On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play at Saint Vincent School in Latrobe. Right here is considered one of our final collection to bridge the hole between the tip of low season practices and the beginning of coaching camp. That is the fourth of 5 elements.
Coaching camp has lengthy been a breeding floor for pranks with gamers, whereas dwelling in dormitories, attempting to beat boredom once they have free time.
In 2009, Steelers kicker Jeff Reed and chief safety officer Jack Kearney pulled off a doozy, incomes severe factors for creativity and in the end topping most camp jokes as a result of they pranked the complete crew.
They rented constitution buses and strategically parked them alongside the road overlooking the coaching grounds. Morning visits, although not each day, have been nonetheless a factor again then, even for defending Tremendous Bowl champions just like the Steelers. Mike Tomlin was solely in his third 12 months as head coach, however there have been sufficient gamers from the Invoice Cowher period to do not forget that Coach Chin would generally interrupt camp with some type of off-campus journey as an alternative of follow. Normally it was a visit to the flicks.
Think about, given this context, gamers as they walked into the walkthrough and noticed these buses. Some have been downright giddy about hitting the fields for a little bit of a stretch earlier than getting on these buses. Air-conditioned the buses.
Sadly for gamers who wore smiles as large as their shoulder pads, Tomlin was in on the sport. Type of.
Reed had crossed the visible double cross with Tomlin, and he and his assistants performed with it just by treating it like another walkthrough, even when this one was carried out within the shadow of these tour buses.
If I keep in mind accurately, it did not take lengthy for the gamers to understand that that they had been duped and that Reed was the one who tricked them. The prank was so good that they could not do something however chortle even when it got here at their expense.
This camp additionally proved considered one of Dick LeBeau’s favourite sayings: “Typically you get the bear.” Typically the bear catches you.
Rookies, of all gamers, proved to be the bear that received Reed. On the annual rookie skit present, one of many gamers impersonated Reed. Within the sketch, the veteran kicker with two Tremendous Bowl rings trashed a toilet (one manufactured from props, not an actual one).
Reed was a superb sport about it, as most are with regards to coaching camp pranks.
