Cautious optimism emanated from the parking lots on a muggy Sunday morning outside Acrisure Stadium.
That optimism grew less cautious after the Steelers moved to 3-0 on the season with a 20-10 victory over the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers.
“I don’t know anybody in the league that wants to play the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Micah Hall, a 36-year-old Steelers fan from North Canton, Ohio, said after the win. “If they say they want to play us, they’re lying. Not this year.”
Hall saw a more dangerous quarterback than Pittsburgh has had in years.
“I love Kenny Pickett. I love all the quarterbacks that have played for us before this year,” he said. “But you can feel the difference.
“The quarterback situation could have been chaos. It’s not right now. I’m happy with Justin Fields.”
Fields threw for a season-best 245 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing touchdown, rewarding the belief that fans expressed in the 25-year-old before the game.
Despite the Steelers offense producing just one touchdown in the first two games, most fans told the Post-Gazette they hoped Fields would remain the starter even once Russell Wilson is cleared to return from his calf injury.
“Nothing’s broken, so don’t fix it,” said Nate Brown, 32, from East Hills. “[Fields] hasn’t turned the ball over, and that’s what's most important. If you look across the league, they’re not putting a lot of points up anywhere.”
Indeed, through the first two weeks of the season, NFL teams averaged 21.1 points per game, which, if the season were to end at that number, would mark the lowest average offensive output since 2006 (20.7 points per game).
Fields threw his first interception of the season on a tipped pass in the third quarter but recovered to lead scoring drives on the Steelers’ next two possessions.
The Steelers trailed, 10-7, at halftime. Their 13-0 second-half showing changed people’s perceptions of what the team can accomplish this season.
“I truly believe this is Justin Fields’ team. He orchestrated 20 points against a very good defense,” said Jeff Vargo, 50, from San Clemente, Calif., who chose the home opener as his one game to attend this season. “If we can score 20 points against the Chargers, we can do that against anybody in the AFC. ... If we can stay healthy, this is our year.”
Matt Light, 35, from West View, said most of his optimism stems from the Steelers defense, which surrendered the second-fewest points in the NFL through Week 2. But he wanted Fields to remain the starter so the team could possibly secure its future at the most important position in football.
“With Russell Wilson, you have one season with him and then he moves on to another team,” Light said. “Justin Fields is 25 years old. If we find our quarterback finally, he could be our future for the next 10 years.”
Fans rejoice as they return to Steelers tailgates
The jovial atmosphere around the tailgates reflected the Steelers’ strong start. Some fans chose the home opener as their one game to attend all season. Others set up in the same spot they’ve flocked to before every game for years.
“If you come to a Steelers game, you have to tailgate,” said Malika Deemus, a 51-year-old from Swissvale, as she and her family grilled burgers and hot dogs. “It’s the experience of a lifetime.”
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Craig Brophy, 53, lives nearly 300 miles away in Lehighton, Carbon County, but hasn’t missed a home game since 2007.
“It’s a pilgrimage,” Brophy said. “This is my vacation. I don’t go anywhere in the summer anymore. I go to Steelers games. It’s my relaxation.”
Brophy and his friends built a custom bar they’ve trucked to tailgates for almost two decades, making their corner of Gold Lot 2 a popular gathering place.
Light’s crew brought in inflatables of Steelers players and had Twelve Whiskey Barbeque catering for a crowd he expected would exceed 200 people, a tradition they’ve maintained for many years.
Jennifer Haughie and her family, who live in Chambersburg, Franklin Count, make it to only about one game per season. Like Brophy, they call it their “annual pilgrimage.”
Haughie’s husband, Dennis, grew up on Long Island, N.Y., but has rooted for the Steelers since he was a kid. That was a prerequisite for dating him, Haughie said, joking.
“Black and gold runs through my veins,” she said as she cooked eggs and sipped on a mimosa. “You can’t date Ravens fans. You can’t date Cowboys fans. You have to have standards and choices.
“My son, now 12 years old, knew that he had to be a Steelers fan if he wanted to remain in the house.”
Tailgating was a family affair for many fans.
Brian Rooney and his three sons tossed a football in the parking lot hours before the game. From New Providence, N.J., they usually make it to one game a year.
“To have the whole Pittsburgh experience and to have all the boys out here throwing the ball around before a Steeler game, nothing better,” he said.
The tailgate scene also showed that Steelers fandom is far from an exclusively Pittsburgh experience.
Mario Nava, a 49-year-old from Mansfield, Ohio, grew up a Steelers fan in Mexico. He adopted the nickname “Steel Mascaras” and attended Sunday’s game with a custom wrestling mask and jersey. He said there’s a strong international community of Black and Gold fans.
“Maybe the Cowboys are America’s team,” Nava said. “But the Steelers are the world’s team.”
First Published: September 22, 2024, 6:04 p.m.
Updated: September 23, 2024, 1:21 a.m.
