Fans like Steelers’ chances
Prima donnas are gone this year, some say — and ‘ good riddance!’
In a parking lot by Heinz Field, John Griffith stood next to Craig Glass, drinking beer, arguing about football and waiting for the Steelers to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason opener.
Although Mr. Glass, 39, is a native of Beaver Falls, he has been a die- hard Buccaneers fan since high school. So it’s no wonder that when Mr. Griffith predicted that the Steelers are heading toward a perfect season, the Tampa Bay fan doubled over with laughter.
“Seriously?” Mr. Glass asked his friend. “What’re you talking about?”
Mr. Griffith himself couldn’t help but laugh at the bold prediction.
But even as the Steelers come off a season in which they failed to make the playoffs, many tailgaters are like Mr. Griffith: optimistic.
Terry Shulsky, a 77- year- old season ticket holder from Ebensburg, thinks the team has always performed better when it’s backed into a corner.
“The prima donnas are gone now,” Mr. Shulsky said, referencing the drama that surrounded former players Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. He said last season’s big problem was too much drama bleeding from the locker room into social media.
“Social media was killing it,” Mr. Griffith said. “If they just stay out of social media, I think less people would have known what was going on.”
Johnna Anthony, 57, of Washington, Pa., is a season ticket holder who tailgates at every home game. She’s looking forward to seeing Ben Roethlisberger perform.
“I’m hoping to see a lot,” she said, but she has concerns about his new contract. “Sometimes when they give them the extensions and the bigger contracts, sometimes they don’t perform like they should.
“I’m not saying he’s old,” she added, “but you know, he is getting up in age for playing.”
Mr. Shulsky said he’s hopeful that the quarterback will focus on the game this year, without off- field distractions.
“I think he has a better attitude this year,” Mr. Shulsky said. Despite the fact that Roethlisberger will turn 38 by the season’s end, Mr. Shulsky thinks the quarterback has improved his lifestyle and is comparable to 42- year- old Tom Brady, who remains an elite player at an age when many athletes are long retired.
“I think they’re living right now; they’re doing things right with their bodies now,” Mr. Shulsky said. “I think by doing that, the longevity of their playing time expands.”
The one new player capturing fans’ attention is Devin Bush, the rookie inside linebacker who some feel will fill the shoes of Ryan Shazier, who continues to recover from a 2017 spinal contusion.
“We need help because we lost Shazier with that injury,” said Jeremiah Casto, 13, of Ripley, W. Va.
Jeremiah, who was attending the game with his grandfather, Ray Shockey, had hopes that coach Mike Tomlin would be able to get the team in shape for a winning season.
“Tomlin will get them together,” Mr. Shockey, 72, said. “He’ll be all right. He’s a good coach and a good leader.”
As for the team’s underdog status compared to some past years, Mr. Shockey felt that was a plus, not a negative. “If you got them trapped, they’ll fight, man.”