QUOTES FROM STEELERS MEDIA DAY
KICKER SHAUN SUISHAM
(on not being with a team a few months ago and now kicking in the Super Bowl) “You see how often changes are made due to performance or injury every year at the kicking spot. And you don’t carry backups, so when it does happen, obviously people take notice. I don’t know if it happens more at the kicking position or if it’s just more obvious for the reasons I said. Three months ago, I was out of work. You get used to playing football, that’s what you do, and you worked for it every week. When you’re out of it, certainly it’s uncomfortable when Sundays come around and you’re at home.”
(on the overtime rule changes) “It doesn’t change anything. My job is still to make the field goal. I haven’t been in a game with the rule change yet, but my job still remains the same.”
(on kicking indoors) “Well, you certainly don’t have to worry about anything. Coming to a Super Bowl, obviously it’s nice to be able to come and kick inside.”
(on playing in the Super Bowl after a recent loss in the family) “To be able to do this has been really nice for my family. It certainly is a distraction and something to work towards and put a little more focus towards. It was extremely hard losing my mother-in-law and harder seeing my father-in-law and my wife go through that.”
(on his style of kicking and his soccer style) “Well, I’m not very good at toe kicking so I didn’t have much choice. As far as soccer style, I think that’s about what everybody does now. It certainly has evolved over the years. Guys are pretty darn good at it now.”
(on how he is keeping focused throughout the week) “I haven’t been through the week yet, so this is new to me, but I just go back to what I know and prepare as I always do and approach the game the same way. Obviously, the stakes are a lot higher, but my job is still the same, so I’m just preparing the same way.”
(on the Steelers being underdogs despite all their Super Bowl experience) “All of that stuff doesn’t change what my job is. My job is still to prepare and when I’m asked to, go out and kick. All that stuff for me is clutter. What I do is a simple skill, really, and I just try not to over-complicate it.”
(on his journey to the Super Bowl this season) “I look back on the last six years and I’ve been through this before, so I’ve dealt with it before. The only thing you can do is prepare as if you’re playing every weekend and wait for that opportunity. Certainly if you’re on the outside, the only thing you can do is prepare. Sundays are difficult, for sure.”
(on being in the Super Bowl) “I mean, it’s special. This is what every player [and] every team, works towards. Especially me coming in mid-year, I knew coming to the Steelers that this was an opportunity, but to see this actually happen and to be here is really special. It’s pretty exciting.”
(on if he could have envisioned this season going this way after leaving the Cowboys last year) “I thought I would have played sooner this year than I did, but when you’re on the outside looking in, you don’t necessarily control that. But then once the opportunity came up with the Steelers, I was very excited about it because I knew this was a very real possibility.”
(on going home to Ontario in the offseason with a Super Bowl ring) “Yeah, if I can I’ll be back. As long as there’s ice, I’ll be back at Mitchell’s Bay ice fishing here shortly.”
(on Adam Vinatieri relating game-winning field goals to four-foot puts after not playing any of the previous holes) “That’s a great way to state it. We’re on the sideline and we go on the field a limited number of times a game, so especially in tight games – which I’m assuming this will be – all those plays are important.”
(on the role of faith in his personal and football lives) “I think when things happen in your life like with my mother-in-law passing away, it forces you to evaluate. But also, throughout this process, I realized that for me it certainly is a plan set out for me that I can’t comprehend or don’t have the foresight to understand what’s happening. But when you look back at things, it makes sense and I think that’s a great thing.”
(on what’s going through his head a few days before the game and whether he thinks about kicking a game-winning kick) “I mean, I try not to over-complicate what I do. It’s just a matter of me preparing the way I always do, and when I get on the field I trust in my preparation. My focus is to put a good foot on the ball and if I do that, it should go where I’m asking it to.”
(on if he’s found a home in Pittsburgh) “I hope so. I love it in Pittsburgh. I love Heinz Field. I love the fans. I love everything about Pittsburgh and I’m so happy to be there. I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I certainly hope I can stay in Pittsburgh a long time, but that’s in the future. Right now I’m really just looking towards this game.”
