Sunday, July 30, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The dictionary definition of leadership -- "the ability to guide, direct or influence people'' -- doesn't begin to describe the role Jerome Bettis had in the locker room and on the field with the Steelers.
The dictionary presents a cold grouping of words, as it should, that doesn't even put leadership in a positive light. In truth, leadership can be a negative, although when it exists in such a form it usually has other designations. For example, a negative leader on a baseball team would never be accused of leadership but rather would be a "cancer in the clubhouse.''
Bettis, by contrast, was an antidote that could wipe out any bad feelings that might infect a team. He had a personality that engulfed the room. It not only spread cheer but sent out a message of what it took to be a winner.
Some men lead by word, others by deed. Bettis led by both. In that respect, he brings to mind two great leaders of Pittsburgh's past, Joe Greene and Willie Stargell. Other great leaders, Roberto Clemente and Mario Lemieux come to mind, led more by deed than word.
Bettis was even more rare than Stargell and Greene. So powerful were his leadership genes that unlike so many others he still led when his skills had faded.
Invariably, a leader must perform to get others to follow. In his final season, last year, Bettis certainly had his moments, but he was a backup, in no uncertain terms, to Willie Parker. But he had been such a force on the team for so long, that his status on the depth chart was irrelevant. He was not only a man that players looked to, he also was a man for whom they played.
If there's a picture in the dictionary beside leadership, it should be one of Bettis.
Which means there will be a gaping leadership void within the Steelers, one so large it could jeopardize their chances of repeating as Super Bowl champion.
Not really.
Leadership and the positive chemistry it can help generate within a team are important, but are secondary to talent.
There's a belief in sports that chemistry, which good leadership helps build, is the key ingredient in winning. That's not so. It's actually the other way around. Winning builds good chemistry.
Be it a pickup basketball game at the YMCA or the highest level of professional sports, winning makes the participants feel good. The more they win, the better they feel, the more they like their teammates, the more they're willing to sacrifice for the good of the team. That's good chemistry.
Losing generates the opposite feelings. It makes players unhappy. It causes them to think more of their own personal goals than those of the team. It makes them want to be part of another team. That's bad chemistry.
For all of the immense leadership skills Bettis possessed, it didn't mean a thing when the Steelers, a 15-1 team in the regular season, played the superior and equally leadership-laden, New England Patriots in the AFC title game.
Better yet, Bettis was a key leader for the Steelers in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The team was a combined 22-26 those seasons and never made the playoffs. His leadership could not overcome a lack of talent.
In any event, the Steelers hardly will be devoid of leadership this season. In any professional locker room, there is an abundance of leadership. These men didn't achieve their status on the athletic totem pole by being locker room wallflowers in their climb to the top. Almost all were key leaders at one time or another in their athletic careers.
As they moved up the ladder, just as they found there were players as good or better, they found there were leaders as good or better. When that happens, the lesser leader steps back and becomes a follower. But the leadership skills remain.
There are many qualified leaders ready to fill the void left by Bettis. None might have all the qualities of Bettis, but there will be no absence of leadership on this team.
Even when Bettis was with the team, other players emerged as leaders. Certainly, Hines Ward aspired to that role and filled it admirably. He'll probably step up even more this season. So will offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Jeff Hartings, men who lead by action more than word.
Like Ward, Joey Porter already has exhibited leadership skills with the defensive unit. He's a verbal leader, who backs up his trash-talking with his play on the field. The defense will miss the elder-statesman leadership of Kimo von Oelhoffen, but others will fill his place.
The Steelers have a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champion. Whether they do or not, depends more on how they play rather than how they lead.
(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468. )
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