Steelers Nation reaches far and wide
Sunday, November 21, 2004
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They are sitting on one of Saddam Hussein's thrones. They are in an igloo in Alaska. They are in full throat at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium or Dallas' Texas Stadium or hurricane-prone Miami's Pro Player Stadium.
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Members of the 911th Air Force Reserve operating out of Pittsburgh International Airport, who have been serving in Iraq since December, show their loyalty to the Steelers and their hometown.
Click photo for larger image.
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</TABLE><!--END PHOTO-->They are everywhere: from Baghdad to Honolulu, from Anchorage to Mexico City, from London, England, to London, Ontario, to Ontario, Calif.
They are anywhere there is a big-screen television and a satellite signal and a reason to raise a Steelers glass in triumph.
"The arm of the Steeler Nation reaches far and wide," said Tom Kelly of Severn, Md.
The Steelers Nation is tens of thousands of people giving their arms and legs and hearts and minds to a football team that has captivated folks far removed from Pittsburgh, starting with those Super Steelers of the 1970s, and is in full bloom again this year.
Whatever the reason, these people magically come together on fall Sundays so their blood pressure can rise as one, particularly when the team is faring as well as this year's 8-1 version. This helps to explain the worldwide popularity of a small-market team whose merchandise sales rank No. 5 among all NFL teams, whose hat sales rank No. 4, whose rookie quarterback's jersey sales rank No. 2 behind only the Giants' Eli Manning (and three-fourths of those purchases came from outside Pennsylvania).
Sunday, November 21, 2004
By Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They are sitting on one of Saddam Hussein's thrones. They are in an igloo in Alaska. They are in full throat at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium or Dallas' Texas Stadium or hurricane-prone Miami's Pro Player Stadium.
<!--BEGIN PHOTO--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=240 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Members of the 911th Air Force Reserve operating out of Pittsburgh International Airport, who have been serving in Iraq since December, show their loyalty to the Steelers and their hometown.
Click photo for larger image.
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE><!--END PHOTO-->They are everywhere: from Baghdad to Honolulu, from Anchorage to Mexico City, from London, England, to London, Ontario, to Ontario, Calif.
They are anywhere there is a big-screen television and a satellite signal and a reason to raise a Steelers glass in triumph.
"The arm of the Steeler Nation reaches far and wide," said Tom Kelly of Severn, Md.
The Steelers Nation is tens of thousands of people giving their arms and legs and hearts and minds to a football team that has captivated folks far removed from Pittsburgh, starting with those Super Steelers of the 1970s, and is in full bloom again this year.
Whatever the reason, these people magically come together on fall Sundays so their blood pressure can rise as one, particularly when the team is faring as well as this year's 8-1 version. This helps to explain the worldwide popularity of a small-market team whose merchandise sales rank No. 5 among all NFL teams, whose hat sales rank No. 4, whose rookie quarterback's jersey sales rank No. 2 behind only the Giants' Eli Manning (and three-fourths of those purchases came from outside Pennsylvania).
