Ward does the right thing:
Hines Ward believes he can still play football. The longtime Pittsburgh wide receiver known for his high-wattage smile and his bone-crunching blocks just couldn’t stomach the thought of doing it in some strange uniform on some strange field with nary a Terrible Towel in sight.
“I just wouldn’t feel right,” Ward said.
My favorite Steeler of all time.
Yutsano
Next pet name: Hines. Or Ward.
passerby
Yep, he’s a beauty through and through.
Bet he waltzes into a broadcast position.
flukebucket
He is a quality human being and one of my top 5 all time favorite Georgia Bulldogs. I would love to see him come back to Athens and work with Mark Richt developing talent.
Rosalita
classy guy, and what a hunk!
David Koch
Man, they even named the stadium after him.
Roger Moore
Too bad he didn’t get to go out a winner. One of the unfortunate things about sports is that they guarantee only a small fraction of players can end their careers on a high note.
seanindc
inb4 ben rapes Ward jokes…
David Koch
Sniffle.
russell
That is one classy dude. Well done.
Brachiator
Now if only we could persuade Peyton Manning to retire, and save us from watching another painful Favre like spectacle.
geg6
I had the news conference streaming in the office. It was very emotional–both for Hines and for me. We both dissolved in tears a couple of times.
Shinobi
I like Bettis because he also played for The Rams, who admittedly, suck, but when you are football fan in St. Louis you take what the NFL deigns to give you. (apparently)
I also used to go to the same paintball place as him, when I lived in the burgh. Ah nostalgia.
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)
Roger – Two Super Bowls ain’t bad. Things seldom work out to where you can win a Super Bowl at all, much less be at a point in your career where you’re ready to ride off into the sunset immediately afterward.
Elway and Bettis were lucky to have been able to do so. Had Ward been 36 instead of 32 when the Steelers beat the Cardinals, he probably would’ve done the same.
It really troubles me when people (especially the sports media) get hung up on storybook finishes. They happen almost never. Pro athletes play until their bodies won’t let them anymore. Their careers are basically fated to end ignominiously.
If playing football is all you’ve ever done for a career, it’s highly unlikely you’ll call it quits just so you can preserve your image and generate better retirement articles.
Capri
@Brachiator: A -fucking -MEN to that. Hopefully Manning merely embarrasses himself and doesn’t leave the sport in a wheelchair.
I don’t watch much football, but Ward was my favorite Dancing With the Stars winner of all time. He can rock sequins.
Svensker
It won’t be the same without that killer 1000 watt smile (with the evil adorable twinkle). (Yes, I’m a girl, why do you ask?)
Salute, Hines.
BroD
I’m a Ravens fan but I’ll go in on a hat tip for Ward. His enthusiasm was inspiring.
wrb
And I was looking forward to a thread about ketchup.
flukebucket
@Brachiator:
Agreed. I think Tebow has done something that Manning will never do. Won a playoff game with the Broncos.
J. Michael Neal
My take is that the right thing for Ward to do was whatever the hell he wants. If he wants to play football some more, then play. If he wants to play and the Steelers cut him, so what. If he wants to retire, then that’s great, too.
I find the insistence that players retire in a way that makes the fans feel good annoying. I always admired Rickey Henderson’s attitude that so long as someone was willing to pay him for it, he was going to play baseball, dammit. If someone doesn’t want to remember him as way past his prime and no longer capable of much other than drawing walks, then don’t pay attention.
Dave
Not a Steelers fan at all, but Ward played the game hard. Shame to see him retire.
cbear
As a Raider fan since the age of seven I am contractually obligated to hate the Steelers, but even I have to agree that Hines Ward is/was a great player and a special guy and I hate to see him be forced out this way.
Fuck the Steelers. They could have paid him the league minimum and honored his contributions by letting him go out on his terms with a farewell season.
The good public relations alone would have been well worth the money.
Paul in KY
He was definitely slowing down. Made the right decision, IMO.
Future HOFer.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
One of my favorite NFL players ever, and a hero to my football-crazy Korean-born son. Ward has done a lot of good off the field as well as on it. Well done, Hines.
Paul in KY
@flukebucket: I’m not yet ready to bet against Peyton Freaking Manning.
Paul in KY
@cbear: I don’t think Hines would have wanted it that way. He thought he could still play & would have wanted to be in the game.
butler
Yup, why put the best possible team together when you can use a precious roster spot on an aging, broken down guy well passed his prime. And I’m sure Hines would have loved that offer. Nothing says dignity like a massive pay cut followed by a “farewell” season on the bench.
You ever been to Pittsburgh? The whole place is painted black and yellow. Pretty sure the Rooney’s could start sacrificing infants on the 50 yard line at halftime and they would still have a season ticket waiting list 20 years long.
butler
You thinking caring about people and not wanting to watch them turn into shells of their former selves annoying?
Bubblegum Tate
@passerby:
I could see that, but I hope he waltzes into a coaching position with the Steelers.
Roger Moore
@Johnny Gentle (famous crooner):
Yeah, I’m a Broncos fan, so it was a really big deal for me to see Elway ride off into the sunset, not just as the two-time reigning Super Bowl champ but as Super Bowl MVP. It’s something I wish we got to see more often.
butler
@Brachiator: The issue with Favre wasn’t that he couldn’t play anymore (though he was passed his prime), it was the constant “Will he/won’t he” soap opera. Manning very clearly wants to play, and I doubt he’ll be showing up during the last week of training and suddenly be named the starter. He’s probably already studying film and re-writing the Broncos playbook.
cbear
@butler: @butler:
Uh, yeah—
HINES WARD WILLING TO TAKE PAY CUT-
Wide receiver Hines Ward said he is willing to take a pay cut if that means he can remain with the Steelers.Ward, who lost his starting job this season, is scheduled to make $4 million in the last two years of his contract. A decision would have to be made by March 1 because of a clause in his contract, Ward said.’I’d probably have to restructure my contract,’ Ward told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ‘That’s fine with me. I recognize that. I’m telling you I want to be here, I’m telling you I’m willing to do that.
MikeBoyScout
On any given day the amount of sh*t that makes the news is so very depressing.
Mr. Hines Ward found a way to win with class, humor and drive that was inspirational to the innumerable Steeler fans on and around our planet.
I look forward to Mr. Ward’s induction in to the HOF on the first ballot, and may bawl like a baby when I don’t see Hines grinning after laying out a Raven at the next Balto game.
MikeBoyScout
@26 butler: not to quibble, but that waiting list for Steelers season tickets passed its 20th birthday 20 years ago. :-)
de stijl
If you’re an NFL player and you let loyalty to ownership / team decide your decision whether to play for another team, you may be a fool. They do not have your best interests at heart. They will use you and throw you away in a heartbeat. If you’re talented they can franchise you and limit your salary to less than what you’re worth.
Ward decided what he wanted to do and I certainly respect that, but most players do not have the luxury or opportunity to play for one team their entire career – it’s newsworthy because it’s so rare.
The average NFL career lasts 3.3 years – less if you’re an RB or WR. The likelihood that you’ll land a TV or coaching job afterwards is vanishingly small.
Poopyman
Hines got to go out on his own terms, something too few NFL players do. And he did it with class.
And @butler:
Shhh! Dan Snyder is taking notes.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
I find his tribalism interesting when my coworkers are dividing teams up into pieces for their fantasy football leagues.
Raven
How bout that Dawg!
NobodySpecial
Good to hear Dawan Landry’s spot in the NFL is safe now.
Comrade Mary
I don’t know a damn thing about football, but Mr. Ward appears to be a real mensch. Also: wicked hot.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
Mine is Jack Lambert. When they let him out of cage on Sunday’s with his adorable grunts and knuckle walking.
Brachiator
@butler:
It’s very hard for athletes to hang it up. Manning is putting his health at risk. The Colts were no longer willing to take a chance on Manning’s ability to play and remain healthy. I really don’t see that anything has changed.
Favre’s antics were compounded by the fact that he could no longer perform consistently at a high level. He stayed away from camp in part because camp would take too much out of him, and risk injuries that a younger player might be able to shake off.
Manning may have some juice left. But I sincerely doubt that he has 5 years worth, or that he will be able to perform at his best. I will be happy to be proven wrong, but the odds are in my favor.
I might watch if it were Rooney Mara performing the sacrifice.
parenthetical
Not to shit on this ketchup parade, but wasn’t Ward known as one of the dirtiest players in football? Voted as such by fellow players in 2009? All breaking guys jaws with cheap blind-side down-field blocks?
stibbert
gotta chime in late & add my best respect for Hines. sure the NFL is big business, but there’s plenty of room for fan support, team loyalty & strong emotions.
Ann Marie
I’m another who only knows Ward from Dancing with the Stars, but he was an utter delight on that show. Fun and not full of himself.
N. Eugene
@J. Michael Neal:
Agreed. I hate when fans act like players owe them something personally. And what’s this big deal we put on “playing for one team?” It’s a happy coincidence when it happens because obviously that player is good and the team wants him around, but why should the player be obligated to “go out the right way” by not playing for someone else? If the team doesn’t want him and he still wants to play, he should play for another team, and I don’t know why that should bother anybody. Even if he isn’t as good as he used to be, if someone is willing to pay him, what does it matter? I think the Rickey Henderson reference is perfect – is he less of a Hall of Famer because he played past his prime?
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
@Brachiator:
Yeah, with Manning’s age and injury history, it’s a roll of the dice to bet the short-term fortunes of the franchise on him. No matter how well he performs, you’d have to think the Broncos will always have an eye out for who looks like a good QB project a few years out.
But I believe Manning is still younger than Elway was by the time he won his first Lombardi. And really, who would you rather roll the dice on — a proven, like Manning, or Sideshow Tebow? The odds makers have had their say, and the Broncos have vaulted from a 70:1 shot earlier this year to make the Super Bowl to a current 10:1 shot.
geg6
@General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero):
Lambert is my favorite Steeler ever, ever, ever. I even love that, after retirement, he went into the woods, became a state forest ranger, and has lived low ever since. That’s exactly how it should be for some players. Just play the game, with great ferocity and determination (who would have ever guessed that a short, skinny guy from Kent State would be one of the NFL’s all time great linemen?) and find your life’s work afterward, as Chuck Noll always lectured them.
But Hines is also one of my faves. I don’t buy player shirts often, but his and Lambert’s are in my drawer. I love that Hines played his heart out every single time he was on the field. I like that he was one of the toughest blockers the Steelers had. I like that he smiled no matter how hard he got hit. I love that he was a razzle dazzle kind of guy, as an offensive player and wide receiver should be. He belongs in the spotlight as much as Lambert does not.
geg6
@N. Eugene:
I don’t know about other cities, but in Pittsburgh, it’s considered a disgrace to the city if a well-beloved player does not finish his career here. The classic example is Franco Harris. No one alive in Pittsburgh at the time has ever really gotten over Franco going to play his last games in Seattle, of all the godforsaken places. The Steelers are a bit different than a lot of teams, in that the Rooneys seem to engender a lot of loyalty from their players (could be the personal relationships each successive Rooney has built with his teams). In addition, the Pittsburgh fans are a pretty loyal and loving bunch, enough that many old Steelers end up retiring here and staying, no matter where they are from. Hines didn’t really want to play anywhere else, no matter what he says. It would never be the same for him, even if a team would pick him up, and I think he finally realized it.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
@geg6:
I agree. Lambert was a football players player. those were the days of Browns/Steelers super games. No more though.
Uncle Cosmo
Dirtiest player in the league. Personification of the Stealer Way. Good riddance, though I’m sure the Ravens defense will be a little sad that they don’t get another couple of games to put him in the wheelchair where he so clearly belongs (though Jarret Johnson blasted Whines pretty good in last year’s opener).
(It says something about the quality of the “craic” here that B-J is the first blog I visit in the morning in spite of the nauseating Tar&Piss jocksniffing.)
@geg6: Baltimoreans would rather not see their hometown heroes leave for other teams but we understand & support the Ozzie Newsome “right player, right price” philosopy. Unlike the Primanti-addled Squealer faithful, we recognize that players want to be paid what the market will bear & we bear them no ill feelings when they leave & even wish them well (so long as they’re not playing for the Bungles, Brownstains or Stealers) whenever they aren’t facing Poe’s Crows. Funny thing, though, it’s hard to think of a player who left the Ravens as a veteran & had commensurate success with any other team.
Uncle Cosmo
@General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero): “No more though”–? Au contraire–if you remember where that Browns franchise is now. (And we hate the team that calls the Three Sewers home as much as any Browns fan ever has or will. You hate us too, but that’s OK–any AFCN fan who doesn’t despise the other 3 teams in the division ought to turn in his fan card.)
Brachiator
@Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn:
Neither. And I would want Manning to have a long, healthy life after an amazing career.
Oddsmakers ain’t doctors. This is more wishful thinking than reality.
Uncle Cosmo
@BroD: Turn in your purple jerseys & put the PSLs up for sale–traitor.
Uncle Cosmo
@parenthetical: Exactly. Finally some sanity (from someone besides yerstruly) in this danse macabre of a thread. Hitting hard is one thing. Blindsiding an opponent with intent to injure is something else entirely.
Uncle Cosmo
@MikeBoyScout:
Like he was grinning here? Can’t wait to watch the Tar&Piss scrambling to say out of the AFCN cellar this season.
N. Eugene
@geg6:
This is kind of my point. I think anyone whose feelings were hurt when Franco Harris played football for a team besides the Pittsburgh Steelers is kind of dumb. I apologize if that reflects poorly on the city of Pittsburgh. I’ve never visited. I hear it’s lovely. I’m sure Hines did what he wanted – no one forced his hand or anything. But saying “he’s classy and doing it the right way” implies “he’s an asshole for not hanging it up when I wanted him to,” which in my book makes you a shitty fan, no matter what city you live in. I guess this is why I’m a baseball fan and don’t like the NFL that much. The NFL treats its players like shit.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
@Uncle Cosmo:
Still a die hard Browns fan. Wore number 44 in high school football to honor my hero, Leroy Kelly. And yes, Art Model is the devil incarnate, and I hate the Steelers worse than the plague. Just disappointed at times, and can’t help but ponder the good ole days, but will saddle up next season as hopefully the season it all goes away.
butler
@cbear: The Steelers were so far over the cap that they’ve been scrambling all off-season to restructure every contract they had just to break even. His contract was too big to justify even a restructuring. His only option was to get cut and re-sign for the league minimum, which is probably less than he was willing to take given that it was probably the most he was offered in free agency and it wasn’t enough.
But suppose he did agree to go all the way down. The Steelers would still be forced to give up a roster spot for him, which is too high a price to give him some kind of magical “farewell” tour.
honus
@parenthetical: No, Ward was hitting linebackers and DBs, whose job description is taking cheap shots at receivers. Most receivers don’t do it as well or as joyously as Hines did, so the opposition whined and complained a lot. Also, the players complaining about getting blocked were pretty much always bigger than Hines (6-0, 205)
As Mark Schlereth said, Hines was a pulling guard playing wide receiver.
butler
@Brachiator:
The colts were on the hook for 28 million dollars if they kept him, and they know they are in a rebuilding phase, so they did the math and decided to rebuild around Luck. If Manning was scheduled to make 1 million, or even 10 million, next year, I bet they would have kept him.
I guarantee the Broncos have safeguards in effect to protect themselves in case he gets hurt again. In the meantime this is the perfect cover for Elway to get rid of Tebow and be done with that whole circus. He’s saved his job for a few years, when he can start thinking about drafting his QB for the long term.
honus
@Uncle Cosmo: Fuck You. You want the ravens to put Hines in a wheel chair? They’re suited to do it, since ray ray was once investigated for putting a guy into a coffin. Oh yeah, he took a cheap shot at Hines and knocked him out of their second game this year with a concussion. No flag, though, so I guess IOKIYAR (it’s OK if you are a raven)
honus
@Uncle Cosmo: Your team is the Browns. Only not as good as when they were in Cleveland. Now go watch Diner, and leave the adults alone.
Christ, a Ravens fan talking about cheap shots. Well, I guess you should be an expert.
Uncle Cosmo
@honus: First comments I’ve seen from you. Must’ve touched the one functional nerve in your tar&piss-addled head. Congratulations.
BTW, you are genially invited to go fuck yourself with a rusty chainsaw, asshole. Your clowns are already in Guinness as the only team ever to lose a playoff game to Tim Tebow & that’s probably not a distinction you’ll ever share with anyone else.
Uncle Cosmo
@honus: And while we’re at it, your kneejerk poo-flinging of all the Ray Lewis myths is telling evidence that like most Squealers fans, your IQ lies somewhere under the Lambert line. (Who FTR is at best the second best MLB of all time–as is obvious to anyone who wasn’t raised in the stench of the Three Sewers. The best wears #52 in purple–& didn’t need ‘roids to do it.)
tesslibrarian
Hines Ward was a Damn Good Dawg. My first few years with season tickets to UGA games were while he was there, and I’m glad he’s had such a great career at one team, something that just doesn’t happen very much anymore.
Too bad he has to sell his “dream home” in Sandy Springs, though. (Maybe not a “must,” but when a house is described as such, it doesn’t sound like he’d sell it, in this market, causually.)
john
Man, I love the Steelers, and I hate the crooked Baltimore Crows more than anyone, but it was a pleasure to see Uncle Cosmo come in and start shit. You’re an asshole, and I hope you DIAF for supporting those thugs, but you’re pretty damn funny.