A Letter From the Editor: The new league year brings life back to the Steelers fan base
When I write these “Letter From the Editor” articles, there is one thing I always try to do on a weekly basis.
Keep it authentic and honest.
In this case, I have to be honest about my feelings about the Pittsburgh Steelers as the team prepares for the new league year to start next week.
Before looking ahead, we should take a look back and my feelings about the team in 2024. At 10-3 it felt as if the Steelers finally had built a contender. It wasn’t always pretty, but as the Kansas City Chiefs have proved time and time again, you just have to find a way. We all know how the season ended with the team dropping five straight to finish the regular season 10-7 and another one-and-done in the postseason.
I know I wasn’t alone when I say how dejected I was after the finish to the season. As they say in the movie “A League Of Their Own”…
I’ve seen enough to know I’ve seen too much.
When the dust settled, I wanted to fold it in and call it a season. I didn’t feel like podcasting, didn’t want to write about the team, and certainly didn’t want to have any in-person conversations about the team. Being that I am privy to the analytics on our website and podcast platform, the fan base was done too.
Our numbers dropped off a cliff, and I never blamed any fan for wanting to step away. If it wasn’t my job now, I would have wanted to do the very same thing.
Again, in all honesty, I find myself starting to get excited once again. With the new league year upon us, and NFL news coming fast and furious, I’m ready to see what the Steelers are going to do. How will they spend their salary cap space? What quarterback will be their signal caller in 2025? Will they finally address the wide receiver position? And that isn’t even talking about the biggest event of the offseason, the NFL Draft.
There are detractors who will suggest the Steelers offseason will only lead to the same result.
Competitive season, vying for a playoff spot, and if they get in they won’t win a game.
I’m not going to disagree with the aforementioned sentiment, but I will also admit I’m a glutton for punishment. What kind of punishment am I willing to endure? I’ve been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan my entire life, need I say more?
The Steelers might completely misplay the quarterback situation this offseason. They might watch both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields choose to go elsewhere and find themselves without a chair when the music stops. They might swing-and-miss on a trade and get the worse end of the deal. They also might have their first losing season in the Mike Tomlin era.
They also could get the quarterback they desire, address positional needs before the draft, and find their way back into the postseason after yet another winning season.
Either way, I’m here for all of it.
Yes, the end of 2024 left a pretty big scar for me, but at the end of the day I’m ready to be hurt again.
Are you with me?
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the start of the league year and the 2025 NFL Draft.
‘You son of a B****… I’m in!’
– Morty
Win, lose, or draw, I’m always in 100%. I’ll admit, I pretty much become a lurker during the offseason especially when it ended the way it did, because whoa boy…. Conversations and opinions can become quite interesting to say the least.
However, once this time of year rolls around, I get excited again. Hope springs anew. Sure, us Steelers fans are venturing into unknown waters, but I’m buckled in for the wild ride.
“Conversations and opinions can become quite interesting to say the least.”
See, that’s the part that I wanted to avoid as well. Because things fell apart, something that fans saw as a possibility when talking about the schedule when it was made in May, they were very frustrated. Therefore trying to remain positive and not having hater-filled sentiment towards the team and wanting them to burn it all down got you labeled an apologist. Reasonable conclusions were ridiculed and only extreme emotional displeasure was permitted to make you “a true fan.“
But we need to remember something: The opposite of love is not hate… it’s indifference.
Love and hate are both strong emotions and aren’t all that far apart. Steelers fans that hate where the Steelers are going are usually that way because they love them. People just need to remember it’s okay to like some of what a team is doing and not all of what they are doing. It doesn’t have to be so polar opposite. What is worse as those who have just surrendered their fandom altogether because they have become indifferent to how things go. Those are the people I feel sorry for. When it comes to the Steelers “It is better to have loved and lost (in the playoffs) than to never have loved at all.”
Khan is 2 for 2. Let’s see if he can go 3 for 3. I’ve liked what he’s done. Lots of assets in the trenches. When the opportunity to get a franchise qb comes, hopefully they snatch it and add him to a team that’s ready to compete for a Super Bowl
Im a Pirates Fan. The Steelers cant hurt me. LOL
Us Pirates fans are impervious to the Steelers playoff failures lol