The end of another football season is here… for the Pittsburgh Steelers anyway. I spend a large portion of my life attending, watching, or being anxious about Pittsburgh sports. A love of the black and gold seems to be woven into my DNA.
That might be why it hurt so much staring out the window, flying home from New Orleans, knowing we no longer controlled our own destiny. That might be why my heart felt as if it was literally ripped from my chest when the Browns didn’t take care of their end of the deal, watching our post-season dreams fade away on that Heinz Field jumbo-tron beneath the world’s largest ketchup bottles.
Now, in the midst of drama and turmoil, it’s difficult to open Twitter without being reminded of the current state of messiness. There are just a few things I know: Everyone has an opinion. everyone has advice, and everyone is an expert. I’m not here today to tell you that I know the answers, but I will tell you that every time I hear Pittsburgh mentioned in the post-season for reasons other than the playoffs I am left cringing at the total not-Pittsburgh-ness of it all.
I’m not going to write off the Steelers. I’m not going to throw in my Terrible Towel. I’ve been around long enough to know that Pittsburgh is more than a few individual stellar athletes. Those can be found in every city with a professional sports team. Athletes come, athletes go; they are drafted, traded, and retire. Pittsburgh is a mindset. It’s the ability to show up, and for some crazy reason, never give up– even with 20 seconds on the clock or in the final inning of the game. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me refresh your memory…
I’m talking Cueto dropping the ball in the bottom of the 2nd in the 2013 NL Wild Card Game. (I was sitting behind home plate, witnessing Pittsburgh breathe life back into our hometown baseball dreams– one of my top Pittsburgh sports memories.) I’m talking James Harrison’s 100-yard pick six in Super Bowl XLIII. I’m talking back-to-back Stanley Cups for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. I’m talking December 23, 1972: THE Immaculate Reception. Or back to Super Bowl XLIII, how about Santonio Holmes’s game winning catch in the back of the end zone? Remember that Pirates’ relay to end the game that clinched the playoffs in 2016? This is a short list of the moments I recall when I think of a previous state of hopelessness (linked for those who could use a few Pittsburgh pick-me-ups).
None of those moments involve the same hard-working, talented, and/or earth-shattering athlete getting the job done. No. Some of them were just regular people in Pirates fan gear, chanting the name of the pitcher. Pittsburgh isn’t Pittsburgh because of one individual. Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh because of the Yinztastic homogenous group of people (athletes, fans, etc.) who choose to represent it. Our city is defined by the amazing will of those who buy in to it because we never back down, count ourselves out, or give up hope. Not one single entrance or exit of an individual has broken us yet.
Call me crazy, but as long as there’s still time on the clock, I’m going to be waving my towel (maybe a little extra when the screen fades to black and Renegade begins to play) because I know what this city has done and what it’s capable of. The departure of individual people cannot steal the hope that Pittsburgh has always clung to or the principles for which our beautiful city has always stood: tenacity, high standards, and the ability to be a good neighbor. I’m here to tell you today that Pittsburgh cannot be broken because it is not a person. Pittsburgh is a mindset.
-Ashley
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