James Harrison, the top defensive player on last year’s Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers, decided against accepting President Barack Obama’s invitation to the White House.

As the NFL champs, he and his teammates are scheduled to be at the presidential mansion on Thursday as special guests. But the snub isn’t directed against Obama, since Harrison declined the same offer from President Bush three years ago after winning the Super Bowl.

I don't feel the need to go, actually," Harrison told Pittsburgh station WTAE-TV. "I don't feel like it's that big a deal to me.

His point is that he and the rest of the Steelers aren’t really that special, since the president, whoever it is at the time, would invite anybody who happens to win the big game. It just so happened that he and his Steelers were the victors this time around, beating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in the final minutes of the game.

He (Obama) would have invited Arizona," Harrison points out.