The live roast of Tom Brady on Netflix was on the lips of many sports, entertainment and talk hosts after the live event Monday.
Called, “The Greatest Roast of All-Time” Brady’s life on and off the field was all fodder for the comedians, celebrities and sports figures who took their shots at #12.
His ex-wife, Deflategate, his infamous teamates and more were just some of the topics that were tackled.
Even New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was not safe, with Brady telling Roastmaster General Jeff Ross to lay off after a quip.
So, if a Pittsburgh sports figure was to be roasted on a service like Netflix, who would be the best choice?
They’d have to be famous enough to draw an audience and a past that gives the dais enough material to roast the subject. That means someone like Sidney Crosby would probably be out. There isn’t much that would be able to be said about Sid.
He showed up a minute late to practice one time?
No, you need one of these people
Terry Bradshaw: A four-time Super Bowl Champion and Hall of Famer. Bradshaw would be a good roasting subject. His Louisiana roots, four marriages, country music album and long television career, full of flubs, are all topics that can be mined.
Mario Lemieux: Mario is arguably the most important sports figure in Pittsburgh history. He won two championships and saved the entire Penguins franchise from folding. But, let’s be honest, it would be a pretty lame roast. Maybe some French-Canadian jokes and a couple about his smoking cigs in the 1980s? You’re doing this one because of the name only.
Antonio Brown: This one would get out of hand really quick. From his Twitter meltdowns to taking his uniform off and abandoning his team in the middle of an NFL game, a roast of AB would not be for the faint of heart. Legal troubles, allegations of misconduct, questions about his mental state and more would be low-hanging fruit for comedians. He’d also likely have a good set of his own if his CTESPN staff helped write it. The issue with this one is that it could be more mean-spirited than anything else
Barry Bonds: While he found most of his fame while a member of the San Francisco Giants, he did make a name for himself while in Pittsburgh with the Pirates. This one would likely be the tensest. Imagine someone like Jeff Ross making a steroid joke and Bonds staring a hole through his head. One downfall would be 99 percent of the roast would be steroid jokes. It would be nice to see Jim Leyland up there, go through a pack of lung darts while taking some playful digs at his former player.
Ben Roethlisberger: Oh boy, this one would draw the biggest numbers. From his motorcycle accident to allegations of wrongdoing in Georgia early in his career “Big Ben” would be hammered by the dais. It would likely rival the harshness of the Brady roast. There are plenty of other sports-related topics that would be used. His history of playing through injuries to name one. He also has a history with former President Donald Trump. He claimed Roethlisberger killed a tree after hitting it with a golf ball so hard, it was dead two years later. This one is your money-maker.