CITY OF CHAMPIONS

Pictured: One for the fuckin' thumb.

For anyone born in late 1970s Pittsburgh, it's safe to say that growing up in this city has been a strange but beautiful experience. While I love Pittsburgh, and still reside here to this day, the city has always felt like a town lost in the shuffle of modern society. After the city's major steel mills closed down in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the Steelers stopped winning Super Bowls, it seemed as though the eyes of the nation stopped looking our way. I even recall, while watching one of VH1's multitude of "I Love the 70s" shows, a smug and tragically-untalented commentator saying something along the lines of: "After the 70s, we all just forgot about Pittsburgh." While the same nonchalant and condescending tone could be attributed to the underwhelming career of any commentator involved with VH1's programming, Pittsburgh and Pittsburghers in general are a far more resilent bunch.

That's what makes the Steelers Super Bowl championship so awesome. It completes a circle with the city's storied past -- i.e. the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s -- while looking forward to what we all know will be a bright and prosperous future.

Related links:
Post-Super Bowl win 1979