Hail to the…Steelers?
Dan Snyder isn’t the only local who’d rather throw his money at another team’s players than at Redskins.
To wit: The upcoming CSA autograph show at Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly.
The show will feature about 60 current and former athletes as signers. Attendees are instructed to buy coupons for each desired autograph online before showing up, and the promoter keeps a running tab on what folks are buying.
Several current and former Skins are for sale—Laron Landry, Chris Cooley, Earnest Byner, Joe Theismann, and Monte Coleman among them—but as of now the only local among the 15 most sought after stars is receiver Antwaan Randle El.
Almost all the other top spots are filled out by ex-Pittsburgh Steelers (Terry Bradshaw’s No. 1) so Randle El’s ranking must have more to do with his role as part of the Steelers’ Super Bowl run than with his rather routine playing career here.
After ARE, Landry is the next most sought after Redskin, and he’s only in 26th place. Cooley, probably the most popular current Skin, ranks just 31st —or 13 spots behind former Pittsburgh Pirate Dave Parker and 21 spots behind the Steelers’ non-Super Bowl-winning QB Terry Hanratty.
Terry Hanratty?
This situation brings up something that I’ve never figured out in my lifetime of living in the transient D.C. market: Despite geography and respective city size, you meet at least 20 transplants from Pittsburgh around here for every one expat from Philadelphia. The autograph show promoters have obviously recognized this phenomenon: Far as I can tell, there are no Eagles, Phillies, or Flyers being shipped in to sign.
I’m not sure if it’s more bizarre that everybody leaves Pittsburgh, or that nobody leaves Philly.
Any answers, Quaker Staters?
10 Responses to “Hail to the…Steelers?”
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March 5th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
When the steel mills closed back in the 70s (unemployment), many Pittsburgers had to relocate for jobs and are now all over the country, all 50 states, their children and children’s children now also part of the Steeler Nation. Don’t know if the relocation issue hit the other teams as hard, but this is one reason why there are so many Steeler fans in other areas.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Spyboots:
The steel mill closings would only explain the immigration of Pittsburghers to DC in the 1970s.
But it sure seems to me that the migration of Western Pennsylvanians to DC continues, long after after Pittsburgh transformed itself from a steel town and started winning all sorts of Most Livable City polls.
Here’s a story that says folks are still leaving Pittsburgh more than any other city in the country:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07105/778164-85.stm
So, it ain’t about steel. And, again, I’ve always viewed this as a tale of two cities: Pittsburgh can’t keep anybody; Philadelphians stay put.
Thanks for your thoughts.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
We’re everywhere!!!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Spyboots:
i should have written the steel mill closings would explain the immigration through the 1980s, since I’m pretty sure the biggest plant shut-downs occurred in 1986.
As you were…
March 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
If the steel jobs theory were true, there’d be a whole lot more folks from Northwest Indiana here besides, well, me.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
It’s helpful to think of Pittsburgh like Ireland: Everybody’s got some relative from Pittsburgh, and that person’s Pittsburgh-ness, manifested primarily in his/her Steelers obsession, is passed on to those around him/her, resulting in clusters of Steelers fans in families and friend groups, etc.
I’m in New York (originally from a suburb of Pittsburgh) and probably less than a third of the rather large group of people I watch Steelers games with are actually from Pittsburgh.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Stephen:
I like your Ireland/Pittsburgh simile.
Far as I can tell, Pittsburgh’s slogan should be: “Great Place to Live, But I Wouldn’t Want to Live There!”
I gotta go print up bumper stickers…
March 6th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
…but then a Pittsburgh ex-pat would put a brick through your windshield.
Pittsburgh’s slogan should be: “A Great Place to Be From.”
March 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Stephen:
or “We’ll Still Pay for Terry Hanratty’s Autograph!”
How many t-shirts should I put you down for, Steve?
Again: Terry Hanratty?
March 7th, 2008 at 12:55 am
As far as the steel mills closing, job loss etc…alot of people left the city, but moved to the suburbs or smaller srrounding towns, the population went from something like a 1/2 million people in the city/only 100,000 in burbs…to 300,000 some in the city and over 2 million in the “metro” area.