recently, the Steelers haven't been doing so well. I live in Delaware these days, pretty much a Philadelphia suburb. folks around here know I am from Pirttsburgh and of my fandom of the Steelers. I get the usual "are ya still a fan?" questions as they have struggled this season. I tell em i'll be a fan until the day I die. Why? This ESPN post said it best, and I 'd like to share it...
What's the big deal about Steeler football?
> TAKEN FROM A BOARD ON THE ESPN WEBSITE
> 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 mo st 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. They don't have movie stars or
>fancy cars.
> Instead, they have simple traditions like kielbasa and Kennywood.
> They live in distinctive neighborhoods like Polish Hill and the Hill
>District and all of the surrounding counties.
>These people are genuine.
> They don't have chic internet cafes and cappuccinos, but they have
>The Original Hot Dog joint, 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 th e
>best nightclubs, but they'll take Fr iday night high school football and
>Steeler Sunday over anything.
> Steeler football means so much more than you think. It symbolizes a
>diaspora of 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 thing s. There was no one to tell
>them that they needed more.
> As the steel mills closed and the jobs disappeared, some of these
>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 and Joe Greene in hopes of
>departing 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 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 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 v oices especially our fathers, cousins, and
>anyone else who gathered around the TV on Football Sundays!! Make no
>mistake, its just as exciting right now if not more!! 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 Colorado, Ohio, Indiana, Chicago, Florida, Iowa, Texas . be
>proud of where you were born and who your FIRST favorite footba ll team
>was!!
> GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!