There are far more players in professional sports that have not won championships than have won them and that’s part of what makes winning one special. It’s not easy. It takes tons of hard work, commitment and oftentimes some luck. For some players, it stings while for others they just go on with life after sports believing “it just wasn’t in the cards for me.” The Pittsburgh Steelers are loaded with guys who have won not just one Super Bowl but multiple Super Bowls however… There are also great players of the Pittsburgh Steelers who have not won a Super Bowl or even played in one.
Enter Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt.
Someday, both of these men will be members of the Steelers Hall of Honor and both of these men will be members of the NFL Hall of Fame as well. Time however is running out on their quest to get to a Super Bowl. Watt will turn 30 this October. Heyward is 35 and in the midst of trying to re-work his contract with Camp scheduled to open this week.
Writing and podcasting about the Steelers as long as I have I’ve been blessed with opportunities to interview a lot of former players. It’s probably been 15 years now since we had the chance to talk with Craig Wolfley and the late Tunch Ilkin. Joined at the hip since they arrived in Pittsburgh in 1980, both were longtime Steelers who never played in a Super Bowl.
What made matters worse was that they both joined the Steelers a season after the fourth Super Bowl title. Therefore, they could be forgiven as young men fresh out of college thinking that getting to a Super Bowl was an easy bet in Pittsburgh. Father Time, the undefeated champion, had other ideas as the greats of the 1970’s moved on to retirement.
Both Ilkin and Wolfley have talked about the fact that they weren’t able to join those Steelers with Super Bowl rings and yeah, it hurts a bit. It doesn’t take away their long careers and special places in the hearts of Steelers’ fans and this is what both Heyward and Watt face.
No offense to Wolfley and Ilkin but the two current Steelers are far more accomplished as players and always will be – there’s no denying that. But in the Steel City, you are defined by what you’ve accomplished as a team first and foremost. It is after all, the “The City of Champions” right?
Pittsburgh native and Hall of Famer Dan Marino made the Super Bowl in his second season in Miami and never got back there. He’s been more than open about thinking at that time that he’d return for multiple Super Bowl appearances and it stings that he couldn’t accomplish those goals.
Should this fate fall on Watt and Heyward it will not define who they are as players or as men but it will always lead fans to wonder what may have been. Thankfully for both, there is still some time and with a little more hard work and some luck they can get to a Super Bowl. Which would be great for all of us wouldn’t it?
