Word: pittsburgher
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Steeler defense has suffered from injury. Mean Joe Greene has been meaner than ever, but even the coke commercial kid can't be a one man defense. The "Steel Curtain"--Pittsburgh's defensive line that has given new neaning to the term Cold War--is showing signs of rust. The line averages over thirty years of age, and the comparatively youthful lineman Robin Cole has been out injured most of the season...
...reaction to a simple football match seems exaggerated or inappropriate, consider Pittsburgh for a moment. Primarily a blue-collar worker's town, most of the people who live here, from lawyers to contractors to mill workers to coal miners, are in some way involved in the steel industry. Consider also, that the recent slump in the steel market, aggravated in part by the recession and by competitive foreign steel markets such as Japan's and West Germany's, has forced many plants to close down, leaving many thousands of steel workers unemployed. The layoff of the steelworkers has serious repercussions...
...television program "Sixty Minutes" this fall questioned a laid-off worker from the Jones and Laughlin Steel plant about the worsening situation: "I'm not worried about me, no, things are alright here. We've still got the Steelers." To a man who thinks like that, and Pittsburgh there are many, the Steeler's loss last Thursday was not just a football game, it was an event that has broken the heart of the city...
Putting things back in perspective, the Steelers are not all washed up yet; they still have a very distant shot at the American Football Conference division wild card berth, and furthermore, Pittsburgh will certainly survive the blow if they do fold. On the street you can already hear people talking about next year's game schedule, whom the Steelers might get in the draft, who will retire and who will be traded. You can hear plenty of personal analyses of the Steeler-Houston game, too--everybody's got their own version...
...major reason, injury was. The Steelers have suffered heavily from injuries all season, a blow to which they inevitably had to succumb. Quarterback Bradshaw, ailing from two injured wrists and a weak knee, has either played handicapped or been sidelined most of the season. Franco Harris, Pittsburgh's top running back and a 1,000 yard rusher for seven of the past eight seasons has also been out much of the season. Harris only played briefly in last Thursday's contest and with disasterous result--two costly fumbles that led to Houston scoring opportunities...