WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT STEELER FOOTBALL??????

Being a Steeler fan means so much more than football. It means being from a corner

of the world unlike any other. It means being from a place where the people are so
tough minded that they have survived the Homestead strikes, the Johnstown flood

and most recently the Etna Floods. These people have the DNA of hard work in mills

and mines, without the necessity of complaint. They live simply, with no frills.

It’s a town so tough, even the towels are “terrible”.

Instead, they have simple traditions like kielbasa, Kennywood, and celebrations.

They live in distinctive neighborhoods like Polish Hill, the Hill District, and
all of the surrounding counties. These people are genuine. They don't have

chic internet cafes and cappuccinos, but they do have The Original Hot Dog Joint,

Primanti's, Eat n' Park, and Iron City Beer.

People from Pittsburgh don't have sunny beaches or fancy boats, but the rivers

roll gently, connecting the small towns of people whose histories have been built

on strength and humility. People from Pittsburgh don't have the biggest shopping

malls or the best nightclubs, but they'll take Friday night high school football and

Steeler Sunday over anything.

Steeler football means so much more than you think. It symbolizes a cherished

past for generations who had the best childhood they could imagine. They ran free

without a care or concern in the valleys of those Allegheny Mountains. Their

blue-collar world was easy…there was no one to tell them that they lacked material

things. There was no one to tell them that they needed more.

As the steel mills closed and the jobs disappeared, some of20these people had to leave.

While the world benefits because they spread their Pittsburgh values, they long for their
home where things were simpler and more pure. They teach their kids about Jack

Lambert, Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, L.C. Greenwood,

Joe Greene, and Myron Cope in hopes of imparting not just the knowledge, but

the feeling that they represented.

They are everywhere, those Terrible Towels. They wave, not just for the team, but for

the hearts they left behind. They wave in living rooms in Fort Lauderdale and in the bars
and stadium of Washington, D.C. They wave all the way to the Seattle Superdome! They

wave for the Rooney family, whose values mirror our own - loyalty, grit, and humility. They

wave for football players like Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward, whose

unselfishness and toughness have allowed sports to be about the game and the team.

Make no mistake that Steeler football is not just about football. I could not be prouder

to be from the Pittsburgh area than I am right now!! Even if you no longer live in the area,

you have South Western Pennsylvania in your blood no matter where you go. And deep

down in your heart of hearts, you can still hear the Super Bowls of times past, the
excitement in everyone's voices especially our fathers, cousins, uncles, and anyone else

who gathered around the TV on Steeler Sundays!

Make no mistake, it’s just as exciting right now! It's not just about rivalries and who is

better than the other, it's about family, tradition and roots! It's more than football, but

its football at its finest! If you now live in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Indiana, California,
Maryland, Florida, Nevada, or Texas, be proud of where you were born and who your

FIRST favorite football team was and is! Go Steelers!!

Pittsburgh, ah yes, "Picksburgh"
Yunz is from the Picksburgh area or maybe you grew up in Punxsy if:

You didn't have a spring break in high school but you did have the first day of deer

season off.

You walk carefully when it is "slippy" outside.

You often played down by the "crick".

You've told your children to "red up" their rooms.
&nb sp;
You can remember telling your little brother/sister to stop being so "nebby".

You've gotten hurt by falling into a "jagger bush".

Your mother or grandmother has been seen wearing a "babushka" on her head.

You've "worshed" the clothes.

I ask you to hand me one of those "gum-bands" and you actually know what I'm

talking about.

You know you can't drive too fast on the back roads, because of the deer.

You know Beaver Valley, Turtle Crick, Mars, Slippery Rock, Greentree,

and New Castle are names of towns. And you've been to most, if not all, of them.

You see a girl walk up to three of her girl friends and say, “HEY, YUNZ GUYS"!

You hear "you guyses" and don't think twice. Example: "you guyses hause is nice".

You know the three rivers by name and understand that "The Point" isn't just on a

writing instrument.

Someone refers to "The Mon" or "The Yough" and you know exactly what they're

talking about.

You remember the blizzard of 1993 (or 1976, or 1950, or 1939, or...) and remember

not being able to go outside because the snow was over your head and you would

have suffocated.

Someone starts the chant, "Here we go Steel-ers!" and you join in.. In the proper

cadence, waving the appropriately colored towel.

Bob Prince and "there's a bug loose on the rug" hold special meaning for you.

You've either eaten a Farkleberry Tart or know someone who has.

You drink pop, eat hoagies, love perogies, and one of your favorite

sandwiches actually has coleslaw and French fries ON it.

You know what a " still mill" is..

You expect temps in the winter to be record-breaking cold and temps

in the summer to be record-breaking hot.

You know what Eat 'N Park is and frequently ate breakfast there at 2:00 AM after the

bar closed and made fun of people.

You order "dippy eggs" in a restaurant and get exactly what you wanted.

You spent your summers, or a school picnic at Luna Park, Kennywood, Westview,

Sand Castle, or Idlewild.

You think the “Thunderbolt” at Kennywood is the best wooden roller coaster in

the world, bar none.

You've been to the Braun's Bread Plan t or Story Book Forest for a school field trip.

You went to the Heinz Plant or the Isaly's Plant with your Cub Scout Troop.

"Chipped ham" was always in your refrigerator when you was growin' up.

You refuse to buy any condiments besides Heinz unless a Pittsburgh athlete's

picture is on the side of the container.

When you call the dog or the kids you shout, "kum-mere" and they come.

Franco, Roberto, and Mario don't need last names and you can recite their exploits by heart.

Food at a wedding reception consisted of rigatoni, stuffed cabbage, sauerkraut and
polska kielbasa.

Beer at a weeding reception consisted of 7 oz. Stoney’s, Fort Pitt, Iron City, or Duquesne.

Feel free to send this on to family and friends who used to live in the Pittsburgh area as well as

to those who have never lived there, just so they can appreciate how different Western PA

really is.

PS: Wonder how many of yunz guys actually understood all dat? Some folks just don't.

The ones who do probably shop at “Pants n At”.