hines ward

if you don't know who hines ward is, he was a receiver for the pittsburgh steelers. that was until recently. they released him and he spent a few days mulling over his options for his future... and after some thought and reflection decided he'd rather retire and be able to say that he was a steeler his whole career.

it's a proper ending to his career. cuz hines ward defines toughness. and when i think tough, the first nfl franchise that usually comes to mind is the pittsburgh steelers, who over the years and decades have had a reputation of usually being one of the tougher teams in the nfl.

hines ward was a wide receiver. and in this day in age in the nfl, there's a stereotype that suggests most wide receivers are pri madonnas. but hines ward was definitely the exception to that stereotype.

i don't know of any other receiver who's ever been so vilified by tough guy defenses in the nfl. he's been accused of playing dirty and hitting hard... sometimes too hard. hines ward isn't afraid to hit the dirt. hines ward isn't afraid to get in a dude's face or to throw an awesome block to make room for a runner behind him.

and yet he participated in 'dancing with the stars.' so all the while when tough motherfuckers like ray lewis were accusing hines ward of being too much of a tough guy for a wide receiver, they were talking about the same guy who would show up on nationwide tv in flashy outfits and give it his best go to dance around competitively. that dude who just performed a ballroom dance of some type, same dude who's put tough hits on some of the nfl's toughest dudes.

hines ward decided he wasn't gonna play elsewhere. there's no where else that a player like hines ward makes sense. when it's cold in pittsburgh in december, no one has any interest in seeing hines ward in a dolphin outfit in beautiful miami. he's a throwback to an earlier era of football, a tougher era. he's a standout who played in a time when the nfl was making major changes to make the game safer and less violent.

he may have been somewhat violent (for a receiver), but hines ward got the job done. he helped win two superbowls and was awarded a superbowl mvp award. he's been to probowls. hines ward may not be jerry rice... but no one ever complained about jerry rice bullying them on the field and hitting them too hard.