What makes you a "Real Steeler Fan"??

[pancake]

Originally Posted by thumper

Your entire premise is wrong, as is your attempt at using the
English language. You questioned my fan fervor, and I responded
with questions of my own. But I put my level of being a Steeler zealot
up there with most, just falling short of taking it to the (excessive) level of being
buried with Steeler regalia.

Being a "real fan" means truly _knowing_ the team well, both past
and present. (But I do not believe in the need to know about the team
in terms of the non-modern era. I really don't care what the team did
when the sport was not even the same as the modern version, or the
league had so few teams, or the "NFL" did not include the AFC. I just
don't care. And any videos covering the pre-70s on TV causes me to
change the channel. I just am not interested.)

As far as "real fans" who have never seen a live game, I find it hard
to believe you can be as much a zealot having never seen the team
live, especially a game in Pgh. You get an entirely new, bolstered level
of fervor from being at a live game. You don't have to go to 100s or even
dozens of games, but you get a whole new perspective from even being
to 1 game. And, no, you don't have to be Thurston B. Howell, III to afford
attending a Steelers game. Sure, if you live far away from Pgh, it makes
attending a game more expensive and difficult. But I don't know how many
people, who have the means to be on the Internet, who truly can't afford to
ever go to any Steeler game. I mean, not even one? For real? Even those
living all the way on the west coast can still find a way to visit Pgh for once.

Try this quiz, one in which I came up with right off the top of my head.
If you can answer most of these, you must be a pretty ardent fan.

1. What Steelers' QB was featured on the cove of Sports Illustrated with
the head of "The Bomb is back in Pgh?" Bubby Bristor

2. Who made a game saving tackle on their starting HB beind
the LOS in Houston during the playoffs in the early 80s? Not sure about this one, I was really young.

3. What did Chuck Noll say about what players need to do after their
football career is over? Become actors?

4. What Oiler's back up QB beat us in the early 90s, in Houston?
Can't remember, but I do remember Warren Moon getting hurt and thinking we were going to stomp the Oilers"

5. In what way did a Bronco's defender mispronounce Merril Hoge's name
in the play offs? Can't remember, but I do remember Hoge having 100 yards rushing at halftime.

6. Since 1980, who were the handful of first round picks who were
inarguably busts for the Steelers? Huey Richardson, Stephenson (the big RT, Worley, Figures, Abercrombie

7. Name the top 2 most-productive running backs in team history. Harris and Bettis

8. Where did Yancy Thigpen go after his time with Pgh? How did he do? Tennessee and free agent.

9. Who was the only first-round Steelers draft pick from Baylor? Walter Abercrombie

10. Who is the all-time leader at WR for Pgh? Hines Ward

11. Who was the LB who held out, before free agency even existed,
and what team did he end up on after Pgh? Merriweather

12. What were the two towns that Ben was accused for sexual assault?
(Actually, I don't think knowing this makes you a fan, to be honest.)
The states Georgia and Nevada

13. What was Bill Cowher's record in his first year?
11-5

14. What surprise play did Cowher use vs. the Oilers in his first game?
Fake punt, I'm trying to remember who was the upback who ran it.

15. What two running backs from Philly did Pgh acquire since the 80s?
Which one was the more productive of the two? "Staley and I think Ernest Jackson, not for sure on this one.

16. What two teams did Tomlin coach before coming to Pgh? What
were his positions? DB coach in Tampa and DC in Minn

17. What Steeler could have competed in world class hurdle sprints? Dwight Stone?

18. Who was the largest LB in team history? Levon Kirkland #99

19. What positions did Hines Ward play in college? For what team? Georgia - RB, QB and WR

20. How tall was Weegie Thompson? " I think he was a TE, maybe a WR, and I will guess 6"4?

21. What happened in the last play of the 1995 AFCC game? Incomplete to barry foster, that is mean asking this question... lol

22. What happened to Pgh in Cowher's first AFCC game? Lost to SD, even though we dominated the game. Kicking FG...

23. What is the symbol called on the side of the Steeler logo? Hypocycloid

24. Why is the logo only on one side of the helmet? I think it was something they did at first, and decided to stick with it. I'm not sure, I need to know this... lol

25. What was the season-leading rusher for Pgh who's first name was Frankie?
(Not "Franco") No clue

26. What Steeler CB was so physical that the NFL changed coverage rules?
Blount

27. What bad decision did Eric Green make on the eve of the AFCC game
vs. San Diego? I don't remember this.

28. Who was the QB playing for Indy vs. Pgh in the 1995 AFCC game? What
famous RB was out for the game for Indy? Faulk was out, not sure who replaced him.

29. What was the name of the mammoth back for Cinci who ran over Jack
Lambert? Pete Johnson?

30. What back ran over Willie gay, in an embarrassing manner?
AP

31. Where did Big Ben go to college? Miami Ohio

32. What former college teammate/roommate did Troy Polamalu run over? Palmer

33. Name the starting middle linebackers since 1990 through present day.
Wow, this will hurt my brain. Jerry Osouski (sp), Kirkland, Little, Hinkle, Chad Brown, farrior, Foot, Timmons, the guy from the Rams, maybe Merriweather (might have been outside), K Bell still have his jersey and need to put Worilds name on it. lol, H Nickerson (sp), E Holmes... I know that I am leaving out someone that I will kick myself for...

34. What did the site of Pgh's training camp _used_ to be known for other
than being the site of Steelers' camp? What happened to it? Not sure I understand this question.

I could go on forever, but the swimming pool is calling my name. This was fun... lol

I know you can cheat and look this stuff up. But a _real_ fan wouldn't need
to.

Lets see how I did...

[Danny136200]

I don't beleive knowing the history of the team is vital to being a "real fan". But appreciating past legends is something fans should want to do. I also dont think attending games should constitute as being a "real fan". All you have to do to be a fan of a team is cheer them on whether they are 1-15 or 13-3 and prime for a deep playoff run. Cheering them on through thick and thin makes you a fan in my eyes. Just beig there, waving your terrible towel every Sunday(or Monday, or thursday, or Saturday).
I never like judging ones fandom because you don't know how big a fan they really are. In my eyes every single on of you crazies are big fans to me, whether you never went to Pittsburg or been to every single game since the team's inception. We all have differing opinions about what the team should or should not do. But I think we are all fans of this amazing team

[pancake]

I considered myself a real fan, before I ever attended a game. I just love this team...

[thumper]

Originally Posted by pancake

Lets see how I did...

OK, since you made the effort.

1. What Steelers' QB was featured on the cove of Sports Illustrated with
the head of "The Bomb is back in Pgh?" Bubby Bristor -----

Correct. Looking back, SI really over-valued how Bubby was going to
do. In hindsight, did he deserve to be on the cover? No. But, coming
off the success in the 70s, even a little hope at QB would make the
media over-react to just a little success from Bubby.

2. Who made a game saving tackle on their starting HB behind
the LOS in Houston during the playoffs in the early 80s? Not sure about this one, I was really young. -----------Rod Woodson. He made an all-out, body sell-out
tackle on Rozier, a good running back.

3. What did Chuck Noll say about what players need to do after their
football career is over? Become actors? - No, "get on with life's work."

4. What Oiler's back up QB beat us in the early 90s, in Houston?
Can't remember, but I do remember Warren Moon getting hurt and thinking we were going to stomp the Oilers" ------I thought the same thing and even got in a debate
with a friend who said, "No way does Pgh win that game in Houston. I don't
care if their back up QB is playing." I was wrong. Cody Carlson killed us.

5. In what way did a Bronco's defender mispronounce Merril Hoge's name
in the play offs? Can't remember, but I do remember Hoge having 100 yards rushing at halftime. -------------- Merril was ripping it up. One guy said "We have to stop that
Hoage (like "ho" instead of "ha.") A teammate said, "It's Hoge" and the other said, "I don't care how you say his name."

6. Since 1980, who were the handful of first round picks who were
inarguably busts for the Steelers? Huey Richardson, Stephenson (the big RT, Worley, Figures, Abercrombie -----------I agree, but some would argue Figures and Abercrombie don't belong on list since they provided __some__ production and were on the team for years. Busts are usually gone within 2 years. Others, including me, would want to add Kendell Simmons, Troy Edwards, Aaron Jones, Darryl Sims, John Reinstra and Mark Malone.

7. Name the top 2 most-productive running backs in team history. Harris and Bettis
---yep


8. Where did Yancy Thigpen go after his time with Pgh? How did he do? Tennessee and free agent. ---and he sucked for them. Huge waste of $

9. Who was the only first-round Steelers draft pick from Baylor? Walter Abercrombie
---yep

10. Who is the all-time leader at WR for Pgh? Hines Ward ---yep

11. Who was the LB who held out, before free agency even existed,
and what team did he end up on after Pgh? Merriweather --yep

12. What were the two towns that Ben was accused for sexual assault?
(Actually, I don't think knowing this makes you a fan, to be honest.)
The states Georgia and Nevada

13. What was Bill Cowher's record in his first year?
11-5 ----yes

14. What surprise play did Cowher use vs. the Oilers in his first game?
Fake punt, I'm trying to remember who was the upback who ran it. --yea.
Wasn't it one of the thinner backs we had? From Miami or Leroy Thompson?

15. What two running backs from Philly did Pgh acquire since the 80s?
Which one was the more productive of the two? "Staley and I think Ernest Jackson, not for sure on this one. ----Good one. Ernest Jackson was actually a pretty good back but that team was very bad.

16. What two teams did Tomlin coach before coming to Pgh? What
were his positions? DB coach in Tampa and DC in Minn ---bingo

17. What Steeler could have competed in world class hurdle sprints? Dwight Stone?

-----Woodson. I believe he ran track at Purdue and was world level.

18. Who was the largest LB in team history? Levon Kirkland #99 ---easy one

19. What positions did Hines Ward play in college? For what team? Georgia - RB, QB and WR ---bingo

20. How tall was Weegie Thompson? " I think he was a TE, maybe a WR, and I will guess 6"4? - WR and I believe he was 6-6

21. What happened in the last play of the 1995 AFCC game? Incomplete to barry foster, that is mean asking this question... lol ----I might be getting year wrong, you know how it is with the year of the season vs. the year the play offs and/or Super Bowl are played in. I meant the game vs. Indy. Oh, but you are right about the last play of the SD game. Seeing that made me sick for years.

22. What happened to Pgh in Cowher's first AFCC game? Lost to SD, even though we dominated the game. Kicking FG...

23. What is the symbol called on the side of the Steeler logo? Hypocycloid --yup

24. Why is the logo only on one side of the helmet? I think it was something they did at first, and decided to stick with it. I'm not sure, I need to know this... lol -----I don't know if it's just urban legend, but I heard they put it only on one side because they didn't know if they were going to like it or not, just to try it. But after a while, they decided to just keep it on one side since it became tradition, but that was not the original plan.

25. What was the season-leading rusher for Pgh who's first name was Frankie?
(Not "Franco") No clue -- Frankie Pollard. Underrated.

26. What Steeler CB was so physical that the NFL changed coverage rules?
Blount ---yup and that's saying something

27. What bad decision did Eric Green make on the eve of the AFCC game
vs. San Diego? I don't remember this. --- supposedly through a pretty wild party. THIS before they won the game, obviously.

28. Who was the QB playing for Indy vs. Pgh in the 1995 AFCC game? What
famous RB was out for the game for Indy? Faulk was out, not sure who replaced him. ---and the QB?

29. What was the name of the mammoth back for Cinci who ran over Jack
Lambert? Pete Johnson? ---yes

30. What back ran over Willie gay, in an embarrassing manner?
AP ---yes

31. Where did Big Ben go to college? Miami Ohio ----yes

32. What former college teammate/roommate did Troy Polamalu run over? Palmer
----yep

33. Name the starting middle linebackers since 1990 through present day.
Wow, this will hurt my brain. Jerry Osouski (sp), Kirkland, Little, Hinkle, Chad Brown, farrior, Foot, Timmons, the guy from the Rams, maybe Merriweather (might have been outside), K Bell still have his jersey and need to put Worilds name on it. lol, H Nickerson (sp), E Holmes... I know that I am leaving out someone that I will kick myself for...

-------------------Greene was OLB. So was Merriweather. Hinkle was OLB. Excellent job


34. What did the site of Pgh's training camp _used_ to be known for other
than being the site of Steelers' camp? What happened to it? Not sure I understand this question. -----Town that Rolling Rock was brewed. It got bought and is now brewed else where.

I could go on forever, but the swimming pool is calling my name. This was fun... lol

If you didn't cheat, you did quite well.

You are a fan even if you haven't gone to a game!

[thumper]

Originally Posted by Danny136200

I don't beleive knowing the history of the team is vital to being a "real fan". But appreciating past legends is something fans should want to do. I also dont think attending games should constitute as being a "real fan". All you have to do to be a fan of a team is cheer them on whether they are 1-15 or 13-3 and prime for a deep playoff run. Cheering them on through thick and thin makes you a fan in my eyes. Just beig there, waving your terrible towel every Sunday(or Monday, or thursday, or Saturday).
I never like judging ones fandom because you don't know how big a fan they really are. In my eyes every single on of you crazies are big fans to me, whether you never went to Pittsburg or been to every single game since the team's inception. We all have differing opinions about what the team should or should not do. But I think we are all fans of this amazing team

Understood, but if someone claims to be a fan and can't even tell you
anything about the players, who played what position, in at least the
recent history, then they aren't a fan. Not a real one. You realize what
players played because YOU CARE enough to naturally know it. If
you don't even know about the players, how much can you possibly care?
Some would say if you don't know where a player played in college or
how they were acquired by the team, you aren't a real fan. I am not
even going that far.

[SCMom]

Originally Posted by thumper

28. Who was the QB playing for Indy vs. Pgh in the 1995 AFCC game? What
famous RB was out for the game for Indy? Faulk was out, not sure who replaced him. ---and the QB?

I know this one...was the same year I started to really get into the Steelers beyond occasionally watching them. Jim Harbaugh.

I'd answer some other ones...but that would REALLY be cheating.

I don't know some of them anyway...wasn't born till '80 and a lot of that is before my time. Were my Dad and Grandpa still alive though, they would have smoked that thing lol.

[pancake]

No, I didn't cheat. That is why some of the spelling sucked...lol I like the challange of quizes.

1. I had the Sporting new (I think), that had Bubby on the cover. It said something about he wants to be the best ever...

2. You said early 80's and Woodson was drafted in 87, I think.

6. I am kicking myself over this one. Aaron Jones went to EKU, as I did. I was so excited we drafted him. At least John Jackson was a stud from EKU...

14. I don't think it was Thompson, I think he was drafted a year or two later. I was thinking a FB, but could be wrong.

17. I knew that, but Dwight "hands of " Stone popped in my head. I was thinking he had world class speed, or that could be just Myron Cope talking...lol

21... Oh, I got you now on this one. The hailmary drop, that looked like he caught it at first. There was no replay at that time, I think it came the next year.

25. How did I forget # 30 Frank Pollard

27. I don't remember this.

28. Harbaugh, who is now the coach of the 49'ers.

29. Don't remember this play, but do remember Pete Johnson fat butt.

33. I looked and Merriweather was gone in 87, so I really messed that one up. I never said Greene, but I thought Hinkle was ILB, so I screwd that one up too.
__ Who is the LB from the Rams we had? He had the saving tackle in the SB for the Rams against the Titans.

34. I understand now, you could also say Arnold Palmer too.

[The JoKeR]

When you play fantasy football and draft all Steelers players, even though you know that you're not going to get the huge numbers from the offense (and that's no offense to our offense...just a fact that it's our defense we're known for). I have one tattoo...and it's the steelers logo with black and gold "blood" to represent that I bleed black and gold. I don't judge people who say they are Steelers fans, but after talking football with them for a few minutes, it's easy to get a feel as to what kind of fan they actually are.

[thumper]

No, I didn't cheat. That is why some of the spelling sucked...lol I like the challange of quizes.

1. I had the Sporting new (I think), that had Bubby on the cover. It said something about he wants to be the best ever...

Yea, I recall Bubby saying all he needed to do was up his completion
% a few points. Mean while, he would have need a brain transplant
to become a good QB, but he couldn't have known that. Bubby was
physically talented, but just dimmer than a $2 flashlight with 3-year-old
batteries. He did look good playing for Denver that season, but he
quickly came back to earth. One of my favorite "mic" scenes from
Denver was Shannahan on the sidelines, asking Bubby "Why didn't
you throw the ball to him? He was wide open. Why would you run instead?"
And Bubby had no answer.

2. You said early 80's and Woodson was drafted in 87, I think.

You are right. 87 is NOT early 80's.

6. I am kicking myself over this one. Aaron Jones went to EKU, as I did. I was so excited we drafted him. At least John Jackson was a stud from EKU...

We had high hopes for Aaron. Just wasn't as good as advertised.

14. I don't think it was Thompson, I think he was drafted a year or two later. I was thinking a FB, but could be wrong.

Only FB on roster was Hoge. Leroy Thompson was on the team that year. I get
him mixed up with Warren Williams. Both were kind of slender backs. LT
was from PSU, WW from Miami.

17. I knew that, but Dwight "hands of " Stone popped in my head. I was thinking he had world class speed, or that could be just Myron Cope talking...lol

No, he did have crazy jets, but truly hands of stone. Didn't he have like 2
TDs that were 90+ yards and barely anything else?

21... Oh, I got you now on this one. The hailmary drop, that looked like he caught it at first. There was no replay at that time, I think it came the next year.

I had seat in that endzone but the play was too far underneath me so I couldn't
see what happened live. When the Colt stood up like he caught it, the entire
stadium went dead silent. And it wasn't an immediate group understanding
that he didn't catch it and Pgh won. It was like a 15-30 second process before
the crowd knew. Slowly the cheers came, but it didn't really sink in until they
showed Cowher with a huge grin and the body language of the players. Added
to the emotion was that we lost to SD the season before but we were clearly
the best team in the AFC and should have never lost that game. Then in comes
Indy, who was barely a .500 team (9-7?) and had injuries to many of their
best players - including Faulk and their best WR. But Indy stayed in the game the
whole time and even appeared to be the likely winner until Pgh's last drive. Harbaugh just wouldn't stop fighting. That was the year he earned the moniker,
"Capt. Comeback." He almost did it again. Even though we lost that Super Bowl
the the more-talented Cowboys, losing that AFCC game would have been
too much to stomach.

25. How did I forget # 30 Frank Pollard

Always liked Frankie

29. Don't remember this play, but do remember Pete Johnson fat butt.

Pete was like 270 lbs, back then. But backs that big only have a few
good season, with Bettis being a huge exception. No back his size had
his longevity. No one was even close.

33. I looked and Merriweather was gone in 87, so I really messed that one up. I never said Greene, but I thought Hinkle was ILB, so I screwd that one up too.
__ Who is the LB from the Rams we had? He had the saving tackle in the SB for the Rams against the Titans.

Oh that guy. He never did anything with us. Mike Jones, I think. I don't
know if he even started for us.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by The JoKeR

When you play fantasy football and draft all Steelers players, even though you know that you're not going to get the huge numbers from the offense (and that's no offense to our offense...just a fact that it's our defense we're known for). I have one tattoo...and it's the steelers logo with black and gold "blood" to represent that I bleed black and gold. I don't judge people who say they are Steelers fans, but after talking football with them for a few minutes, it's easy to get a feel as to what kind of fan they actually are.

To be fair, Pgh tends to have very few "fake fans" or "bandwagon fans"
but other teams sure do. Typically, if you call yourself a Steeler fans you
are a legit fan, from what I've seen. But Dallas fans are notorious weak
fans - so many only sport their colors when they are winning.