reppin' the steelers in phoenix

[tony hipchest]

so im in phoenix (ok, scottsdale- same difference) and of course brought a few steelers jerseys to wear.

1st stop in the morning was to pick up the local fishwrap at a convinience store early in the AM in my parker jersey.

dude in line behind me says "steelers huh"? i turn around and say "you know it" at which point he raises his leg and shows me the steelers emblem tatooed on his calf.

not 15 minutes later i was picking up a coffee in the cafeteria in the hospital i am visiting, and a hospital worker comes up to me and says "nice shirt", to which i say, "hell yeah". he says theyre still whining about it here.

a young thug who was shot three times, commented on the steelers a few hours later, as we crossed paths on the elevator.

at the sports bar later in the evening, i met a dude from butler. while he was a cardinals fan, we quickly got into a penguins conversation. a few people razzed me (gas station clerk and hospital janitor) but all in all, it is great how a common love of football can bring strangers together and get them talking.

oh, and the southwest is most definitely steelers country.