(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Bud Dupree signed a massive five-year $82.5 million contract with the Titans in free agency last week. Given the Steelers cap situation, they just simply didn't have enough money to retain Dupree.
Dupree is now a Titan, but he'll never forget the five years that he spent in the black and gold. Dupree penned a letter in The Players' Tribune today thanking Steeler Nation for all the support over the years.
Dupree started off his article reminiscing the electric feeling at Heinz Field when Renegade played.
"You hear that opening line of the song….
'Oh Mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law….'
The guy is singing all quiet to begin. But then, there’s this heartbeat sound that comes in and just sets it all the way off.
BOOM … boom, boom.
It’s a loud heartbeat, too. Loud and proud. Just like the city.
BOOM … boom, boom.
On the jumbotron, you got big hit after big hit being shown. It’s me, Cam, T.J., all the guys just layin’ some wood. Then there’s this loud scream in the song, and pretty much everyone in that stadium — players, fans, coaches, everyone — just goes absolutely nuts.
It’s craaaaaaaaazy!
It’s an adrenaline rush like nothing else I’ve ever felt before — goose bumps, man, just straight goose bumps.
And more often than not that sh*t works, too. They play “Renegade,” people go nuts, and then big things happen for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s just how it goes. (Don’t even get me started about those Double Renegade games.) It’s legendary, man. I’ve never had more fun on a football field in my life. It’s just absolutely special."
Dupree also talks about the close bond that he had with Mike Tomlin and how he always asked about how his family was doing. It was about more than just football with Tomlin.
"This is a guy who, at my pro day back in Kentucky, I had like 20 people from my family there, and Coach was there to scout me, and to this day, he still asks me about each and every one of them," Dupree said. "Like he remembers all of those people individually. Seven years later he’s still asking me how they’re doing."
Dupree finished off his letter by saying that he's happy to be a Titan, but he's grateful for his time in Pittsburgh and noted that it will be an emotional and weird time for him when the Titans play the Steelers at Heinz Field this year.
"And I’m not gonna lie, it’s definitely going to be weird to see that scoreboard go black at some point late in the game and to hear that heartbeat and that scream and … not be wearing black and gold. That’s definitely gonna be strange. It’ll be super weird," Dupree wrote.
You can read Dupree's entire letter to Steelers Nation on The Players' Tribune here. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/bud-dupree-thank-you-pittsburgh-steelers-nfl-football
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