Posted on 07/06/2005 8:45:18 AM PDT by Brujo
Body of Steelers Fan Viewed in Recliner
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The body of rabid Pittsburgh Steelers fan James Henry Smith, who died Thursday, was laid out this week in what his family said was his favorite spot - a recliner with the Steelers on the television.
Smith, 55, of Pittsburgh, died of prostate cancer. Because his death wasn't unexpected, his family was able to plan ahead for the unusual viewing Tuesday night.
Mourners stood before a small stage erected in the viewing room of the Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home, on which funeral director Roland Criswell had placed furniture, much as it was arranged in Smith's home on game day.
Smith's feet were crossed; a pack of cigarettes and a six-pack of beer were at his side. A continuous loop of Steelers highlights was playing on TV nearby, as Smith was reclined with a television remote in his hand and a Steelers blanket across his legs.
The reaction of Smith's loved ones varied.
"I couldn't stop crying after looking at the Steeler blanket in his lap," his sister, MaryAnn Nails, 58, of Pittsburgh, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for Wednesday's editions. "He loved football and nobody did (anything) until the game went off. It was just like he was at home."
"I saw it and I couldn't even cry," said longtime friend Mary Jones of Wilkinsburg. "People will see him the way he was. This is just a celebration."
Hmmm. I'll keep that in mind.
Nope. Don't plan on it either. I admire his playing, but a good arm doesn't make you a good writer. But then I'm not a big fan of autobiographies in general.
really?
Yeah, it gets pretty darn cold up there in the north, ya hey, go Packers!
That's just plain creepy.
Yep. I'm a cheese-bleeding, dyed in green Packers fan, but I'm not going to read Favre's autobiography. On a side note, there are a lot of Canadian Packers fans. I don't really know why. But we are Legion up here.
Ah, but that's what ghostwriters are for...not that most athelertes know how to pick a good ghostwriter, you understand.
Well, what else is there to do in the winter, really? Oh wait, hockey. But still!
Somehow, I knew you'd be here!
Dang, I bet this is one of my distant relatives. My mother's side of the family settled PA after the revolutionary war. Her father was Henry Smith and many of the relatives through the centuries have retained that name in some form or other.
Doubt that I would have been welcome at the funeral in my Silver and Blue.
Everybody gotta be somewhere.
< |:)~
Skiing, snowboard, snowsurfing, snowskating, skating, (for adults) cross country skiing, polar bear club (also mainly for adults) snow soccer, snow football (yes, its an actual game), snowshoeing, bobsledding (if you know a good course), sledding, ice fishing, some kinds of hunting, (for the kids and the grossly immature or parents of kids) snowforts and snowball fights), I could go on but I won't.
Sure, but still. He's an athlete: a damned talented Athlete, and a fine American, but an athlete. He's not a great politician or soldier or thinker or scientist. So, for me, personally, there is little appeal to his autobiography.
Dunno. You've evidently never met a Tide fan.
I was being facetious. I grew up in Maine, so I know that snow can be made into fun.
;) I just like the list of snowsports. Snow is awesome. And winter is the best season of the year. When it stays above 15 below. Or even 20 below.
Good point. In fact, I'd have to say that the only people in sports whose bios I would even consider reading are Favre and Lombardi. And Lombardi's a special case, his ideas on leadership and motivation are top drawer. I WILL read his, I probably will keep pushing Brett's to the bottom of the reading list until I die.
I suppose I'll be laid out with a laptop and a desk :o)
Lombardi's WOULD actually be worth reading. He was a thinker, an innovtor and he was a powerful force in a variety of arenas for many years. Plus, he's iconic. Thus, his autobiography probably has some educationa value. Plus, it'd just be fascinating to see how he ticked. ;)
Roll Tide. So they are crazy too?
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