Typically, professional athletes make their fashion statements on their respective game days. Whether it comes from wearing a stylish hat or matching shirt and pants, or shoes that turn more heads than on a runway in Milan, Italy, athletes have turned the pregame arrival into the stadium into their own fashion shows.
Rarely do teams organize a themed dressing day, and especially in a practice setting.
The exception comes with the Steelers' defensive line.
A noticeable collar sticks out from underneath the gold practice jerseys of Karl Dunbar's group on the fields of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday middays. It is a symbol of a tradition that -- while it doesn't have a specific starting point -- is thought to have originated from the minds of Dunbar and Cam Heyward, but could extend beyond a bit further back in the time machine. It's a symbol of work, a symbol of business, and a symbol of seriousness that has taken a life of its own on the South Side.
That garment poking out from within the defensive linemen's pads is a collared shirt.
"It's a Friday, so we always wear our work shirts on Friday," T.J. Watt said of the fashion choice. "Tomorrow's a Friday again, so we'll wear them again tomorrow ... It's been here since I've been here so it hasn't gone anywhere. Just punching the clock, getting to work, and doing it as a unit and just being all in it together."
It's a uniform within the uniform of sorts, and all of the defensive linemen and outside linebackers have participated in it. That goes for members of the active roster and practice squad.
Everybody is into it. That includes the veterans like Watt and Montravius Adams to the younger players like DeMarvin Leal, Breiden Fehoko, Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and beyond. It's also a form of personalization, as some players wear white collared shirts and some don black collared shirts. Some are short sleeved, and some are long sleeved. Some also wear a short-sleeved shirt while sporting a hoodie or a crewneck sweatshirt underneath for added comfort. Keeanu Benton kicked it up a notch by cutting the sleeves off of his white polo but wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath it Friday.
"It's a tradition that they've been doing for a little while, even before I got here," Adams said. "Something they've been doing with Dunbar and Cam and the older guys. It's really a thing of making sure your mindset is in the right place, a business mindset, and on Fridays we just have to make sure we're taking care of business."
Regardless of the style of the fashion faux pas, the meaning behind the "work shirt" conveys that blue-collar mentality. And this comes to absolutely zero fanfare, glitz, or glamor, as fans do not watch practices in season on the South Side.
This is not fashionable in the slightest, nor is it meant to be. The work shirt is just a team-issued Steelers polo that often sports the trademarked logo on the right pectoral. The team-issued gear is provided by Nike and oftentimes the polo is an airy, breathable fabric that would emulate an undershirt that would be worn, anyway.
And, it's not totally exclusive to the defensive linemen. An exception went on Friday to Connor Heyward.
Maybe it is because his brother is one of the originators of this idea, but the younger one is also in on the gimmick. At least, for one day.
KARL ROSER / STEELERS
Connor Heyward, dressed in a white "work shirt" under his practice jersey, runs with the ball during Friday's practice on the South Side.
"This was my first time ever wearing a polo," Connor Heyward joked after Friday's practice. "Isaiahh Loudermilk -- I was about to put on a normal undershirt and I was like, 'I'm going to wear a polo,' and he's like, 'you should, why not?' so I just threw it on. Just went out there to get ready for another day's work ... D-line room always does it. They do it every Friday. Just worker's mentality. Go to work, lock in, dial in to every play and do what you have to do."
