced by modern Black athletes “buffoonery.”
“The things we fought to get away from: The stereotypical gestures, the rolling of the eyes, the dancing and all the Walt Disney stereotypical racial disgraces. You wonder how these individuals can be so stupid not to understand how the general public is looking at them,” Brown said at the time.
That’s what the greatest football player ever thinks.
But I wonder how many on the current Steelers roster even know who Jim Brown is.
There’s no definite answer to any of this. It’s like leadership and team chemistry: There’s no way of knowing the exact impact of intangibles.
A few things do seem evident.
The Steelers have faltered since Antonio Brown’s antics became prevalent. Three playoff wins in 10 years roughly parallels the timeline of the perceived culture breakdown. If you’re weary of hearing how much the Steelers have underachieved despite top talent, I’m weary of reminding you.
Also evident: This crap doesn’t happen on Tom Brady’s watch.
“It’s just how the NFL is now! All over the league! Let the kids have fun!”
OK, but paid professional athletes are not kids. It’s also not how Brady’s team is.
The way the Steelers’ culture has totally detached me from the franchise has made me appreciate Brady. (Maybe Brady cheated some. Big deal.)
Untoward shenanigans are minimized on Brady’s team. Teammates respect him, fear him and know what he expects. They know he is part GM and part head coach.
Is that why Brady has won more Super Bowls than any franchise? Well, he is a real good quarterback first and foremost. But I’d bet Brady thinks culture is at least a small part of the equation.
When Brown joined Brady in New England, Brown’s buffoonery never materialized. When Brown followed Brady to Tampa Bay, Brown’s buffoonery never materialized. Even if you don’t believe that sort of stupidity hurts a team, Brady doesn’t give it a chance.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin often gets credit for getting Brown on the field and keeping him productive. Brown signed a three-year, $50 million contract with Oakland in 2019, and the Raiders couldn’t even get a single game out of him.
But in the end, what did the Steelers get out of Tomlin’s enabling?
The furthest they got with Brown as a regular was the 2017 AFC championship game (2016 season) against New England (and Brady). The Steelers lost 36-17. Brown threw a sideline tantrum when somebody else scored the Steelers’ first touchdown.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is less toxic than Brown. Not as good, either.
But Smith-Schuster was committed to dancing on the opposition’s logo. It was so important to him. When Tomlin made it an issue, Smith-Schuster stopped. But he pouted.
If Smith-Schuster is on Brady’s team, he wouldn’t dance on the foe’s logo once. He wouldn’t feel he could. He would have long since dialed back his branding/narcissism.
That which is juvenile, ancillary and superfluous can be stopped. But somebody has to want to stop it. The so-called Steelers “leaders” won’t. Tomlin won’t.
At this point, Tomlin can’t. He hit his expiration date a while back. The Steelers will not legitimately contend for a Super Bowl or repair their culture with Tomlin in charge. The enabler can’t become the fixer.
That only applies if you believe culture is important and that the Steelers’ is flawed. I do, and I do.
At the very least, there’s less probability of embarrassing yourself in defeat if you have a mature, professional culture. Exhibit A: “The Browns is the Browns.” Exhibit B: “The Browns are going to get clapped next week. It’s all good.”
Criticism of the current culture generally leads to its defenders pointing out that Ernie Holmes shot at a helicopter, or Frenchy Fuqua dressed like a pimp, or Hines Ward was ego-driven.
OK, but those guys won Super Bowls. That covers for a lot of sins, real or imagined.
I laugh out loud when Smith-Schuster’s toughness is compared to Ward’s, as ex-Steeler and Mensa member Ike Taylor did. Ward isn’t on my Christmas card list, but he is a winner who put the team and winning first. Ward was Super Bowl MVP. Smith-Schuster is known for season-defining fumbles. Smith-Schuster couldn’t carry Ward’s jockstrap in a hockey equipment bag.
The Steelers’ culture has made me lose all interest. I wouldn’t watch if it wasn’t work-related. I grew up thinking that logo was sacred. But too many of those who wear it now think anything but, and nobody is willing to show them the error of their ways.
LOL!!!!!!!!!
triblive.com/sports/mark-madden-steelers-me-first-culture-has-made-me-disinterested/