Inside scoop: Mt. Lebanon youth grabs interview with Bleier
Elan Green, like any good reporter, used his connections to get the biggest interview of his budding journalism career.
During the South Hills Memorial Day Parade fundraising kickoff event April 3 at the Mt. Lebanon Historical Society, Green used his cellphone to converse with former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier, who will serve as the first grand marshal for the parade to be held May 26.
“My mother had already gotten tickets for this so I thought why not do it,” said Green.
Green, 11, is compiling an article for the Jefferson Elementary School newspaper, which is in its inaugural year.
“We make up our own assignments,” Green explained. “The other topics I was doing were sports but Rocky was my first interview. Since this will be our last issue (of the year), I knew I’d have to go big.”
Bleier is big news and not just in Mt. Lebanon, where he has resided for over 30 years. He helped the Steelers win four Super Bowl championships, finishing his career with 3,865 rushing yards, 1,294 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns.
“It was so cool just to meet a legend,” Green said. “Rocky was super nice. “He actually at one point let me put on his Super Bowl ring for a minute. That was on my bucket list to do.”
Because he had done his homework, Green was also familiar with Bleier’s military career. While serving in the United States Army, he was severely wounded during the Vietnam War. He earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and was told he’d never play football again.
“I knew Rocky was a veteran because I read his book and knew all about his injuries,” Green said. “It’s awesome he had the courage to come back and do what he did. It must have been so hard to do something like that.”
As a Little League baseball player, Green sometimes finds it difficult to attend the South Hills Memorial Day Parade.
“We try to make it every year, but sometimes baseball and everything conflicts. Every year we can, we try.”
Memorial Day is special to Green. He noted that during his games that day, they take “an extra minute or two” to acknowledge anyone in the crowd that is a veteran.
“We have them come out (of the stands) and we salute them,” he said.
“I actually love Memorial Day. It’s not just another day to play baseball. It’s a day to remember veterans like Rocky.”
Green neither wants to be like Rocky and play football in the NFL, nor does he aspire to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer for the New York Times.
“I want to be a MLB player,” he answered quickly.
See Green has another hero. As a pitcher, he hopes to emulate David Shields, who upon graduation from Mt. Lebanon signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Kansas City Royals.
“David is so cool. I have his autograph on a few things,” Green said. “When I see someone who can go immediately from high school and get signed for $1 million already. Well, I want to do something like that.”