... have opened their training camp without Dan Rooney in attendance.

Usually, it takes poor health to keep a devoted owner like Rooney away.  Happily, however, Rooney is missing this camp for a completely different purpose: a sideline job.

Rooney was sworn in last month by Secretary of State Clinton as the new ambassador to Ireland, and it is those duties that are keeping him away from the team as camp begins.

The mere fact that a football team owner was endorsed for an ambassadorship is an indication of the kind of respect that the Rooney family has engendered, and not just in Pittsburgh.  The stability that the family ownership has brought to the Steelers contributes mightily to the point of this column.

I...

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