Haley Suffers From Hypocycloids … Friday Cup O’Chiefs
Once a person becomes infected, they are largely helpless to do anything about this powerful force that’s taken up residence in them. When it enters the blood stream, it quickly moves to the heart and brain and never leaves.
They are hypocycloids.
Chiefs head coach Todd Haley’s blood contains hypocycloids. He’s had them since birth and no medication known to man can rid his body of them. Haley will work very hard this weekend to keep his personal hypocycloids under control.
Hypocycloids are those three stars that are part of the logo for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yellow, orange and blue stars, they signify the elements needed to make steel: coal, iron ore and steel scrap. Hypocycloids are diamond shapes with inward curving edges, creating stars with four points. Developed as the logo for the American steel industry right around 1960, the Steelers first put them on their gold helmets in 1962. The next season they changed to the black helmets they wear today. The logo went along.
Ever since, the three hypocycloids have come to represent the professional football team of Pittsburgh, and they’ve been coursing through his veins for the better part of Haley’s 42 years.
And Sunday, he will see them again as the Steelers visit Arrowhead Stadium to take on Haley’s Chiefs.
“Without a doubt, my memories of the Steelers will never be taken away,” said Haley. “It was a phenomenal time to grow up in Pittsburgh and then to actually have a connection to the Steelers through my father and me getting to work for them in a much lower capacity. Those are tremendous, tremendous memories.
“The year they went back to the Super Bowl a few years ago (2005) when they played Seattle, they showed all the old [TV] clips and my wife elbows me and says, ‘are you crying?’ They’re great, great memories and there are still a lot of people there who mean a lot to me.”
Was he crying watching tape of the Immaculate Reception (right), and like moments from Steelers history?
“She knows I’m a pushover,” Haley said with a smile. “I cry at commercials.”
A five-year old Haley was wrapped up in a sleeping bag on the afternoon of December 23, 1972 at Three Rivers Stadium when Terry Bradshaw’s pass bounced off Oakland safety Jack Tatum and Pittsburgh running back Frenchy Fuqua and ricocheted into the arms of Franco Harris, who went for the winning touchdown in a first-round game in the playoffs.
“I was there,” Haley said. “I don’t remember seeing the play. But I’ve seen it a million times since.”
A few years later, Haley would start going to Steelers training camp at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, PA. with his father Dick, the Steelers player personnel director. He’d work the locker room and the practice field. A few years later, he started working on game day at the stadium. He began as the water boy, working behind the Steelers bench, filling cups with water and Gatorade. He delivered those cups to the players when they came off the field and sat on the bench.
From there, he moved up to towel boy. His job was to make sure any player on the Steelers sideline that needed a towel had one, and we aren’t talking about Terrible Towels here either.
It was the next step up the game-day ladder that Haley really enjoyed: he was promoted to ball boy. He worked the opponent’s sideline, stationed at the line of scrimmage.
“I was a freshman in high school and I worked the opposite sideline,” Haley said. “I was in our locker room before during and after the game, but I got a chance to see the other guys too. I saw Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, John Elway. I tended to gravitate towards the quarterbacks. Art Schlichter really stands out in my mind. The whole game, he just never stopped talking to me. He would be grabbing the balls, knocking them out of my hands.”
Haley confesses to being one of the worst ball boys imaginable.
“I was awful,” Haley said. “I was the biggest Steelers fan and I was cheering, usually loudly. It was very unprofessional.”
While a young Haley tended to pay attention to quarterbacks, his idol was a quarterback-enemy, middle linebacker Jack Lambert (left).
“Just being in the locker room with him, watching him get ready to play a game, then after the game watching him and this little, tight-knit group of Lambert, Jack Ham, Ray Mansfield. They would go in the backroom of the locker room after the game, drinking beers and talk about the game.”
“Jack Lambert was my favorite player.”
Lambert is gone from the Steelers, but guys like James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley and a safety like Troy Polamalu are now in place and the results are quite similar.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge; they are a well-coached team; Coach Tomlin has done an unbelievable job with a very talented team and Coach LeBeau, how can you be a better coach than he’s been over the years?” Haley said. “It’s a great challenge.”
An especially great challenge when you’ve got hypocycloids in your blood. Haley found that out back in February when the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals faced off in the Super Bowl. As an NFL coach, all he dreamed about was winning a Super Bowl. Now, to get that chance he had to beat the team of his dreams.
And there were the Cardinals, after scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, holding a three-point lead with two minutes, 30 seconds left in the game. Haley watched helplessly from the sidelines as Ben Roethlisberger took the Steelers 78 yards in eight plays hitting Santonio Holmes with a six-yard TD pass with 35 seconds to play (right).
Until this week, Haley had not watched the game tape of the Super Bowl. But in preparation for this Sunday’s game, he finally pulled the tape and watched.
“It would be on the TV where they were re-running it and I would walk through and I just couldn’t bring myself to watch it,” said Haley. “It was a painful, painful, painful experience. I’m glad I had it, but that’s hard when you’ve got the lead in the Super Bowl to be world champs and you end up on the wrong side of it. It’s really hard to swallow as a competitor or a person.”
As he showed back on February 1, Haley can mask his hypocycloids enough to compete against the Steelers. A Chiefs victory would be oh so special, even if he can’t get some of his friends to root for him.
“I know the Super Bowl was a surreal experience having to play of all the teams the Steelers,” Haley said. “I had to fight with my friends because Steelers fans don’t convert. Most of my other friends who are fans of other teams they convert to wherever I am. But my Steelers fans don’t convert. They stay.
That’s what happens when somebody gets hypocycloids; it’s in their blood forever.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
- BILLS – released QB Gibran Hamdan.
- JAGUARS – ruled CB Rashean Mathis out of Sunday’s game against the Bills because of a groin injury.
- REDSKINS – RB Clinton Portis will not play against the Cowboys because of effects of a concussion.
- VIKINGS – signed head coach Brad Childress to a contract extension that will run until 2013.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On November 20, 1966, the Chiefs and Boston Patriots played to a 27-27 tie at Municipal Stadium. With 41,475 fans in the stands, the Patriots pulled out a tie when Gino Cappelletti kicked a 19-yard FG with 24 seconds left in the game. Boston took possession when LB Nick Buoniconti picked off a pass by Chiefs QB Len Dawson; from there Patriots QB Babe Parilli (left) led his team on a 13-play drive to the kick that tied the game. Dawson threw a pair of TD passes, hitting WR Otis Taylor from 21 and 26 yards. WR Frank Pitts got a touchdown when he blocked a punt and then returned the ball 21 yards for a score. Mike Mercer had two FGs for the Chiefs, but missed a 28-yard kick early in the fourth quarter. Parilli threw three TD passes for Boston. Taylor caught nine passes for 133 yards. S Bobby Hunt had a pair of interceptions.
On November 20, 1977, the Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos 14-7 at Arrowhead Stadium. A crowd of 54,050 watched the Broncos jump to a second quarter lead and tied the score just before half-time with a 15-yard TD pass from QB Mike Livingston to WR Henry Marshall. Denver got the winner in the fourth quarter when QB Craig Morton hit WR Haven Moses for a 23-yard TD pass. RB Otis Armstrong had 120 yards rushing for the Broncos. The Chiefs had interceptions from LBs Whitney Paul and Thomas Howard and S Gary Barbaro had a sack of Morton.
On November 20, 1983, the Chiefs lost to the Dallas Cowboys 41-21 at Texas Stadium in Irving. In front of 64,102 fans, the Cowboys jumped to a 20-0 half-time lead and never trailed in the contest. The star for Dallas was RB Tony Dorsett (right), who ran for 108 yards on 18 carries and scored a pair of TDs, from 28 and 32 yards. The Chiefs had a pair of TD passes from QB Bill Kenney to WR Carlos Carson of 13 and 48 yards. Later, WR Stephone Paige caught a seven-yard scoring throw from QB Todd Blackledge. Carson finished the game with seven catches f or 135 yards and WR Henry Marshall had eight catches for 115 yards. Defensively, FS Deron Cherry had an interception and LB Gary Spani a sack.
On November 20, 1988, the Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium with a crowd of 33,152. K Nick Lowery’s 40-yard FG with 46 seconds remaining gave the Chiefs a victory. The Chiefs ran out to a 14-0 lead on TD runs by RBs James Saxon and Christian Okoye. Seattle got back in the game with a Dave Krieg TD pass to WR Ray Butler and then Seahawks CB Terry Taylor picked off a Steve DeBerg pass and returned it 27 yards for a TD. DeBerg scored on one-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. WR Stephone Paige finished with five catches for 106 yards.
On November 20, 1994, the Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns 20-13 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Browns carried a 13-10 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Chiefs scored twice in the final period to pull out the victory. First K Lin Elliott kicked a 27-yard FG that tied the score. Then, FB Kimble Anders (left) scored on a one-yard run to top Cleveland. Earlier in the game, QB Joe Montana connected with TE Tracy Greene on a six-yard TD pass. Elliott added another short field goal. Montana was 19 of 33 for 169 yards. The KC defense forced four turnovers by the Browns, as CB Dale Carter grabbed an interception and they recovered three fumbles.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on November 20, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio was C Jack
Rudnay (right). He was selected in the fourth round of the 1969 AFL-NFL Draft out of Northwestern. Rudnay played 14 seasons with the Chiefs (1969-82), appearing in 178 games, including a string of 144 consecutive games played. He started 171 games and was one of the league’s best offensive linemen in the 1970s, as he appeared in four straight Pro Bowls and was the starting center for the AFC all four times. Rudnay retired after the 1982 season. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1994.
Born on November 20, 1983 in Akron was current Chiefs G Andy Alleman. He came to the team earlier this year in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. Alleman entered the league in 2007 as a third-round selection of the New Orleans Saints in the ‘07 NFL Draft and then moved to Miami for the ‘08 season. He played his college football at the University of Pittsburgh and Akron.
Sounds like Bob’s got some hypocycloids of his own…
i always thought it was steelers cause they stole stuff.
this makes more sense.
thanks bob.
Everybody is a Steelers fan for some reason. Bob’s a Steelers fan, Haley is a Steelers fan, Rush Limbaugh is a Steelers fan. Well not I….I’ve been shot by arrow heads (and the last couple of years it hurts)….I’m a Chiefs fan…..GO CHIEFS!!!
I grew up watching those great Steelers teams…and that helped instill a love of the game that’s as strong today as it was back then.
Haley had an amazing childhood, growing up around football and those guys like he did. Can you even imagine how cool that would have been?
2-3 years ago ,the 49’s-bengals-miami-jets-minn ;
all had one thing in commen , along with the chiefs . Step back & measure the grind it takes , that is what free agency – the draft – and salery caps have done ,it keeps the game alive !!!
Hard working coaching is the glue that holds it in place . Just takes awhile to set .
Baseball & Basketball are without and it truley makes it hopeless for a lot of cities .
Keep putting the parts together Clark & crew !
Well this game will be something to see, maybe. What we will view is the “future” Chiefs. The team has gotten rid of most cancers. Got rid of most herm’s guys with any talent. Bowe, alleged most talented WR is suspended. DJ, one time talented (?) LB only gets on the field in special situations. We will look to Wade, Chambers, Long, and the rest to carry the load at WR, RB by committee, and backups several situations. Yes, it will be interesting. Haley has control of who gets on the field and how to use them. Hummmm, wonder how it will all turn out?
Sounds like the old days in the Steelers locker room after a game was special. Having a few brews with your colleagues, cussing, telling tales & embellishing conquests. Probably a common scene in many locker rooms across the NFL of days past.
Now, it would seem improper that teammates do the same. Getting drunk & later driving home. But, the bonding & comraderie had to have been priceless.
As many of us men can relate. Some of my best times have been sharing a few drinks with the guys @ deer camp, fishing & hunting trips. Or better yet watching an NFL game. Women never understand these rituals & probably never will.
We have all come to know that the NFL is a special place. A place where we feel like men, not those candy cane guys that network TV glamourizes.
Thanks for the memories Bob, I would have to agree with Todd Haley the Steelers are probably as special an NFL team as there ever was. “Americas Team” hands down. Who are those Dallas Cowboys anyway.
Go Chiefs.
Good write up. Nice Bob.
Yea, the Steelers team of the 70’s was something. How incredible for Haley to be ball boy, in the locker room and around the team and players.
There were a lot of great players–including Lynn
Swann, Rocky Bleier and Terry Bradshhaw–who might sometimes get overlooked because of the great defense.
Bradshaw never lost his goofy, country boy charm; it is still evident today. For some reason, which is quite puzzling, he left Pittsburgh with a bad taste in his mouth and only recently has started to re-establish some contact with the city.
The Steelers had a lot of successful drafts, due in part to a series of poor win/loss records. However, unlike the Chiefs recently, they made very good choices. That, apparently, is where Todd Haley’s father made his mark.
Maybe Haley’s background, including his hypocycloids, will translate into more success for the Chiefs.
Great article Bob! This is some of your best work this year! Well done!
Everyone is a Steelers fan to some degree because that franchise does things right. They build through the draft, they hire the right coaches (only three HCs in their freaking history and all three have won at least on SB), they build through the draft and sign only a few free agents, they keep their offensive and defensive systems intact so they always know exactly who fits their style and who doesn’t. You have to respect that. They are the franchise the Chiefs need to model themselves after, even over New England.
I never understood what the Steelers logo was until today. What kind of football fan am I anyway? Thanks for the info Bob. I learned my new thing for the day already!
All I want from the Chiefs is a competitive game. Of course I want them to win, but if they can just keep it close and make the Steelers sweat then I can be content. It will at least show that they are moving in the right direction.
Long post, sorry. One last thing. I predict that we will rush for over 100 yards as a team in this game. Not sure why, I just feel it.
“Everyone is a Steelers fan to some degree because that franchise does things right.”
Not everyone Colby.
“Born on November 20, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio was C Jack
Rudnay (right).”
A great player…
Win or lose, I’ll be leading the cheers for our Chiefs come Sunday. Da*n those Steelers fans that will infest Arrowhead, like Cowboy fans.
You’ve got to admit the Steelers are a dynasty. I remember the immaculate reception (against our hated Raiders) vividly. It’s like remembering where you were when you heard JFK was killed, or 9/11. I was a 10-year old boy sitting in a recliner watching the game with aa friend. My sister was actually sleeping on the couch. When the play “erupted”, so did we! Scared the heck out of her!
If we win this one, it will be much of the same.
Marvel at the Steeler’s fans. I remember Dawson, Taylor, Bell, and Lanier. Those guys were not chopped liver. The Steelers had their momemts, sure, but their owner was more active than the Hunts, especially after winning one super bowl. Our loss. Sold my seat to this game but would not hurt my feelings if the Chiefs won 35-10. Know it will not happen but we have got to start kicking some rear sometime.
el cid , anything can happen , thats wy they play these games .
By the way colby… I thought that was well written , I found it anything but long ,very good .
el cid,
Sure hope you didn’t sell to a Steeler’s fan. That won’t help.
I’ve heard this can be cured with steroids.
Colby, as near as I could tell on the Steelers web site, they have had 15 head coaches since they were formed in the 30’s. They have had three really great head coaches as of late. I am really impressed in the personnel moves even if they miss on some they really seem to get players that fit into their system. Then when the players are ready to become free agents they let them go so as not to pay them big contracts for players who are getting over the hill. Whats interesting is most don’t seem to play up to their new contracts. I just hope the Chiefs have a good game and play up to their opponents level of play so they keep it close. GO CHIEFS!
Merwin, you are absolutely right. Misinformation on my part. I believe they have had three coaches since sometime in the 60s.
Don’t mind the Steelers … but my OCD can’t stand the fact that their helmets have the logo on only one side of the helmet.
Bob or anyone, can you please tell me why that is???????
Yes, I have issues….
rumor I heard was the logo on one side was because of cost. Purely money, before the NFL had tons of it.
Since we are talking logos, have we seen enough of the state of TX on our helmet, yet?
Logos … Wasn’t there a rumor back in the ’90s our beloved Chiefs were changing their helmets to a “war bonnet” design with feathers?
Would be interesting to see if Clark would ever tweek the unis or helmets outside of changing the pant colors from red to white to red…