Under most normal circumstances, I would have no problem with anyone taking a stand against playing the music of Rob Thomas in a public setting. Compared to the severity injuries suffered by Baltimore RB Willis McGahee after a helmet-on-helmet collision with Pittsburgh S Ryan Clark during yesterday’s AFC Championship, the hosts’ choice of tannoy entertainment are hard to get worked up over. Unless of course, you’re one of Mike Florio’s unnamed insiders.
A league source was livid regarding the fact that, while McGahee was laying on the turf, the folks who operate the sound system at Heinz Field opted to play rock music over the P.A. system.
Specifically, the selections were œDown On The Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and then œSmooth by Santana featuring Rob Thomas.
Said the source: œThere is a player on the field who may have suffered a life changing injury and the Steelers are playing party music. There are about five teams in the league that would engage in such horrific behavior. All others would cease all entertainment.
œ˜Down on the corner™ . . . uh, there™s a man down on the field. About twenty-five to twenty-seven teams would cease all entertainment. Oh, now it™s a Santana song. This is beyond offensive. . . . Most teams would fire them on the spot. It™s disgusting.
The source is on the money. The Steelers should address this situation immediately, so that it doesn™t happen when players are injured in the future.
Just to be perfectly sure, perhaps PFT could provide all NFL public address announcers with a list of appropriately somber tunes to spin while members of the workforce are writhing in agony. Sorry, Ledge, you’re probably shit out of luck.