Black and Gold Love

Disclaimer: this is going to be the most homer post I'll ever make in my life, and that's the way I want it to be. It may sound like rambling, but it's something I've always wanted to write out because people do wonder how I can be both a Steelers and Capitals fan. I hope you enjoy it.

When I was younger, I wasn't a big NFL fan. I watched it casually and played NFL video games, but never really felt attached to any team. I enjoyed watching it but would never have considered myself a hardcore fan despite going to a couple Redskins games. The only sport I really dove into was ice hockey. That was until 2004. In that year, the NHL canceled a season. For me, it was devastating. The Capitals had just drafted Alex Ovechkin and I really wanted to see him play. Now, I had to hope the NHL and the NHLPA would agree to a new CBA and I could see my Washington Capitals play again. When the season officially was delayed, I needed to find a sport to watch. So, naturally, I turned to football and the NFL.

Like most kids, I looked to my parents for what teams to like. My dad is from Detroit and is a Lions fan, but is more of a Redskins fan. He isn't a hardcore fan but he watched every Sunday and even went to a couple games. My mom is from Pittsburgh and grew up going to Pitt Panthers football games and watching Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw. She watched the Steelers any time they were on TV at home.

So, when the NHL canceled the season, I decided I'd become a Steelers fan. I had watched them casually and knew a handful of players on the team and some of the history. My mom and her family (all from Pittsburgh) would teach me whatever else I needed. Yes, it was weird that I would be a Caps fan and Steelers fan. The Caps and Pens had played in the playoffs and were definitely rivals. They still are. Trust me, I hear about it.

Well, I've been pretty lucky. Since 2004, they've been incredibly successful. In 2004, the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger. I had watched that draft and was pretty disgusted at what Eli Manning did. When the Steelers took Roethlisberger, I was really happy: he had an awesome name, he went to a small school that went under the radar, and he seemed like a cool guy. So, as the NFL season began, I watched the Steelers and watched Roethlisberger have a magical rookie campaign. I watched Jerome Bettis have a great season and learned to absolutely fall in love with Hines Ward's smile. I was heartbroken when the Steelers got beat by Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. It was a terrible way to end a great season.

The NHL may have locked out but the NFL opened up my eyes to a whole world I had barely touched. After that season, I, like so many others before me, fell in love with the NFL. It in no way replaced the NHL: when the season resumed in fall 2005, I watched it and loved the Caps with the same amount of enthusiasim as I had before the lockout. Ovechkin helped. But the NFL gave me another sport to really enjoy, and the Steelers gave me another team to love.

As the next couple years went by, I divulged deeper and deeper into the NFL and the Steelers. I watched the Steelers ride the Bus home to a Lombardi Trophy in 2006. I defended Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown run and subsequently freaked out when he was nearly killed in a motorcylce accident. I watched Bill Cowher finish his Steelers career with an 8-8 season. I went to Latrobe, Pa., for training camp and I visited Heinz Field for the first time in 2006 for a pre-season game against the Vikings. It was more than I ever could have imagined.

The terrible towels, the scenery, the excitement...captured me. It was different than anything I had ever experienced. I walked through Steelers history and saw pictures and videos of Swann, Stallworth, Bradshaw, Lambert, Greene - a whole generation I had never experienced. I felt a little bit out of it. So many Steelers fans had lived that dynasty or had grown up learning about it. I hadn't. The more I studied, the more I watched, the more I wish I could have watched those teams.

In January of 2009, I drove to Pittsburgh to watch the Steelers take on the Chargers in their first playoff game. I had never been to a Steelers regular season game and had no idea what to expect. It was going to be sub-freezing and I didn't really know where to go or where my seats were. Once I got situated, everything changed. I went from feeling like an outsider to feeling like a family. For the first time, I felt like a part of Steeler Nation. I waved my Terrible Towel with 60,000 people and high-fived the random guys in their mid-twenties who sat behind me. I may have left the game frozen, but it was definitely worth it.

Watching last year's team win a Super Bowl was an emotional roller coaster, mostly because the Steelers loved taking every game down to the wire. It was a wonderful experience. I knew Tomlin was a great coach and Big Ben shut up every single critic with his legendary drive. I loved it. The Steelers were the class of the NFL.

And this past Sunday, as I watched Big Ben tear apart the Cleveland defense yet again, I kept repeating to myself the following phrase: I love this team. I really do. I love watching the black and gold play every Sunday and I love everything the team is and stands for. I love the Rooneys, I love Tomlin, I love the fact that the team is such a reflection of the city of Pittsburgh. I may not be from there and I may not have been a member of Steeler Nation since my birth like so many have, but I really love the team.

I can't really put a finger on it, but everything about the team draws me to it. It starts up top with the Rooneys, goes down to the players on the field, on to the coaches, to Heinz Field, and all the way to the city itself. I love the way the offense is run, the personalities they have, the history. I think the defense is the best in the NFL and that Troy Polamalu is the best safety in the NFL. I love the fact that the team produces star linebackers like no other team in history. It's not like I just started feeling this way this week - trust me, I loved watching the team from the moment I started to. But whatever it was, this weekend really made me think about all that's happened the last four years or so.

I'm sure it's normal for hardcore NFL fans to feel like this about their team; I can just about guarantee you that Tony feels this way about the Ravens.

But it took me longer and I usually feel I have to prove myself to people who don't get that I can be a Caps fan and a Steelers fan. It's not orthodox, but I don't care. I love both teams. But watching the Steelers every Sunday, watching Tomlin, Big Ben, Troy, and Hines out there feels perfect for me. And even if the team struggles, I still love watching them. Luckily, there have been few consistent struggles. They'll come, and I'll enjoy following the team just as much.

I'll love swinging my Terrible Towel until the day I die and I'll Unleash the Fury until my voice is gone, and there's nothing that will change that. I'll argue with people who hate everything about the team, the city, and the people for probably the rest of my life. I'll be forced to defend my DC-Pittsburgh fandom for a long time, but that doesn't bother me. My blood can and will run Steelers Black and Gold and Capitals Red.