Jan 29, 2011

1/29/2011 07:48:00 AM
From Three Rivers Stadium to Heinz Field the Goal remains the Same in Pittsburgh P A...Super Bowls....or Bust....not Conference Championships....not 16-0 Seasons....not even a Collection of Lamar Hunt Trophies ( Trophy for the AFC Champions) can get a free pas in Steelers Nation.

But there are some glaring constants in an Organization that has quietly become a model of Consistency and other NFL Franchises are taking note and rightfully so.

The Breakdown of the STEELERS Mystique:

1. It's that old adage.......you are as strong at the bottom as you are at the top....Welcome in the Rooney Family. From Day 1 they have been hands on in what they do with this Organization. They don't jut sit up in their offices and become blind to players and coaches...they are just as visible as Current WR and surefire Hall of Famer to be Hines Ward walking through the building in a simple work week during the season.

This is what the ROONEY'S are...Family First....and everything they put their Mitts on is part of that Family.

2. The STEELER Way since 1969 when Art Rooney hired the great Chuck Noll as Head Coach the Steelers went on to dominate the 1970's between 1974-1979 with 4 Championships behind some LEgendary names such as "Mean" Joe GREENE, Terry BRADSHAW, L.C. GREENWOOD, JAck LAMBERT, Jack HAM, Mel BLOUNT, Franco HARRIS, Rocky BLIER, John STALLWORTH, the late Mike WEBSTER, Lynn SWANN, Donnie SHELL, and the list goes on and on.

Noll and these Teams built the Foundation of what the STEELERS are built on Today......Rugged, Tough, and Coming straight at you with nothing to hide.......you know what you are getting and will get it everytime.

After some Average Years, at least by Steelers Standards, Noll Stepped down in 1992 and Bill Cowher took over and and went on to go to 3 AFC Championships in his first 6 Seasons and lost in 1995 the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys.

Finally in 2005 Cowher coached the Steelers to their 5th Super Bowl Win over the Seattle Seahawks and after the 2006 Season Cowher was done and the Steelers were left to only find their 3rd coach in 37 Years...It's called Stability.

In 2007 the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin who was coming over from the Minnesota Vikings as Defensive Coordinator to right the Ship. Only the 3rd Head Coach in 37 plus Years in Steelers Nation.

And all Tomlin has done in his first 4 Seasons is win 3 Division Titles, go to 2 AFC Championship Games, the youngest to win a Super Bowl, the 2nd African-American to win a Super Bowl, and the 1st to go to 2 Super Bowls before the Age of 40.

And Counting that is a league leading 6 Super Bowl Trophies and the Steelers are going for their 7th Next Week against the Green Bay Packers who have their own Mystique.

What an organization and the current crop of players are lead by Hines WARD, James FARRIOR, Casey HAMPTON, Brett KEISEL, Aaron SMITH, Troy POLAMALU, Heath MILLER, Keyaron FOX, BIG Ben ROETHLISBERGER, Ryan CLARK, James HARRISON, Ike TAYLOR to name a few.

The Book is still out on how many Hall of Famers from this group......and in fairness are they no way to be compared to the players of the 1970's but the results are the same.

The Steelers Mystique is as simple as this.....Good Ownership at the Top and Stability. Through the Coaches all the way down to the players and trainers. Easier said than done....and you can ask about 20 Teams about that Formula....and they know nothing. The Steelers Mystique is in Full Effect.......and the Standard is Lombardi Trophies period.

Note********* The ROONEY'S are also the Creators of the Rooney Rule established in 2003 which requires NFL Teams to interview MInority Candidates for Head Coaching or Senior Football Operations Jobs.

The Rule is work in progress and they need that same rule at the NCAA Level as minorities seem to be getting token interviews on that level and since their is no Rules in Place like the Rooney Rule Minorities have no Real Shot.........It's in Black and White.....Numbers Don't Lie.

Go Steelers one of the best run Professional Sports Teams in the World...throw your TERRIBLE TOWEL up and RIP the late-great Myron Cope.

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