30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Tough + Loyal + Selfless + Leader = Hines Ward

Football's focus has been on Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts, Drew Brees, and the New Orleans Saints the past few days... but today's post is flashing back to last week's news.

I've never been a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I admire their franchise history. Since I was a child, they've consistently provided their fans competitive teams built around solid defenses & talented skill players, like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and Jerome Bettis... who are all enshrined at Canton.


Hines Ward belongs on this list. For fourteen season, Ward was a leader for the Steelers who modeled toughness, loyalty, selflessness, and leadership... everything you could ask for in a player. He may have lost a step over the past two seasons, but Ward maintained his role as a team leader. The past few months, Ward made it very clear to everyone that he was willing to take a pay cut in order to stick around and help mentor a talented group of young receivers.


In other words, he did everything he could to stay loyal to the team that drafted him in 1998. The team he caught 1,000 receptions for... most in franchise history. The team he scored 86 touchdowns for... 2nd in franchise history. The team he had 12,083 receiving yards for... most in franchise history. The team he helped win 2 Super Bowl Championships for... including the 2005 Super Bowl MVP. The team that released him last Friday.


Happy 36th Birthday Mr. Ward! I might not be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan... but I have no problem admitting I'm a fan of you.

You know the routine... it's your turn to chime in.

Is Hines Ward headed to Canton?

Have a good evening... and sayonara!

6 comments:

Captain Canuck said...

unfortunately, yes, he probably. is. Not a big fan of one of the dirtiest players to play in the league over the last 15 years.
But voters don't take stuff like that into consideration.

So he's in. Maybe not first ballot, but it won't be long.

Chris P said...

I think he gets in eventually but it may take a little while, only because it seems like it takes forever for wide receivers to get in. I'm not a Cris Carter fan, but there's not doubt numbers wise he should be in by now and Tim Brown should eventually get in as well

Fuji said...

Lol... I remember him being voted "dirtiest player" by his peers. But it can also be interpreted as "tough".

Fuji said...

I've wrote about my feelings on Carter before... not sure why he hasn't be inducted. The HOF is about honoring the game's greatest players and Carter was definitely one of the best. Tim Brown too.

AdamE said...

He will get in but it will take a few years on the ballot.

Anonymous said...

Every hit/block hes ever had was clean so shut your mouth and respect him. Hes the greatest Steeler WR of all time. He should be your role model. Great guy on and off the field. Not dirty at all, hes just tough and knows how to play the game.