What it Means to Be a Steelers Fan
The team means more than football for Pittsburghers everywhere.
Before anything, let’s get this out of the way: The Pittsburgh Pirates, believe it or not, are this writer’s favorite sports team.
Nothing gets him more pumped than baseball and the history of a franchise that has won five World Series and seven world titles and boasts the likes of Honus Wagner and Roberto Clemente among its alumni. The Pirates can put together a losing season for 18 straight years – they have! – and he still won’t miss a box score.
Having said that, he wouldn’t be happier than watching the Pirates win another World Series – should that ever happen. Yet, he could be prouder.
After the Pittsburgh Penguins won their third Stanley Cup in 2009, he was ecstatic. Yet, he was prouder to be a Pittsburgher just four months earlier when the Pittsburgh Steelers won their sixth Super Bowl.
For as much as Pittsburgh has been the City of Champions – especially lately – Pittsburgh is the City of the Steelers.
This writer ranks the Pirates and the Penguins (and even Duquesne University basketball and football) as his favorite sports teams before the Steelers, and that is easily the opposite of most other Pittsburghers.
Still, he knows who carries the flag for his city. It’s the Steelers. Hands down.
And you know what? That’s okay.
For better or for worse – okay, for the better – the Steelers represent the character and identity of their city more than any other sports team in the country.
Like sportscaster Howard Cosell once said during the Steelers’ 50th anniversary season, “When you play Pittsburgh, you play the entire city.”
It starts with the name of the team – Pittsburgh, after all, is the Steel City – and the team’s colors – black and gold – which match the city’s flag.
The Pirates, Penguins and Steelers all wear black and gold, but the Steelers were the first of the three teams to do so. Even the Steelers’ flagship radio station – WDVE-FM – has a black-and-gold logo. And WDVE is a ratings monster in Pittsburgh.
And who hasn’t heard “Black and Yellow” by now? Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa has become a national star with a rap song and video (almost 30 million YouTube views and counting) that pays homage to his hometown.
Khalifa may be seen wearing a Pirates cap throughout most of the video, but the dominating imagery in the piece (and, truthfully, throughout the Pittsburgh area) is The Terrible Towel.
Created by Pittsburgh radio legend Myron Cope during the Steelers’ run of four Super Bowl titles in six years during the 1970s, The Terrible Towel is not just a team’s gimmick; it’s a region’s battle flag.
Pittsburgh may have changed a lot since its time as a dominant presence in the manufacturing industry – the town is known more for hospitals and universities now – but The Terrible Towel has remained.
Even Penguins fans (and their goalie) wave the towel at hockey games now, especially when fans travel to other cities to support the Pens.
The Towel is an identity. Unsure of where it’s safe to watch a Steelers game outside of Pittsburgh? You can check out steelerbars.com or steelersbars.com, but an even safer bet may be to just look for a Terrible Towel hanging in the window.
So what does it mean to be a Steelers fan? That’s like asking, “What does it mean to be a Pittsburgher?” They’re one in the same.
While this writer’s favorites are the Pirates and the Pens, he knows that the Steelers are his team, because Pittsburgh is his city.
