It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, it's not Christmas - it's even better. It's the start of Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp!
Growing up, training camp wasn't just this little event we saw clips of on the news. For Steelers fans, it's the start of four months worth of football, tailgate parties, and the hope of yet another Superbowl Championship.
Training camp is something most Pittsburgher's have experienced. I took tons of trips up to St. Vincent College in Latrobe to sit on a steep hillside and watch the team practice. We had no idea who anyone was since they didn't have names on their jerseys, but by golly we were hot stuff going to watch training camp. And if you timed it right and could wiggle your way up to the front of the line, you might just get to shake the hand of a player as they walked to or from the dorms they were staying in (which, by the way, weren't too shabby. The news always showed extensive clips of players moving in to training camp, unloading their big screen tvs, stereos, and all of the luxuries they could possibly fit into a dorm room).
Some of the best memories from my childhood include Sunday afternoons in the fall when we'd come home from church to tune in to the Steelers game and listen to Myron Cope do the play by play. Who's Myron Cope? Only the creator of the Terrible Towel and classic phrases known to every Pittsburgher, such as "double yoi", "hmmm hah", and the "Cincinnatti Bungals".
A lot of times we'd even eat some Pittsburgh classics like pierogies and Italian hot sausage while we watched the game. (In a future post I'll include recipes in honor of the first regular season Steeler game).
Some people don't understand the dedication of Steelers fans. Anybody can root for a team, but Steelers fans bleed black & gold. We don't have fight songs - we have Superbowl songs. We don't wave towels - we wave Terrible Towels. We don't have good plays, we have plays that have gone down in NFL history, like the famous Immaculate Reception and the more recent Divine Interbention. Ridiculous? Not to a Steeler fan.
But really, the most amazing thing about Steelers football is how it unites an entire city. Regardless of individual religion or politics, there's one thing everyone can agree on - there's no one better than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
If you don't hold an allegiance to a certain team, I'd invite you to become a fan of the greatest team around. And if you do have a team that you root for...well, it's only a matter of time before I convert you to the black & gold.
Here we go, Steelers, here we go! Pittsburgh's goin' to the Superbowl...