Family Communications Inc./Getty Images Fred Rogers, the host of the children's television series, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."
On the afternoon of Sunday Oct. 9 the Buffalo Bills (4-1) rolled the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4), winning 38-3 at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. After the game the Bills’ social media team gave the Steelers another ‘L,’ this one coming courtesy of Fred ‘Mister’ Rogers, who in 2018 was named the No. 1 Pittsburgher of all-time by Pittsburgh Magazine, ahead of the likes of Andrew Carnegie, Rachel Carson, Jonas Salk and Andy Warhol.
Pittsburgh, your friendly neighbor has a message.
Super Bowl Wins: Pittsburgh 6, Buffalo 0
Naturally, the tweet prompted Pittsburgh fans to return fire, so to speak, using various images to communicate how the Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, while the Bills are stuck on zero, having lost in four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s. Those defeats ranged from nail biters like Super Bowl XXV to blowouts like Super Bowl XXVII.
In the former, Bills placekicker Scott Norwood was wide right against the New York Giants, resulting in a 20-19 loss. In the latter the Bills were embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys, 52-17.
But even Buffalo’s 0-4 record in Super Bowls got turned around by one clever Bills fan, who replied: just like (kenny) pickett’s td-int ratio, which happens to be 0-4 in the rookie quarterback’s first six quarters of regular-season action.
@PickensBurgh @BuffaloBills just likr picketts td-int ratio
Meanwhile, other Steelers fans pointed out Buffalo’s inability to get past Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason, having been bounced in the divisional round last season and in the AFC Championship Game the year before that.
@BuffaloBills i wonder how much post-game trolling you’re gonna be doing when you lose to the Chiefs in the playoffs again 😂😂🤣
Finally, a few other Steelers fans said Fred Rogers’ ‘L’ “looks like “wide right” to me,” harkening back to Scott Norwood’s failed field goal attempt.
It’s worth noting, though, that not all Bills fans loved the tweet. One called it “low and cheap. You can either be a good winner or a bad winner. Take the high road and be a good winner,” wrote one member of Bills Mafia, prompting an observer to reply:
“Socially this is regarded as tame and light hearted ribbing…. The kids call it a sick burn. It’s ok to dispense sick burns occasionally” — something the Bills social media team is getting pretty good at, apparently.
@DanNickel @BuffaloBills Socially this is regarded as tame and light hearted ribbing.
Like it or not this is the “new” way of poking someone since the medium in which it is transported is fairly new.
The kids call it a sick burn. It’s ok to dispense sick burns occasionally.
About Fred ‘Mister’ Rogers
As for Fred Rogers, he will always be best-know for producing 895 episodes of the iconic television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for PBS.
“He spent his life trying to translate the complexity of the world to children. His job was to distill the essence of what was important to kids who were trying to figure out how the world works,” wrote Morgan Neville in a Pittsburgh Magazine feature ranking Rogers as the No. 1 Pittsburgher of all-time, as measured by contributions made both locally and nationally. “Fred was also childish in the best sense of the word — he had the honesty and the simplicity of a child, and his sincerity was immense and complete. He always said what he was thinking and asked what he wanted to know, like a child does.”
Rogers was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Peabody Award and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy.
He was born in Latrobe, Pa. (where the Steelers have held training camp almost every year since 1966), and died from stomach cancer at the age of 74 in Feb. 2003.