As the Steelers prepare to take on the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV, several players shared their "Super Bowl Journey" with Teresa Varley.
The journey varies from how some of them came to Pittsburgh, the ups and downs in their careers and more, but the ultimate dream remains the same – winning a Super Bowl Championship.
In this installment, tackle Jonathan Scott, who played for the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills, talks about coming to the Steelers and the journey to Super Bowl XLV in his own words.
Coming to the Steelers for me was a great move. When I was at the University of Texas we lost just five games my whole career there. Going from there to the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills and constantly going home after the last game of the regular season, it puts you in a negative mental mind state.
My first season with the Lions it was like wow this is not a normal feeling having the season end so fast. Once you get into that same mundane mentality of losing, you tend to lose that edge.
I went through a lot of mental anguish trying to figure out what is the problem. You second guess yourself, you question yourself. But I had people in my corner helping me out, praying for me. But it definitely worked out coming to the Steelers this year.
The Lord was looking after me and I got a chance to be with a traditionally winning program. It showed me I can fight harder, work it out and be like I was at Texas.
The first time I got the call to come to the Steelers I talked to one of my best friends and he said that is the greatest thing ever, it's perfect for you. I thought I am just another guy, just another number. He saw it different, that I was with a winning team. Once I got here it seemed like everybody from the top to the bottom all had a sense of pride about themselves. I could tell it goes throughout the entire building.
Coming here I felt the atmosphere was winning is the only option. It's done monumental things for my psyche, to be able to play harder, smarter and faster. It's surreal. It's amazing how being around people who are so used to being a championship-caliber team affects you.
One of the first things you see here are the Super Bowl trophies. That was nice. I was thinking 'that is a pretty tall trophy.' I thought, wow, I am part of history. Whether I go to the playoffs or the Super Bowl, I am part of something that is pretty immaculate. I am looking at the pictures and photos of numerous championship teams and then I go out there and practice with these guys. This was the type of atmosphere I didn't see since college.
What I soaked up here is the things you hear about championship teams and players. Once I got in a room and started talking football with these guys it showed the mentality of winning football is embedded into this environment. I talked to the offensive linemen and you could tell winning is the only option.
It never dawned on me until I got here that I could compete to play for a World Championship.
My mom used to always say certain people play to hope not to lose and certain people play that know they are going to win. This is definitely an organization that knows they are going to win. It speaks volumes having guys know we are going to win, even if we are down 21 points in a game. That mentality helped us all season with any negativity that was around us. We showed a lot of resiliency, especially on the offensive line. You lose Max Starks and Willie Colon, those anchors of the offensive line. Those guys helped me and Ramon Foster to take the torch and keep rolling. It speaks wonders of their character.
The AFC Championship game was surreal. As much as I was in pain from getting beat up it felt so good to know we are going to be competing to be the best in the world. I am looking forward to the entire process.
Being from Dallas my Super Bowl dream is winning it in my hometown. There is a little selfish pride. You want to go out with a bang and show people that didn't have faith in you that you can go out here and do it with class. I want to be able to represent my family and my father, who passed about a year ago and loved the Steelers, well.
