This past Sunday was the first Sunday of NFL Football. It's almost like a holiday. People put on their fan gear, and head to their favorite local sports bar to watch their team play. Some fans stay home, or have people over, but many go out. Being a displaced fan, I am one of the ones that goes out. Living in the DC area, my team is not always on the local broadcast. I would have to suffer through a Redskins or Ravens game if I were home. And it is in this aspect that being a part of Steeler Nation is a great joy. For even when I travel, I can find a Steelers Bar. Steeler Nation is everywhere, I even found a Steelers bar in Madrid. Steelers Bars are easy to find, even if you do not have Internet access. Just ask your hotel concierge, or any of the locals. They will probably roll their eyes and say "Yes, there is a Steelers bar on such and such street".
The Steelers have a huge following here in the DC area. There are several Steelers bars,
one is only 3 blocks from my apartment. And, as I am sure is true with many other local fan bases around the country, the Redskin fans find us annoying. They are annoyed by the fact that we take over the bar. They are annoyed by the fact that we clap after every good play. They annoyed when we win, and they don't. They are annoyed when we are 10-6, and they are 6-10. To be fair, it is just an annoyance, they don't hate us. They reserve their hate for the Dallas Cowboys. But they do say things to me like, "Where did all of you come from?!" and "Why don't you back there?!". The answers are simple: Pittsburgh, and there are no jobs there. In fact, economics is why Steeler Nation encompasses the country. Economics is why we annoy people in every NFL city in America.
In 1980 the country was in a bad recession, and Pittsburgh was hit hard. The Steel Industry was crashing, and steel mills, the areas main source of income, were dying. For the first time, there were no jobs to be had in the mills. They were actually laying people off. Jobs were being lost in droves, and people had to leave the area to find work. This was happening all over the country, and other NFL cities lost large portions of their fans bases as well. But the Steelers fans had something those other fan bases did not, a dynasty. The Steelers had just recently won four Super Bowls in six years. Our team had conquered the NFL. The people left the area, but were not willing to give up their team. They remained loyal, and taught their kids to be Steelers fans. Thus, the birth of Steeler Nation. The fans settled all over the country, many of them came here to DC. But they did not adopt the local team. As they did in every city where they settled, they stayed true to the Black and Gold.
This is why there are Steelers bars in almost every city in America. This is also why we have been annoying the Redskins fans since 1980.
As I said, they don't hate us. Two years ago I attend the Redskins/Steelers Monday Night Game here at Fedex Field. The two fan bases got along famously. We tailgated together, threw football, partied. We are not rivals. There was no animosity between us. Until the game began, and the ugly truth was evident. There were approximately 25,000 Steelers fans in the seats. I was fortunate enough to have club seats and a great view. When I saw the Terrible towels waving, I was astonished. We were so loud, the Redskins had to go to a silent count in their own stadium. Once again, we annoyed them.
One of their own, sports writers Michael Wilbon, had some harsh words for them in the Washington Post the next day for letting the Steelers fans get a hold of that many tickets. I was actually dumbfounded that they were surprised. Didn't they ask the Ravens fans what it would be like?
The Steelers have so many accomplishments. They have six Super Bowl Championships, another thing that the Redskins fans find annoying. The Steelers are in the playoffs more often than not. The Steelers rarely have a losing season.
The Steelers have 20 players in the Hall of Fame who spent the majority of their playing time in Pittsburgh. I could go on and on. We, the Steeler Nation, boast on these accomplishments. I am sure other fan bases view us a braggarts, and we probably are. Although, I don't think they envy us. Many of my friends will say 'They're just jealous". But I don't agree. Many of these fan bases have very proud histories. The Redskins definitely do. But we do have one thing that I figure most of them would love to have, especially here in Washington, our teams ownership.
The Rooneys are the best owners in the NFL, arguably the best owners in professional sports. Dan Rooney, the current Ambassador to Ireland, is a man to be admired. He stands for everything that is right. He is the man who made the Steelers what they are and had a large role in making the NFL what it is. He created the "Rooney Rule" in the NFL to ensure minority candidates had a shot at head coaching and general manager jobs. He is also one of the architects of the 1993 NFL Salary Cap. I could write a book about the greatness of this man, but that's already been done. Dan stands for Truth, Honor, Justice, and the American Way. And if he is the "Man of Steel", pun intended, then Dan Snyder, the owner of the Redskins, is the Lex Luthor of the NFL. A power mad, evil genius who tries to scheme and plot his way to a Super Bowl Championship. If this were medieval times, his subjects would have risen up and slain him by now. In reality, the only real difference between the two is that the Rooneys actually know how to run a football franchise. There is hope here in DC that Snyder will actually let new General Manager Bruce Allen and New Head Coach Mike Shanahan run the team. But I figure the Dark Lord will eventually wield his power and ruin what could be a great future for the Redskins.
So continue to be annoying Steeler Nation!! Root for the Steelers with all your heart and soul!! But remember to be thankful. Be thankful for the Rooneys great management philosophy. Be thankful for our great drafting. Be thankful for the great coaching. Be thankful for the 6 Lombardi Trophies. Be thankful, that wherever you go, you can find other fans with whom you can drink and cheer. And be thankful that someone like Lex Luthor isn't running your team. Or even worse, Evil Spock!!
