It is Wednesday night, July 30, 2014. In forty eight hours I will be at the Steelers training camp, located on the campus of St. Vincent’s College at Latrobe, PA. I am throwing a few things in the travel bag that I received as a gift from the Pirates media department after the 2006 All-Star game was played at PNC Park. I get maximum usage out of the bag not because I don’t own luggage but because most of my luggage has been borrowed by relatives and friends and so far as I can tell, they have claimed those pieces of my traveling gear as their own.
However, that is the least of my problems because at this particular time, I am being assaulted by a fly that I have coined several names for beginning with; “the nemesis from Hell, a.k.a the Doberman with wings.” “Piranha” is one of my alternate names for it. Several huge lumps are now on my back as a result of “Piranha’s” zeal its insatiable need to ingest and digest my flesh but wait, all is not lost.
I have found the antidote for my “gluttonous” tormentor stacked far behind of a few long forgotten canned goods hidden away on the top shelf of my pantry with expiration dates so long past further indicating that if their contents were to be ingested by any living human concerns would immediately arise possibly indicating that the future good health of that person might be jeopardized and that individual might be facing a few more health issues than just worrying about a “rogue” horsefly looking at them as dinner.
Oh yeah now back to the antidote, it is none other than “Raid” fly killer. I hope that it has not lost its potency but something is up because “Piranha” seems to have a sixth sense seeming to somehow know and feel that the end is nigh because what was a relentless non retreating assault, has now become a hit or miss cat and mouse sort of offensive.
The Doberman lands on my deck door, I push the spray button out comes the fine mist of death covering the offender. “Dobe” does a back flip that would make gymnasts’ Mary Lou Retton and Olga Korbut proud and gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi downright giddy. Fortunately for me this can of outdated Raid has some serious potency remaining insuring me and mankind that this would be the last curtain call for the Doberman disguised as a horsefly.
After my premises was ridden of the pest, I sat for a moment and the term expiration date began to plague me.
I reflected back to the eulogy delivered at the services for Bill Nunn Jr. by Rev Austin. He began the service by saying; “I read of a minister who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted first the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that she spent on earth and now only those who loved her knew what that little line was worth.”
On July 30, 2014 the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they were retiring the number of “Mean” Joe Greene. Greene became the cornerstone of what we now know as the Steelers “dynasty.” He was the first draft pick of the late Steelers legendary Head Coach, Chuck Noll.
Greene’s number will be officially taken out of commission during a ceremony that is to be held on November 2 at Heinz Field during the Steelers, Ravens matchup. It is a great honor but I am slightly saddened that Dwight White, Ernie Holmes, L.C. Greenwood all of his fellow defensive line mates that made up the other 3/4s of the “Steel Curtain” won’t be there to participate in the celebration because they have all preceded him to the big “gridiron” in the sky.
It would have been nice if the number of Joe Greene had been retired just 10 years or so ago because that would have allowed all of his “partners in crime” to reminisce and celebrate with him.
Bill Nunn Jr. could have said a few words about his initial encounter with “Mean” Joe. Maybe even the reclusive Chuck Noll, Greene’s late, great Head Coach may have even consented to make a rare appearance in honor of his franchise and NFL history changing player.
The Steelers 2014 night practice at Latrobe High School is now history. I am sitting in the dorm room here at St. Vincent’s College feeling like I am looking at my own expiration date.
There is a renewed vigor concerning the Steelers defense. Former Steelers great linebacker Joey Porter is now currently an assistant defensive coach with the Black and Gold and dare I say that he brings a small portion of the “rabies viral” madness, mayhem and cockiness that is required by all successful NFL defenses.
Now read this, to top it off, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has a twinkle and a bright fire in his eyes that indicates that he is on to something and the rest of the world only has to figure it out because he has found the formula to success and he is going to keep it under lock and key. However, believe me there will come a time when the young exuberant Tomlin with hair colored pitch black will be sprinkled with gray no longer a “doer of the present but resigned to being a griot of tales of the past.
As Quincy Jones might say; “Everything must change, nothing stays the same.”
Steelers linebacker Gregg Lloyd no longer patrols the Steelers sidelines being pushed and motivated by the many decibels and flying saliva of Steelers former Head Coach Bill Cowher to worry about nothing else; “just sack the quarterback” was Cowher’s demand.
Hines Ward with his Georgia pedigree had to find his niche as a wide receiver who became the Steelers record breaker but even this future Hall-of-Famer had to face the challenge of his final training camp.
I hear the strong vibrant voice of Bill Nunn Jr. asking me the question; “boy did you see that?”
No longer does the waft of smoke originating from the massive cigar of “The Chief” the Art Rooney find its way to every nostril residing at or just visiting “the gladiators quarters” St Vincent’s College.
The “Turk” Chuck Noll’s messenger of doom has long exited the players dorms at training camp himself a victim of modern technology. In the past athletes’ would learn their fate by being informed and instructed by someone to turn in their playbook thereby ending their tenure with the Steelers. That message originated from a human voice that was up close and personal.
Now some players receive the news of their demise via email, text messages and in a few cases sources from the various sports news outlets have access and publicize the news before it even reaches the ears of individual affected.
Heck, even the “Turk” himself has become a victim of the “golden age” of technology. I say that because all of the great aforementioned sportsmen have met and exceeded their expiration date.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the great Steelers of the recent and distant past who are still inhabiting the earth but whose athletic expiration dates have come and gone.
Professional football training camp truly is the sport of gladiators because the training methods pit the young against the old, the experienced versus the inexperienced, the cerebral against the carnal.
Camp also identifies the strong and weeds out the week.
Once upon a time former Steelers Greg Lloyd, Terry Bradshaw, Robin Cole, Jack Lambert, Donnie Shell, Jack Ham, Hines Ward, Alan Faneca, Lynn Swann all of those in between, and I do mean all of them at one time in their careers ran out onto the gridiron at St. Vincent’s “bright eyed and bushy tailed.” But it is what they did as far as their years before and after the “dash” that determines if they are mundane or great.
So guys’ and dolls’ chew on a small tidbit of advice from “Swami” Aubrey; don’t be overly harsh concerning the deeds that you may be responsible for before the dash and certainly you can’t know what’s going to happen after the dash because when the smoke clears it is only the deeds and actions that coincide with the dash that count.
Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412.583.6741 Follow him on Twitter @ultrascribe
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