Steeler Nation

The Steelers play the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 43 tonight. It's the team's 7th trip to the big game and a win tonight - which would be our 6th, aka "one for the other thumb" - would cement us as the most successful NFL franchise of all time.

Even sitting here in London, it's easy to find countless analyses of the game, whether it be Larry Fitzgerald vs. the Steelers secondary, Big Ben's attempt at redemption after a lousy Super Bowl 40, Ken Wisenhunt's opportunity to exact revenge on the team that passed him up for head coach, and so on and on.

But in all the media blitz what has caught my eye is a couple human interest stories about the Steelers, its history and traditions. The first is on Dan Rooney, the son of team founder Art Rooney, and current patriarch of the organization. It's a wonderful piece about a classy guy from classy family who has managed to achieve great success in a hyper-competitive industry while still remaining virtuous. The second is on the Terrible Towel, the yellow dishcloth that 34 years ago Pittsburgh media personality Myron Cope "invented." That towel is now one of the most recognized pieces of sports regalia and will be prominent throughout the stands of Tampa tonight. The backstory from this piece is Myron's son is severely retarded and has been institutionalized much of his life. Before Cope passed away last year, he had left the trademark and royalty rights to this lucrative item to the network of group homes where his son has lived and prospered. Even during the best of economic times (and certainly now), one can imagine how such funds can help this sort of worthy organization.

As Steeler fans know and mostly all sports fans appreciate, there is indeed a "Steeler Nation" that stretches from coast to coast and beyond. Steeler fandom approaches the status of a civic tradition in western Pennsylvania. It is inextricably woven into the fabric of that culture; it is a passion. Steeler fans are legendary for the extent to which they will travel to the team's away games, especially the big ones. Indeed, the Super Bowl in Detroit three years ago was so overrun by the black and gold faithful that by all accounts it was about as close to a home game as one could ever have in that sort of venue.

Attending Steelers games at the old Three Rivers is one of my fondest childhood memories and being a Steelers fan is a central piece of my identity. It honestly feels like a privelege to be associated with the organization and to revel in its success. For it is true that few franchises in any sports have been able to sustain such a consistent level of excellence. Indeed, the Steelers have been competitive for more than thirty years, basically as long as I can remember. Until Mike Tomlin took the reigns from Bill Cowher a couple years ago, the Steelers had all of two head coaches for my entire lifetime, going on 40 years now. Two. It's one of the most stable organizations in all of corporate America, let alone pro sports. And as the Rooney article mentioned above illustrates, they've done it humbly and with class.

I have no idea if the Steelers will win or lose tonight. I'm anxious and worried, but I always feel that way pre-game. So we'll see. But as I sit here waiting (and waiting...the game doesn't start until 11:30pm London time), I just wanted to say how proud I am to be member of the Steeler Nation.