steelers.jpgLast night, the Steelers played one of those rare Thursday night games, and it wasn’t pretty. The weather was cold and foggy, the Steelers were sluggish, and no matter what we did, nothing worked. And since this is Pittsburgh, the feeling of frustration and disappointment was tangible this gray, cold morning.

I wasn’t at the game myself, but my friend Tanya was, and she sent me an email this morning that really lifted my spirits. It was one of those games where, even though it was nasty outside and people had to work the next day, it was close enough that people stayed in the stands until the end. After the final seconds ticked off, Tanya said there was a strange electricity in the air–for some reason, the Steelers lingered on the field and only a trickle of people made their way to the exits. Everyone felt like they were waiting for something, but no one knew what.

After a minute, a low, dull chant started somewhere in the bleachers. “Here we go Steelers, here we go…Here we go Steelers, here…” It quickly spread, and in another minute the entire stadium was echoing the chant, and the Steelers were looking around in awe. It was like an emotional valve suddenly opened, and people were venting their frustration through collective praise…or more accurately, collective faith. If there’s anything I’ve learned about this town in my years here, it’s that Pittsburghers are NOT fairweather fans. Sometimes the team is on top, sometimes it’s on the bottom, but through it all, Steelers Nation always believes.

None of the national stations or media outlets picked up what happened, but even if they did, I doubt they would have understood.