One More Roadtrip

 

This wonderful year of adventures has led me to see and do things I won't forget.

We've been to London and San Francisco. We've also been to Tampa, Buffalo, Providence, and myriad other cities large and small.

And states. From Massachusetts to close to Ohio and down through West Virginia to South Carolina. Then all up the East Coast. Plus Florida and California.

Yet there was one city that really seemed to make a large impact. I've always said how great it was but then Sean saw it for himself.

Pittsburgh, PA dazzled and Sean felt we should go back after having been to the Hall of Honor at Acrisure Stadium.

Sean loved all of it. He loved Primatni Bros. and the Pittsburgher sandwich. He loved the funicular known as the Duquesne Incline and the view from Mount Washington. He loved the explosive vistion coming into the city via the Fort Pitt Tunnel. 

"I think we need to come back for a Steelers game," he told me.

I didn't see how we could. I thought questions of time and money would win.

There are only eight home games and, if you don't know, NFL tickets are expensive. They're especially expensive when you're going to one of the most popular tickets in the sport.

Steelers fans love their team. It's a religion, much like Packers, Giants, and Chiefs fans, among others. But in Pittsburgh, it's truly part of their identity. Oh, they love the Pirates and the Penguins and the college teams and the high school teams.

But the Steelers? It's hard to explain. It's just different.

Much like "Renegade" by Styx, which has been the Steelers' anthem for over 20 years. It just sort of happened and, initially, the popularity couldn't quite be explained. But then you experience it, as I did 19 years ago at what was known as Heinz Field at the time. 

Then you get it.

That game -- against the Washington, ahem, Redskins -- was incredible. It had been years of rooting for a team that played roughly seven hours from my home. Being there felt like being among friends finally in a football sense.

Sean will soon get it. So will my cousin Kris. So will Kris's friend Danny.

The Pittsburgh Steelers -- proud owners of six Lombardi Trophies -- are hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night, Nov 2.

We'll be there.

Chris Erway was probably the first to push me to do this, no matter how much I doubted it could happen. He encouraged me and it led me to look at each home game. That's when I found the Thursday night game. There were no conflicts to get in the way.

Then I looked at tickets. They're not cheap but, in an NFL sense, they're OK.

Sure, we'd have to get a room for a night because a day trip to Pittsburgh with a football game included just wasn't smart. But we could handle that.

Life is simply too short. My son -- Sean! -- wanted to do this. Maybe this was actually something we could pull off.

Around the same time I started thinking about it -- mid-September -- we also had a weekend planned in Washington, DC to go to a baseball game. Kris, Sean, Danny, and I were all set to go. However, a tropical storm wiped that trip out. I mentioned to Kris that we were thinking about a Steelers game and his reaction was immediate.

He was in.

Eventually, we added Danny to our party and, today, the pieces all came together. I bought the tickets and, while they're in the upper deck in the endzone at Acrisure Stadium, we're in the building.

That's always been our approach.

We booked a room, which became easier after I explained a Waffle House is on the same road as the hotel. Oh, and Sean needs some Steelers stuff to wear. No problem. A Steelers pro shop is in an outlet center near the hotel. Kris told me that today.

It helps to have fellow travelers who understand.

So, next Thursday, away we go.

Bring on the pierogis and Iron City (or IC Light). Bring on the Strip District and the Gateway Clipper Fleet. Bring on the Cathedral of Learning and Clemente Bridge. Bring on the ghosts and the memories of Franco, TB, Big Ben, Polamalu, the Steel Curtain, Chas. Noll and the Jaw. Swann and Stallworth and Hines.

And Heinz...er...Acrisure.

Yinz need to know we're going to see the Stillers in the Burgh, okel dokel?

Terrible Towels in hand.

Yoi.

Maybe double yoi.

Who knows? It might be the beginning of a new tradition and I'm all for that.