by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
Yada, yada, yada, Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars, and whatever additional nonsensical verbiage that anyone might wish to add…
By the way, if any of you “experts” feel the urgent need to regurgitate some or any of the aforementioned gobbledygook, I have it from a non-credible source that the God of nick-knacks will pay all royalties for you so that there will be no forthcoming accusations of “plagiarism.”
Yes, the dreams of many folks have manifested. The 2022 won-loss record of the Pittsburgh Steelers currently sits at 2 wins and 5 losses. With that being said, the naysayers now think that they have been awarded a free pass to ignite the blowtorch that they have anxiously held in their grimy and sweaty hands for more than 15 years in anticipation of the day that they could stroll with heads held high into Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s personal bathroom at the crack of dusk to create a “volcanic-like” glow on his toilet seat.
Despite the few setbacks that the Steelers have experienced this year, there have not been any career- or life-threatening injuries suffered by any of their players and on top of that, good news: the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Oh, and by the way, when the mighty Casey choked up in the clutch, the tears flowed heavily but the po’ folks in Mudville still had to get up in the morning, drink their cup of Joe, eat breakfast, show up for work and “get to crackin’.”
How many of us missed their following day at work because the Steelers were defeated and how many folks received a bonus when the Steelers were victorious?
The Steelers’ defense is nearing the midpoint of the 2022 season. Considering the wretched injuries that they have been forced to deal with, including but not limited to arguably their two biggest defensive playmakers, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, there are many reasons that they could have tanked and stunk the joint out. However, that is not the case because although they have been stumbling, they have kept on rumbling, you digg….. The good ole boys have now got the blowtorches fired up, so ya better be careful where you go because the temp of the toilet seat may hold an unwelcome and unpleasant surprise for a few “rump roasts.”
Let’s move away from the critique of the Black and Gold and attempt to accentuate the positive. When a young team is experiencing growing pains, one of the growth facilitators is an honest evaluation of your personal performance first, and then the analysis of your teammates.
If Steelers QB Kenny Pickett remains healthy, I am inclined to believe that he is going to be a great one. Why? Well, maybe to get better, an honest evaluation about your performance will help you evolve, not dissolve. When asked about his performance, part of his response was: “Obviously turnovers, you know, they can’t happen. That cost us the game. So, you know, I’m getting to work on it and then get ready for next week.”
That’s refreshing to hear from a young starting QB because game after game and year after year the teammates of Ben Roethlisberger had to endure tire tracks across their backs as they were thrown under the bus because of the failures of Roethlisberger. There was no shame to “Big” Ben’s blame game. There have been a few Steelers players that were forced to shoulder the unjustified blame and accept responsibility for plays that resulted in the team’s defeat because of the fat finger of fate pointed at them by none other than you know who. However, doing the previous four or five years a few select players opted to move on to not necessarily greener pastures, but to calmer waters. There is a point when everything and everyone must evolve. The Holy Scriptures explains to us in Psalm 23:2 that: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” Motown legends The Four Tops elaborate in a more modern vernacular whispering in our ears that, “still waters run deep.” There can be victory and peace.
Presently, there seems to be more of a sense of comfort behind the scenes replacing the almost perpetual state of drama during the mostly successful tenure of Ben Roethlisberger. The pain caused by Roethlisberger has now been replaced by the growing pains of an entire football team. Let’s all of us try to grin and bear it.
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