Steel City

In the dead-heat of summer, a bombshell erupts in Steel City. The Pittsburgh Steelers are up for sale and the owners are making a private fight over the future of the team public.

The Rooney's are one of the NFL's oldest and most pretigious ownership families in a league that thrives on secrecy and inter-personal ties. To see their fight over the future ownership of the team go public is both surprising and intriguing.

For starters, the backdrop of this struggle is weird. The Steelers are doing well as a team having won the Super Bowl three years ago. The team is doing well financially according to the Wall Street Journal which reported that the franchise is worth over 800 million dollars. Revenue is steady, attendence is thriving, and the team is poised to compete in the competitive AFC under coach Tomlin. And think about the Steelers -- with the exception of the Redskins, which NFL city has more of its identity tied up with the team and its fans?

So why does the Rooney family want to sell right now? It's kind of a shocker if you ask me. Do they sense that the NFL, including the Steelers, is at a high-watermark in value right now? Do the Rooney brothers feel as though they will get the most cash for the franchise if they sell now? What is prompting this now public jockeying over the sale of the Steelers? I am only speculating, but I really wonder why this is happening all of a sudden. Ask any Steeler fan and they will express the same feeling of shock and surprise.

But instead of speculating on what will happen or why it's happening, I'd like to discuss the Steelers and one of their potential owners -- Stan Druckenmiller. (Note: speculating is basically useless because unless you have inside knowledge, which I don't, it's impossible to predict or explain why events will occur).

Stan Druckenmiller is a bona-fide badass. For example, he's a billionaire who shorted the British pound with George Soros in the 1980s. This made the British Central Bank cry for mercy which is awesome. Some would call him a pirate, but Soros said he had "brass balls" in his early 1990's biography. (Note: the league could use someone like this -- someone whose not afraid to make big-name trades or stare-down the union with the cap situation rears it's ugly head.)

Druckenmiller, according to Forbes, is America's 91st richest person. His wealth has spawned charitable donations, giving to Bowdoin College (remember the science center?), and a deep sense of appreciation for the historic city of Pittsburgh. For example, his investment fund (Duquesne Capital) is named after one of the most famous steel mills from the Carnegie era. The guy is also from Pittsburgh which also makes me think he'd keep the team there. But then again I'm speculating on this issue, which isn't too helpful.

Regardless of what happens to the Steeler's ownership, I hope the team stays there for a long time. Think about Pittsburgh, it's fans, and the city's history:

- it's lost most of economic vitality because major corporations have left

- most of the people are now rural, poor, and uneducated

- the team references the city's once glorious economic past -- steel city for the US during industrialization; the creator of major wealth for american citizens, ect.

- despite the local downturn, the team has thrived and now has an amazing stadium (Three Rivers)

To see the Steelers turn into the Browns would be a damn shame not only for the fans, but also for the remeberance of a city that used to kick so much ass and still may one day.