Keeping with our theme with mini blasts from the past, I found a recent interview of former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback Carey Davis, who played for the team from 2007 to 2009 and won one Super Bowl. Davis, as many players before him, praised his time in the organization, calling it the best place he played for in his NFL career which spanned five other teams.
“Man I tell people that I think Pittsburgh…hands down, Pittsburgh was the best,” he told the MC Reggie Fresh Morning Show. “From Day One, when I came in the building, every man on that team came and spoke to me and introduced themselves to me. Whether it was Ben, Joey Porter, Hines, all of those guys. ‘Hey I’m Hines Ward, nice to meet you.’ And I’m looking at you like, ‘I know who are you.’ Each one of these men came and spoke to me and introduced themselves to me and that was something that never ever took place at any other organization. You’d have some people speak to you, your position guys, but [no one else would].”
Davis went on to explain what made Pittsburgh unique, and such a great environment, was the equally unique ownership, led by the Rooney family.
“From my perspective, that comes from the top. That comes from the Rooney’s and how they run things. It’s just different. In Pittsburgh, we all hung out together. Whether you were a future Hall of Famer or whether you were on the practice squad. It did not matter. We were all family, we were all friends. We all hung out with each other’s families. It was love.”
Davis worked his way from a UDFA out of Illinois, bouncing around teams before probably even knowing where the best place to get a burger was, before finding stability in Pittsburgh. That led him to a Super Bowl ring, made even sweeter by playing the game in Tampa, one of the teams that cut him along the way.
“For me it was extremely special. We played in Tampa…Tampa cut me twice. To actually win the Super Bowl in Tampa, in Raymond James Stadium, with a group of guys I love to death, still love to this day, it was truly special. It was something you dream about but to do it there, after you were cut by this team, it was like, ‘you told me you weren’t good enough.’ For me, it was something special.”
The Super Bowl would be the last meaningful football game he’d ever play in. Pittsburgh didn’t bring him back after thee season and he spent only a week with Washington the following camp. But if there’s a way to go out on top, that’s the way to do it. He now does sideline reporting for his alma mater.
Davis wrapped up the interview by discussing his foundation, which raises money to buy football equipment for kids grades six through eight, and to thank Steelers’ Nation for their support.
“Shoutout to all the Steelers fans. We appreciate you all. It’s an amazing feeling to play in the city of Pittsburgh.”
