If you’re old you better sit down. When I say old I mean old enough to remember watching the Steel Curtain. February 10, in 1982 we saw the retirement of one of the greatest…I say the greatest…defensive player in the history of the NFL. Charles Edward Greene called it a career after 13 seasons wearing the black and gold. How many players stay with one team for that amount of time? Not many. You can say he had a pretty good career. 10X Pro Bowler. 4X All Pro (should have been this every year). 1969 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. 1972 and 1974 AP Defensive Player of the Year (again, should have won this every year). 4X Super Bowl Champion. And now he resides in Canton. Not a bad career.
During his career the Steelers had a record of 117 wins, 72 losses and 1 tie. Not bad. Take away his first three seasons and the rest of his career the Steelers were over .500 every season. He had the greatest nickname in football. Just to hear, “Mean Joe” you knew who we were talking about. There was only one “Mean Joe”. Mean Joe was a founding member of the Steel Curtain. He actually won a couple more Super Bowl rings as a member of management. We could spend all night talking about his greatness, but you already know about it. It’s just another day in our lives that we look back at and realize that time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we were watching him and the greatest defense EVER dominate.
Thanks to Twitter and YouTube we can relive those games. I wear my Mean Joe jersey to work sometimes and the students don’t know who he is. I’m shaking my head right now. Everyone who watches football, no matter what age, should know who Mean Joe Greene is. Kids!!!!!! Moving on now. This is making me me depressed. If that doesn’t depress you maybe this will. I read something today that made me reread it. This is the first of 30…30!!!!!!!…Sundays without NFL football. Thank God for the NFL Combine and draft. Then training camp in July. But, until then….oh my.
My wife and I will be at training camp. Look us up. We’ll be wearing our Steelers gear. That should make us stand out and easy to find. Just walk up to us and say “hi”. Maybe we need a mental health season for what happened this past year. If this season continued how many of us would need medical attention of some sort? So now I have to figure out what to do until the start of the next season. What would be on your top ten list of things to do until next season? Should I exercise? Play golf? Duh, that’s a definite yes. Get my nails done? Only my wife does that. I’ve never had a manny or pedi. I’m not even sure I spelled that correctly. Buy Steelers stuff on Ebay? I’m sure that will happen. Do I need that stuff? Nope. Does it matter? Nope. Golf? Oh wait, I’m already doing that. Go hiking on the App Trail? Yup. Travel to historical sites? Duh, I’m a history teacher…that always happens. Gettysburg is right down the road. We get lunch and tailgate on the battlefield. You have to be there to appreciate it. Get there when the sun is coming up. It’ll take your breath away. Watch baseball? Depends if the Pirates are winning. Tweet about the 70s Steelers? Yup, that’s why I’m here.
That’s nine things I’m going to do this summer. The tenth thing will come to me later. My daughter will be getting her license in June. I’m sure she will take me somewhere. So, here we go into the spring and then summer. July will be here soon-ish. You can bet the mortgage the Steelers will make headlines. AB and LeVeon will sure to be in the headlines. We will all get upset about something. We will all be happy about something. Earlier, I offered my services to the Steelers organization for any suggestions that they would need. I’m here for you Mr. Rooney. And I’m free. It’s a win win for everyone. If anyone can pass this onto Mean Joe or the Steelers I would appreciate it. I can clear my schedule for them. So let’s enjoy our 30 week mental vacation. Our brains need it. Some of our livers need it too. Enjoy your time away from the stress and excitement of Steeler football. Don’t let that Terrible Towel get dusty. you’re gonna need it before you know it.