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Steelers fans take their support on road By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH OK, so things weren’t quite that good for Steelers fans on Monday morning at Denver International Airport. But they were pretty darn close. Hundreds of Steelers fans, some young and inviting, others old and scary, filed into the Denver terminal wearing their jerseys and cocksure smiles. They weaved through the security line, nodding at one another or slapping hands as they passed. See, the morning-after airport pep rally is utopia for road-bound football fans. It’s their last chance to stick their chest out a little further before the trip to wherever home is. The airport flaunt is becoming old hat for William Wilson and Amy Romo, who live in Chicago. They’ve paraded through airports in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and now Denver in the last three weeks. After hearing variations of “Not in our house!” chants in each city, Wilson and Romo can’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment — not only for their beloved Steelers, but also for themselves. The task for player and fan on the road “is about the same,” says Wilson, who grew up during the Terry Bradshaw days. “They have to play on the field, but we have to sit in the stands with our Steelers stuff on.” The highlight of the Denver stop was when Wilson got his Terrible Towel signed by former Broncos star Terrell Davis. After three weeks, you’d think Wilson and Romo would be road-weary. They commented on how horrible the Bengals’ fans were compared with the Colts’ and Broncos’ fans. But much like their beloved team, their eyes are focused on one place: Motown. The Steelers, more so than any other team, take pride in their traveling — almost like college football — fan base. Detroit is only 285 miles from Pittsburgh. Wilson doesn’t even care whether he gets tickets to Super Bowl XL. “I’m gonna be there for the party,” Wilson said. Romo added: “Every city we’ve been to, it’s like an invasion.” Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native, was asked Sunday to give an invitation for the Steelers’ fans, not that it was needed. “What’s great about Detroit?” Bettis pondered. “It’s a great city, and you all will see when you get there in two weeks. It was down for a while, but it’s back.” Friends Ron Benzel and Ken Swanson are trying to get tickets to the big game, but like Wilson, they’ll probably go anyway just for the party. They met Steelers fans this week from as far away as Alaska and Mexico. Benzel wears a T-shirt that advertises Pittsburgh’s newest gourmet rage, the “Roethlisburger.” The back of his shirt shows the monstrosity, dripping with grease, and states, “It’s on a roll!” “I tried eating it, but it was too big,” Benzel said. “I’m little. I got through about one-third of it.” Frank and Conni Davison of Seneca, Pa., spent $700 each for their tickets on Sunday. Conni wore a Bettis jersey on Monday. A man sporting the same jersey yelled down to her from above, “THE BUS!” This is Denver, right? “Jerome, he’s the man,” Frank said. “We’re takin’ the Bus home.” Actually, Frank and Conni were taking an airplane, but there’s
no point in telling Frank otherwise in the delirium of Denver’s
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J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell) |
