A Tall Tale of a Pittsburgh Steelers "Fan of the Week"

Days filled with pigskin craziness, nearly 1,000 miles logged on the old Civic, and alot of missed "shut eye"...all in a day's work as a NBC Sunday Night Football "Fan of the Week".  If you follow me on Twitter (@BnGBlitz) you know that I was selected along with another Steeler fan (@theTerribleBlog) and 2 Bears fans to make up the 4 "Fans of the Week" for NBC's Sunday Night Football game in Pittsburgh pitting the Chicago Bears vs the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It was a weekend of festivities that not only left me with memories that will last a lifetime, but with having met some amazing people that I wouldn't have met under any other circumstances.  If you are wondering what it was like to be chosen as a "Fan of the Week", well you are in for a treat, but remember this...I didn't enter a "sweepstakes" of any kind.  NBC hand picks the 4 "Fans" on Twitter and their activity through social media.

The crew at Grille 36

On Friday night, we had a meet and greet dinner at Jerome Bettis' "Grille 36".  I had never been there and to say that as a Pittsburgh fan you are in your glory is an understatement.  The dinner was later than I'm used to, and when all the NBC people behind the scenes showed up the dinner was underway.  In true Pittsburgh fashion, the IC Light was flowing as the two Pittsburgh fans were glued to the television watching the Pirates play the Reds.  Unfortunately, we were watching the Buccos winning 5-2, only to let the lead evaporate and eventually lose in extra innings.  There was no way we could let this dampen the fact that our weekend was just starting, and at the end of the dinner we were told more about our "plans" for the days following.

 

The Primanti Brothers Challenge

Saturday was a day that was fun on many different levels.  We were told we were taking the "Pittsburgh Icon Tour" on the Sunday Night Football promotional bus.  Upon walking onto the bus, you were given the treat of seeing some nice SNF "swag".  A new Nike jersey, t-shirts, towels, etc. sat on the couch awaiting their fans to pick up their prizes. As if that wasn't enough, we were headed on the bus around the city for an afternoon excursion through the city.  Going to the "Original" Primanti Brothers in the Strip District was something that I haven't experienced, so it was all new to me.  In the Chicago vs Pittsburgh sandwich challenge, the Steelers prevailed (thats about the only think the Steelers won this season) with their sandwich that consisted of a chicken breast, capricola ham, mozzarella cheese, coleslaw, tomato, and french fries all between 2 glorious slices of bread.  Sounds good doesn't it?  After the Primanti's challenge, we headed to PNC Park where we saluted Roberto Clemente's statue in the rain with the Z of the Zoltan (well the Chicago fans asked us what in the world we were doing, but who cares, right?).  After the PNC excursion we headed to the incline for our last stop of the day.  Seeing the city from top of Mt. Washington is something that never gets old.  Such a beautiful sky line, and the 2 stadiums that sit near each other compliment the city like none other that I've seen in my lifetime. 

Sideline Access!! Yeah Boy!

All of this was mere child's play in comparison to Sunday...game day!  We were told there was a "surprise" for us, and they were right.  At 5:00pm the Bus and the tailgating area was closed off for only the VIP Fans of the Week and friends.  On the bus we tailgated, were interviewed, and then a representative from the Pittsburgh Steelers came on board, gave use free shirts and told us we were getting pre-game on field access for the game.  I hadn't seen the Steelers play since 2003, and although they were great seats then...it didn't compare to being on the field during warm ups, and the seats that we did have were absolutely amazing.  The game itself left something to be desired (thats putting it mildly) for Steelers fans, but the Bears had their day in the sun.  Even though the outcome of the game wasn't what Steelers fans wanted or expected, it was a once in a lifetime experience that I wouldn't trade for anything.  Great memories, great people, and great times were had by all!  I guess you can say that for once, being a huge Pittsburgh fan actually paid off!