Black and Gold Pittsburgh Insanity

July 15, 2009. Former Steelers Franco Harris, left, and Rocky Bleier, right, present a Steelers jersey to Ken Nacke, brother of Flight 93 passenger Louis Nacke II, during a press conference today announcing a "9/11 We Will Never Forget" dinner Sept. 11 at Heinz Field, raising money for the Flight 93 National Memorial.

I'm probably looking at this the wrong way, but two three words come to mind: Garish. Disrespectful. Hunky. And I'm flirting with two more words: Media whores.

When I say disrespectful, I mean disrespectful of the honored dead, not disrespectful of the commercial Black-And-Gold.

Losing a brother in a terrorist hijacking? Tragic. Unforgettable. Traumatic.
Putting his name on a Steelers jersey? Priceless. Tasteless.

And I like Rocky Bleier's photo on the podium. I'm expecting him to announce his candidacy for Something pretty soon.

"I have come to feel an affinity with United Flight 93," Bleier said. "The proximity of its resting place in Shanksville puts me in constant reach of that eventful day. The story of how a group of passengers and crew overcame those hijackers continually gives me hope."

Look at the red-white-blue poster on the podium (image from the Tribune Review):


I read a book once (really) by a graphic designer. He said that if you really want to know the intended message of a poster, walk twenty feet back from it and squint your eyes. When you do that, the predominant visual theme stands out. When you do that with this poster, it looks mostly like a Rocky Bleier for Something advertisement - I see the swooping curve leading the eye to Rocky's magnificent head, and his name below it. It runs right-to-left, which is counterintuitive in the West, buy what do I know? Maybe they're going for subtlety. They missed.

This press conference is a commercial selling Rocky Bleier Inc. Franco Harris (whose son Dok is running for Mayor and has a political future before him) discusses "us all knowing about" Rocky's VietNam service, Rocky is a guy who brings things together, Rocky's first thought is how to benefit others.

I'm probably just being cranky, but this just smells all wrong.

Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09195/983759-66.stm#ixzz0LMyXSrJj
And more: http://www.postgazette.com/#ixzz0LMw4zmOT

I'm probably looking at this the wrong way.