Joey Porter admits to manufacturing Super Bowl controversy

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Does the headline seem overblown?

That was my goal. I wanted it to seem like I thought this was a big deal.

After all, 20 years ago, as Seattle prepared to play in its first Super Bowl, I felt obligated to cover this as if it was a big deal.

In fact, my clearest memory from that Super Bowl, the first I’d covered, was waiting for Jerramy Stevens amid a crowd of 100 other media members and 30 different television cameras.

We were waiting because Joey Porter, a loud-mouthed linebacker from Pittsburgh, had called Stevens “soft” among a variety of other insults.

He had done this because he perceived a specific quote from Stevens to be a sign of disrespect toward Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis.

I’m bringing this story up for two reasons:

1. I was asked to write about what it’s like to cover a Super Bowl, and this whole brouhaha looms large in just how lame I think the build-up to the game tends to be;

2. In looking for footage of Porter’s initial rant I came across a Q&A Porter did six months ago when he was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Fame.

In explaining the lead up, Porter admitted that he was reaching for a reason to be mad.

“It was something simple,” Porter said of what Stevens said. “He was saying what you’re supposed to be saying when you’re at the Super Bowl. It was something simple like: ‘I’m sorry Jerome came all the way out here to lose in front of his hometown.’ “

That’s actually pretty close to the quote.

Here’s what Stevens actually said: "It's a heartwarming story and all that, but it will be a sad day when he leaves without that trophy.”

This was the spark that Porter decided he needed to pick a fight.

“I don’t need much,” Porter said. “That was more than enough to get me going.”

The result was the next time the Steelers met with the media, Porter performed as if he were a professional wrestler.

He called Stevens soft. He said that Stevens hadn’t played as much as you’d expect given that he’d been drafted in the first round, that the only reason he’d gotten on the field as much as he had in 2005 was because of an injury to Itula Mili. Porter said Stevens hadn’t earned the right to talk like that.

That’s how I ended up in that crowd of media, waiting for Stevens.

I was seething inside not because of what Porter said, but because of how seriously everyone around me was taking this.

I knew it was becoming a big story. In fact, looking back it was the story from the lead-up to that Super Bowl. I also thought it was stupid and very contrived, but looking back, I was afraid to break from the herd so I stood there and dutifully recorded every non-answer Stevens provided.

I felt that you were supposed to cover what everyone else is covering.

I like to think that I’ve developed a broader perspective since then. At least I hope that’s true.