Former Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed was a fan favorite during his nine-year career with the Steelers, but growing up, Reed was not a fan of the Steelers. Born in Kansas City, Reed grew up a Chiefs fan, and he admitted on The Sports Guyz podcast that he “hated” the Steelers growing up.
“When you’re a Kansas City Chiefs fan, then you don’t like the Steelers,” Reed said. “When you’re anything besides a Pittsburgh fan, you don’t like the Steelers. Because they’re always good.”
Reed said it’s similar to how people hated the Patriots during the Brady-Belichick era and now why so many people hate the Chiefs. For Pittsburgh, he said the reason the team has always been so good is because of the culture and expectation of winning.
“When you get drafted or signed, not even drafted, signed as a free agent to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is a culture. You are expected to win every game no matter what happens during that game,” he said. “Until those 60 minutes are done, or overtime, however long it may go, you’re expected to win. And if you don’t win, you’re expected not to be there very long. It’s just an ingrained culture.”
The standard is excellence in Pittsburgh, and that standard hasn’t always been met in recent years, with the team failing to win a playoff game in 2016. But it’s the standard that’s set, and players are expected to win, and for the most part, the Steelers have won, just not when it matters. But the expectation and culture has always been winning, from before Reed played and to the present day.
As for Reed disliking the Steelers, it’s no surprise given he was born in 1979, with the Steelers coming off a dominant stretch where they won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. While they weren’t as good in the 1980s, they were still a preeminent dynasty in football and regarded as one of the best organizations in the sport. As Reed said, people who weren’t Steelers fans probably didn’t like the team all that much.
But when you’re good enough to play in the NFL, you don’t get picky about who to play for, and you can put personal biases aside. After originally signing with the New Orleans Saints after the draft, Reed latched on with the Steelers in November 2002 and played there until getting released during the 2010 season, winning two Super Bowls along the way with the team he grew up hating. He would finish his career playing five games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 after replacing the injured Joe Nedney.
