The Pittsburgh Steelers are not “America’s Team”.
That title belongs to the Dallas Cowboys.
What? A Steelers blog claiming that the Steelers are aren’t the king of the NFL world?
That’s right. We say that Dallas is America’s Team and we couldn’t be happier about it.
Our favorite team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and no nicknames are necessary.
After the jump, we dive in to “America’s Team” and why the Pittsburgh Steelers will never be the pride of the USA.
The argument over who is America’s Team has been raging for a long time. Every time a team wins a few Super Bowls, it starts up again. Dallas claimed the title of the first America’s Team in 1978 when NFL Films coined the term. ESPN recently ignited the fire on the debate again and somehow decided to throw the Patriots into the mix.
ESPN’s James Walker actually makes a pretty compelling case for the Steelers. It wouldn’t be hard to do.
(By the way, if you ever wondered what your sports conversations sounded like at the 5th grade lunch table, just read through ESPN’s comments section. Wow.)
But as Steeler fans, we don’t want this “title.”
Like it or not, Dallas had the name first and they are stuck with it. No clue why anybody else got jealous in the first place.
But that fact aside, there are plenty of other reasons the Steelers aren’t America’s Team.
America’s Team is flashy. It’s true. The whole culture of America proves that glitz and glamour rule the day. The Dallas Cowboys provide more drama than the rest of the NFL teams combined. This is not a good thing, but people love it.
In the world of celebrity funerals, the Cowboys are Michael Jackson – a packed Staples Center with every well-known person you can imagine on stage and an arena full of people who never knew MJ there watching it all.
The Steelers are more like Billy Mays — an all-business funeral in your hometown with the people you grew up with in attendance…a modest funeral for an extraordinary life.
The Steelers are the blue-collar salesman, the Cowboys the troubled megastar.
MJ’s funeral was shown live on every cable TV network. Billy Mays’ made the Post-Gazette. It’s just how America operates.
Point being, Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh’s team, not America’s Team.
Steeler fans are the best because they relate to the workhorse attitude that their football team plays with every week. Pittsburgh fans go to work during the week and the Steelers go to work on Sunday. Hard work defines both groups.
Much of America doesn’t follow this old-school way of life anymore. People would rather take the easy way out and do nothing. This is what makes Pittsburgh different from other places you go and it’s what makes it better.
It’s why Pittsburgh fans are all over the country. They probably grew up in western PA and there’s been something about it that no other place has been able to match. The people are just different here, they say, and maybe it’s the steely resolve that has been passed on from generation to generation.
So, please, let Dallas keep their “title.” Let them keep their reality shows. Let them keep their celebrity girlfriends. Let them keep their cheerleaders. Let them keep their insane owner. Let them keep their one playoff win in the last decade. Let them keep it all.
We’re fine here with our six championships. We’ve won each one as the Pittsburgh Steelers, no nicknames needed.
Do you think Pittsburgh is really America’s Team? Why or why not?
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