Steelers X-Mas

“When I was growing up we didn’t win very many games, so that’s what I always wanted,” said Art Rooney II, President of the Pittsburgh Steelers. “As time went on, thank God we started to win. It was 38 years ago that the Immaculate Reception happened, and that’s when things started to turn around. That was a great Christmas present.”

Any fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers must sleep like a baby knowing their owner was wishing for wins for Christmas as a little boy growing up. After the Steelers handled the struggling Carolina Panthers 27-3 at Heinz Field, the players were able to get a head start on a long weekend, as Coach Tomlin was giving the team off until Monday.

Mr. Rooney walked over shoulder pads and sweaty jerseys to shake hands and say ‘Merry Christmas’ to any of the 53 men that helped the Steelers get to 11-4 and close in on another division title. They’ll wrap that title up with another win or a Baltimore Ravens loss, whichever comes first.

The men in this locker room were once little boys dreaming of special gifts on the night before Christmas just like the rest of us “When Jurrassic Park was hot I went for it all. I loved those dinosaurs,” said Ziggy Hood, who notched his third sack of his career against the Panthers. “I got everything I wanted, although I wasn’t a kid who demanded a lot. I was grateful for what I got.” I was laughing over a guy the size of two refrigerators telling me he liked playing with toy dinosaurs, but hey, you don’t know until you ask, right?

Sitting next to James Harrison was his son, who had to be around two years of age, saying “a truck” was what he wanted for Christmas. Harrison asked, “A truck like daddy has, right?” Harrison and his son talked for a few seconds about what kind of truck Santa was going to bring the kid on Christmas morning. Harrison said the gift he liked most growing up “was a BB gun. I got a little pump-action BB gun when I was like 12 or 13 years old. That was my pride and joy right there.”

One of the strangest favorites was from cornerback Williams Gay who said, “Ah, I think the food more than toys was my favorite. I love to eat, especially my grandmother’s cooking,” It’s funny because Gay is about as trim and slim as they come and with a guy with about has much body fat as Calista Flockhart, you wouldn’t expect food to be at the top of his list. “That’s why I’m pumped. I get to go home for Christmas this year!” Gay kind of smiled after that acknowledging, “I hope my metabolism is still high like this when I get older.”

Maybe the best gift of all that hasn’t been put under the tree just yet is from Keenan Lewis, “I’m about to have a daughter in like three weeks, so that’s about the best gift you can get.” I couldn’t agree with you more, Keenan. Lewis was also excited that he would be able to go home for Christmas, something he hasn’t been able to do since he was in college. He got to Oregon State in 2007, so count your blessings and appreciate being able to drive across town to visit family and friends.

Ben Roethlisberger and HOF defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had similar Christmas wishes when they were growing up. Ben said, “Any kind of ball, any sports thing I was excited about. That was what I cared about.” Coach LeBeau echoed the sentiments of the Steelers’ quarterback, “Anything that had to deal with sports was right up my alley. We played sports all year ‘round.”

But these current gridiron greats didn’t all want footballs under the tree. Running back Mewelde Moore said, “I remember when I was a little boy I got a toy saxophone. That was big. I tooted that like no other for the several years that I had it.” From toy horns to toy guns, it was fun seeing the players’ eyes light up and faces grin as they looked back and reflected on those past Christmas mornings.

Brett Keisel, with his bushy beard making him resemble a young Santa Claus, said, “I wanted a bicycle because all my buddies had bicycles and I had this tricycle. When I got my first two-wheel bike I thought I was big time.” On the flip side, there were certain things Keisel couldn’t have on Christmas, “A dirt bike or trampoline…my dad was a fire fighter so he saw too many people go to the hospital on both of those. I was never allowed to get either of those.”

In the giving spirit of Christmas, veteran quarterback Charlie Batch is involved in the community and has his Best of Batch Foundation (called Batch Foundation for short) which you can check out yourself at www.batchfoundation.org Batch said, “We do our Toys-for-Tots drives the second week of this month (December). We were at the mall last week and Friday (December 24) we will spend a lot of time giving toys out along with the Salvation Army. We will give toys out to about 20 families, so it’s a special time.” That’s a special player making a difference during the time when people need it most, Christmas.