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. They don't have movie stars or fancy
cars.
Instead, they have simple traditions like kielbasa, Kennywood,
and celebrations. 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, 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 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 Mo untains . 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 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, 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 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 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, and anyone else who gathered around
the TV on Football Sundays!
Make no mistake, its 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 , Florida , Nevada , or Texas , be proud of where you
were born and who your FIRST favorite football team was!
Go
Steelers
Picksburgh GO STILLERS! Ah yes!
"Picksburgh"
Yunz is from the Picksburgh area or maybe you grew up
there if:
1. You didn't have a spring break in high school.
2.
You walk carefully when it is "slippy" outside.
3. You often go down
to the "crick."
4. You've told your children to "red up" their
rooms.
5. You can remember telling your little brother/sister to stop
being so " nebby."
6. You've gotten hurt by falling into a
"jaggerbush".
7. Your mother or grandmother has been seen wearing a
"babushka" on her head.
8. You've "worshed" the clothes.
9. I
ask you to hand me one of those "Gum-Bands" an' you actually
know
what I'm talking about.
10. You know you can't drive too
fast on the back roads, because of the deer.
11. 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.
12. A girl walks up to three of her girl friends and says,
ââ,¬Å"HEY,YENZ GUYS!"
13. You hear "you guyses" and don't think
twice. Example: "you guyses hause is nice."
14. You know the three
rivers by name and under stand that "The Point" isn't just on a
writing instrument.
15. Someone refers to "The Mo n" or "The Yough"
and you know exactly what they're talking about.
16. You remember the
blizzard o f 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.
17. Someone starts the chant, "Here we go
Still-ers!" and you join in.
In the proper cadence, waving the
appropriately colored towel.
18. Bob Prince and "There's a bug loose
on the rug." hold special meaning for you.
19. You've either eaten a
Farkleberry Tart or know someone who has.
20. You drink pop, eat
hoagies, love perogies and one of your favorite sandwiches actually
has coleslaw and French fries ON it.
21. You know what a "still mill" is.
22. You expect temps in the winter to be record-breaking cold and
temps in the summer to be record-breaking hot.
23. 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.
24. You order "dippy eggs" in a
restaurant and get exactly what you wanted.
25. You spent your summers, or a school picnic at Luna Park , Kennywood, Westview, Sand Castle
, or Idlewild.
26. You've been to the Braun's Bread Plant or Story
Book Forest for a school field trip. We went to the Heinz plant and the
Isaly's plant for Cub Scouts.
27. "Chipped ham" was always in your
refrigerator when you was growin'up.
28. You refuse to buy any
condiments besides Heinz unless a Pittsburgh athlete's picture is on the
side of the container.
29. When you call the dog or the kids you
shout, "Kum-mere" and they come.
30. Franco, Roberto, and Mario don't
need last names and you can recite their exploits by heart.
31. Food at a wedding reception consists of rigatoni, stuffed cabbage, sauerkraut and
polska kielbasa.
You'll 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. Wonder how many of yinz guys actually understood all dat? Some folks
just don't.
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. They don't have movie stars or fancy
cars.
Instead, they have simple traditions like kielbasa, Kennywood,
and celebrations. 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, 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 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 Mo untains . 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 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, 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 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 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, and anyone else who gathered around
the TV on Football Sundays!
Make no mistake, its 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 , Florida , Nevada , or Texas , be proud of where you
were born and who your FIRST favorite football team was!
Go
Steelers
Picksburgh GO STILLERS! Ah yes!
"Picksburgh"
Yunz is from the Picksburgh area or maybe you grew up
there if:
1. You didn't have a spring break in high school.
2.
You walk carefully when it is "slippy" outside.
3. You often go down
to the "crick."
4. You've told your children to "red up" their
rooms.
5. You can remember telling your little brother/sister to stop
being so " nebby."
6. You've gotten hurt by falling into a
"jaggerbush".
7. Your mother or grandmother has been seen wearing a
"babushka" on her head.
8. You've "worshed" the clothes.
9. I
ask you to hand me one of those "Gum-Bands" an' you actually
know
what I'm talking about.
10. You know you can't drive too
fast on the back roads, because of the deer.
11. 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.
12. A girl walks up to three of her girl friends and says,
ââ,¬Å"HEY,YENZ GUYS!"
13. You hear "you guyses" and don't think
twice. Example: "you guyses hause is nice."
14. You know the three
rivers by name and under stand that "The Point" isn't just on a
writing instrument.
15. Someone refers to "The Mo n" or "The Yough"
and you know exactly what they're talking about.
16. You remember the
blizzard o f 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.
17. Someone starts the chant, "Here we go
Still-ers!" and you join in.
In the proper cadence, waving the
appropriately colored towel.
18. Bob Prince and "There's a bug loose
on the rug." hold special meaning for you.
19. You've either eaten a
Farkleberry Tart or know someone who has.
20. You drink pop, eat
hoagies, love perogies and one of your favorite sandwiches actually
has coleslaw and French fries ON it.
21. You know what a "still mill" is.
22. You expect temps in the winter to be record-breaking cold and
temps in the summer to be record-breaking hot.
23. 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.
24. You order "dippy eggs" in a
restaurant and get exactly what you wanted.
25. You spent your summers, or a school picnic at Luna Park , Kennywood, Westview, Sand Castle
, or Idlewild.
26. You've been to the Braun's Bread Plant or Story
Book Forest for a school field trip. We went to the Heinz plant and the
Isaly's plant for Cub Scouts.
27. "Chipped ham" was always in your
refrigerator when you was growin'up.
28. You refuse to buy any
condiments besides Heinz unless a Pittsburgh athlete's picture is on the
side of the container.
29. When you call the dog or the kids you
shout, "Kum-mere" and they come.
30. Franco, Roberto, and Mario don't
need last names and you can recite their exploits by heart.
31. Food at a wedding reception consists of rigatoni, stuffed cabbage, sauerkraut and
polska kielbasa.
You'll 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. Wonder how many of yinz guys actually understood all dat? Some folks
just don't.
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