The classic Hines Ward smile: whether he scores a touchdown, lights up an unsuspecting linebacker or gets lit up himself, he always is smiling. Ward is a fan favorite for a reason. His willingness to throw a crushing block in the run game has earned him even more respect in the city of Pittsburgh than his knack for making a play when it matters most.
From a Steelers fan?s perspective, it would be hard to imagine how an opposing fan could dislike a player like Ward. How could you hate that smile?! Behind that smile is the type of player that home-teams love and every other team loathes.
Back in 2009 in a Sports Illustrated players? poll, Ward was voted the dirtiest player in the NFL. Steelers? fans would argue that he just plays to the whistle. Yeah, well, if there was a statistic for non-special teams blindside pancakes, Ward would lead the league by a long shot.
And you can?t forget the comments he made last year during the NFL?s conspiracy against the Steelers. After calling the league ?hypocrites?, he went onto say, ?Talk about you don't want players to drink, but our major endorsement is Coors Light. That's all you see is beer commercials.?
Holy irony: TMZ reported on Saturday morning that Ward was arrested for driving under the influence. He wasn?t smiling in his mug shot.
Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall and now Hines Ward: at least Troy Polamalu?s role model reputation is still untarnished. For a group of fans who?ve always mocked the Cincinnati Bengals for their run-ins with the law, the Steelers aren?t exactly dodging the police very well either.
Taking the words right out of Ward?s mouth: ?Say one thing, and do another.? The Steelers can continue to say their team is run with ?family values?, but until we can go at least one offseason without hearing about a Steeler getting arrested, they?re in the same class with the Bengals, Titans, and those old Raider teams Chuck Noll called the ?criminal element?.
David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.
Wade Belak Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne
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