Falling in Love with Pittsburgh
On April 24th, 2004, the Pittsburgh Steelers took QB Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th pick in the NFL draft. I was eight years old at the time. I had been a fan of the game of football at this point in my life, although the extent of my football knowledge was that Brett Favre played for the Packers and my best friend, Cole, was a Cowboys fan. That year, I told myself I was really going to pay attention to football in an effort to get closer to my friend.
Pittsburgh’s downtown as seen from Roberto Clemente Memorial Park.
Big Ben Roethlisberger saw his first glimpse of action about a month before my ninth birthday. He came in late, relieving an injured Tommy Maddox in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He got his first start the following week against the Miami Dolphins and finished the year 13-0 as a starter, before falling to Tom Brady and the Patriots in the playoffs. I was enthralled.
Me being the defiant child I was and not wanting to like the same team as my friend, I claimed the Pittsburgh Steelers as my favorite team; just in time to see them take down Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl the following year. Thankfully, I was able to experience some really amazing things in my early days as a Steelers fan.
In 2012, I moved from Upland, CA to Sherman, IL, to live with my uncle in a truly ‘Fresh-Prince-Esque’ kind of way. It sucked starting my senior year of high school as the token mixed-race kid at a new, small school where everybody else had known each other their whole lives. My uncle is a big-time Miami Dolphins fan, so he paid for Sunday ticket every year. That year, football became more than a casual pastime for me; it became an escape from my shit reality, or at least that’s how I viewed it at the time, and I became obsessed.
Some friends and I at the Steelers vs. Rams game in 2015.
I started trying to go to at least one game a year to satisfy my cravings. Fun fact: the Steelers went 9-0 in the first nine games I attended in person. Naturally, I got a big head and thought of myself as some kind of good luck charm. That was shot dead last year in a game against the Ravens, and the record now sits at 9-1. But, early on, all the games I was attending were away games. I hadn’t heard renegade play in-stadium or seen the sea of terrible towels in the stands, although our fan base travels really well. So, after the seventh game I went to, a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, I decided I had waited long enough. I was going to Pittsburgh for my next game.
During the 2021 season, I traveled to Pittsburgh and went to the Steelers/Seahawks game on October 17th. The game was not the highlight of my trip, although that had nothing to do with the Steelers and more to do with the person I attended that game with. So, even though the Steelers won a tight one in OT, that day left some things to be desired for me. But that’s besides the point. The city blew my expectations away.
That first experience coming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel and watching Pittsburgh’s immaculate skyline open up in front of me was truly unlike anything I had ever seen or felt in my life. My feet hadn’t even touched the ground in the city yet, and I knew it was my favorite city in the world. A place I have to call home one day.
Standing below One PPG Place in Pittsburgh.
Two things in particular caught me by surprise those first couple of days I spent in Pittsburgh. The first thing that struck me, almost immediately, was how beautiful and unique the city is, architecturally. I was truly ignorant to the historical significance of the city itself and it shows in its architecture. There are some magnificent churches and theaters that are just breath-taking to look at. The kind-of neo-gothic-style architecture throughout the city makes you feel like you’re not in America anymore. Also, the ‘ city of bridges’ is as advertised and those bridges add to some already unique scenic opportunities around the city. Being a photographer, there must be heaven. Side note: One PPG Place is the coolest building on the face of the earth. Argue a wall.
The second thing that caught me by surprise was the amazing food. Much like the architecture, you can really see the cultural influence of the European immigrants of the early 20th century. My very first meal in the city of Pittsburgh was at Penn Brewery in the Troy Hill neighborhood. This place has an awesome hefeweizen (they call it Penn Weizen) and some of the best, traditional German food I’ve ever had. Also, their outdoor ‘biergarten’ is stunning. Southern Tier Brewery is up there, as well as perhaps my favorite spot for beer and food in Pittsburgh. They have a ‘Pumking’ pumpkin whiskey that is absolutely sensational. It’s a must have every time I'm in the city.
Another thing I got to do on my first visit to Pittsburgh was the ‘Three Rivers Cruise’ on board the Gateway Clipper. I had the pleasure of going in October, so it was the ‘Haunted Three Rivers Cruise’, but I couldn’t care less about the stories being told during our boat ride. I was in it for the sightseeing and it didn’t disappoint. Some of the vantage points you can get from the water, especially at night, is an experience on its own. I recommend everyone take one of their tours at some point.
Downtown Pittsburgh as seen from The Point.
Since my first trip to the Burgh, I have made an excuse to go back every single chance I get. Every time it happens, there is one recurring theme (and perhaps my favorite thing about Pittsburgh): I make new friends. The people you meet in Pittsburgh make it feel more like a small town. I’ve struck up countless conversations with amazingly nice people doing mundane things like going into the gas station or waiting outside of a restaurant for an Uber. I maintain contact with a lot of these people. I was born and raised right outside of Los Angeles county and I live near Chicago and St. Louis, and I can say with experience, you just don’t get interactions like that in other places. You can tell how proud yinzers are about their city, and they should be.
My love for the city of Pittsburgh is matched only by my love for my son. I look forward to making so many more memories there, and, when it’s reasonable for me to do so, making it my home. I guess that’s why I started this blog. It’s definitely a great space for me to shitpost about the Steelers, but I also want to share my experiences in the city and my love for the city. Whether you’ve lived there all your life and want to share in my appreciation or you’ve never been and you need a push to check it out for yourself, that’s what I want to do here.
So, thank you to nine-year-old me for the gift of loving Pittsburgh and thank you to everyone that took the time to read this.
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