I knew that I lot of things would change, but there were some things that I did not see coming.
In case you aren’t aware, Pittsburghers are really passionate about their sports teams. Yinzers even have a soft spot for their Pirates who just ended their 19th losing season in a row. Steelers fans can be found (they’re not a very inconspicuous species) in virtually every city in the country, and all over the world. When I lived in DC, walking by one of the Steelers bars was like being back in western PA. Pens tickets are absurdly expensive, but everyone I know has been to at least one game.
I love baseball, and will go to most any baseball game. I’m a Braves fan first, and a Pirates fan second. That’s just how its always been, and how it will always be. But, outside of those 6 or 7 games a year that pit the Braves and Pirates against each other, I will always root for those Buccos. I never paid too much attention to the Bucs until I moved here, but I've loved going to games for the last few years when Westminster took yearly trips to PNC Park. Baseball is about the environment for me. Its about a lot more than wins and losses, but that is a story for another time.
I know virtually nothing about hockey, so I won’t even talk about the Pens. But, if I had to choose sides, clearly this one would go to Pittsburgh as well.
On to the Steelers. Growing up, there were a lot of Steelers fans in my hometown. We’re equidistant from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo, though, so we get a pretty good mix of allegiances. I was generally uninterested in football, but if had been pressed to choose sides, I would have chosen Pittsburgh. (I like to stay loyal to my state…and no one likes Ohio…) I never would have predicted my sitting, alone, in my living room, staying up later than I normally would, to watch a football game. Not even the Super Bowl (which I usually watch, more for the food with friends than the football). I’m watching a regular season game and yelling at the TV. Alone in my apartment. I don’t even know myself anymore.
This is what happens when you move to Pittsburgh. You get sucked in. You get pulled up on the Steelers bandwagon. Its like belonging to the biggest family ever. I was in The Pour House in DC last winter on a random Friday night and there were Steelers jerseys on the wall and on the bar stools. I don’t know if I could be called a bandwagon jumper. Yes, Pittsburgh went to the Super Bowl in my first season living in the city (some might call me a good luck charm…), but I think this would have happened regardless of the way they were playing. That just how Steeler Nation works. You can’t help but get caught up and love the team when everyone around you is so passionate.
There are a lot of other things that have changed about my life and my opinion of Pittsburgh, and my sports outlook isn’t the most important change that I’ve seen in the last 14 months, but it is the one at the top of my mind today. The rest of my thoughts will come around soon enough.
I’ll close by saying that I’ve become embedded, a convert, and a lover of everything about Pittsburgh. The things that make this city unique have endeared it to me forever, and I’m looking forward to not moving to DC and seeing what kind of difference I can make here in da ‘Burgh.