Second Thought on Pittsburgh (Sorry to keep me waiting)
A thought on sports teams in Pittsburgh:
We used to be a big town, back in the forties and fifties and sixties, when the Stones would stop on random tours (before they were really the Stones) and the steel mills chugged and you would read about Pittsburgh in books. Back in the day, we could support three different sports teams- in fact, we could support three of the big four: baseball, football, and hockey. (I suppose nowadays it’s the big five, since soccer has now swept the nation.)
But even after the glory days were over, Pittsburgh refused to relinquish its teams to other cities. The Pirates, the Steelers, the Penguins, all stayed in their homes. Now, I want you to notice that, while two of those three teams are rather well known at the moment, when I was a kid the Steelers were not routine superbowl contenders, and the Penguins were good, but not great. Still, if you lived in the ‘burgh, you stuck by your teams.
Even though I’ve never been much of a sports fan, I’ve often admired the unity that these teams bring to my former city. No matter who you are or where you came from in Allegheny County, you always had something in common with your fellow Pittsburgher, whether you were kicking it out in Moon Township or huddled up in Oakland. This was especially true if it was a winning season, but even the Pirates, who have been losing pretty badly, still manage to draw in fans. I mean, a few years ago a man was killed in a diner after getting into a fight with a steelers fan (the man preferred the Cleveland Browns, apparently). Now, I’ve never been a fan of violence, but you’ve got to admire a town that has that much pluck and spirit behind its athletics.
With that said, I should admit that, however much I love my former hometown, I will not be taking my Terrible Towel off to college in the fall- I will be in Browns country, after all.
