OK, so I'm not really a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but, BUT I am keeping my end of a bet that I lost.  This was my penance - to write a glowing post on how awesome the Steelers are and how they should win the Super Bowl.

The only thing, about the only thing, i know about the Steelers is that their colors are black and yellow.  Who would choose those colors anyway??  Alright, I know, I got off course on that remark,  Oh, and one other thing I know, the mayor of Pittsburgh changed his name from Ravenstahl to 'Steelerstahl' - I'd say he's a FAN, huh?

Back to the Steelers....I will admit that I sought help from fellow Twitter buds, and oh boy did they come through!  Pictures, videos, folklore, facts, songs, and more.  And I want to thank them for their help, for without that, this post would be pretty bleak.  I'd have to resort to true and total fakery.

Who did I lose this bet to, and what was the bet???  Mr. Idaho, George Tallabas and I made a bet that whichever of our teams made it the furthest in the playoffs would have to write a glowing post on the other's team.  Well, I'm a New England Patriots fan, and George is obviously a Picksburg (hmm) Steelers fan, and guess who lost.....  ;-(

For you George!!!

I've been told that the "Steelers fans are the best in the world".  None other than our very own Carnac sent that missive to me.  Linda Davisis a big Steelers fan herself, even though she lives in New England, where the PATRIOTS are.

Mr. Focus on Fredrick Maryland, Bob Carney, was very kind and helped me out with some great Pittsburgh lore, explaining just what the big deal is with Steeler football.

"Being a Steeler fanmeans so much more than football. It means being from a corner of the world unlike any other. It means being from a place where the people are so tough-minded that they have survived the Homestead strikes, the Johnstown flood and most recently the Etna Floods. These people have the DNA of hard work, in mills and mines, without the necessity of complaint. They live simply, with no frills. They don't have movie stars or fancy cars."

More on being a Steeler fan -

"Steeler football means so much more than you think. It symbolizes a Diaspora of generations who had the best childhood they could imagine. They ran free without a care or concern in the valleys of those Allegheny Mountains. Their blue-collar world was easy ... there was no one to tell them that they lacked material things. There was no one to tell them that they needed more.

As the steel mills closed and the jobs disappeared, some of these people had to leave. While the world benefits because they spread their Pittsburgh values, they long for their home where things were simpler and more pure. They teach their kids about Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, L.C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, and Myron Copein hopes of imparting not just the knowledge, but the feeling that they represented.

They are everywhere, those Terrible Towels. They wave, not just for the team, but for the hearts they left behind. They wave in living rooms in Fort Lauderdale and in the bars of Washington, D.C. They wave all the way to the Seattle Superdome! They wave for the Rooney family, whose values mirror our own - loyalty, grit, and humility. They wave for football players like Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward, whose unselfishness and toughness have allowed sports to be about the game and the team."

 Here's a great Steeler Polka song I was sent - click on the Steelers Monkey below to open up the song:

                                

George, I hope your Steelers win, since my Patriots fell by the wayside some time ago!

Here's a few trinkets I found for you on a website where they were marked down for clearance:

This just in - a Steeler Jeep ran over a raven.......   from another fellow Patriot's fan, Jay McGillicuddy!
                                

GO PITTSBURGH STEELERS - ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!

Love ya George!!   ;-)