Obviously my heart was in a million pieces after the Steelers fell to the Browns last night in the first round of the NFL playoffs, but seeing these images of two of the longest tenured guys on my team taking it in together really did me in.
There are so many things that need to be addressed with this football team. 3 playoff wins in 10 years is not good enough. Regular season success is not good enough - at least not here in Pittsburgh. A lot of people will pile on Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey for their decline in play and their miscues in the playoff game against the Browns - and that is all warranted. But thinking about life after these guys is what hurts the most. We might not have achieved the postseason success that we need to, but the truth is I always felt like we had a shot when 53 and 7 were on the field for us together. Rumors are swirling about retirement for one or both of these guys, and no matter what happens I am thankful for everything they contributed to this team.
Man this hits like a ton of bricks.