So, I’m new here and I thought I’d start off with something that still intrigues me about living in Pittsburgh for the last two years- the concept of ‘bleeding black & gold.’ Essentially, it’s a fan who is so beyond the realms of real life that they truly do believe they see life through a black and gold colored lense.
At first, the very idea of this fan, their painted faces, tail-gaiting techniques, play-off beard rituals, overwhelming abilities to drink more beer than the average person, and rather sadistic view of the Cleveland Browns, had me running for any other city in the entire country. More often than not, I stayed home alone during Steeler games, considering my unwanted dirty looks were not invited out to Carson street. I was entirely intolerable of Steeler fans, radio stations who created parodys for the team, and The Terrible Towel that inevitably waved in every resident of Pittsburgh’s hand. I avoided bleeding Black & Gold like the plague.
Yes, these are friends of mine...
‘Sixburgh,’ as they so cleverly call themselves, has made a friend of me though, because despite their lack of intelligence during football and hockey season, I realized that you cannot underestimate a Pittsburgh fan as a person. Although it may exist on a smaller level, and I feel my heart belongs somewhere else, culture does indeed thrive in the steel town. The only difference is, the Steeler’s fan doesn’t change his/her persona when they enter The Wine Loft to dine on tapas and Merlot, instead, they have created a city for themselves that revolves around who THEY are, rather than adapting to the idea of how people feel they should act.
Some of my very own friends bleed black and gold, and while I still sit at home during Steeler games and cheer silently for the Pens to win the Stanley Cup, I am a victim of drinking too much in other cities and ranting aloud to passersby about bleeding the colors that represent my city, an inevitable result of living in Pittsburgh where gin & tonics cost $5.00. To my dismay, I have crossed ever so slightly over to the dark side, which means despite my distaste for beer, Pittsburgh will always have a piece of me, for opening up my eyes, as they open up their arms to embrace the newest member of their black and gold bleeding culture.
