The following is presented as the author's opinion only and is intended to be editorial in nature.
The internet can be a cruel, unforgiving place. It does not suffer fools lightly, and will punish any dumb thing you say. The added benefit is that anything you or anyone else puts there is there forever. This is something that Pittsburgh columnist John Steigerwald is being reminded of today.
In his article you can read here, he tries to make a point, but fails at nearly every turn, and the internet is being merciless about it. Yesterday morning, it only had a few thousand page hits – as word spread, that number climbed. At the time of this writing, it has over 130K and can be easily found by Googling “John Steigerwald is an idiot.” (Go ahead and try it – these aren't my words.)
If you haven't read it, he starts his post as a commentary on violence in the stands in sports today. In light of the brutal beating of Bryan Stow out in LA and our local taser-and-club fest down at PNC Park, this is a very worth-while topic to discuss. People are getting carried away and taking things too seriously. Whether or not it is the epidemic that some people think it is or not doesn't matter. It's a valid talking point.
Unfortunately, Steigerwald got the guy's name wrong right at the beginning (it has since been corrected), and he'd already lost his audience by the time his point got lost. Just a few paragraphs in, the argument became about attire, rather than fans. He talks about the victim's poor judgment in wearing Giants gear in Dodger's territory, and how this is a major problem.
Many of the vitriolic comments talk about how this section seemed to blame the victim for his beating. Now, I do not think that this is what Steigerwald was getting at, I really don't – but he sure didn't phrase it well. I think that he was trying to say that the assailants just used his attire as an excuse, and unfortunately, it happens sometimes. Regardless, it was in poor taste.
My stance on that particular issue is that there are bad apples in every bunch. Sure, wearing the Giants jersey probably didn't help – but I'm willing to bet you that there were hundreds of other Giants fans in “uniform” that day that went home to their families that day just fine. Blaming the jersey for his assault is like blaming beer for a drunk-driving accident, or a gun for someone getting shot. They might have been part of the equation, but the blame lies with the person who actually committed the act, and no one or thing else.
Thus far, I think that much of the blame in this article can be left with his editors. I might screw up in this post here and there – but I'm an unpaid blogger with a core readership of my mother-in-law, wife and brother-from-another-mother (fully two-thirds of these I expect to read this post.) Staggy is a paid columnist for a variety of publications. Before this made it onto the net, someone probably should have said, “Uh, Staggy? I think your argument might have gotten away from you here...”
However, after this intro is where we get to the meat of his disconnect.
The rest of the article goes on to propose that only children should wear “replica jerseys” to games, as they don't know any better. It's cute, he says. But not grown men. “Are there really 40-something men who think that wearing the jersey makes them part of the team? ”
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Staggy. Where did that come from? I don't know anyone who thinks that they are part of the team when they put their favorite player's jersey on. Okay, maybe Keller in the parking lot before a Ravens/Steelers home game – but that's only because he's hammered, fired up and having a bit of trouble with reality. It happens.
“If you're one of two or three guys wearing Steelers jerseys sitting in the middle of the Dawg Pound in Cleveland, guess what? The Steelers players can't see you and even if they could, they're not really getting a lot of inspiration from you. ”
Oh, what utter horsesh- Look, that's just wrong on so many levels. How many times have we seen Hines run up to the wall during away game and toss a ball to a fan wearing his jersey? How often do players talk about being on the road, looking up, seeing Black N Gold and getting a little feeling of home? And that, right there, is the point.
No sane, balanced person thinks that their jersey makes them part of the team. They think – and correctly so – that it makes them a fan. It shows their support, their civic pride – their passion. This isn't just Steelers – this isn't even just Pittsburgh. There's the Dawg Pound he talks about. There's the Cheeseheads. There's the Predator masks down in Orlando (see? I still fit Arena Ball in here.) There's baseball fans, hockey fans, and (I can only assume) basketball fans.
Any true sports town shows their support. In the absence of some “theme,” the diehards are left with buying a jersey. Given the brisk business Reebok does – and the cheap Chinese knockoffs – then, by Steigerwald's theory, there are a lot of mentally unbalanced man-children out there. (And women-children in cute, little pink versions.)
As for his comments about sports stars being scared by meeting an adult in their jersey, I have a hard time believing that. Sure, there are some people out there that buy a #7 because they want to fit in with their friends, but most people buy the jersey of their favorite player. Rather than being a way to pretend to be part of the team, it's a way to connect with their heroes, men and women that they look up to and admire.
Look, John – when I slap a political bumper sticker on my car, I don't think that I'm personally running for office. A Megadeth T-shirt doesn't make me think that I'm going to be the next pick on Dave Mustaine's carousel of guitar players. Clicking “Like” on Justified's Facebook page doesn't make me think that I'm going to hang on set with Timothy Olyphant. They – along with my Steelers, Pens and Power jerseys – say that I like, support and enjoy these things and want others to know it.
His closing thought was, “Why not just go to the Browns game in Cleveland dressed as a regular human being? When did it become necessary to wear a uniform to the game? ”
Mr. Stiegerwald, in your disconnection from your audience, I think you missed the point of the matter: It is not necessary to do it. We do it because we love our team and we want to. That's it. We are fans, this is sport and we love this stuff.
There, I've said my piece. Now my adult jersey and I will get off your lawn.
As always, please feel free to leave comments below. Unlike some other sites, these ones aren't moderated before they are posted...
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