The reason the Steelers have such a wide fan base is because the Steelers rule. Truly. (Ok, so my whole family’s from Pittsburgh, and we’re raised with Steeler everything from birth, but still…GO STILLERS)
I grew up in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, which is about eighty miles south of Erie, and a little to the west. All our TV channels came from Youngstown, Ohio, which meant that all the politics focused more on Ohio elections, all the local news focused on Ohio events, and all the sports news focused on Cleveland teams. Despite that, all the locals remained loyal Steelers fans. This seemed to have a lot to do with the state line, and that if I’d grown up six miles to the west, I’d have found more support for the Browns. I was born in 1969, so I also have vivid memories of when the Steelers were the lord god kings of football, with Franco Harris boasting that they were going to win “one for the thumb” in the 1980 Super Bowl (but the poor dears had to make do with only four Super Bowl rings.)
I went to Penn State Behrend in Erie (well, Harborcreek Township, anyway,) for a couple years, and when not cheering the Nittany Lions, there seemed to be that same overwhelming preference for the Steelers, whether you came from Pittsburgh itself or one of the smaller towns in western Pennsylvania. Later, when I transferred to University Park, I met a number of Eagles fans who, stranger still, said “soda” when they meant “pop”… but that’s another story…
Kelly5078—did you go to Thiel College, by any chance?
The NFL TV rules in Erie were quite bizarre to say the least. Buffalo away games got THE first priority (even over a Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland game, which I had to go to a bar and see on Season Ticket…actually was kinda fun as there were a lot of Browns fans there and finally someone to mess with!) and then if they were home, the team with the best record (I won’t gloat TOO much, but take a wild guess which one it was…).
As far as a split, I’d say it was maybe roughly equal Steelers-Browns (or maybe a touch ahead from Pittsburgh) with an odd minority of Bills fans (which makes those TV rules even stupider).
Ohh, I forgot about the fact that there were a hell of a lot of Raiders fans in Erie as well, mostly due to the fact that Fred Biletnikoff was from Erie himself.
I knew that Dickinson used to be the 'Skins training camp. It’s just that I’m a Cowboys fan and can’t understand why anyone would root for the Foreskins.
Robin