Jesse James says 2018 Steelers are the Kardashians. So who's who?
The 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers season hasn’t gone light on the drama and one player is comparing it to another high-profile, ongoing dramatic saga.
The 2018 Steelers storylines
The Steelers opened on the Le’Veon Bell arc, in which the star running back held out and ended up not playing a down for the Steelers.
It included quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s radio show, a must-listen wherein he discussed whatever he pleased from calling out teammates, giving them love, or questioning coaches’ play calls.
And it closed on another Antonio Brown chapter as the top wideout missed the team’s final game for reasons that vary depending on who is talking. Honestly, no one knows what’s going on in Pittsburgh right now but they have a chance to write a new script this offseason.
If this all sounds like a TV show — maybe, say, a reality show with huge personalities — you’re on the same wavelength as Steelers tight end Jesse James.
“Ah man, we are — Kardashians. We have, I mean, we’re something,” James told Penn Live on Monday, less than 24 hours after the Steelers missed the playoffs. “It’s Le’Veon Bell issues, you have more stuff popping up weekly, Jeremy Fowler’s reporting stuff about Le’Veon every other week. There’s just people calling people out.
“We were in the front of the ticker on ESPN too much for just reasons that weren’t related to football and not for us playing great ball. It was more distractions.”
James didn’t specify any particular events, outside of the Bell situation, adding:
“Obviously there was many things,” he said. “I’m not gonna point out individually each one, but there was a lot of things that went on that didn’t need to.”
Spoken like any viewer of the Kardashians. So, which Steelers player is which Kardashian family member in this top-notch comparison?
Welcome to ‘Putting Up with the Pittsburgh Steelers’
Starring …
Art Rooney as Kris Kardashian
Kris is really the woman who runs the show. She manages, she gets her daughters in magazines, she throws parties and builds brands. Her position in the Kardashian clan, a family that for better or worse many look up to, is akin to Art Rooney II overseeing a franchise many want to become.
Ben Roethlisberger as Kim Kardashian
Kim is and has been the most well-known Kardashian in the group. She provides mentorship to her sisters when it comes to PR nightmares and serves as a sort of spokesperson for the family.
Roethlisberger is one of the older players on the offensive side of the ball, talks about the group on his radio show and has helped keep the Steelers going for 15 years.
They also both have pasts with prominent scandals.
Roethlisberger’s waffling with retirement also connects him with Kanye, Kim’s husband, and his public back-and-forth decisions with President Donald Trump.
Antonio Brown as Kourtney Kardashian
Brown’s standing with the Steelers right now is bizarre. No one knows what exactly he’s thinking or what he’s really doing. He’s long held a flair for the dramatic, likes to stir things up and doesn’t seem to appreciate being in the shadows.
Those are some Kourtney moves right there.
Le’Veon Bell as Khloé Kardashian
Bell missed the entire season and essentially hid out in Florida teasing his return. He’s made headlines more than once for Instagram comments and foreshadowing tweets.
Khloé is in Cleveland, away from her famous sisters in Los Angeles, while her partner Tristan Thompson plays for the Cavaliers. And after her own drama, she took to social media with subtweets/subsnaps to allude to stories circulating in the media.
JuJu Smith-Schuster as Kendall Jenner
Smith-Schuster just wants to play some video games, ride his bike, share his life on JuJu TV and score touchdowns. He’s big time, but mostly stays out of the big picture drama.
Same for Kendall, who likes her business corner of the quiet fame and still hasn’t said anything about her potential romance with Ben Simmons.
Alternative: JuJu is Travis Scott, Kylie Jenner’s significant other, in that he’s far cooler than the rest but no one quite feels comfortable saying it.
James Conner as Travis Scott
While Bell created distractions, Conner stepped into the primary running back role with few issues. Kind of like how Kanye spent 2018 creating a stir while Scott further built his music mogul status that could bring the family to the Super Bowl (where they will not be meeting the Steelers).
T.J. Watt as Kylie Jenner
Both shining in their own ways, but getting fewer eyeballs as the younger siblings.
Jesse James as Lamar Odom/Scott Disick/any of Rob Kardashians’ significant others
Kind of just getting tangled into the entire tornado.
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