Pittsburgh - Sports Town U.S.A.

Having just spent what I affectionately called The Ultimate Sports Weekend in Pittsburgh, I started asking myself if there is a better town to love sports in than this one.  I discussed this with my wife and we came up with a few great sports towns - New York, Boston, Chicago, to name a few.  Then we started talking about a few of the things that this small market town has over all others.  In the end, there is no denying that Pittsburgh is Numero Uno.

I came up with ten, because ten is a nice round number.  Truth is, I could have come up with thirteen or fourteen, but what a strange look that would be.  Ten clear reasons why Pittsburgh is unbeatable, and here they are:

10.  Linebackers - I love defense.  Defense is football.  Hard hits is football.  Knocking a guy's block off is football.  Noone does these things like linebackers.  A big hit is felt in the groin.  When you see a linebacker thrash a receiver coming across the middle, the sound that comes out of your body is like no other.  The reaction is more of pain than elation and suddenly that Grinch-ish smile comes across your face.  This is football.  And noone puts linebackers on the field like your Pittsburgh Steelers.  Butkus, Ray Lewis, LT, Singletary, Nitschke - all greats.  All Time Greats.  But let's look at a linebacker lineage in the 'Burgh. Kirkland, Gildon, Greene, Farrior, Porter, Harrison, Merriweather - a small list of what most NFL franchises would love to have as a list of greats.  Now add the names Russell, Lloyd, Ham, and Lambert.

9.  America's Team - The popular belief is that the Dallas Cowboys are the titled "America's Team."  Of course, that moniker has become accepted over time and has become commonplace.  So they are.  But here's the gaff:  The Steelers were initially offered that nickname in 1978.  As the story goes, Art Rooney was told by NFL Films that they would use that term as an opening to a story on the Steelers.  Rooney simply said "we're not America's team, we're Pittsburgh's team," and thus the name went to Dallas.  Telling on many levels and this fact alone can be enough to make any fan envious of Steeler Nation.

8.  How To Access Games - Arriving at a game in Pittsburgh is a special thing.  Although sitting at the foot of Duquesne University, Consol Energy Center is not a majorly appealing structure - unless you consider the Epiphany Catholic Church sitting at its doorstep.  The beautiful thing about the structures that house Pittsburgh's pro sports teams is the way they fit into their atmospheres.  At the banks of the Allegheny are PNC Park and Heinz Field.  Access to these parks is available by bridge, by rail, and by water.  And if you come down from Mount Washington or want to stay on another side of town, you can take the Gateway Clipper from Station Square.

If you want to take one of Pittsburgh's many bridges that lead to the waterfront, they close them so you can walk there.  *  As a sidenote, Pittsburgh is not called the City of Bridges for nothing.  The sight of thousands of fans marching across the Clemente Bridge is one that never leaves your mind.  Nor should it.

A walk along the waterfront from Heinz Field to PNC Park is deserving of a sightseeing tax.  Across the Allegheny is Point State Park where locals hang out and enjoy events held at the park, picnic, boat, and fish. Point State Park is a skyline defining structure that was once fed by natural waters (recently turned over to chlorinated city water) and shoots refreshing H2O high enough into the air that they had to invest in a meter that turns the pressure down in high winds because it was hitting buildings blocks away!

The T Rail System drops fans off at the doorstep of both PNC Park and Heinz Field and (you ready for this?) it's FREE.  Railing through the entirety of downtown Pittsburgh is on the house and it is the cleanest subway I've ever been on.  Taking the train from Steel Tower to North Shore to see a Pirates Playoff game recently was one of the most thrilling experiences I've ever had as a fan.  Polite, patient, and a voice of one - the Buccos loyal were a raucous group of ladies and gentlemen.

7.  PNC Park -  There is little to dispute that PNC is the best park in baseball.  It is regularly cited as being so, and one trip to PNC removes any question.  Best stadium in sports?  Show me a better one.  Soldier Field, Lambeau, Dodger Stadium, sure they have more history.  But take away the aura of longevity and they are really just crumbling relics of different times.  PNC is a park for the ages.

PNC sinks into the landscape in a way that suggests it was not built into the city, but the city was built into it. The view of the Pittsburgh skyline in the outfield is just the beginning.  Once inside the stadium, there are the requisite food items, beer, sodas, etc.  This is where the similarities of PNC and other stadiums end.  Touring this facility, you get the feeling that the designer wanted to build the inside of Harry Potter's Hogwarts Dorm as much as a baseball stadium.  The mix of steel and terra cotta gives a steampunk feel to the stadium. Functional staircases, hidden seating options, and standing only bleachers make for endless viewing possibilities.  No matter where you sit, there are great viewing options.  This is due partly to the construction which allows no viewer to be more than 88 feet from the field.  And being the second smallest ballpark in the majors, you get as intimate of feeling as possible in a stadium with thousands of fans waving terrible towels and Jolly Rogers.      

6.  The Airport - An airport?  Yep.  Here's why.  Name me another airport in the country that has two statues upon entering - one of the Father of Our Country George Washington and next to him a statue of a sports star who retired 30 years prior.  Guess who gets 4 out of 5 pictures taken with travelers posing next to him.  That's right - The Paison.

5.  Unity With Town - More than half of the people you come across in Pittsburgh is in sports gear.  I'm talking Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Jesus' birthday, my birthday, every day.  And I'm not talking about your average middle aged male. Women, kids, students, the elderly, the homeless, the CEO and the Street Sweeper are all wearing their colors every minute of every day.

And the local stars are not stars.  Hines Ward was not a sports hero in Pittsburgh - he was a member of your family. Pittsburghers don't talk about Mario Lemieux, Cutch, and Bradshaw like they're god-like figures.  They just melt into the town.  Dan Bylsma just ran the Lemieux 6.6k and blended in with everyone else.  Cutch sat in the seats for Penguins Game 2 next to some folks who just sat and chatted with him like he was an old friend.  We spoke to a tour guide who had just had Heath Miller on his tour and he didn't bring a crew with security, he came with his family and sat amongst the people.

The people of Pittsburgh don't go to the game because it is fashionable like in Miami, New York, or L.A. They go to the game because it is simply a part of their lives.  They go because their family always has, because they want their kids to be part of it, because it is as normal as going home.  

Stop a guy on the street.  Ask him who the first line center is for the Pens, who plays left for the Buccos, or who the starting running back is for the Steelers. I defy you to find someone who can't answer these questions.        

4.  Pro Football Hall of Fame - Wait.  Isn't it located in Canton, Ohio?  Well, that's what geography tells you.  But let's face it - that building belongs in Pittsburgh.  Give me a post-merger All-Pro Team from Canton and let's see if it does not look like Steel City.  Let's look at the highlight films from those players, narrated by John Facenda, and the NFL we want is defined by these players.  Mean Joe, Mel Blount, and the incomparable Rod Woodson were destruction on the field.  Rules were changed to slow these guys down because noone could compete.  They were the Wilt Chamberlains of their time.  We could have won World War II quicker had we sent this collection of beasts.  The HOF is full not only of Steelers players, but of individual plays they've made, and all of them are recognizable as plays we see over and over and over again to promote the game of football.

3.  Unity On The Field - In case you haven't noticed, the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates all carry the same colors.  The inimitable Black and Gold.  The term Black and Gold is so owned by the town that they even redefine what the color gold is.  Johnny-Come-Latelies try to come around and claim to have black and gold uniforms, but they can never grasp the concept that their version of what is gold is not really gold in the sports world.  Gold IS Pittsburgh gold.

And a little history lesson on the idea.  The city's founder is accepted as William Pitt The Elder, also known as The Great Commoner.  William Pitt was known for being popular among the people and for his fierce opposition to government corruption.  He also apparently had a single-minded vision to attack and defeat France. Sounds like a saucy fella.  A fella that fits Pittsburgh well.

The Pitt family seal is black and gold and blue.  Blue is significant in sports because it was the original primary color and current third jersey color for the Penguins.  It is also the other dominant color of the uniforms of the University or Pittsburgh.  Aaaaaaah.  It all comes together.  Now THAT'S unity.

Of course, New York's Islanders, Knicks, and Mets all share the same colors as well.  In their case, not as impressive.  For one, they are just a few teams in New York, many of which do not have unified colors. Second, we're talking about the Mets, Knicks, and Islanders - these guys are more punch lines than teams.

2.  Mario Lemieux - He's Canadian.  His name translates simply to "the best."  Should be a 'nuff said situation were it a lesser man.  This guy deserves recognition among the masses and here's why.  Never mind the fact that he's arguably the greatest hockey player of all time with the only peer being the Great One Wayne Gretzky.  So we'll gloss over his hockey stats, all of which are well-known. Here are some fast facts:  scored a goal the first time he ever touched the puck in the NHL, won the Hart trophy and scoring title in 1995-96 after sitting out a year with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, he was inducted directly into the Hall of Fame following his retirement (the league decided to forego the 3-year waiting period) and he was called "the most talented player I've ever seen" by Bobby Orr.   It is the man Mario Lemieux that is actually more inspiring. The man's impact on the city of Pittsburgh rivals that of any single person's impact on any city since Nero's impact on Rome.

Lemieux saved the Penguins franchise twice.  The team was in danger of bankruptcy when he joined the team and he turned the entire franchise around.  Once he retired and the team was in financial woes again, he bought the team and guaranteed their success moving forward.  He is a full-time figure in Pittsburgh, holding constant charity events and helping to fund further medical advances in cancer treatment.  His foundation has built the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers,   gave a five million dollar gift to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a two million dollar gift to the Children's Home of Pittsburgh.

Playing through considerable pain may seem like a large task, but playing at that level is seemingly an impossibility.  If you could give one example that best illustrates Mario's greatness, here's my favorite (verbiage stolen from Wikipedia): "On Decemebr 23, 2002, during hsi afternoon radio show in Pittsburgh, host Mark Madden siad he would donate $6,600 to the Mario Lemiex Foundation if the hockey great ever scored off a faceoff.  That very night, the Penguins played the Buffalo Sabres in Pittsburgh and Lemieux, who was aware of the challenge, made good o nit when he scored the game-winning goal right off a faceoff during the third period."

1.  The Rooney Family - The first family of football.  The first family of sports.  The Rooney family has owned the Steelers since their inception in 1933.  They have been the most consistent ownership in football.  A quote from Howard Cosell in 1982 says it all:  "The Rooneys are the finest people, the people I respect most in American sports ownership.  I've always felt that way.  And there's no reason to change.  They are people of integrity and character.  The way they put the Steelers together, to hire a man like Chuck Noll, to emphasize the team concept.  I have a whole transcendental feeling for the Steelers and the Rooneys in Pittsburgh."

Dan Rooney is "of the people."  Founder Art Rooney's son, he is a former ambassador to Ireland.  His approach to equality in the NFL in hiring minority coaches, now known as the "Rooney Rule" has been transformative on the game.  They have hired 3 coaches since 1969, all of which have won Super Bowls.  He is known to walk around Pittsburgh meeting the locals and discussing football with the people on the streets.  Story has it he lives in a two story brick house with a small porch not far from the stadium.  He walks to the games and travels with the team.  Private jets, inaccessible living quarters?  No.  Just an average guy.  An average guy whose bust is in the Hall of Fame, sports 6 Super Bowl Rings, and owns one of the most valuable franchises in sports.  Check out the following story in the New York Times:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/sports/football/27rooney.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

By comparison, the transition of ownership from Art Rooney, Dan Rooney, and Art Rooney II hardly looks like that of the Steinbrenner or Buss families.  Look at the train wrecks of power, greed, and arrogance that has made those franchises shells of what they were when the George or Jerry owned them.  Then look at the seamless transition of ownership that has spanned 80 years in Pittsburgh.  This is a family to look up to, to admire, and to be treated as royalty in the city of Pittsburgh (although Dan would never have it).

In Conclusion - As I sit and type, I wait for the Buccos season to either end tonight in Game 5 against the Cardinals or continue versus the Dodgers of Los Angeles.  I can rest easy either way knowing that although the Penguins got knocked out of the playoffs prematurely last year, the Steelers are inexplicably 0-4, and the Pirates are in St. Louis for the final game of this series, my teams will be back on top.  We have the leadership, the support of the people, and most importantly, a history of success behind us.  Pittsburgh knows how to win, and we know that knowing how to win is a skill not every culture has.

The city of Pittsburgh has not only the best collective fan base in sports, but a solid guarantee from all parties involved that the teams will be around for a long, long time.  This relationship does not exist across the board in any other sports town.  Pittsburgh is Sports Town U.S.A.