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Jeff Reinebold and his Steelers memories · The Irish Steelers Podcast

0:06
Speaker 1: Head folks, welcome into the Irish Theaters podcast for a
0:08
Speaker 1: stashal episode. We've been looking back over the last few
0:11
Speaker 1: weeks at Steelers games and talking about different avenues. We're
0:15
Speaker 1: delighted to welcome to a guy today that has not
0:17
Speaker 1: only looked at the Steelers for many years now, but
0:20
Speaker 1: also is very well known the fans in Ireland. I'm
0:22
Speaker 1: in the UK as well for his work on the
0:24
Speaker 1: Sky Sports NFL. He has none over than the one,
0:28
Speaker 1: the only coach, Jeff Ryan Bold, as we say in Ireland,
0:31
Speaker 1: coach fallshit. How excited are you to be in this
0:34
Speaker 1: podcast a month?
0:36
Speaker 2: I've been really excited Michael, because you know, it's the
0:39
Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers, and you know, I think it's such a
0:42
Speaker 2: great thing that they have a presence now in Ireland
0:45
Speaker 2: and certainly with the Rooney family and the connection that's
0:49
Speaker 2: run so deep between the Rooneys in Ireland and the Steelers,
0:53
Speaker 2: and I just think it's a wonderful, wonderful thing. And
0:57
Speaker 2: five hundred people, Michael at your wife, that is incredible.
1:05
Speaker 1: Just before I bring the event very quickly Jaf for
1:07
Speaker 1: people aren't aware and you know you're you're obviously on
1:11
Speaker 1: Sky Sports NFL. But going back even further to not
1:14
Speaker 1: you know, you're born, I believe, you know, grew up
1:17
Speaker 1: in Indiana, not too far from Pennsylvania. What was the
1:22
Speaker 1: Staelors like to you going.
1:23
Speaker 2: Up, Well, let's go okay, I'll give you my Steeler history,
1:27
Speaker 2: right and and it really begins with there was a
1:31
Speaker 2: quarterback at Notre Dame, Uh, Terry Hanratty, who was a
1:36
Speaker 2: legendary quarterback, was quarterback of the first first Notre Dame
1:41
Speaker 2: team that I can remember as a boy, winning the
1:44
Speaker 2: national championship. And uh he played for Air Parsiga, then
1:49
Speaker 2: went on and went to the Steelers and was a
1:52
Speaker 2: you know, was the quarterback kind of like the Bridge
1:55
Speaker 2: quarterback before Terry Bradshaw. And uh. Then later on in
2:00
Speaker 2: my coaching career, I coached at Louisiana Tech, which is
2:04
Speaker 2: where Terry went to college. And the Steelers drafted him
2:07
Speaker 2: out of Louisiana Tech and he went there and you know,
2:10
Speaker 2: became the icon that he that he is now in
2:12
Speaker 2: the steel City. But it was great to meet him,
2:15
Speaker 2: and you know, he was always really generous and you know,
2:22
Speaker 2: a lot of his Steeler memorabilia he let the university
2:27
Speaker 2: use in a display that they used to, you know,
2:31
Speaker 2: when recruits would come in for the weekend. Obviously to
2:34
Speaker 2: see Terry Bradshaw and his Super Bowl rings and all
2:36
Speaker 2: of that stuff was a big, big deal. And then Mike,
2:40
Speaker 2: one of the coolest experiences I've ever had was you know,
2:44
Speaker 2: as like I said, I grew up in all over
2:46
Speaker 2: the place because of my dad's job, but you know,
2:49
Speaker 2: primarily when I was a school age kid, we lived
2:52
Speaker 2: in South Bend, Indiana, and there was a running back
2:56
Speaker 2: for the for the Notre Dame that ended up going
3:00
Speaker 2: to Vietnam. And he was a war casually in Vietnam.
3:04
Speaker 2: Didn't didn't die, but he had part of his foot
3:06
Speaker 2: blown off. And he went back to the Steelers after
3:11
Speaker 2: he cycled out of the cycled out of the service
3:15
Speaker 2: and did his tour in Vietnam. And it's an incredibly
3:21
Speaker 2: inspirational story. And his name was Rocky Blier. And Rocky
3:27
Speaker 2: lost part of his foot, as I said, and I
3:29
Speaker 2: think it was a mine explosion. I think a booby
3:32
Speaker 2: trap explosion. And he went back to the Steelers and
3:39
Speaker 2: really couldn't run. I mean he was he had still
3:41
Speaker 2: had shrapnel in his legs. He couldn't run. And the Rooneyes.
3:45
Speaker 2: And this is where, you know, where you realize it's
3:48
Speaker 2: a class organization and why people why it's such an
3:53
Speaker 2: iconic place. Rocky could not run and so he tried.
3:59
Speaker 2: He you know, like he one of the toughest guys
4:01
Speaker 2: you ever meet. But he just couldn't do it. He
4:05
Speaker 2: just physically couldn't do it. And the Rooneyes could have
4:09
Speaker 2: cut him right and instead, this is at the start
4:14
Speaker 2: of the Chuck Nolier. Instead they kept him around and
4:21
Speaker 2: put him on injured reserve. That year, he worked his
4:24
Speaker 2: tail off, had some more shrapnel taken out of his body,
4:29
Speaker 2: and then went back the next year and made the Steelers.
4:32
Speaker 2: And there's a catch in a Super Bowl. Now, Rocky
4:36
Speaker 2: Blyer's my size, right, five nine, about a two hundred
4:40
Speaker 2: pound guy, and he there was a play in the
4:44
Speaker 2: end zone. Bradshaw threw a ball up in the end
4:46
Speaker 2: zone and he reaches up and stretches out like I
4:51
Speaker 2: don't know how he made the play, but it's an
4:53
Speaker 2: iconic play in Pittsburgh history. And Rocky Blyer, you know,
4:59
Speaker 2: went on to have a great career. He was he
5:01
Speaker 2: and Frank o'harris in the backfield and those on those
5:04
Speaker 2: Steeler teams, and uh, he wrote a book. Obviously. When
5:11
Speaker 2: I was freshman in college, I tore my knee up
5:14
Speaker 2: and my father sent me the book as you know,
5:18
Speaker 2: something to read to inspire me to, you know, not
5:21
Speaker 2: give up. And uh, later on, I'm I'm working for
5:25
Speaker 2: Sky and we go to the Super Bowl and it's
5:27
Speaker 2: Radio Row and you know, Michael, what radio rows like
5:30
Speaker 2: that madness with people all over the place. And I'm
5:33
Speaker 2: with Neil and this is just at the beginning of
5:36
Speaker 2: the inside of the huddle deal, right, and you know,
5:40
Speaker 2: work like I have no shame, Like I'm gonna if
5:43
Speaker 2: I see somebody, I'm gonna act talk to him.
5:45
Speaker 1: I'm not.
5:45
Speaker 2: I'm not, you know. And Neil was a little bit
5:47
Speaker 2: squeamish and a little bit you know, like proper English
5:50
Speaker 2: and all that. Right, Well, I don't know anything about
5:52
Speaker 2: being proper, but I do know. I look over and
5:57
Speaker 2: two tables away on Radio Row eating the cheese burger
6:01
Speaker 2: is Rocky Blyer, right, So I'm like, Wow, that's Rocky Blyer.
6:07
Speaker 2: And we didn't like he was our first guest on
6:12
Speaker 2: inside the huddle because I went over and I said, Rockie, Rocky,
6:18
Speaker 2: I'm Jeff Ranble from Sky Sports NFL, and uh, is
6:21
Speaker 2: there any way you would come on our podcast? And
6:24
Speaker 2: he's wipes the grease off of his chin while he's
6:27
Speaker 2: eating is I bother his lunch? And he gets up
6:31
Speaker 2: and he comes over and he sits with us, and
6:33
Speaker 2: he spent an hour talking to us about what it
6:36
Speaker 2: was like on those Steeler teams with Jack Ham and
6:39
Speaker 2: you know, like, you know, they had so many you know,
6:44
Speaker 2: Mike Webster, I mean they had so many, like phenomenal,
6:48
Speaker 2: phenomenal players, Lynn Swan, John Stalworth, you know cold. I mean,
6:55
Speaker 2: it was incredible. And we're you know, we're talking to
6:59
Speaker 2: like just it was so much fun. And then about
7:03
Speaker 2: as we're just getting at the end of the podcast,
7:05
Speaker 2: he reaches into his pocket. I swear to God this
7:08
Speaker 2: is true. He reaches into his pocket and he pulls
7:11
Speaker 2: out two Super Bowl rings like he just said them
7:15
Speaker 2: in right, And I'm like, I'm like starstruck. I mean,
7:21
Speaker 2: here's this guy. And you know how they say you
7:25
Speaker 2: should never meet your heroes, right, but I'm gonna tell
7:28
Speaker 2: you something. Rocky Blier, the best, the best, Frank O'harris
7:35
Speaker 2: true gentleman, right, and you know, like those teams like
7:41
Speaker 2: el C, Greenwood and you know Jack Ham. Dobrashinka is
7:49
Speaker 2: what they used to. Hey, the big signs in you
7:52
Speaker 2: know was Riverfront Stadium, I think or three rivers. I
7:55
Speaker 2: can't remember the name of the thing, but it was
7:57
Speaker 2: right by the river and they'd have like big, you know,
8:01
Speaker 2: bed sheets spray painted with dobras shinka, which is good Ham, right,
8:06
Speaker 2: and Jack Ham was a linebacker that they had and
8:09
Speaker 2: Jack Lambert with no teeth in his mouth, and I
8:12
Speaker 2: mean they were like and then my favorite player of
8:17
Speaker 2: all time, right, the guy that I wore number twenty five.
8:22
Speaker 2: The only word jersey I ever wore as a player
8:25
Speaker 2: was number twenty five. And I did it because of
8:26
Speaker 2: a guy named Ray Oldham who would ended up getting
8:31
Speaker 2: cut by the Colts but won a Super Bowl with
8:36
Speaker 2: the Steelers. And so that's that's how far back my
8:40
Speaker 2: Steelers connection goes.
8:45
Speaker 1: If it's funny, because I was amazing as Jeff's monologue
8:50
Speaker 1: there in a good way. Jeff it chows a lot
8:53
Speaker 1: of Staters fans and I guess newer funds, newer generations
8:57
Speaker 1: that there's so much history on this team that Jeff
8:59
Speaker 1: is just mentally there and for people that I'm sure
9:01
Speaker 1: a lot of people are obviously aware of all of
9:03
Speaker 1: those players, but if you aren't, they'll obviously read up
9:06
Speaker 1: watch it because it's it's just I don't whatever Frankharas
9:09
Speaker 1: sadly pass last year, watches all of his players and stuff.
9:12
Speaker 1: It's incredible to seem, isn't it.
9:15
Speaker 3: It really is. It's like it's it's it's one of
9:18
Speaker 3: those things where force I haven't lived long enough to
9:21
Speaker 3: obviously here and watch these players. But just as Jeff
9:24
Speaker 3: has said, you know about the history of the franchise
9:26
Speaker 3: and the city as well, it's sort of like blue collar.
9:29
Speaker 3: It's sort of gets a lot to a lot of
9:31
Speaker 3: towns and cities in Ireland, I feel like, so that's
9:34
Speaker 3: probably why I correspond so well. But as well as that, Jeff,
9:37
Speaker 3: I was just wondering, you know, Pittsburgh Dosa said it.
9:38
Speaker 3: You know, you've you've obviously spoken there about you know,
9:41
Speaker 3: with the two Super Bowls. It just takes out of
9:43
Speaker 3: his back pocket. It sort of corresponds very well. But
9:46
Speaker 3: just wondering what sort of reputation does Pittsburgh have as
9:49
Speaker 3: the city in the US, because you know, it comes
9:51
Speaker 3: across very blue collar hardworking people, is it? Further said,
9:54
Speaker 3: it sort of matches up well with that sort of.
9:57
Speaker 2: Well, I'm going to tell you some this will give
9:59
Speaker 2: you an indication of what Pittsburgh's all about. When you
10:01
Speaker 2: fly into Pittsburgh and you land and they get off,
10:06
Speaker 2: you know, get off your plane, and you go through
10:09
Speaker 2: and you're starting to walk through the lobby at the airport,
10:12
Speaker 2: right there is a statue of the Immaculate Reception. Right now.
10:20
Speaker 2: I got to tell you this that when Jack Tatum
10:26
Speaker 2: made that play and knocked that ball out and Franco
10:29
Speaker 2: picked it up off his shoelaces and ran it in
10:32
Speaker 2: the end zone, I broke down in tears because I
10:34
Speaker 2: was a big Raider fan, right, but that one play
10:40
Speaker 2: is so iconic that at the airport, this is an
10:45
Speaker 2: international airport, you think football is not important in Pittsburgh.
10:50
Speaker 2: All of a sudden you walk out and what's the
10:53
Speaker 2: first thing you see, Frank o'haris picking the ball off
10:56
Speaker 2: his shoetops and breaking my heart again. Forty years later.
11:02
Speaker 2: The other thing, there was a phenomenal television series in
11:05
Speaker 2: the United States, and this maybe can kind of give
11:09
Speaker 2: I don't know what the corollaries would be in Ireland.
11:12
Speaker 2: But there was a phenomenal show called This Is Us
11:18
Speaker 2: and it was about a family, a Pittsburgh family, right,
11:21
Speaker 2: and that in that show and I don't know, maybe
11:25
Speaker 2: it's EastEnders, I don't know what. I don't know what
11:27
Speaker 2: you would what the you know, what the similar would be.
11:31
Speaker 2: But this is an you know, this is a huge, huge,
11:33
Speaker 2: successful show, right. And in that show, this family were
11:40
Speaker 2: all Steeler fans and it showed how on Sundays everybody
11:47
Speaker 2: got their terrible towels out, everybody wore their jerseys, everybody
11:52
Speaker 2: lived and died. Whether you went to the game or not,
11:55
Speaker 2: you lived and died with how the Steelers did. And
11:59
Speaker 2: you went to the bar after the game and everybody
12:01
Speaker 2: got together and it was the it was actually the
12:06
Speaker 2: you know, the kind of the cement that held the
12:08
Speaker 2: community together. Right. And you know, the University of Pittsburgh
12:15
Speaker 2: has had a tremendous here history. You know, Mike Ditka
12:19
Speaker 2: went there, they won the National championship with Tony Dors
12:22
Speaker 2: said all. I mean, they've had a tremendous but you
12:24
Speaker 2: know what, they have never even come remotely close to
12:31
Speaker 2: the impact that the Steelers have in Pittsburgh. I mean
12:36
Speaker 2: it is an iconic thing. It's it's an it's so
12:40
Speaker 2: deeply rooted in that community. And you know when you
12:44
Speaker 2: look at those uniforms, right, there's what other team in
12:50
Speaker 2: football at any level has one decal on their helmet?
12:55
Speaker 2: Nobody the Steelers do, right? And what what team has
13:00
Speaker 2: had the same or has had Excuse me, I think
13:03
Speaker 2: three head coaches in forty years the Steelers, right, and
13:09
Speaker 2: Joe Green, who was a Hall of Famer, and me
13:14
Speaker 2: and Joe Green. And you know, he was a pro
13:18
Speaker 2: scout for the Saint Louis Cardinals and then the Steelers
13:21
Speaker 2: and a number of teams. But he when I was
13:23
Speaker 2: the pro liaison as a young coach, he used to
13:26
Speaker 2: come in and I would sit and he would smoke
13:28
Speaker 2: a cigar. He had a big cigar all the time.
13:30
Speaker 2: I guess he must have got that from the runies.
13:33
Speaker 2: But he had a big cigar and he would sit
13:35
Speaker 2: in my office and he would tell me stories about
13:38
Speaker 2: those days. Elsie Greenwood, you know, Mike Wagner, I mean,
13:44
Speaker 2: Chuck Knowle, It's just George Perlis. I mean it was
13:49
Speaker 2: so just like I hung on every word he said
13:54
Speaker 2: because as a young kid growing up, there was nothing bigger, Right,
13:59
Speaker 2: there was no bigger And go back and look at
14:02
Speaker 2: the tape, go see you know Lynn Swan's catching the
14:07
Speaker 2: Super Bowl. I mean it's those are those are iconic moments,
14:11
Speaker 2: and the Steelers got more than just a few. They've
14:13
Speaker 2: got a tremendous trove of those, and it's continued to grow.
14:19
Speaker 2: You go anywhere in Hawaii, anywhere in Polynesia, and there's
14:25
Speaker 2: no bigger superstar than Troy Polamaldel. None, not Junior Seau,
14:32
Speaker 2: not none of them. Right, And just if you want to,
14:38
Speaker 2: if you want to get a tear in your eye,
14:43
Speaker 2: listen to his acceptance speech when he goes into the
14:46
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame. It's magic.
14:52
Speaker 1: Bringing us back to chaff I'm loving them. It's it's
14:54
Speaker 1: important because when we look at the future development of
14:58
Speaker 1: the lege I we'll talk about Ireland in a little
15:00
Speaker 1: minute in terms of what can happen there generally for
15:03
Speaker 1: the theaters. You've got that new generation of fans coming through.
15:07
Speaker 1: And one of my biggest regrets is not being able
15:10
Speaker 1: to beat mister Rooney before he passed. And we're very
15:12
Speaker 1: lucky that he was the ambassador to Ireland and obviously
15:15
Speaker 1: done an awful lot for this island, to help this
15:19
Speaker 1: island come to peace. But we're obviously very fortunate for
15:24
Speaker 1: that and everything that's been done and continues to be done.
15:26
Speaker 1: But for you, as a football man in America, he
15:29
Speaker 1: impacted the league in so many different ways. Obviously, you know,
15:32
Speaker 1: I see the Rooney rule and different things to go around.
15:35
Speaker 1: He was an influential owner when he was on the team.
15:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, And you know, it's funny when you talk about
15:43
Speaker 2: the Steelers, and I think it's really important at these
15:45
Speaker 2: You're right, Micah. I think they're really important that the
15:47
Speaker 2: young fans, young Steeler fans, really learn their history, learn
15:54
Speaker 2: the history of that organization because for years and you
16:00
Speaker 2: years and years, the Steelers struggled, I mean struggled. We're
16:05
Speaker 2: at the basement of the NFL every year. We're kind
16:07
Speaker 2: of a you know, not a punching bag. But you know,
16:10
Speaker 2: they were. They were a proud organization, but they were different.
16:14
Speaker 2: It was a family run organization. And then mister Rooney
16:17
Speaker 2: took it over I'm talking about and he wanted to
16:23
Speaker 2: he wanted to make it and I and this is
16:29
Speaker 2: directly coming from Rocky Blyer and and the Steeler guys
16:32
Speaker 2: that I've talked to he wanted to make it run
16:35
Speaker 2: like a family, like a fan, not a not a
16:39
Speaker 2: pro sport business. Now there is the business of the business,
16:43
Speaker 2: and they take care of their business, or they wouldn't
16:45
Speaker 2: have been as successful as they've been over time. They
16:49
Speaker 2: they understand their business, but they do it in such
16:52
Speaker 2: a way that, you know, they're very, very aware of
17:01
Speaker 2: the community. They're very aware of the traditions of the Steelers.
17:04
Speaker 2: They're very aware of their of their alumni, They're very
17:07
Speaker 2: aware of their fan base. They're still one of the
17:10
Speaker 2: most accessible teams when they go to training camp because
17:16
Speaker 2: they they don't stay in do you know, in a hotel.
17:19
Speaker 2: They stay at a college dorm and and do all that.
17:22
Speaker 2: I've had two players drafted by the Steelers. Uh Kelvin
17:25
Speaker 2: Beacham was an offensive lineman that ended up starting in Pittsburgh,
17:30
Speaker 2: and Emmanuel Sanders was a really really good player as
17:33
Speaker 2: a receiver for the for the Steelers. And both of
17:36
Speaker 2: those guys ended up, you know, moving on. Emmanuel one
17:39
Speaker 2: played in this played in the Super Bowl with with
17:41
Speaker 2: the Steelers, and and Uh ended up winning a Super
17:45
Speaker 2: Bowl later on with Denver. But when you talk to
17:48
Speaker 2: those guys Pittsburgh to them, even though they played in
17:52
Speaker 2: multiple NFL cities, Pittsburgh to them still has a big,
17:57
Speaker 2: big part of their heart.
18:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's even given his manchin names like Emmanuel Saunders
18:05
Speaker 3: and stuff, and obviously he became sort of Payton Mornings
18:08
Speaker 3: right on on. It's a key target for him and
18:10
Speaker 3: that separate rowl Win. So Chelousy great up hearing about
18:13
Speaker 3: the fact that the Steelers are obviously one of the
18:15
Speaker 3: teams that actually he still looks back on and can't
18:18
Speaker 3: compare any fan base, and he said he with as well.
18:20
Speaker 3: So that's great. And just another one, Jeff, just just
18:24
Speaker 3: coming back to the you know, the Ireland links. You know,
18:26
Speaker 3: what was your thoughts on that actual on the on
18:29
Speaker 3: the watch party, you know, obviously watching them from Afar
18:32
Speaker 3: obviously the resultant stuff. It wasn't as great as we
18:34
Speaker 3: wanted it to be. But even myself and Michael like, great,
18:36
Speaker 3: here was a great nights. What was your thoughts on it?
18:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, the day before you flew over as well, like
18:41
Speaker 1: the titan were one week golf as well were then I.
18:44
Speaker 2: Really wish I could have been there because you know,
18:51
Speaker 2: let's let like let me go back like so for example,
18:55
Speaker 2: when I'm a young fan, right, I'm in my twenties,
18:57
Speaker 2: I guess teens twenties. When they would play, they would
19:03
Speaker 2: be so those fans would start to wave those terrible
19:06
Speaker 2: towels and that actual the actual found like the stadium
19:11
Speaker 2: would shake right and they were concerned that the stadium
19:15
Speaker 2: was gonna collapse on the fans.
19:17
Speaker 1: Right.
19:18
Speaker 2: Well, when I saw the footage of those five hundred
19:25
Speaker 2: Steeler fans in Ireland waving their terrible towels and whoever
19:29
Speaker 2: put whoever did like all of the decorations and how
19:34
Speaker 2: it was the room was laid out and all that
19:37
Speaker 2: stuff did a phenomenal job. Because you couldn't tell whether
19:42
Speaker 2: you were in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, or whether you were in Ireland.
19:47
Speaker 2: It was just an amazing evening. And if you were
19:52
Speaker 2: a Steeler fan, you had to have had an incredible night.
19:57
Speaker 2: And if you're if you were just there because you
19:59
Speaker 2: were an NFL fan, you probably became a Steeler fan
20:02
Speaker 2: being a part of that, you know environment.
20:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like even from walking to the restroom, like the
20:12
Speaker 1: fan pop ups, it felt like you were in the stadium.
20:15
Speaker 1: It was very, very strange in a good way. I
20:17
Speaker 1: loved it. I wish you experienced because I know Hanam
20:20
Speaker 1: theyve got the experience with Sky, but I was great.
20:23
Speaker 1: While it was great to see them, of course, I
20:25
Speaker 1: think I think it would have been spatial the hobby
20:27
Speaker 1: there as well. Next time, Jeff, next time. And how
20:31
Speaker 1: impressed have you been with the work that they that
20:33
Speaker 1: they've done so far? Like you know, I know you
20:35
Speaker 1: work closely with coach Tarik. He was at the the
20:39
Speaker 1: American Football Ireland the Pittsburgh Steelers training training campaign training
20:44
Speaker 1: being session on the Saturday, and there's there's obviously been
20:46
Speaker 1: stuff and a lot of things done even around the
20:49
Speaker 1: European Flag Football Championship and not only getting young boys
20:53
Speaker 1: but also females involve in the sports. It's it's been
20:56
Speaker 1: great to see what the team has done in such
20:58
Speaker 1: a short period of time. And I guess, Jeff, the
21:01
Speaker 1: sky's a limit for this team, isn't it. What they
21:03
Speaker 1: can do is just on this island as well.
21:05
Speaker 2: I think one of the things, Mike, that you know,
21:09
Speaker 2: everybody on the ground in Ireland that's worked so hard
21:12
Speaker 2: to you know, to grow our game and to grow
21:16
Speaker 2: and to grow the Steeler brand in particular, really needs
21:20
Speaker 2: to take a bow because around the National Football League
21:24
Speaker 2: right now, people recognize that there is a viable market
21:29
Speaker 2: in Ireland right and where that goes I can't tell
21:33
Speaker 2: you because I'm not a strategic planner, but I certainly
21:36
Speaker 2: know that when you have five hundred people for the
21:39
Speaker 2: event that you had, when you have Rod Woodson come
21:42
Speaker 2: out and do the clinics that he did, Steeler legend.
21:45
Speaker 2: Rod Woodson comes out and he's on the ground, working
21:48
Speaker 2: with the coaches, working with the young players. That's how
21:52
Speaker 2: you grow the game. You hit it from every single dimension,
21:56
Speaker 2: right flag football. You know what they did with European
22:00
Speaker 2: Championships in Ireland and having a presence there and all
22:03
Speaker 2: of it, all of it translates into and I've always
22:08
Speaker 2: I've never understood this even when I worked for the
22:10
Speaker 2: National Football League. When I work for the National Football League,
22:13
Speaker 2: they talked about fan development, then they talked about football development. Well,
22:17
Speaker 2: to me, those things are not mutually exclusive. They're inclusive.
22:22
Speaker 2: By improving the game and getting more kids playing at
22:26
Speaker 2: whatever kind of brand of football it is, whether it's flagged,
22:29
Speaker 2: whether it's you know, tackle, no matter what it is,
22:33
Speaker 2: you're growing fans, You're growing people that are going to
22:37
Speaker 2: fall in love with this game. And you can be
22:41
Speaker 2: a fan if you never have played it, but I
22:43
Speaker 2: know this, if you have played it, you have I think,
22:48
Speaker 2: an opportunity to be a deep more deeply embedded fan
22:52
Speaker 2: into whatever team it is that you choose. And I
22:55
Speaker 2: think the Steelers have done a great job in a
22:57
Speaker 2: very very short time of ramping up the you know,
23:02
Speaker 2: the passion for the black and goal in Ireland. That's
23:07
Speaker 2: you know that. I think it's been incredible.
23:10
Speaker 3: Really, yeah, that's it's a great part, Jeff, And like
23:15
Speaker 3: I'd like to obviously think as well, yourselves and Michael
23:17
Speaker 3: have both played a massive part in developing it in
23:20
Speaker 3: Ireland as well, So obviously cheers up to both of
23:23
Speaker 3: you as well as you know, I'll just come back
23:26
Speaker 3: to it as well as sort of the current state
23:28
Speaker 3: of the Steelers, and you know, this season, for example,
23:32
Speaker 3: you know we're set that savell and six. You know,
23:34
Speaker 3: a couple of weeks ago we look nailed onto the playoffs.
23:37
Speaker 3: After the past couple of weeks, it hasn't you know,
23:39
Speaker 3: you can't really say that anymore. What do you think
23:41
Speaker 3: of the current state of the Steelers? You know, what
23:43
Speaker 3: do you think that we need to do to obviously
23:46
Speaker 3: make us become super Bowl contenders we year in, year out,
23:50
Speaker 3: because obviously it hasn't been like that over the past,
23:52
Speaker 3: you know, six seven years. What do you think it
23:54
Speaker 3: is what we need to ensure that we are, you know,
23:57
Speaker 3: performing at the top of the table.
23:58
Speaker 2: Well, I think first of all, you know, you have
24:01
Speaker 2: to appreciate the way the structure of the NFL makes
24:05
Speaker 2: it very, very difficult to have sustained success because all
24:10
Speaker 2: of the rules are built upon the fact there is
24:12
Speaker 2: a salary cap, unlike the Premiership and all of the
24:15
Speaker 2: other leagues, you know, Major League Baseball and all those things,
24:19
Speaker 2: So you can't outspend somebody. You can't just go buy
24:22
Speaker 2: a team. And you know, when you look at the
24:28
Speaker 2: you know you're taking an organization like the Steelers who
24:31
Speaker 2: have had sustained success for decades, right, and you look
24:37
Speaker 2: at a guy like Mike Tomlin who has never, not once,
24:41
Speaker 2: never had a losing season. Now, I've been around some
24:46
Speaker 2: of the greatest coaches that ever put a whistle around
24:50
Speaker 2: their neck, and I can't think of another one that
24:53
Speaker 2: has never had a losing season as a head coach.
24:57
Speaker 2: So obviously you've got to committed organization and you've got
25:01
Speaker 2: a head coach now inside of that, right is where
25:07
Speaker 2: it gets really difficult, because you know, the quarterback position
25:11
Speaker 2: in football is so important in the game. And when
25:17
Speaker 2: you look at the Steelers and when they've been very good,
25:23
Speaker 2: it's when they've had very good quarterback play. When Bradshaw
25:28
Speaker 2: was throwing it to Stalwarth right, and when you know,
25:33
Speaker 2: when Roethlisberger was thrown it the Hines and that crew,
25:38
Speaker 2: they were winning championships, and that's important. You've got to
25:42
Speaker 2: have You've got to have a guy behind the center.
25:44
Speaker 2: It's unfortunate that that Pickett has been hurt most of
25:49
Speaker 2: this year. I think he's got everything. He's got all
25:53
Speaker 2: the ear markings of what a great quarterback should be
25:58
Speaker 2: and could be. And as they work to build the
26:02
Speaker 2: team around him, I think that they are, you know,
26:07
Speaker 2: poised to make another run because they you look at
26:12
Speaker 2: their defense, and their defense is outstanding and there are
26:16
Speaker 2: still guys that are not quite even in the prime
26:19
Speaker 2: of their career that are kingpins on that defense. When
26:24
Speaker 2: you look at what when you look at high Smith,
26:27
Speaker 2: when you look at Minka Fitzpatrick, right, those are guys
26:32
Speaker 2: that are still have still their best football out in
26:35
Speaker 2: front of them, and they're as good as there are
26:37
Speaker 2: at their positions in the league, right. And you know,
26:42
Speaker 2: I don't know how much how many more years Cam
26:45
Speaker 2: Hayward's going to play, but Cam Hayward certainly is one
26:48
Speaker 2: of those guys. So I really think that the Steelers,
26:53
Speaker 2: you know, I fully expect that they'll make the playoffs.
26:57
Speaker 2: I really do. I think that, you know, consistency, character
27:03
Speaker 2: and talent rise to the top, right, and I think
27:08
Speaker 2: the Steelers have all of those attributes.
27:14
Speaker 1: I would say, look, you if you're saying the Staders
27:16
Speaker 1: are going to make the playoffs, and I think we're
27:18
Speaker 1: all happy with that, Jeffrey and just on that, like, look,
27:21
Speaker 1: I don't think any of us would be sitting here that,
27:23
Speaker 1: you know what I think, being honest. The results and
27:28
Speaker 1: in Week fourteen agains the Patriots was very disappointing, especially
27:31
Speaker 1: when the week before with the weaber delay and and
27:34
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, but I think on prime time it was
27:35
Speaker 1: obviously disappointing not to win. You've got the Colts coming up.
27:39
Speaker 1: That game is on sky Sports nfl L this week
27:41
Speaker 1: on Saturday night at nine. Thurday very excited to see
27:44
Speaker 1: that and excited to hear your analysis Jeff Booth on
27:46
Speaker 1: social media before and during the game. Also, and you've
27:51
Speaker 1: got that game, you got the Bengals, you've got the Seahawks,
27:53
Speaker 1: and you've got the Ravens to close it out. What
27:56
Speaker 1: do you want to see from the Steelers team as
27:58
Speaker 1: they try and what the last couple of weeks behind
28:02
Speaker 1: them and try and try and move on, because again,
28:03
Speaker 1: this is the team that has seven wins on the season.
28:06
Speaker 1: The team is trying to improve week by week and
28:09
Speaker 1: they're trying to continually get to the next level.
28:13
Speaker 2: Well, you know, Mike, they're probably going to need nine
28:15
Speaker 2: or ten to get in the playoffs, right, So if
28:17
Speaker 2: you look at that and you say, okay, who where
28:20
Speaker 2: can you get those? Well, the first place you can
28:22
Speaker 2: get one is this weekend, and you want to be
28:24
Speaker 2: one to zero on Sunday night at you know, ten
28:28
Speaker 2: o'clock Eastern. I think that it's important that this is
28:33
Speaker 2: what in my experience in pro football, when you get
28:36
Speaker 2: down to the playoffs, when you get down to this
28:39
Speaker 2: part of the season, this is where tradition and you know,
28:46
Speaker 2: teams that understand how to win and where there's an
28:50
Speaker 2: expectation of winning that's sometimes can separate those teams from
28:58
Speaker 2: maybe teams that are more talented or healthier or whatever. Right,
29:04
Speaker 2: Because nine this may sound hokey, right, And I I'm
29:10
Speaker 2: if you don't. If you think it's hoky, then I
29:12
Speaker 2: don't really care. But I've been in enough locker rooms
29:16
Speaker 2: in the last forty years in pro football to recognize
29:20
Speaker 2: when you put on that black jersey and you put
29:23
Speaker 2: that helmet on, you represent something bigger than you, and
29:29
Speaker 2: that can be the deciding factor sometimes in situations like that,
29:36
Speaker 2: and you know, like what the well, like what the
29:38
Speaker 2: Steelers are faced with. You know, you know, so whether
29:42
Speaker 2: you're Mitchell Trubisky or your or your TJ. Watt or
29:46
Speaker 2: whoever you are on that football team, you know you
29:50
Speaker 2: stand for something that's really really big and really really
29:55
Speaker 2: important and you have a responsibility to that. And you know,
30:00
Speaker 2: I'm sure coach Tomlin is going to remind him of
30:02
Speaker 2: that as we go down down the stretch.
30:06
Speaker 3: I sure hope he does it. Just over the past
30:08
Speaker 3: couple of weeks has just been a bit of a
30:10
Speaker 3: it's been a bit of a pin you know, we
30:12
Speaker 3: were expecting to lose both those games, but as such,
30:14
Speaker 3: it's the National Football League. You have to be able
30:16
Speaker 3: to adopt and force to you already able to in
30:18
Speaker 3: the past couple of weeks, but hopefully turned around this weekend.
30:21
Speaker 3: Just the last one for me, Jeff, You know the
30:25
Speaker 3: guy who's hanging on the back of my wall here
30:28
Speaker 3: in my opinion. You know, I don't know about you,
30:30
Speaker 3: but he's the most disrespected player in the NFL. You know,
30:33
Speaker 3: when people imagine great pass rushers to talk about, you know,
30:35
Speaker 3: your Micah Parsons, Mas Yards, arn Donald's neck bosis. It
30:40
Speaker 3: just seems that TJ. Watts consistently getting underlooked. Just how
30:43
Speaker 3: good is he and how important is he to a
30:46
Speaker 3: team that you have the star defensive player.
30:49
Speaker 2: Well, let me say this. I first saw him, uh
30:55
Speaker 2: as a college senior. I went to the Purdue Wisconsin game,
31:00
Speaker 2: right and it was a close game for most of
31:04
Speaker 2: the game, and then all of a sudden, he rises
31:09
Speaker 2: up and he's rushing the passer. He tips the ball
31:14
Speaker 2: up to himself, catches it in mid stride and scores
31:18
Speaker 2: a touchdown and breaks the game open for Wisconsin. And
31:24
Speaker 2: you know, sometimes the media can I think, you know,
31:33
Speaker 2: I don't think. I don't know if he's disrespected, but
31:36
Speaker 2: I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves. Now.
31:40
Speaker 2: Part of that might be that he's JJ's brother, right,
31:44
Speaker 2: and JJ casts a very long shadow, right. But when
31:50
Speaker 2: you put TJ's numbers up against any of those pass
31:53
Speaker 2: rushers that you just talked about, he not gonna be
31:58
Speaker 2: second to any of those guys. And I think because
32:06
Speaker 2: he isn't a guy that's all about him. He's not
32:11
Speaker 2: a guy that's, you know, trying to push his brand.
32:15
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, he just goes and does his
32:18
Speaker 2: job and helps his football team win and that's enough
32:21
Speaker 2: for him. And frankly, that's a breath of fresh air
32:26
Speaker 2: in today's NFL. And I think that's one of the
32:30
Speaker 2: reasons why he's so revered in Pittsburgh, because Pittsburgh is
32:37
Speaker 2: a town of guys who just go to work and
32:40
Speaker 2: do their job and you know, don't beat their chest
32:44
Speaker 2: about it, and he fits the ethos of that city.
32:52
Speaker 1: Jeff, just finally wrapping up, You're you're you're a great
32:55
Speaker 1: friend of the game in Ireland and we really appreciate
32:59
Speaker 1: you being all on. I just want to finally just
33:01
Speaker 1: sort of just sort of just wrap it up in
33:03
Speaker 1: this way. I remember sitting in an establishment in Dublin
33:06
Speaker 1: a week one watching the Sky Sports coverage the whole
33:09
Speaker 1: bar stop and watched it because the Phoebe were in Pittsburgh.
33:13
Speaker 1: We missed you that day. We've seen Phoebe talk to
33:16
Speaker 1: Art Rooney and it was really cool because we've seen
33:18
Speaker 1: the whole broadcast was turned into the Staters broadcast that week,
33:21
Speaker 1: and hopefully that happens again. How like, I mean, like,
33:27
Speaker 1: how cool would it be to seed down the line five, ten, fifteen,
33:31
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. I'll keep going here in years how
33:34
Speaker 1: cool will be at some point in the future and
33:36
Speaker 1: maybe see the Staters playing Art.
33:38
Speaker 2: That'll be cool. I hope it's I hope it's faster
33:40
Speaker 2: than that. Michael co It's twenty five years from now.
33:42
Speaker 2: My eyes aren't going to be very good, so I
33:44
Speaker 2: don't know. Fuck, I don't know how much football. I
33:47
Speaker 2: might be drooling on myself what watching the game or something,
33:51
Speaker 2: But I you know what, I just think it's such
33:55
Speaker 2: a natural fit. It's such a natural tie, you know.
34:01
Speaker 2: And in the United States we have this saying that
34:04
Speaker 2: everybody's got an Irish our Irish cousin excuse me, right,
34:09
Speaker 2: And it's really really true and for what that family
34:17
Speaker 2: means to Ireland and what Ireland means to that family,
34:21
Speaker 2: it's to me it's just a natural process that hopefully
34:27
Speaker 2: happens sooner than later, because I can just see eighty
34:32
Speaker 2: two thousand terrible towels in Croke Park and the most
34:39
Speaker 2: amazing weekend of football that Ireland has. I'm gonna say,
34:46
Speaker 2: any kind of football. The football is round the football,
34:49
Speaker 2: it's oblong any like I don't know if there would be,
34:53
Speaker 2: it might be the sporting event of history in Ireland.
34:59
Speaker 2: I really truly mean that. I think the Steelers travel
35:03
Speaker 2: extremely well no matter where they go, but you bring
35:06
Speaker 2: them to Ireland, along with the tremendous amount of Irish
35:10
Speaker 2: Steeler fans that there are, and I'm gonna tell you so,
35:13
Speaker 2: I don't know, they might have to shut the Guinness
35:15
Speaker 2: factory down.
35:18
Speaker 1: Jeff. Look, I'm sure at some point, you know, we
35:22
Speaker 1: will hopefully see something that out there. We've seen the
35:26
Speaker 1: Staders have a commitment to exploring it down the stretch
35:28
Speaker 1: and I know at the monument they're looking at hopefully
35:30
Speaker 1: future fun events and different development events. So look certainly
35:33
Speaker 1: looking forward to the same. What they do hopefully you're
35:35
Speaker 1: over to the watch party next year, we'll put a
35:37
Speaker 1: good word into you for Sky Sports, but certainly, Jeff,
35:40
Speaker 1: what was she? The very very best with sky and
35:42
Speaker 1: your Ovaventchers over the next few weeks and months. I
35:44
Speaker 1: know you've got a busy few weeks ahead of you,
35:46
Speaker 1: starting with a Staters game on Saturday nights. So Grimy
35:49
Speaker 1: and Logga thank you very much, as we say, for
35:52
Speaker 1: coming on the Irish Skinners podcast. Appreciate it on.
35:54
Speaker 2: Thank you all right, thank you guys. I really enjoyed
35:56
Speaker 2: it and at