Steelers Great Rocky Bleier Gets Roasted
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In 1969, Rocky Bleier went from the Steelers to Vietnam, where a grenade tore off half his foot.
Now, in a one man show called "The Play," he tells the story of how he came back, to help win four Super Bowls.
"Don't believe everything you hear later on, from this panel that will be up here," he tells a lunch crowd at Heinz Field. "These guys are old, and they've been hit a lot."
"These guys" are four of his NFL Hall of Famers, teammates from the '70s. 40 years later, Rocky Bleier has set the tone for his own "roast," benefitting Children's Hospital.
Lynn Swann gets the audience laughing.
"Rocky is a true miracle, because he's the only back in history to run for a thousand yards, and not have a single move," he deadpans.
"He said, 'I always wanted to run fast enough so I'd feel the wind blowing my hair," Joe Greene chimes in.
A late draft pick from Notre Dame, Rocky Bleier was the ultimate overachiever.
"He took nothing, and made something out of it," Mel Blount says. "And I think Lynn said it, you know, with no talent, but he's smart, and we admire him for a lot of reasons."
"Use what you have to the best of your ability, and Rocky did that quite well," Franco Harris adds.
Rocky didn't stick around to hear his own roast. While teammates were raking him over the coals at Heinz Field, he was in a dress rehearsal at Heinz Hall, where he still may wind up getting the last laugh.
Meanwhile, Lynn Swann wonders why he needs to rehearse.
"Isn't the play about his life story? Doesn't he know it already?"
It's an old theater expression to say, "Break a leg." But in Rocky Bleier's case, a better choice of words is, "Good luck."
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