Sunday will mark the only time that former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward will root against his former team.
Now an assistant coach with the Jets, Ward would like to be celebrated in style if New York can knock off the Steelers on Sunday.
“It will be special for me, but I’m a competitive guy,” Ward said on Friday. “I want to win. I want to beat the Steelers as much as anybody in this building, trust me. I’m telling my guys, ‘You have to win this for me.’ I want the Gatorade shower and all that if we win.”
Ward became a legendary figure in Pittsburgh during his 14-year tenure with the Steelers. In 217 career games played between 1998-2011, Ward caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns. He was a four-time Pro Bowl nominee, three-time second-team All-pro selection and also played an integral role in two Pittsburgh Super Bowls, winning MVP in a 21-10 over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.
“I’ll always bleed black and gold,” Ward told Jets team reporter Olivia Landis on Thursday. “I’ve done great things there during my football career. I won a couple of championships and the city of Pittsburgh has treated me so great, but I still want to beat those guys. I want to go out there and win and help our team pull out the W.
“It will be a little bittersweet. I’m thankful for the opportunity to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I’m also thankful for the Jets for giving me an opportunity to coach and to start my career in coaching. That will be the only time I root against Pittsburgh is when we play them, but hopefully, we can find a way to pull out the win.”
Ward began training camp with Gang Green as a coaching intern and has now become a permanent fixture on Adam Gase’s staff. Wide receivers like Robby Anderson and Jamison Crowder have thrived under Ward’s tutelage.
This is Ward’s championship and he hopes that it ends in a Gatorade bath. The black and gold pom poms will have to take a backseat as the Jets look to play spoiler in Pittsburgh’s quest for a wild card berth.