Go Green(e)

 

Greatness of character is always something to be cheered.

It’s about time. That’s what I thought when I read that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to retire Mean Joe Greene’s # 75 this season. This is big news especially since the Steelers have not retired a number in over fifty years, simply because that’s not the Steeler way.  They couldn’t have picked a finer human being to make an exception for  than one a coach once described as a fort on foot.  

With all due respect going green and helping the environment is a noble thing.  However, even more noteworthy is when people take difficult situations and poor behavior and turn it into something good. Take Mean Joe Greene for example.  For when it comes to being a man of great character I believe he can teach us how to Go Green(e) :

1-Have grit

Joe Greene was the very definition of grit and determination coming out of a small school in Texas in 1969.  The Pittsburgh Steelers saw promise in him and drafted him fourth overall much to his dismay because he knew the Steelers were a losing organization. 

However, the Pittsburgh faithful were not quite sure what to make of the 6-4, 275 pound mountain of a man.  Days later a newspaper headline read posed this question, Who’s Joe Greene?  Mean Joe, who was a rare combination of a defensive player who was both mobile and hostile, answered that question with a resounding Hall of Fame career and a relentless pursuit to be the best. 

2-Make others better.

From every article and interview I ever read or heard about him Mean Joe hated to lose.  He also made his intentions very clear to those around him in the Steelers’ locker room.  Early in his career this was detrimental, however his insatiable desire to be the best seemed to be contagious as was proof in the Steelers four Super Bowl wins.

3-Pick others up.

The picture that best illustrates Joe Greene is the one above of him single handedly picking up an injured teammate.  Greene performed this merciful act during a playoff game in the early seventies when wide receiver, Lynn Swann, was knocked out cold by devastatingly brutal hit from an Oakland Raiders’ defender. 

 Joe said later he did it so the team didn’t have I had to waste a time out on Swann.   However, it seemingly inspired Swann so much that he played two weeks later in the Super Bowl and was the game’s MVP. 

4-Be excellent. 

Mean Joe was twice named NFL defensive player of the year, was a ten time pro bowler and was named to the NFL and Pittsburgh Steelers All Time Team.  Not to mention he was also suitably inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Number Seventy Five was a special player who had the unique ability to take over a game when needed, making him nearly unstoppable.  For instance, Greene once had five sacks in one game against the Houston Oilers which propelled the Steelers to victory and the playoffs that year.  

5- Learn gentleness.

Greene had many great attributes, but unfortunately all heroes have flaws and his poor sportsmanship was his weakness. Especially in his younger years, Greene lived up to his moniker, Mean Joe.  The notorious list included getting kicked out of games in high school, spitting on Dick Butkus,  kicking a Cleveland Brown offensive tackle, and  snapping a football prematurely while the other team’s offense was setting up to run a play.

Then in 1979, he made a sixty second commercial that allowed the world to see him in a gentler and kinder light.  To this day the iconic Coke commercial when Joe Greene throws his jersey at the kid who gives him a Coke still has to be one of the best. Greene showed us it’s never too late to change.

The best way to Go Green(e) is to turn you anger into kindness.

Swavel