Interesting pieces this morning on ESPN regarding the "America's Team" moniker. Usually I take what Gene Wojciechowski says with a grain of salt, but his defending of Green Bay as "America's Team" rings true. The other two pieces on Dalllas and Pittsburgh I think vindicate why I have them as #'s 1 and 2 respectively on my bandwagon countdown. Maybe those guys read Caputo's Corner too! Anyway, the fact that Green Bay is publicly owned in a small town with a season ticket waitlist of 50 years with people who actually live in Wisconsin doesn't make it America's Team in the literal sense. Wisconsin's team? Absolutely, but what can be more American than saying your a shareholder in one of the oldest franchises in the league.
Here are links to the 3 "America's Team" columns:
Cowboys
Steelers
Packers
Oh yes, don't forget that its Super Bowl week! I'll be back later with the first installment of our Super Bowl Preview Week series.
I haven't read the three entries yet, but I wanted to say that I'm not sure the Steelers are necessarily bandwagon team. I think Pittsburgh just sucks so much as a city that there's been a generations-long diaspora that has sprinkled them all over. The one true Steeler fan friend I have has family there, so perhaps my perception is tainted. But it's always been my impression that Steelers fans elsewhere were just Pittsburghers who got out, unlike Cowboys and 'Niners fans (at least in our generation and the one before) who attached themselves in the '80s and '90s with their success. Bandwagon doesn't really fit for the Steelers, anyway - they were only good in the '70s and '00s. Sure, kids that like the Steelers now may be bandwagoners, but again, the one die-hard I know was born into it. Now that I think about it, I know another Steeler fan - and he like and followed Roethlisberger from Miami (OH).
ReplyDelete@Kent-I have a hard time believing that that many people I've seen through the years have some connection to the coal and steel industry in Pittsburgh, either directly or through descent. I know a couple of die-hard Pittsburgh fans as well, which still doesn't negate the fact that there are (at least in my estimation) legions of followers who would just as well grab on with someone else once the Steelers fade to black.
ReplyDeleteI know lots of Steelers fans, and I would say the vast majority of them have family ties to PA (not necessarily Pittsburgh itself). They may never have lived there but most all have a parent or other family member. I suppose if the Steelers weren't very good they might choose not to uphold their family's tradition, but I don't know many fans who started liking the Steelers "just because." And I don't think I'm just saying that because I'm a huge fan ;)
ReplyDeleteExactly. The Steelers weren't good again until the late '90s, and even then it was Kordell Stewart, so they weren't even that good. Like I said before, they don't exactly fit the MO of other bandwagon teams - the 'Niners, the Cowboys - that enjoyed success in the '80s and '90s. I still think most Steelers fans have a tie to the city.
ReplyDelete@Kristen-Perhaps my view of Steelers fans is a bit jaded due to individual experiences like the one I cited from when I was in Orlando. No, I didn't actually go up to those people and ask them what ties they have to Pittsburgh, but I have a hard time believing that ALL of those guys are in some way connected (either by blood or by business) to Western Pennsylvania. There were quite a few of them.
ReplyDeleteI can't really remember a time when the Steelers were "bad." They were going to the Super Bowl in the 90s. I wasn't old enough to remember the 80s after the Bradshaw run. That's why I said before, let's see what happens when the Steelers have a really lousy run of consecutive 4-12, 3-13 seasons. With the team they have now, I don't see that happening any time soon, but that is what happened to Raider Nation after SB XXXVII, which is why I did not include them on my official list. Anyone who's left is truly legit.