The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying something new with Russell Wilson under center.
Look around the landscape of professional sports right now. Which teams still really have brands? The Lakers? The Yankees? The Cowboys? None of those inspire the same feeling they did once upon a star.
In the era of player movement and empowerment, the Steelers have amazingly been able to keep some sort of brand identity. They stubbornly refuse to give up on coaches when many other teams would, and while their gritty style isn’t as powerful as it once was, there is still a distinct feeling you get being around this team.
It all starts at the quarterback position, which was manned by the typical Pittsburgh personality in Ben Roethlisberger for so long. Heck, even a guy like Kenny Pickett was a local product and embodied the city.
But here comes Russell Wilson, who seems like more of a glitz and glam Hollywood guy than a Yinzer. Colin Cowherd and Dianna Russini talked about his potential fit in Pittsburgh on The Herd.
“You take Russell Wilson, Ciara, Pittsburgh. I’m just fascinated to watch it. He’s not really on-brand. Big Ben could have drama, but Big Ben kinda felt like Pittsburgh. He had the scruff beard, the motorcycle,” Cowherd said. “I think it could go sideways. I think it could be excellent.”
“When I think of who Mike Tomlin is, what he’s about… and how he conducts his team, and what that locker room looks like. And then I think of Russell? They are just very different people,” Russini added.
The Tomlin-Wilson relationship has been a solid one over the years, albeit only in passing. This year, the two are the faces and minds of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and as Russini said they are quite different.
But I hesitate with all this Russell Wilson “diva” talk. He’s a winner, a guy who has proven he can take a team to the highest level. He’s a leader, one who is always there supporting his teammates, even if his personality isn’t the most conventional. And sure things didn’t end great in Denver, but let’s cut him some slack. How many professional athletes would have handled things better than he did? I’d argue it’s less than many think.
The Pittsburgh culture means many things. Gritty. Blue-collar. People who earn their keep. But I’d argue the Pittsburgh Steelers culture has one defining trait that rises above those other attributes: winning. Russell Wilson is a winner. Mike Tomlin is a winner. And sometimes in football, that’s all that matters. I guess we will have to see it for ourselves on the field in 2024.
