Presidential Politics, Steelers Style

A couple of months ago Republican Presidential candidate John McCain discussed how he recited the names of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive linemen in order to confuse his North Vietnamese captors.

While flattering to fans of the Steelers, it turned out to be a slip of the tongue by Senator McCain ~ the team that he actually was thinking of was the Green Bay Packers.

Now comes a new story in which Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joseph Biden recounted a kindness extended to his (then) young sons, at a time of crisis, by then Steelers running back Rocky Bleier.

Whomever you may support in the presidential election, this story is genuine and touching.

More than 30 Years Later, It Still Hurts

The Boston Globe ran a feature article Wednesday about the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically that team's loss to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game, and we immediately began having flashbacks.

The article discusses just how decimated by injuries the Steelers were that day (Franco Harris out, Rocky Bleier out, Frenchy Fuqua out, Roy Gerala out) and we can remember watching that day . . . Franco and Rocky in their crisp, clean uniforms . . . in the fourth quarter . . . on the sideline. The Steelers had won the previous two Super Bowls, and to say that expectations were high -- and that the team seemed poised to meet, or exceed, them -- would be an understatement.

While te connection to this weekend's games (i.e. the Chargers are facing injuries and are not, and should not, complain about those) is tenuous at best, but for fans of the Black & Gold it makes for interesting reading.