Steelers’ Rooney basking in super year
TAMPA, Fla. — At 76 years old, Dan Rooney certainly has seen a lot, done plenty during his days that began in the Great Depression.
His father, Art, founded a team in the National Football League and saw it become one of pro sports’ dynasties in the 1970s. He and his father were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his team won five Super Bowls.
Nothing over the past three quarters of a century, though, can top the professional year Dan Rooney has been having right now.
Against long odds, he and his son Art II cobbled together new investors and financing during a terrible economy to keep in his family the Steelers, the franchise that ESPN The Magazine last week suggested is the best in pro sports. He became friendly with President Barack Obama, publicly endorsed him and stumped for him heavily in the presidential campaign. And his team is headed to its seventh Super Bowl.
post-gazette.com
1/26/09
