Steelers Fan Playa Hatin’ Round 1: No. 1 Vontaze Burfict vs No. 16 Mike Wallace

And so we begin our search for the villain of all villains. Who will be ultimately be the Voldemort, the Gargamel, the Hans Gruber to Steeler Nation? Over the next few weeks, BTSC will host our own tourney of tyranny and your vote counts.

To quote will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie...”Let’s Get It Started”. Although I am afraid that after reading the comments section, I may be quoting another song by the Black Eyed Peas, “Where Is The Love?”.

We kick things off with a heavy favorite and a former Steeler star that some don't think even deserves to be on the list. So basically, this is Duke vs Robert Morris. But anything can happen.

No. 1 Vontaze Burfict - Cincinnati Bengals

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Burfict has made a strong case to be named Public Enemy #1 of Steeler Nation. He personifies the phrase made famous by Chuck Noll, “The criminal element of the NFL”. But the Raiders of the 1970s (who Noll was referring to) would probably be offended by being mentioned in the same breath as No. 55 for Cincinnati.

When the powder keg that is Burfict blows, he destroys everybody...including his own team. It’s of my own opinion (and lots of others) that the Bengal linebacker goes out to intentionally hurt opposing players. He has injured Ben Roethlisberger twice with questionable hits. He has ended Le’Veon Bell’s season once and laughed about it when it penned a year earlier. Then there was the most infamous of all meltdowns in the 2015 AFC Wildcard Game, launching himself to knock out Antonio Brown. It cost the Bengals the game, but the Steelers a shot at the Super Bowl.

There are too many more instances of the dirty behavior of Burfict to mention. I used to pride myself on never celebrating another player’s misfortune. But when David Decastro lowered his head to knock a knee-hunting Burfict out if the game temporarily last December, I smiled. Not proud of it, but I smiled.

No. 16 Mike Wallace - Baltimore Ravens

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Truth be told, the loutish Steve Smith Sr. would have been in this bracket before Wallace if he hadn't retired. I found the top of the list to be as “easy as Sunday morning”. But the bottom of the list was more difficult than trying to memorize a Russian phonebook.

Some people questioned Wallace’s inclusion here because of his positive contributions for the Steelers on the field from 2009-2012. But off the field, he was alegedly a locker room problem as the leader of the faction “Young Money”. His brief holdout in 2012 angered fans greatly. But it was actually a blessing to the Steelers. They then turned their attention to paying Antonio Brown instead. But most of all he was included because on top of all that, he’s a Raven now and burned the Steelers the first chance he got for a 95-yard score.

Please be sure to vote and check back to see who moves on. Then make sure to come back next time for #2 vs #15...a battle of QBs.