It has been sitting in my closet since 2004.
It took three games for me to make the decision. Three times I watched this rookie go out on to the field and do what rookies aren't supposed to be able to do. He remained calm, composed, and got the job done. It was time for me to buy a Steelers jersey, so it was a no-brainer. I searched store-to-store until I found it. I bought #7, because I was impressed with the rookie quarterback.
I wore the jersey every Sunday for two seasons. And then, a little something happened. It was nothing major, certainly nothing that in any way impacted his performance on the field, just a little something one day while I was eating lunch. I had an in-person encounter with #7 and walked away from it a little uneasy. I know that NFL players often have almost split-personalities, that often they are not exactly The Finest of Men off the field, but the incident left me just plain not liking the guy. Sometimes, it's not the on-field stuff that is most important. Sometimes the quality of the human being does matter.
I tucked the jersey into the back of the closet.
Some time after that, Holmes was accused of domestic violence. I placed a little mental red check mark next to his name. Although the charges were dropped, simply being involved in such a situation made me uneasy. I didn't want him to be a Steeler anymore.
Then it happened again, this time with Harrison. Again I placed that little mental red check mark next to his name, this time with an even heavier heart. I was disappointed in the direction that his life had gone after all of the hard work he had done to get where he was. I didn't want him to be a Steeler anymore.
Then it was Reed. Over and over. I skipped the little mental red check mark and went for the Big Giant Mental Red Check Mark. I not-so-secretly hoped for a on-field failure so that the Steelers would be done with him, once and for all. Yes, you read that right--I have wanted Reed removed from the Steelers roster since his first run-in with the police.
And now back to #7. That jersey still sits in my closet, crumpled up on the floor in a ball. I can't imagine myself ever wearing it again. I can't imagine myself doing anything other than cutting it into pieces.
Right now, I can't imagine myself watching a Steelers game with Ben Roethlisberger on the field.
Football players don't need to be saintly. They don't need to be perfect human beings. They don't even have to be nice people. In my eyes, however, they do need to be decent human beings. They do need to act like grown-ups with real jobs. And if they are going to wear the black and gold, they need to avoid doing things that will result in a call to a police officer.
Would I give up those two recent Super Bowl victories to have a team I could be proud of? Yes. Yes, I would.