Bob Cook

Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, during the height of Jordan-mania, was widely quoted as saying, "Players don't win championships, organizations do." Technically, what he said was, "Players and coaches alone don't win championships; organizations win championships."

At the time, Krause sounded like a knucklehead. Having someone like Michael Jordan on your team would seem to do a lot more than an organization pencil-pusher in winning you a championship. But given what's happened in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers have been about the NFL's most consistently successful organization over the last three-plus decades, maybe Krause got it right.

Since the Steelers made their first playoffs in 1972 (not counting a tiebreaker game in 1947), they have made the postseason 22 times in 34 years. They have had only five losing seasons, and only two of them (1998-99) consecutive. They have won four Super Bowls, and could win a fifth Sunday, their sixth Super Bowl appearance. They have played in 13 AFC championship games.

And better yet, their players more often than not appear happy to be there.

The Steeler Way seems so simple, you wonder why every team doesn't copy it. Practicing well means playing well. Hit your blocks, and wrap up your tackles. Be unselfish. No small, divisive cliques among teammates. Character counts -- character being less about faith or being "good" than in being counted on to do the right thing at the right time. Coaches get to go home to see their families. Spouses are welcome at team events. Your team is your family, but your family really is your family. Loyalty is a prized asset.

The Steeler Way is a vibe so strong and easy to pick up, even a child can figure it out. At least, I know my fellow students at North Muskegon (Mich.) Elementary School picked it up in the late 1970s, with kids in Steelers gear embodying the team’s lunchpail (or more like lunchbox at that age) ethic, being nice, selfless and fun to be around. That's opposed to the kids who wore the gear of their archival, the Dallas Cowboys, who were cold, calculating and most likely to scam you out of your lunch money. (At least that's how those of us who wore Steelers gear saw it.)

Once you have firmly embraced the Steeler Way, it's hard to see your football life in any other way. Hines Ward, during the preseason, said he was ready to sit out the year if he didn't get a contract extension that paid him, with justification, among the league's elite wide receivers.

No Steeler had held out of training camp since Barry Foster in 1993, even though the organization was notoriously chintzy. No one had gotten a bigger bonus than $6 million -- paid to offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Marvel Smith.

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But Ward's season-long holdout lasted only two weeks — he couldn't bear to be apart from his teammates. The Steeler Way, which dictated no contract negotiations during the regular season. So to reward Ward's loyalty, he got a $9 million bonus, part of a five-year, $25 million deal. Not bad, but still not even close to Marvin Harrison money. But it was enough, for someone dedicated to the Steeler Way.

The Steeler Way starts with stability in the head coaching position. Since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher have Pittsburgh's only head coaches. The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, have employed three coaches since you said goodbye to your great aunt after last Thanksgiving dinner.

Noll's hiring in 1969 was the catalyst from changing the Steelers Way to something that meant success rather than failure. Before Noll, the Steelers, despite their avuncular owner Art Rooney, were a franchise so bad and troubled that during the Depression they had to merge with the Philadelphia Eagles to make ends meet. (As an aside, when the Steelers and Eagles meet next, they should each wear Phil-Pitt Steagles throwback jerseys.)

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Before Noll, personnel acquisition was a joke, what with decisions like turning down Johnny Unitas in favor of Ted Marchibroda and Jim Finks -- which wouldn't have been so bad if the position were coach or general manager, but not so good with the position being quarterback. After Noll, drafted players developed into a string of Hall of Famers.

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