The Steelers and I

Back in 2012, I found the Pittsburgh Steelers, or rather the Pittsburgh Steelers found me. I was on holiday in Florida with my late wife Sam and we were drinking in a bar local to our motel called Millers Ale House. It was a random Thursday night and we were tired after a day in the parks so came to grab some food and relax. I vividly remember that outside it was raining. American football was on the TV but I didn’t take any interest. We had food, we had drinks and more drinks and began thinking this game is taking some time to end. So we started watching it… We asked the guy sitting next to us if it was over soon, he laughed and said no. We got talking to this local fella and he half attempted to explain some very basic rules to two Brits that were clearly drunk but he had patience with us, bless him; it must have been painful. We found we were becoming more drawn into the game, and whilst, if being honest, we didn’t have a clue what was going on, we loved the aggressiveness and (I still call it this) a very rough game of chess. That game was the Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tennessee Titans. The Steelers lost that game but something stuck.

When we returned to Oldham after our holiday, we immediately began researching the NFL, what jerseys looked like and trying to figure out the team we watched which again led to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I looked into the team and loved their history and their tough working image which for someone from Oldham, this was something special. We then investigated Pittsburgh and this is what sealed the deal; Pittsburgh is the City of Bridges. This was it, this was the team for me. Obviously at this point we still had no clue about the actual sport itself, but we knew this was the team we’d follow. Sam immediately began looking into the basic rules of the game, scribbling down notes on multiple A4 pages, how the divisions work, when the playoffs were, everything she could think of, she wrote down so we could both digest this what seemed like alien sport. We started watching games and learning as we went along on Sky Sports. I bought my first every Jersey, a big Ben home jersey, which I still have today, and we were set.

2013 came, we planned our next trip to Florida which we couldn’t wait for, another exciting adventure however something else happened, the biggest news in years, the Pittsburgh Steelers were coming to London as part of the international series and we could make it work, it fit in with our trip to Florida so no clash with our trip. Myself, Sam, my buddy and his wife managed to get tickets to the game, this would be our first ever NFL game and what an experience it was. Infront of me, Big Ben (my all time favourite Steeler) was on the field along with another Legend and my second favourite Steeler…Troy Polamalu, I couldn’t believe it. This was also the game that Mr Bell scored his first ever NFL touchdown as a Pittsburgh Steeler. The result didn’t go our way that day but it was a great game and an even better experience. Only a few days later we set off to Florida and our schedule around the parks was set based on the NFL schedule, which is something that still happens today and this time I was truly hooked, I was a certified Fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2014, this was a wonderful year for me personally, My Son was born, the joy we had can never be underestimated this was something we had wanted for some time but we weren’t ready until we were. We also went back to London to watch the international series game which was the Falcons v Lions, it was actually the first time we had left Marshall at home as well (not on his own obvs haha) and the game itself was actually a great game but that wasn’t the news. We rushed out of Wembley as soon as we were able and straight to the Hippodrome casino to watch the late game, this became legendary. It was on the big screen, the Pittsburgh Steelers wearing their famous (love or hate-I loved it) bumble bee jerseys and had one of the best games I’ve ever seen. In context at the time the Colts were riding high and were considered one of the best teams in the NFL, Andrew Luck was literally on fire and unstoppable, but someone forgot to tell Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers beat the Colts 51-34 and Big Ben got 6 touchdowns and 522 yards!!!! We went crazy during this game. We saw some Americans watching the game next to me and they were waiving their terrible towels. A regret of mine was I didn’t manage to get a terrible towel for the London game the year before so I looked over in envy. The fella saw this and literally came over to me and gave me his and said I could keep it (I still have this towel). I was absolutely buzzin, what a mint guy this stranger was to give me his terrible towel. I was going crazy waving that towel and looked over at Sam and she had tears in her eyes but trying to hide it. I asked her what was up and offered to give her the towel haha, she said it’s not that but she’d brought me a towel as a surprise as she knew how gutted I was to not have one and she was going to give it to me at Christmas that year. I said to her that will be the best towel ever. Christmas that year was beautiful, it was my sons first Christmas but also I opened the terrible Towel Sam brought me and I was ecstatic. That towel is now one of the most precious things I own and it’s not even close.

2015 started well, we were adapting to being parents still and getting ready for what life brings as a young family, super excited about what was next as we began building our new life together but then my world changed forever. 2015 will be forever the worst year of my life. On the 15^th July 2015, my wife Sam suddenly passed away unexpectedly, my son was 11 months old. Obviously, this was a major life event and rocked me to the core, I was a widow and a dad to a very young son and had to adapt. I was heartbroken, numb….everything. How everyone thought I felt, I can promise you it was worse.  My family did everything they could to help me as did my friends, my workplace was fantastic as well but I was truly broken, in my head I was gone. My Son kept me going, he was my focus and he didn’t know it but he kept me as sane as I possibly could be at that time which was basically a living nightmare. As the NFL season began, I was still numb to the core, but slowly I started watching the Steelers again, holding my (now priceless) terrible towel and cheering my team on which were getting better and better, the Steelers during this time provided an outlet that I never knew I needed at that time, very slowly I began returning to the world of the living, waving that towel with pride, supporting the team I loved. When I say I love the Steelers, I really do love the Steelers. One thing to note during 2015 was human kindness, the support I received was unmatched. An incredible example was someone called David who is a Patriots fan noticed I was feeling down after I commented on an NFL Facebook page and reached out and offered me a free ticket to watch the Jaguars in Wembley in London that year v the Bills, the gesture was unmatched and I will be forever grateful for this, not only was it a really good game, I really enjoyed the company of likeminded NFL fans regardless of the team just enjoying the sport we love. It helped me escape my head for a short while and just enjoy myself. Also when in London the Hippodrome Casino also reached out to me and invited me to Watch the Steelers game after the Jaguars game had ended, they fully comped me and David for food and drink for the entire evening, reserved seats for us next to the screen showing the steelers game (we played the Chiefs and lost) and regardless of the result, we had fun mixing with everyone.

Over the next year, I was still completely numb but the Steelers and life started helping me come back out of my shell again, I saw hope coming back to me slowly and began to feel slightly more positive. I joined a very (at the time) primitive Facebook page for UK Steelers fans and connected with others that love the team that I do, all crazy, all as obsessive as I was and slowly a genuine community was build. From this group I developed lifelong friends, have regular meet ups and talk shop, whether its general or Steeler related was irrelevant, the impact it had was ridiculous.  That outlet of not only being a dad but also my love of the Steelers cannot be underestimated. Whilst Christmas 2015 was for me horrendous, I was actually looking forward to Christmas 2016. I spoilt my son and wanted to give him the best Christmas, really enjoying the time spent together and living life as that’s what counts. I also invited my family over for Christmas dinner, cooked the food myself and enjoyed the day. When my family left and my son was in bed, I decided to watch the Steelers on TV , this was made even more sweet that we were playing the Ravens, what a Game. Step up Mr Antonio Brown, the immaculate extension will forever go down for me as one of the greatest moments (that I have been a fan) ever. The entire street knew the Steelers won, maybe the planet, the Steelers won that game 31 – 27. That joy I felt during that game really helped in my recovery, I was beginning to feel a lot more positive and ready for what life brings.

In 2017 I decided to date again and met my (now wife) Sarah. I gained an amazing wife who I married in 2022 but also gained an amazing stepson and daughter who I love immensely. Through darkness comes the light and in my case, this is true, I love my family. Sarah isn’t into sports of any kind but she soon realised that I’m slightly obsessive about the Steelers. She knows I’ll do everything to watch the games, communicate on the UK steelers page and she doesn’t moan about it, I honestly love her for that. She knows that on a Sunday at 6pm the Steelers might be on tele, or that I may get up at 1am to watch the team, she doesn’t complain, she just thinks I’m mad. At our wedding in 2022 I had Steelers cufflinks, she didn’t bat an eyelid, she knew id get the Steelers in somewhere, she didn’t complain, Sarah knows how much the Steelers mean to me. Sarah is a ray of positivity that I have tried to adopt for myself, sometimes it might take time but it’s something that I always work on.

In my life I’ve had many downs, but I have had many ups as well, being negative is something that drains me and whilst I’m not perfect, I try my best to be the best person I can be. I always try and be as positive as I can be, this is an ongoing joke on the UK Steelers site, I do maintain that the Steelers will win the Superbowl. Never give up on life, always keep going and try to be the very best person you can be. In 2019 the Steelers were in trouble, injuries had taken everything out of the team, several key starters were out, we were struggling significantly, next man up was becoming a joke as there was nobody left but then there was. This was the Steelers ‘Rocky’ moment. Undrafted, a nobody, someone like me and you, the DUCK. Devlin Hodges became the Steelers QB because there was nobody left, he was never going to be another superstar but he was what the Steelers needed at the time, somehow he helped the Steelers win some games meaning we nearly hit the playoffs, and whilst this might seem a negative because we didn’t reach the post season, the fact that we were at some point in contention to potentially reach the playoffs was ridiculous. He brought hope to a franchise and its fans during a time when there wasn’t really anything left. For me, the Duck is a Legend and will always be a winner, he was someone who stepped up when needed.

The itch to go to Pittsburgh was immense. By this point I had followed the team for many years, when my son was very young I looked into it but decided I couldn’t leave Marshall for so long after everything we had been through, me and Jason started talking, what if, how about, wouldn’t it be amazing, and then before you knew it we were looking to do a trip. This was a dream both me and Jason had shared together for many many years, both of us at the same time. Both of us had lost our dads recently and realised it had to happen, we needed to live our life and follow our dreams and we decided to do it together. I got the all clear from my ever amazing wife and then it was serious. In 2024 we were going to Pittsburgh for the first home game of the season v the Chargers.

On the 19^th September 2024, what has been a dream for so many years became a reality. Me and Jason got on a plane and headed to Pittsburgh. It was made even more sweet that Callum and his Dad also joined us for the experience of a lifetime. This trip which lasted until the 25^th September was Packed Packed Packed!!!! When we first saw the Stadium, the feeling in my stomach was immense, this was the place I had seen on TV for so many years, so many moments had threaded through my life since 2012 through these hallowed grounds and here it was. We did the stadium tour, watched Youngstown @ Pitt Panthers, watched the Steelers game and did a visit to canton to the NFL hall of fame. The entire experience was incredible. I vividly remembering during the stadium tour going down to the field and it being blistering hot, behind my sunglasses my eyes were full of tears, I was actually here, it was real. On the game day morning, I was tired, I hadn’t slept much so basically listened to renegade back-to-back for hours, eventually after getting up and ready, me and Jason just looked at each other and smiled, it was time. The day was incredible, we went down early to take it all in, we met Kenny Meirs and his Ms for a tailgate and had the full game day experience. The Game itself was interesting, we looked poor in the first half but by the second half we were on fire (as was my skin as it was boiling, not great for a ginger) and then renegade came on. I had the Towel with me that Sam brought me all those years ago and was so happy that I was waving on our team in Pittsburgh, that very moment was one of my greatest sporting moments of my life. Until you experience it you will never know. Steelers won that day 20-10. Perhaps the best experience though whilst in Pittsburgh gameday aside was something I never thought of in my ignorance. The people. the people were incredible, so kind, and you could tell they live and breathe their sports teams, wherever we walked people would say “Go Steelers” and smile, they made you felt like you were home. That had conversations with you and were genuinely interested in you, one of the most fun evenings was eating at the original Primanti Bro’s and the power went out. They kept serving the beer, they had a laugh with us and genuinely made us all feel welcome even if it was basically chaos due to having literally no power. It could have been when we walked over the many bridges and took in the views of this beautiful city or did a rooftop bus tour, it was the little things that made the trip, those little things are what made me know what I’ve always known, a reassurance if you will, that not only are the Steelers the greatest sports team in the world, so are the fans and the city. One day I will go back.

Sport is a funny old thing. I support Oldham Athletic, they are my local football team and I watch them with my son. Going to Wembley in 2025 was up there with one of the greatest experiences (sport wise) in my life, but how did I end up supporting a team and falling in love with a team that is over 3000 miles away, I don’t know, maybe that team just found me.

Supporting the Steelers isn’t just about the results, I think we can all agree that the team can ‘frustrate’ us at times, it’s about the community that’s within that team, the friends that come together because of a team that you follow, the support that you give one another both through the good and also the bad. I really make an effort to reach out to people when I see they are struggling; I try to help in my own way. Apart from being a human being, I always want to be a support just like so many were to me all those years ago. I try to be positive and one day, during the time that I’ve supported this beautiful team, we will win that Superbowl and we will all celebrate together.

Recently its been lovely to have the UK Steelers group be officially recognised as an official fan club of the team we love, the future is bright, very very bright.