Mike Tomlin will often say that the standard is the standard for the Steelers, and while some fans may be sick of hearing that and not feeling like it’s being put into practice, it is true. For the Steelers, the standard is greatness, and that means winning or at least competing for championships. Considering they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 2008, haven’t made it to the big game since 2010, and more recently have even struggled to make the playoffs, many fans are understandably frustrated. However, one member of the media claims that fans actually take it easy on the Steelers, at least compared to Pittsburgh’s other sports teams.
CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala previously worked for NFL Network, usually covering the teams in the AFC North. In a recent appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Kinkhabwala and the hosts talked about Cleveland fans not lobbing as much criticism at the Browns as they do the Cavaliers and Guardians, Cleveland’s NBA and MLB teams respectively.
“In the city of Pittsburgh, it’s the same,” Kinhabwala said. “The fans go way easier on the Steelers organization and are way more protective of Steelers players than I would say they are of the Pens and the Pirates.”
That’s a pretty bold statement, and just looking at it on the surface doesn’t seem true at all. It’s easy to say fans go easy on the Steelers now, but if the team starts this season 0-2 or 0-3, it won’t be hard to find a Steelers fan who wants the team to fire everyone. Last year, after the Steelers lost to the Cardinals and Patriots, you would have thought Tomlin committed a crime with the way fans spoke about him.
Also, no one is more protected in the city of Pittsburgh than Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. T.J. Watt receives a lot of defense from fans, but that’s because of the perceived disrespect he goes through when the Defensive Player of the Year award gets handed out. If a player for the Steelers has a bad game, fans let him know, certainly not acting protective. Crosby could probably go full Bane and blow up Acrisure Stadium and some people would still struggle to be mad at him.
Some fans may only be Steelers fans, so their opinions may be much stronger about the football team compared to the hockey or baseball team, but that doesn’t guarantee protection. Not in Pittsburgh, where the standard is championships. The Penguins are the most recent champ out of those three, bringing home back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Steelers fans are hungry for a competitive team, and that goes beyond just having a winning season. Tomlin knows that too, and he seems to embrace that aspect of his job. Fans may heartily defend the Steelers, but they also aren’t afraid to criticize them. They definitely don’t deserve the kind of apathy the Pirates receive though. After all, how can fans be protective of a team the owner clearly doesn’t care about? Fans may have some issues with the Rooney family or the Penguins ownership group, but neither of them is anywhere near as bad as Pirates owner Bob Nutting.
