Dunlap: Bradshaw's Legacy In Pittsburgh Is Baffling
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - It appears the ping-pong match of words between Terry Bradshaw and Mike Tomlin might be over.
Oh my, it was entertaining --- the stuff I absolutely live for as a talk show host.
And let's get something straight: Mike Tomlin won with a one-punch TKO, a one-hitter-quitter that felled the brash Louisianan for good when Tomlin answered a question in his media availability on Tuesday and surgically eviscerated Bradshaw.
But now that it's all over (or at least appears to be for now) there is an ever-lingering thought I have.
How in the world did Terry Bradshaw, a conquering football hero at one time in this town, manage to fritter away what was just about impossible? How did Bradshaw, the man who brought these parts such football glory through that magical right arm, accomplish turning off so many Steelers fans?
It really is something, isn't it?
It really is something the way he's not welcomed back all that much by the Rooney family, the way he rarely is involved in any of those Steelers gatherings and, most notably, the way many Steelers fans don't view him with a deep reverence.
I mean, just walk around the tailgate parties at Heinz Field. If we do anything well in Pittsburgh, it's tailgate and live in the past --- and when you walk around down there you don't see all that many Bradshaw jerseys. Or, at least, not as many as you think you'd see of the man who led this town to four titles.
When you ask a decent sample size of Steeler fans what they think of Bradshaw now, you're most often met with a "I could take him or leave him" sort of answer.
It's all so odd to me.
There is Dan Marino in South Florida.
And Jim Kelly in Buffalo along with Brett Favre in Green Bay.
And John Elway in Denver.
How about Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman in Dallas?
All of those gentlemen --- most not as accomplished as Bradshaw --- seem to be among a list of a few of his contemporaries when you look at quarterbacking history. To look at all of those men is to realize that they are just about universally loved in the city they played in.
People see them as deities.
Fans, to this day, view them as immortal in the towns where they wowed so many.
Is Bradshaw still looked at that way here in Pittsburgh? I don't think he's universally revered, admired and respected in the Steel City the way a man who guided the Steelers to four Super Bowls would be expected to be.
And most of that is on him --- that's just my opinion.
He's tarnished his own legacy; he's tried so hard to be disagreeable to the franchise that gave him so much. He's attempted again and again to create a problem with the Steelers when none was really there.
The latest chapter came when he went out of his way to make that "cheerleader" dig at Tomlin when a simple critique of his coaching would have been sufficient.
Bradshaw wanted to rattle the tree for some reason when it didn't need to be shaken. Now, it appears, many Steelers fans view him as a windbag, chatterboxing wiseacre with some imaginary score to settle with the Steelers that he will never get over and, well, never settle --- because it's imagined.
He's a man with a make-believe chip on his shoulder.
It's just so tough for me to wrap my head around as someone who grew up in this town and --- although I'm not old enough to remember them playing --- has an understanding of the past greats that we see as sports Gods here.
Bradshaw should be at or near the top of that list. Everyone, because of his accomplishments, should look at Terry and be absolutely in love with him and awed by him.
Instead, to many, it seems like he's grown to be a bitter old man with a bogus vendetta against the Steelers.
It's all so damn puzzling. Just like him.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
