The Pittsburgh Steelers logo in the locker room at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex was starting to get a little bit too dirty for star safety Minakh Fitzpatrick's liking. He had chatted with a couple of other veterans on the team about doing something about it and then took the initiative to have the logo protected. The sacred symbol of Pittsburgh football is now roped off with stanchions.
Pittsburgh Steelers Communications via ESPN
The logo in the Steelers locker room is now fully protected from players getting any more dirt on it.
Fitzpatrick via ESPN's Brooke Pryor said that it was not intentional that people were tracking in mud from the practice field onto the logo, which he said was new two or three years ago. Even though it wasn't deliberate, the safety said he was tired of seeing the logo getting tarnished in their own facility.
"At the end of the day, we used to take pride in little stuff like that," he said. "I'm a guy that likes order, and I believe that when you allow one thing to slip, everything else starts to slip."
He had talked with the team's longest-serving member Cam Heyward about doing something about the sad state of the emblem and he provided some input, but it was Fitzpatrick who really took on the project. So without much attention, after a conversation with the safety and equipment staff, the guard rails were put up around the logo just before mandatory minicamp in June to keep everyone off it.
That wasn't the only change Fitzpatrick helped implement to try and help enforce a stronger culture within the team either. After practices generally, the players would all toss everything into one big bin and leave it for the equipment staff to sort out. Fitzpatrick and new Steelers defensive back (but 13-year NFL veteran), Patrick Peterson talked about making a change to help make doing the laundry easier. Now, the Steelers have specific bins for towels, jerseys, and hoodies.
"Little things go a long way in this league," Peterson said via Pryor. "You never know what little detail may show up in the game that other teams may look over that you execute at a high level, and that's what it's all about. Just having guys understand that the little things do matter."
Fitzpatrick said the impact of these culture-changing moves might not be immediate, but paying attention to the little details will help them on the field in the long run.
Steelers' Fitzpatrick's Keen Attention To Detail Is What Makes Him A Star
In 2021, receiver Diontae Johnson worked quite a bit with the team equipment assistant Lou Balde catching tennis balls after practices to try and cure his issues with dropping the football. Fitzpatrick decided he liked the idea of working with the smaller objects to help him on the field catching a bigger one. Working with Balde after practice to run extra reps catching the tennis balls has now become a part of his daily routine.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / x: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick communicates with his teammates in a 2022 regular season game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Fitzpatrick is a true student of the game. He'll sit with quarterback Kenny Pickett to go over film and according to some of his teammates, is an adamant note-taker. TJ Watt said that he usually sits beside Fitzpatrick in team meetings and he's constantly writing things down every tiny little detail. Watt added that even if it's the same message from a coach from the day before, Fitzpatrick is still writing it down.
"I just like writing down a lot of things, it helps me memorize it," Fitzpatrick said. "I also like drawing formations and stuff like that, plays that they run out of specific formations. When people are aligned in certain spots, I write it down. So seeing it right before I go on the field definitely helps me process the information a little faster."
Fitzpatrick said that his parents were the first ones to instill that attention to detail in him, but it was at Alabama where it was drilled into him by Head Coach Nick Saban. He said that in college, touching the logo was a complete non-starter and it was that culture established by Saban that led to him only losing three games while winning a pair of National Championships.
University of Alabama Athletics
Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick learned how important doing the little things right can lead to success during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Fitzpatrick said it is a little bit more difficult to enforce those things at the professional level, but he's trying to get his teammates in Pittsburgh to buy in. He said it's important to enforce those little things and for him, it starts with honoring and respecting the logo.
What do you think about Fitzpatrick's mission to protect the logo? What does it say to you about him as a person and as a player? Comment below!
#SteelerNation
