My earliest memory of watching sports came when I was 7 years old. I watched Orel Hershiser put the finishing touches on a dominant World Series performance for the ages, although, at the time I had to ask my dad who the guy throwing the ball on the TV was. How ignorant I was in my youth that I just didn’t know I was seeing greatness unfold to be able to appreciate it.

I don’t even remember being a fan of sports at first really, as I was just mesmerized by watching the magical picture box on the floor of the living room, regardless of what was being displayed on it. Most of the time, my experiences with the magic picture box was when I was at the babysitter’s house and it was on for background noise as I played with the other kids.

Sesame Street, Romper Room, and Fraggle Rock were the TV staples of my childhood, and as a result Jim Henson my biggest influencer. Again, I couldn’t appreciate it at the time, but I am also thankful that every day that I was there the babysitter insisted on turning the TV to PBS, no matter what, to catch Bob Ross painting yet another booooring bunch of mountains and “happy little trees”. What I wouldn’t give NOW to see him paint live on TV yet one more time.

During that same October in ’88 is when I really got a first taste of what would later become my first and my most fiercest of all sports loyalties, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It’s all my dad’s fault, I blame him for not allowing me to pick another team to root for…

“… I like the green and yellow G’s, dad…” (Green Bay), but my dad would have NONE of that.

“We ONLY root for the Pittsburgh Steelers in THIS house…”

I thank him for being stubborn about that. Today, I can’t imagine being a fan of any other team, even IF it is a team that is as respectable as the Green Bay Packers.

My Grandfather and my Father were both Union guys that worked at the local brass mill in central Pennsylvania. It wasn’t Pittsburgh, but the job was about as close to a steel mill as you could get in our little Happy Valley. Both men spend 25+ years at the mill, and I thought for sure that was going to be my lot in life as well.

The job instilled pride in them, I could see it in their faces when they talked about it. They worked hard, dirty jobs but didn’t mind it. The sense of accomplishment they felt after putting in a shift pushing hot, heavy metal around was evident on their carbon streaked faces when they came home. They LOOKED like football players.

The other thing you could get in Happy Valley was Penn State football. The same tough, “bring your lunch pail” brand of football that the Steelers played, the Nittany Lions also played. So being in such close proximity to Penn State, I grew up a PSU fan.

This was the 80’s and 90’s, during the height of Linebacker U’s origination. So not only did I become a fan of stingy defense, but also the importance of the dominance of linebacker play to the success of a defense overall.

I grew up being indoctrinated by stingy defense, ball control offense, and a passionate, rabidly loyal fanbase that appreciated the hard work that the players put in. However, when the scandal at Penn State hit, it made me ambivalent to watching college football and while I remain an ardent PSU fan, I don’t have the same passion for PSU football as I do the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I like watching Penn State Football, but it’s not even my favorite Penn State team to watch.

I also like watching Penn State Hockey. They’re a pretty good team for only having being around about a decade.

And I REALLY like watching Penn State Wrestling. If for some reason you are not aware, Cael Sanderson the PSU Wrestling Coach, is in the middle of overseeing the greatest dynasty in sports history. They are working this week on National Championship number 13 in program history, and 11 of the last 14.

Yes, you read that last sentence correctly… 11 of the last 14 National Championships…

… BUT…

As much as I like watching Penn State collegiate sports, or sports in general…

… I LOVE watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. There simply is no comparison.

Now, here I am in my 40’s, and a father myself. I’ve got three boys who have been indoctrinated as Steelers fans. They didn’t start out that way, in fact, they didn’t even like watching football for the longest time. So when I bought tickets specifically for just him and I, I wasn’t even sure he would want to go. To my surprise, he said yes, even though he had yet to watch through the entirety of any one single game.

I recently made a joke to him that he got to see a future Pittsburgh Steelers QB play in the game we attended, and he didn’t even know it (nor did I, but that detail isn’t important).

“Huh, what are you talking about, Dad? That’s sus…” (eyeroll included).

“Yeah bud, the Steelers got a new QB yesterday. Do you remember the game we went to?” I asked.

“Yeeeaaaaahhhhhh…???”

“Do you remember how well the OTHER QB played that night?”

“Yeah… so???” he responds.

“That’s our guy. We just traded for him.”

“WHAT!!!!! NO WAY!!!!!”

We went to the PIT v CHI Monday Night game back in November of ’21.

Yep… the ‘other’ QB was none other than Justin Fields.

It was a big moment for him to see the stadium, to walk through the halls, to go to the Hall of Honor.

But the bigger moment for both of us came at the end of that game. The magic of the Pittsburgh Steelers came alive that night for him.

Sure we rocked out to Renegade and we were both pretty hoarse at the end of the game from yelling and cheering, but that wasn’t the best part.

The Steelers had the lead, but it was tenuous at best heading into the 4th quarter. Chicago scored early into the fourth, and Pittsburgh responded with a Field Goal. The score was 23-13 Pittsburgh at that point.

Then Chicago would go on to score another TD, while the Steelers again responded with a Field Goal. Even though Pittsburgh scored, there was a palpable tension in the stadium since the Bears were pretty much doing whatever they wanted on offense at that point.

So the Bears get the ball back, and in just over a minute, march right down the field and score another TD.

I turn to my son, and I can see the deflated look in his eyes. He can see the loss coming.

“It’s not over yet kiddo…” I say to him with knowing authority, but his demeanor remains unchanged.

Then I lay it all out for him. I say it loudly and confidently enough for everyone around us to hear me say it to him.

“Here’s what’s going to happen bud. The Steelers are going to get the kickoff, and they are going to go down the field, and kick the winning field goal.”

Let me be clear about something. I had no idea if the Steelers were going to win that game. I had no idea if the Steelers were even going to be able to move the ball that far down the field to even KICK the field goal. They had looked, well, like a Matt Canada offense, i’ll just leave it at that. So no, I had no earthly idea if they were going to move the ball.

But what I did have was a lifetime of Steelers fandom watching exactly this type of game play out. And I knew who usually came out on top in those games.

It’s what instilled that belief in me in the first place that the Steelers WERE going to complete the comeback. It’s what made me believe they had one last gasp of magic left that night to even SAY what I said to my son.

As the Steelers started their last drive, I could see that he was interested in the game still, but he seemed resigned to the fact that the Bears were going to win.

But then, it started happening.

Najee got some yardage on first down and Ben went into the 2 minute no-huddle.

Pass completion here, another there. Dinking and dunking down the field, gaining a little momentum. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him scooting towards the edge of his seat.

Then the big play by Dionte Johnson to get the Steelers into Chicago territory.

At this point, he’s on his feet and won’t sit down.

Another completion to ‘Muth had Pittsburgh at the Bears 20-ish yard line.

He turns to me, his eyes wide, mouth hanging agape, a look of utter disbelief, shock, and happiness across his face… and he knows what’s about to happen.

Wizard of Boz for the win…

… just like I said it would happen.

More importantly, I know something else is about to happen. Something far more important than a Steelers “W’.

A Pittsburgh Steelers fan is about to be cemented this night with a kick through the uprights. A legacy of sports fandom handed down through four generations as he becomes a believer himself, seeing the magic and mystique that IS Pittsburgh Steelers football.

What I’m thankful for most though, is how they were able to deliver that night. Not on delivering on what I said, I don’t care about making him believe ME and what I say. No, I’m thankful that the STEELERS were able to make him a believer that night. That went so much farther than anything I can do or say to make him a fan.

I may have been born into the fandom of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but my oldest son made the conscious choice by himself.

As a Steelers Dad…

… mission accomplished.

Now it’s time to get the other two boys to a game and continue growing the greatest fanbase in all the sports world.