AUBREY BRUCE
When I heard all of the “disloyal” chatter spewing from the mouths of the present trash talking Steelers nation in regards to the present state I am reminded of the bright eyed bride or the gushing groom. They both treasure their marriage vows until the next door neighbor’s wife comes to borrow a cup of sugar or the next door neighbor’s husband changes a flat tire for the neighbor’s wife when he is next door. Eyes grow big and wide with anticipation just before the infidelity “gene” kicks in. Hey you “yinzers,” do you remember these “timeless vows that you took when the the Black and Gold was in their heyday? Where are you now “Franco’s Italian Army?” Have “Gerela’s Gorillas” been relocated to a “protected” animal reserve and designated as an “endangered” species? I will not be like United States Sen. Rand Paul and plagiarize Wikipedia? For all of you that may still have a bit of “cow juice” behind the ears; wikipedia says that; “Roy Gerela (born April 2, 1948, Sarrail, Alberta) is a former [NFL] placekicker best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he won three Super Bowl rings.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 1969 AFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and played for them in the American Football League in 1969, as well as their first NFL season of 1970. He signed with the Steelers before the 1971 season, and quickly became popular with Steelers fans, inspiring a fan club, ‘Gerela’s Gorillas.’ He led the AFC in scoring in 1973 and 1974, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1973 and 1975.
Gerela was a member of the Steelers’ Super Bowl championship teams in 1973-74, 1974–75, and 1978–79, but was released by the Steelers before the 1979-80 season in favor of Matt Bahr.”
Do yinz Steeler fans remember taking the “vows fan eternity” when “Gerala’s Gorillas” were hanging from the rafters at Three Rivers Stadium? Or is loyalty a thing of the past? “I, being a lifelong and permanent member of the Steelers Nation do solemnly swear that I will never change my allegiance to the Black and Gold. I promise to be faithful even if members of the Steelers football team is considered by many as part of the ‘criminal’ element. I also will continue to love and respect our team in light of one of our great defensive players deciding to shoot at helicopters for target practice. I will also continue to be onboard when players whose hair fly’s in the wind as the wide receivers from opposing players offenses fly by them. I will not be a ‘fly-by-nighter’ or a ‘mighty flighty’ fan regardless of who the foe might be and my allegiance to the Steelers will never waver even if their present performances remind one of the Black and Gold performing as ballerinas the ‘Nutcracker Suite’ without the nuts. There is tension and apprehension even when the Pittsburgh Steelers are mentioned in passing.” Speaking of mentioned in passing espn.com Patriots star QB Tom Brady was quoted as saying; “You throw it, they catch it, they run with it,” he said. “It makes a good day for a quarterback.” “We really haven’t had him for a long time (Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski) and we’ve learned to play without him, but it’s obvious when he’s in there (that) he adds a different element to what we’re trying to do and that’s why he’s such a good player. He worked really hard to get back to this point and after he’s got a few games under him and he’s got his football legs back hopefully he can continue to do it. It was a big spark for us yesterday and he really came out making some big plays for us on third down, some drive starters when we got things going into the drive.”
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin was again the master of the understatement. He said: “We are going to comb through this with a fine-tooth comb and those people who are lacking effort won’t be playing. It’s just that simple.” Brady had 252 yards passing in the first half, more than in five of his other eight games. Up until this point the majority of the Pittsburgh Steelers players inherited by Tomlin from the Bill Cowher era have helped keep the Black and Gold on the winning track. This is now the Tomlin and Kevin Colbert era, not the Cowher Tom Donahue era. There are but a few of the “leftover” Cowher standouts that may be or can be effective at this late date in their careers. Except for the Steelers 2013 first round draft pick outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, running LeVeon Bell and the fragile Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. The Steelers had better begin to use the draft and draft future athletes as if the franchise depends on it because there is nothing to write home about in regards to the past and present draft selections made by the management of the Steelers. Oh, by the way, the game. I am not going to throw more urine on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense than they have already been forced to endure. The defense may be a little long in the tooth but hey, even young athletes get tired. When a defense, any defense, has to bail out the offense, fumble after fumble, pick after pick, season after season they often become mentally and physically fatigued. The Steelers are not lazy; they are tired.
Game Notes: The 55 points were the most scored in an NFL game this season and the most ever against the Steelers (2-6). The Patriots’ 610 yards were the third most in team history and the most ever allowed by Pittsburgh.
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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