Steelers’ president Art Rooney II remembers his father, Dan, on Father’s Day

Steelers’ pres. Art Rooney II and his brother Jim talk with former Steeler Tunch Ilkin about their father Dan’s influence on their lives.

In an interview with Steelers analyst, Tunch Ilkin, Steelers president Art Rooney II and his brother Jim, speak candidly about their father, Dan Rooney.

Art said the only minus about his father was that he wasn’t around much due to his responsibilities with the Steelers. “[Dan] traveled a good bit, and he worked long hours,” said Art. “The other side of it was, having a dad in the football business, and being able to be around the team a lot. He brought me around a lot. I used to go to work with him every Saturday morning.”

“It was great how he tried to include me in different conversations,” Art said when asked what it was like growing up with the football influence. “I got to hear a lot about what was going on. Particularly in the early days, sort of the back-and-forth between he and my grandfather was fun to hear what they were talking about.”

“[Dan] was very busy, and he made sure we were both very busy on and off the field,” added Jim.

Jim said that his father and The Chief, Art Rooney, were always all about getting things done. “Don’t be a big shot,” Jim said his father and grandfather would always say. “Whenever you went anywhere with them, they were always involved in something that had purpose and meaning, and they expected you to be involved with them or respect what was going on.”

Faith, family, and football were the cornerstones of the Rooney family. Both Jim and Art have carried those through and incorporated them into their own lives in every way.

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