As the Steelers remain in the very un-Steeler-like position of giving an open-ended invitation to a player who has yet to reciprocate the team’s interest, plenty of Steelers fans are dismayed by the team’s uncharacteristic display of desperation.
And when someone connected to the team pushes back, plenty of Steelers fans applaud.
In March, veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward said this: “I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap. Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t. That’s simple, that’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch. Pittsburgh Steelers — if you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.” And while Heyward later softened his remarks, he spoke for plenty of Steelers fans.
Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, or you don’t.
More recently, Hall of Fame Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw unloaded on Rodgers, calling the prospect of a one-year rental “a joke” and authoring this insult: “That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.”
That’s how plenty of Steelers fans feel. We’ve run a pair of unscientific Twitter polls regarding whether Steelers fans want Rodgers. Both resulted in an overwhelming no.
The first was done in late March. The next in April, a day after Rodgers appeared with Pat McAfee and company to explain his absence of a team, to air general grievances, and to relitigate COVID (again).
The first poll resulted in a 55.9-percent no vote. The second saw the negative shoot to more than 70 percent.
The Steelers apparently don’t care. They’ll do whatever they think they need to do. The fans will get used to it — especially if/when Rodgers shows up and starts throwing darts all over the place.
Still, a hesitation to Rodgers lingers. He’s already an outsider. And he keeps acting like one. The longer he takes to tell the world what he’s doing, the stronger the basic Pittsburgh aversion to Rodgers will become.
Especially since it shouldn’t be hard for him to disclose his plans. Directly and clearly and without wordplay while riding sidecar to “Mike Stud” or anything other than the kind of straightforward candor that characterizes people from Pittsburgh.
They don’t have time for games; there’s work to be done. And you’re either going to pick up a shovel and dig, or you’re going to stand there and watch.
When will Rodgers pick up his shovel?
And it’s not just when he will shovel. It’s whether he will shovel at all.
That’s all Steelers fans want to know. Will he be picking up a shovel in Pittsburgh this year?
Read the full article here