Steelers Switch to Spikeball

PITTSBURGH -- Last season, when you walked into the locker room, there was always a chance you'd find a crowd hovering around the pool table.

No one was playing pool, though. The table remained covered, and the closer you got, you'd realize it was only being used as a place setting for the real game - a Biñho board.

Most days, T.J. Watt or Anthony Chickillo would take the Biñho board out of Watt's spare locker and challenge the other to the team's first match of the day.

The miniature soccer game became a staple of the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers. And while the Biñho board may still be in the locker room, it's on the back burner to the real competition of 2020.

This season, the team's locker room game is spikeball.

Defensive end Tyson Alualu laughed when asked what the team was doing to help boost chemistry off the field. The first thing he could think of was how the four square-like game has taken over.

"With anything, as athletes, you kind of get really competitive," Alualu said. "So, you formed teams and talk a lot of smack."

Alualu confirmed he and Watt are the best team in the locker room. The two are currently 11-1, with the sole loss assumed to be Alex Highsmith and Ola Adeniyi, according to Devin Bush's Instagram story.

Looks like Devin Bush captured the Alualu-Watt team’s lone spikeball loss on his IG story. Based on the celebrations afterward, I think that’s Alex Highsmith and Ola Adeniyi who took them down. https://t.co/kPGngsOZ0S pic.twitter.com/eNgCEThLSz
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 23, 2020

Spike ball Champs. https://t.co/m74SctCKcs
— TJ Watt (@_TJWatt) August 23, 2020

On the other end of the rankings is Alualu's defensive tackle running mates.

"The worst team was Dan [McCullers] and Isaiah Buggs but they got kicked out by the league," Alualu laughed. "so I don't know who's the worst now."

For now, COVID-19 keeps team chemistry restricted. But for the Steelers, they'll keep finding ways to bond as a team and keep that competitive spirit alive off the field.

Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.