Longtime readers will know that I'm one of the guys here who roots for a professional football team outside the borders of our fair state... specifically a divisional rival of our two in-state franchises, and the team which currently employs more Buckeyes than any other NFL squad.
Yes, I root for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although I grew up in Southern Ohio during the Boomer and Ickey era, which was a decent one for the Bengals, I never really latched on to them as "my team." Perhaps it was because I was more into the Buckeyes, or perhaps it was because I just didn't follow the NFL all that much... either way, when I married The Stunning Mrs. Vance, a native of Wheeling, West By God, it was not a difficult decision to adopt her passionate, fervent zeal for all things Steelers.
Hey - don't judge. Happy wife, happy life, mi amigo.
At any rate, it hasn't been difficult being a Buckeye pulling for the Steel City. They share a similar Blue Collar, hard-nosed pedigree. They've won a truckload of championships but have struggled in recent years to live up to those expectations. They are considered one of the classiest teams in the sport, and they have fielded some of the biggest names in the history of the sport. Yes, there are a lot of parallels between our Buckeyes and the Steelers.
But my favorite Steeler of all time isn't Terry Bradshaw or Mean Joe Greene. It's not Franco Harris or Hines Ward. No, it's former Buckeye All-American defensive back and NFL Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau, a native of London, Ohio and a member of Woody Hayes' 1957 National Championship team.
Think about that for a minute. The man many of us consider to be the greatest defensive mind in the history of organized American football played for Coach Hayes the year my parents were born. And LeBeau is still coaching like his hair is on fire and shows no signs of slowing down. Amazing.
The reason I bring all of this up is that I've often commented here that I'd love to see more of a connection between my alma mater and my favorite NFL coach. Having won umpteen awards during his time as a Buckeye, and then reached the pinnacle of his craft as both an NFL player and coach, I find LeBeau to be a colossus among men, and have always wondered why we don't see more of him in relation to our university.
And then the other day, through the magic of the interwebz, I found this gem of a video, produced shortly after LeBeau was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton. It's a pretty terrific video, with the coach sharing some reflections on what it was like to play for Woody, and alongside greats like Hopalong Cassidy. Even if you're not a fan of the black and gold, I think you'll enjoy hearing one of our greatest defensive backs of the 20th Century tell tales about his time in the scarlet & gray.
