They say that as human beings our character is most often revealed in times of crisis. The Pittsburgh Steelers are proving that their character is in serious question right now.
Over the course of the last week, we’ve seen team captain Ryan Clark criticize his quarterback on ESPN.
Clark then added gasoline to the fire when he tried to apologize not to Ben Roethlisberger but through the media.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t about to let Clark steal all of the limelight though. Yesterday, the Steelers leader decided to take the veterans’ “no games for guys 4 years and younger” to another level.
Tomlin decreed that all table games in the Steelers’ locker room were off limits to everyone. Well, what on Earth was Mike Tomlin waiting for? This, along with the trade for Levi Brown, are clearly the keys to this team now reeling off 12 wins in a row!
Who would have ‘thunk’ such a thing?
These are the actions of a team that is used to winning but it is not. According to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writer Mark Kaboly, the ping-pong and pool tables were hardly used by the majority of players. The question has to be asked, why were they taken away then?
This is the equivalent of taking a toy from a child despite the fact the child doesn’t play with it anyway. The message from Mike Tomlin is apparently that if you don’t win, you don’t get the rewards of winning.
Here’s an idea… How about giving one hour of ping-pong to the first defensive player that gets a turnover? Maybe an hour of pool for the wide receiver that actually sustains a block?
Right now the only thing that will help this team understand anything is a win. I just hope they do it and stop talking about it. Taking away things in the locker room and players calling each other out on television are the hallmarks of a losing team.
I just never thought I’d see them in Pittsburgh.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @steeldad and follow the website at @SCBlitz. He can be heard Mondays on Trib-Live Radio at 630pm ET talking Steelers and is a blogger for ESPN 970 in Pittsburgh.
1 comment
There’s a sport guy in the Bay Area who has a great saying at the end of his program.
“Sports do not build character, they reveal it” I like it!