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I was “In Shock” when I first read that #83 had retired. Yet, it was the perfect way for him to leave the team. It was never about “Heath Miller” to him. He was a “Team First” player. I wish him the very best in the future. He will always be one of my favorite Steelers.

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Just a clarification. I am not sure how potentially racist the Heath cheer is rather than something that reflects a certain sloppiness. I have never heard it directed at Will Johnson, I don’t think it was a knock on Johnson. Rather, I think they many fans simply thought it was Heath making the catch rather than Matt or Jesse. The proof would be, as Roxanna says, the cheer goes up for all the tight ends going forward. Then we can say its a tribute.

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I gave up baseball in the steroid ere. Baseball is nothing without stats and the juicers rendered stats meaningless. It certainly didn’t help that I was. Yankee fan who had endured the Steinbrenner era. Once he brought in miscreants Gary Sheffieldand Roger Clemens. What? Reggie Jackson wasn’t enough.

If I have any rooting interest now, it’s the Buccos. I can’t say I even follow basketball, except in the most casual way. I will watch a Penguins game now and then. I also like a little golf. Tiger is dead to me, but I like Phil, Bubba & Rory.

One more thought — me Heeeaaaath for anyone but Heeeaaathhhh. White, black, yellow or green, nobody’s going to get a Heeeaaaath from me unless he’s the real thing. That’s my tribute to 83.

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For now, I’ll continue to enjoy the ride with the Steelers.

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The first team I walked away from, though it was not so deep a passion, was the Montreal Expos. Being a homer at heart, I tend to cheer for the home team and hometown heroes (even when they are elsewhere). I started cheering for the Expos because they were the only MLB team in Canada at the time. They were terrible and they were terrible for many years (or so it seemed at the time) but I cheered (because I was also raised to cheer on the underdog with whom my family identified so strongly). Then they finally fielded what seemed to be a championship level team with star player littering the lineup only to stink it up in the playoffs. When word leaked out about rampant cocaine abuse on the part of some of the star players I was devastated. I had sunk so much emotional currency into these guys only to see them piss it away. I didn’t understand and I couldn’t forgive. I cheered for the Jays when they finally won but my heart was never really in it.

The second time I walked away from a sport was when the original Winnipeg Jets left for Phoenix. It was heart wrenching and despicable to see the heart of the community ripped out and shipped to the dessert for a bunch of people who didn’t understand or appreciate hockey. People who hadn’t see the team that had gone from being the worst in league history to one of the top four in the NHL (unfortunately that put us into 3rd in our division behind the Oilers and Flames at the time). The team had started the process the year before by trading away beloved Teemu Selanne while keeping the much less popular Keith Tkachuk. A final goodbye by a crowd that blocked Portage and Main and a failed, fan fueled, fundraising campaign were the bitter aftermath of a decision that had been made by the owner and the league because the idea of increased TV revenue from a major market was more important than the people who had supported the team since it’s inception.

I still watch Jets 2.0 with my wife and I have a fairly good grasp of the team, it’s players and it’s circumstances but my heart isn’t really into it. If the team left now I wouldn’t mourn for the team though I would feel for those left behind.

I very nearly walked away from NFL fandom not so long ago. Some of you may remember. The Rooneys and the Steelers are all that is keeping me watching NFL games and following NFL events. The league officials and officiating have left a bad taste in my mouth. My heart is conflicted between my love of the game and the knowledge that the danger of head injuries are putting their lives and future of these young men on the line.

A final thought. Heeathhhh! In my mind the idea of yelling Heath’s name, when a Steelers TE caught a pass, was an homage to the player and a compliment to heath’s replacement. I never considered the colour of the player. For me it was a position related thing. I am saddened that there could be racist aspects to the act. Until now my only concern was whether a receiver first/blocking maybe style of TE deserved the accolade but now I will have to restrain myself.

I never thought of yelling “Troy” when a SS made a great play but I never thought of Troy as replaceable. Troy was unique. He seemed so far removed from other players in terms of his style of play. Heath, on the other hand, seemed like a guy who carried a lunch bucket and showed up every day to do what he did. Someone you could emulate because he was just a guy, like the rest of us while Troy seemed more like a cross between superhero and saint (this description of Troy would probably bother him which is just part of his charm as far as I am concerned). I just hope that what ever player gets #83 next can carry on the tradition Heath has begun.

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Most partings have at least a tinge of acrimony, of not something more intense. Even Troy and Hines had some desire to continue when the Turk came calling. Other revered Steelers played out their careers elsewhere, usually in obscurity. Two prime examples are Franco Harris and Dermontii Dawson, Hall of Famers who played too long in other cities.

I doubt I’ll ever move on. It would take an implosion of the Steeler way. The seventies team all retired and I hung in. I survived the relative mediocrity of the eighties and the parting of great Steelers like Woodson, Kirkland, Lipps. A new generation is nearly gone, but another is building momentum under Coach Tomlin, Colbert and Art II. Unless the Steeler way is lost, I’ll be there, whether we win or lose.

There’s a whole lot more in your article, Ivan. But I’ll leave it there. Great job.

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