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About an hour ago
To: Hines Ward, somewhere outside of Canton
From: Mark Madden, Pittsburgh
Dear Hines:
I bet you remember me. I called you “Whines Hard” and ridiculed your unbridled ego. When you unfairly threw Ben Roethlisberger under the bus over concussion issues, I said it. I laughed at your poor pursuit of 1,000 receptions, one catch from 2 yards at a time. (That would be fine now.) I pointed out that being “football’s best blocking receiver” could net the Steelers 30 extra yards per season.
These are just the highlights. I’ve been tough on you. It was fun.
You had fun too. You went on HBO and blasted me for my review – you even quoted “Whines Hard” – and complained that I never gave you a chance to respond. That’s not true and HBO hasn’t given me any chance to respond anyway. You kicked me out of my Sunday night TV gig with WTAE-TV and tried to get me kicked out of my radio job at WXDX-FM.
No complaints. If I could have had you cut, I would have. If I could keep you out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I would. But I won’t have to. They also don’t care about that ‘football’s best blocking receiver’ thing.
But, wow, the Steelers could definitely use you now.
I mean it figuratively, not literally. (But, at 44, you’d be better than Ryan Switzer.)
You were mean and conceited. You have called yourself the “leader of the Wideouts,” even though no one else has. You were your own biggest fan of the onset of nausea.
But on match day, in the locker room and on the training ground, you never put anything in front of the team. You’ve never fooled the Steelers or their fans for effort, focus, and attitude.
If social media had been ubiquitous in your time, I don’t know how you would have handled it. But if you indulged in “branding” like today’s players do, you had two rings and a Super Bowl MVP to hang your hat on. You were possessed by success and victory. Not TikTok.
Maybe I didn’t respect that enough. I’m doing it now.
You have to thank JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool for that. At the end of their career, they will have a brand image and a lot of money (for a while). You have a legitimate inheritance. As for Canton, you are quite close even if you are not plumb. These two won’t be anywhere close.
Their branding is not even a big price branding. Baker Mayfield does mainstream television commercials. These two players are playing video games on Twitch to make a difference. These are nickel dimers.
Smith-Schuster will likely sign with the New York Jets this offseason. Not for football, of course. The Jets stink. (You know it. You train in it. You won’t fix it.) Smith-Schuster wants to expand its brand to a larger market.
I made a bet: New York media gave 11. It’s a lock. They will eat Smith-Schuster alive.
Smith-Schuster danced to the enemy logo before games for TikTok content until it became Buffalo’s rallying cry en route to victory and his fumble helped lose a game in Cincinnati. He was told not to, but his immaturity and petulance remained. He said “the Browns are the Browns”. Cleveland completely humiliated the Steelers in that playoff game, leading 28-0 in the first quarter.
Afterward, Mayfield shouted, “Brown is brown!” His teammates danced like Smith-Schuster. A little better than him, in fact.
Less than 24 hours after the Steelers were demolished by Cleveland, Claypool went on TikTok (of course) and said, “It’s okay” because the Browns were going to be “applauded” by Kansas City in the next game.
Hines, you saw this game. From the Steelers perspective, was that “all good?”
Claypool later doubled down, calling the Browns “classless” due to their response to Smith-Schuster being classless. Then on Twitter, Claypool chickened out, saying, “I talked to friends about the Browns and that’s all the love.” He’s not brave enough to be a jerk.
Smith-Schuster and Claypool are AB Jr. and AB Jr. Jr., but not as good. Half the impact, the same aggravation. Like light beer.
You have always been Hines Ward. You produced. You won. You led.
These Steelers have no boss. When Smith-Schuster was told to cut the pre-game dance routine, 11-year-old NFL veteran Joe Haden said, “Let my mate dance. What would you have said?
Hines, I hope this letter finds you and finds you well. The next time you’re in Pittsburgh, let’s have a beer at one of your restaurants. Oh wait, they both sank.
Categories:
Mark Madden Columns | Sports | Steelers / NFL
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