Special Ceremony Planned for Steelers Halftime on Sunday Night

(Photo obtained from profootballhof.com)

The Steelers are already heading into one of their most important games of the season.  After breaking a three-game losing streak against the Denver Broncos, the Steelers will host a Russell Wilson-less Seattle Seahawks team.  Geno Smith will start for the Seahawks at quarterback, making it a very winnable game.

The Steelers hope to continue on the winning path despite losing Juju Smith Schuster to a season-ending injury.  Steeler fans also look to see if Najee Harris’ 100-yard rushing game was the start of a trend or just a fluke.  The game is being nationally televised as the primetime Sunday Night Football game on NBC.

To grow the hype even further surrounding this game, the Steelers have planned a special halftime ceremony.  Coach Bill Cowher, safety Troy Polamalu, offensive lineman Alan Faneca, and safety Donnie Shell will receive their Hall of Fame rings at Heinz Field.  Hall of Fame President David Baker, who has become more recognizable as of late for his giant stature himself, will be in attendance.

It will be interesting to see Polamalu on the field after reported ill feelings toward the organization at the end of his Steelers career.  However, in a passionate Hall of Fame speech earlier this year, Polamalu expressed his love for Steeler fans.  Polamalu played 12 seasons with the Steelers and had 32 interceptions and 12 sacks from the safety position.  He is regarded as one of the best, if not the best, safeties of all-time.

Bill Cowher has moved on from coaching to assume a prominent role with CBS on their pregame analysis show each Sunday.  While many hoped he would return to football by now, he looks pretty comfortable in an analyst role and doesn’t look too eager to get back to coaching.  Cowher had a career record of 149-90-1 as head coach of the Steelers and led the team to two Super Bowls.  The Steelers beat the Seahawks in 2005 for his one championship.

Alan Faneca played under Cowher for most of his career and was a First-Team All Pro six times and was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times.  He was a member of the 2005-06 and 2008-09 Super Bowl Teams.  Offensive Guards are typically largely underrated, as most offensive lineman are, but everyone in Pittsburgh knew of Faneca and how important he was for those Steeler teams he played on.

Donnie Shell was a member of the famous Steel Curtain defense in the 1970’s.  He is a four-time Super Bowl champion, a five-time Pro Bowler, and was selected as a first-team All-Pro three times.  When Shell retired, he was the career leader in interceptions with 51.  He was also selected to the Steelers All-Time team after starting 11 straight seasons in Pittsburgh.