When I was a young man growing up in Lawrenceville, I witnessed an incident I will never forget as long as I live. There was a corner store named Klotz’s. The husband-and-wife team of Al and Bernie Klotz owned the deli and butcher shop.
One afternoon, I was standing outside the store with a bunch of my neighborhood cronies, when two gentlemen entered the store. They came out of the store with one of the gentlemen carrying two sandwiches wrapped in the traditional white butcher’s paper in one hand, and two frosty Pepsi Colas in the other. They entered an alley nearby; we assumed to eat their sandwiches and drink the sodas in the shade and peace. A few minutes later, the first gentleman exited the alley yelling and cursing. Shortly after, the second man came out, blood streaming down his face and with a noticeable limp. Oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing about this story; the second man had a white cane, with a red tip. He was blind. The visually handicapped person depended on his associate to lead him in the right direction and feed him. The trust that he had in his friend was violated on all counts.
As I read some of the Steelers coverage provided to the fans by the measly-a, oops I meant media, it reminds me of that day hanging out by Klotz’s store. For over a century, the press has taken a blind and unassuming public by the hand into a dark and unforgiving alley way and has taken away their food for thought, browbeating them with misinformation and propaganda. The public exits the alley with a bruised and bloodied psyche. The public is not left for dead, they are simply left for stupid.
Take this recent article posted by Curt Popejoy: “CBS Sports unimpressed by Steelers Trio of Skilled Players.” Popejoy ranked the Steelers’ offensive trio No. 26 under the tier of “too many question marks.” Here’s what CBS Sports had to say about the Steelers ranking: “Our panel is, once again, not inspired by Russell Wilson — or by the Steelers’ triplets. Harris is likely to remain the lead back due to inertia and financial investment, but he has been outplayed by Jaylen Warren in each of Warren’s two seasons. Pickens has a ton of talent, but we also haven’t seen him totally tap into it just yet, so it’s hard to say he should carry this ranking.”
Popejoy concluded this lunacy by writing, “If the Steelers can all get on the same page with the Steelers’ new offensive scheme under Arthur Smith, this offense will be much better. Russell Wilson is far and away the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger.”
Now folks, this is where it gets, cray, cray. “Russell Wilson is far and away the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger.”
Russell Wilson has always been a better QB than Ben Roethlisberger. This is why one should never venture into dark alleys with strangers disguised as writers who love the Steelers superficially and artificially but despise certain players, because more than likely you will come out battered and bruised and hungry for real and honest information.
In the two Super Bowls that Russell Wilson was the starting QB for the Seattle Seahawks, he had a passer rating of 117.4 with 453 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in 2 games. Wilson’s won-loss record was 1-1.
Ben Roethlisberger played in 3 Super Bowls with a record of 2-1. He had a passer rating of 69.9 with 642 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in three games. Wilson’s passer rating was 117.4, Roethlisberger’s passer rating was 69.9.
In 2012, the rookie year of Russell Wilson, Wilson had a passer rating of 100.0 with 3,118 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 16 games in his rookie season in 2012. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
In 2004 as a rookie, Ben Roethlisberger’s passer rating was 98.1 with 2,621 yards. He threw for 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games. Roethlisberger was chosen as the 2004 NFL Offensive Rookie of The Year.
In 2012, Russell Wilson’s rookie year, he was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl. Who would you want as your starting quarterback? A rookie going to the Pro Bowl or the Offensive Rookie of The Year? Russell Wilson has always been and remains a better NFL quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger. Folks are always chirping, “Just look at the numbers.” Well, if I were them, I would repair my calculator, or buy a new one, because the bean counter they’re using ain’t working.
If I were you, I would steer clear of the alley-filled rats because rats have nocturnal vision. Remember the iconic James Cagney, the late actor who popularized the saying, “You dirty rat.” He didn’t choose the rat as a symbol without reason. Don’t blindly walk over the abyss of ignorance. You had better be and remain vigilant because if you don’t you become an obtuse Pied Piper, a grisly griot, unknowingly creating generations of ignorance, spreading lies, misinformation, and falsehoods that can never be erased. The Pied Piper also proved that rats can be controlled and if people don’t make the right decisions, they may meet a similar fate as our furry and pesty friends.
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