Death hitting Steelers alum hard

For old Steelers such as linebacker Andy Russell - who has two Super Bowl rings - the bond that exists with his teammates just seems to get stronger with each death. Russell broke in with the Steelers in 1963 but became a part of the rebuilding effort by coach Chuck Noll. He remembers how Noll looked at the roomful of players and told them, "The reason you guys aren't winning is because you are not very good." Only five players who were there that day survived the housecleaning - including Russell and his close friend, center Ray Mansfield. Mansfield died in 1996 at age 55 of a heart attack.

"He was on a hike with his son in the Grand Canyon when he collapsed," says Russell, who adds that he and Mansfield had done the hike twice together. "I think in the case of Ray, what happened could have had something to do with the fact that players of our era were taught to play through pain. You played with torn cartilage and broken fingers. Heck, Ray once played with a broken neck. The point is, I think a person like that would be prone to overlook any symptoms he had and just push on."

Former tackle Tunch Ilkin says "each of us lose a small piece of ourselves" whenever an old teammate dies. Ilkin, now a broadcaster, says that "something very, very special happens between 45 men who spend so much time together. You build friendships that endure forever." Ilkin attended the dinner held by Harris in honor of White and remembers that it was uplifting. Ilkin says, "When you bleed together and laugh and cry together, there is an intimacy that forms. And to lose someone who had been a part of that with you is unbelievably sad."

Grossman echoes that. "A bond forms from significantly sacrificing yourself physically for each other," he says. "Maybe policemen experience that, firefighters and soldiers probably even to a greater degree because the risks are so much more."

But there are potential hazards to a long playing career in the NFL and they have been well-documented. For years players had poor diets, which can lead to heart disease and other ailments. And a study by Dr. Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, found evidence of trauma in the brains of some former players - including Webster, Strzelczyk and Long. Grossman just says he feels like a kid again, which is to say: "I hurt all over."

"When you are young - young and dumb - you have no concept of what the eventual price will be," says Grossman. "And I think for the great majority, even if they knew what the eventual price would be, they would still do it."

So when people ask Grossman: "Do you miss playing?"

He always tells them: "I miss being young." *