As peculiar as it was to hear Alan Faneca lay into the Pittsburgh Steelers for not giving him a new deal, it was just as peculiar to hear team owner Dan Rooney comment publicly on the matter. And when I write "comment publicly," I mean "
make some really funny comments to the local news guy with well-coiffed hair."
"I wasn't pleased with [Faneca's comments]; but you know, I don't know whether they were contrived... I think he really feels that way. He's very emotional."
Rooney went on to say that he's actually concerned about Faneca's health.
"I worry about him. I was concerned that he might get himself so worked up that he could cause himself some harm, medically."
I love this last quote. Think about it for a second: Faneca, who makes his living running full speed into fat guys, has the owner worried about his health because of an emotional interview he gave regarding his contract. That's rich.
That Faneca might give himself a heart attack from all of this is a possibility, I guess. But I don't think that was Rooney's point in bringing it up. If anything, it pointed out Faneca has gone about renegotiating a new deal the
exact wrong way. It's one thing to insinuate that the Detroit Lions or the Arizona Cardinals are cheap and don't care about their players, but to say that about the Pittsburgh Steelers
makes you look crazy.
And when one of the league's most respected owners goes on television to point out you're head might explode because of emotional issues, well, that doesn't exactly up your resale value. But hey, I got a good laugh out it, so thanks Alan!
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