Fans, Steelers welcome LeBeau back to practice
LATROBE – Dick LeBeau returned to practice Monday and said of the Hall of Fame experience, “I’m enjoying floating.” Then he gave an interview that lasted nearly as long as his induction speech. Here are the highlights of LeBeau’s return to Latrobe as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ conquering hero:
Q: What was it like coming down the hill to the field with all the cheers and hugs?
DL: It was like I came back home, like this is my house and that is my family. That’s just what it’s like.
Q: Did you stick to the script on the speech?
DL: I put a lot of time in there, especially after they told me I was going to lead off. I didn’t want to let the Steeler organization down. I don’t know how we did, but I think we did OK.
Q: Did you forget any part of your speech?
DL: You always do. I wanted to talk about our linebackers. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley and James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons and (Keyaron Fox) Foxy and (Larry) Foote, those guys; I was going to put all six in there. They’re the wheels that go around the engine of the defensive line. But I think they know how I feel about them.
Q: Was it more emotional than you expected?
DL: Well, I think it was. I did a good job with the emotional part of it. I made myself a promise I wasn’t going to cry, but I found out early on I couldn’t look over at the players, so I just started looking out at people I didn’t know. But we did OK.
Q: You called this home. Why not Cincinnati or Detroit?
DL: Well, I have five Super Bowl rings and only two say ‘champions’ on it. And that’s with the Steelers.
Q: Why in your speech did you make the point that age is just a number?
DL: I think my life can be an example to some people. Don’t throw the towel in, man, before you have to, and don’t let your mind trick you into that. Age is a number. There’ll be plenty of time later on when it isn’t. I think if I’ve got anything to say to people, it’s look at what happened to me when I’ve become an experienced liver.
Q: The night before your induction, you shook hands with all of those Hall of Famers at dinner. Was there anyone in particular you really wanted to see?
DL: No, I don’t think so. It was great to see everybody. One of the great things about the whole week over there, I’m probably the only guy in the room either to play against or coach against all of those guys. I recognized the uniqueness of that and how blessed I am to be able to say, ‘Man, I know all these guys.’ That was kind of neat.
NOTES: OT Tony Hills sustained a right ankle sprain during a one-on-one pass-rush drill with DE Doug Worthington. Also in practice Monday, NT Steve McLendon sprained an MCL. + Coach Mike Tomlin rested Byron Leftwich to begin a rotation of rest for his three older quarterbacks. + James Harrison missed his second consecutive practice with “some discomfort in the shoulder and it appears to be minor,” according to Tomlin.