Merry Christmas From the Pittsburgh Steelers

Although horribly off-key, off-tempo and out-of-sorts, the Pittsburgh Steelers want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy – ?

Here’s the link… Steelers Christmas Wishes.

TrueMan up!

Steelers' Santonio Holmes – NFL Fantasy Files

Here’s the best one of all of ’em.  This video shows Santonio Holmes practicing keeping his feet down after making a catch.  You might remember his Super Bowl 43 game-winning touchdown catch after you watch this!  Go Steelers!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu414kpBjeA]

7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 3

T-Minus 5 days and counting until Superbowl 43…

Today, I’m thinking about the players in the NFL, and the typical picture that is painted for us of a player on the side lines.  Typically, we see the star players getting a water-boy to squirt water in their mouth for them, someone who takes their helmet off and places it on their own personal “helmet heater” and yet another person who comes behind them and places a warm cape over their shoulders during cold games.  Is this reality?  Do you have an assistant that comes behind you and “takes care of you”?  Most of us want to say no, but if you think about it, you might have to change your answer to yes.

Think about it this way… if you’re a married man, do you make your wife take care of everything around the house?  (The cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and the bills?)  Does your wife do everything for the children?  (Feed, change, dress, educate and play with them?)  If this is making you think, I’m glad.  My hope is that each of us realizes that, much like the players on the field, a marriage is a team.  In football terms, how well would a team do if the offense also played defense AND special teams?  They received no rest, no substitutes and no relief.  They’d get run down and worn out.  Are you doing this to your spouse?  A True Man knows that cooking is a huge help (on a grill is preferred!), that cleaning any part of the house is a major relief and that a break from the kids is a god-send.  A True Man also knows that this DOES NOT take away from his manhood, but enhances it.  Be a teammate.

Man up!

7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 2 (Troy Polamalu Day)

T-Minus 6 Days and counting until Superbowl 43…

Many of you are familiar with the star of the top-ranked Steeler defense, #43 Troy Polamalu (pronounced: poh lah mah loo).  You’re probably familiar with him because of his tenacity, aggressiveness, number of sacks and interceptions, and especially because of his long, curly, black, Polynesian hair.  (Not familiar with Troy? Click HERE.)  You might not be familiar with him because of another reason… his Catholic faith.  Polamalu is a devote Catholic, a genuine family man and a humble servant – off the field.  This picture of him seemingly contrasts his playing style – on the field.  Troy disagrees.  He believes that his passion (for football) on the field is directly related to his passion (for Christ) off the field.  He was quoted in the Pittsburgh Catholic saying “Football gives me confirmation of how I can carry out my faith.  It’s my way to glorify God.”  He also recently started a philanthropic foundation that benefits our service men and women!

His teammates have some things to say about him, too.  “Knowing Troy and how he carries himself, he brings light to the team,” said offensive lineman Alan Faneca. “Everybody respects that.” “He’s definitely one of those guys who lead by example,” said quarterback Charlie Batch. “He’s not a talker when he gets out there, but you see the work he does on the field and produces every Sunday. When you put that combination together, yeah, he’s one of those guys that you’re going to follow … and he doesn’t take for granted that he’s blessed with incredible speed and instinct.”

Leading by example… that’s TRUE MANHOOD.  Way to go Troy!

Check out the full story from the Pittsburgh Catholic HERE.

7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – DAY 1

The countdown has begun; t-minus 7 days and counting until the big game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals – Superbowl 43 on February 1, 2009 in Tampa, Florida.  This game is especially exciting for me this year because I’m a huge Steelers fan.

It’s easy for us to get into the stereotypical (“dumb ox”) mindset when it comes to football… “ugh… me like football.  mmm, smash, kill, score, win… arghh”.  It’s easy to yell at the television, even though we know they can’t hear us and that the play we’re yelling about is already history.  It’s easy to stuff our faces full of greasy food during any given game.  It’s easy to become involved, in an unhealthy way, in the fantasy of the game.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing intrinsically evil about football, and in the right context, is perfectly normal and healthy, however, we should guard against a few tendencies.

1. We must realize that football is a game and has zero positive bearing on what should be our goal in life – getting to Heaven.
2. We shouldn’t try to live (vicariously, or otherwise) through our favorite team or all-star players.
3. We should never allow football to take precedence over family time.
4. We should never allow football to take precedence over our responsilibities.
5. We should “consume” football in reasonable amounts.

 

LOOKING AHEAD.  Monday’s post: How a real life football star stays grounded as a family man and philanthropist.