Before the Pittsburgh Steelers got on the plane to head for Cincinnati to take on the Bengals, head coach Mike Tomlin gave everyone on the team a gift: custom-painted black Nike Air Force 1s. Running back Najee Harris showed his off on social media (video below).
In case you aren’t at all in sneaker culture or aren’t privy to the related internet memes, there is a significance to these shoes. Here is a great explanation from Complex magazine:
A person that purposely purchases them is a person that cannot be trusted. You have to immediately question their motives. These folks have no regard for your safety or their own. … These types are hard to trust — they’re the ones that you would want on your team because you would rather not play against them.
Basically Tomlin is making sure people understand that the Steelers are not a team you want to mess with. Will it work? It’s hard to say, but it’s a very cool gesture and one more thing the players can rally around this week.
Black Air Force energy 😈
🎥: @ohthatsNajee22 pic.twitter.com/CfHdfDt0im
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 10, 2022
