I Bleed Black & Gold

You know fall is just around the corner when the old pigskin starts getting thrown around. It's that time of year again - football season! For the guys it's one of the best times of the year and for you women, well you will probably be spending alot of Sundays in the mall with your girlfriends. While we are having a tailgate party at the game or even if we opt to stay home and soak in the action from the sofa, you can be getting your leather high from new shoes rather than a Wilson football. Now I shouldn't be sexiest and say that because these days there are alot of women who love football just as much, if sometimes not more, than men do. I think that's great! I have no problem if a woman wants to take in a game with me, just as long as she is routing for my black & gold Steelers or course!

For those that don't know, Pittsburgh is a diehard sports town. People bleed the black and gold colors around here. When the NFL season is in session and you watch the local news, our football team is one of the headline news stories! Yeah, I know that is silly but it's true. I suppose it says alot about how lame the city is otherwise in terms of action. People just love their football around here. Some people are so "crazy" about it that a year ago a Cleveland Browns fan was literally beaten to death in a Pittsburgh bar after he talked trash on the Steelers to some local fans. Now the Browns are our rival enemy, but come on, that is taking your team loyalty a bit far to commit murder! The Browns fan may of not bleed black and gold that night, but you can rest assure knowing that those few crazy Steeler fans no longer wear the black and gold colors...it's more like they wear black and white stripes at the county jail these days.

You don't have to live in the city of Pittsburgh to love the Steelers. In fact Steeler fans are a very loyal group that expand in nearly every US city and state! Go to California and you will find a bar called Sharky's that is a "Steelers bar". It's not just CA either, head over to Cleveland, NY, Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, Texas, Florida...the list goes on and on. In all of those places and many others, you will find Steeler fans and local bars dedicated to watching the Steeler games. Even in places around the world like Mexico where the #1 sport is usually soccer (or what they refer to as football/soccer), American football and the Steelers are fan favorites.

Since training camp and pre-season are over, it's time to kick off the first real game of the year! This Sunday we host the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field. My Steelers had the best record in the NFL last year going 15-1 led by rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger, but just missed the Super Bowl. This year's pre-season record they went 3-1 and during the regular season I have high expectations of them repeating last years great performance...with of course the added appearance at the Super Bowl. During the off season we got rid of that lazy ass better known as Plaxico Burress, so for that I am grateful.

However, the sad news is that this year I won't have season tickets (sigh). I did a few years back and they were the best! I didn't get them this season because I've been traveling around alot for work and at times I really don't know what my schedule will be from week to week. Therefore, I don't want to drop all that cash on season tickets and then have to give away the seats because I can't make it to games. That would suck! Going to a Steelers game is nothing like going to any other football game. Even if you aren't a football fan, you can't help but feel the energy in the stadium. That is something I am going to really miss. I am sure I will take in a game or two at the field, but most of the season I'm afraid I will be watching it either from my living room or from another TV somewhere in the world. I'm sure no matter where I travel, there is a place in nearly every city where I can proudly wear my team colors. I can feel at home watching the game surrounded by "out of state" Steeler fans because I know we are all routing for 1 common team and bleed 2 common colors - black and gold!

Now, I just have one question for you...ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!