Why She Became a Steelers’ Fan

As part of out new partnership with Littlearth Productions, we are proud to open up our keyboards to the ladies of the Steelers’ Nation. This is the first of what we hope are many contributions from the women in Black and Gold.

Being a female NFL fan can sometimes be discouraging.  Despite what some may think, there are still those that believe football to be a man’s sport. Some think we are to live in a manly NFL world, where the men sit on the couch, while we crack open their beer and provide food and snacks for the day’s big game.

Women aren’t supposed to know what a blitz or shotgun formation is. Or that a personal foul comes with a 15 yard penalty. That may have been the case back in the day…But this is 2015. And those women that DO know football plays and jargon are considered, “a great catch”. Any football fan’s dream is to have their woman sit beside them, be it on the couch or in the stadium, cheering and bleeding the colors of their favorite NFL team.

But, being an NFL fan is so much more. You devote your heart and soul to YOUR team. You BLEED their colors through wins and losses. Firings and hiring’s of coaches, rebuilding stages, trials and tribulations.  Truth be told, you never lose faith in your team.

For me, it’s not just about being an NFL fan. When I was a little girl, I remember watching the Steelers almost every Sunday with my Father.  It was my first introduction to football. It fascinated me. I always told my Father I wanted to be a football player. (I wasn’t a small girl and I had and still do have the shoulders of a linebacker.) He would laugh and say, “Girls don’t play football, kiddo.”  But it never stopped him from throwing a football with me and it never stopped me from playing football with neighborhood boys at the park.

So for me, it’s the emotional and sentimental value and love for the game. My father loved the game and the Steelers and I’d like to think he passed that love to me… That my Father is the reason I bleed Black and Gold. He is my reason for being so passionate about football and the Steelers. For that…I am forever grateful.

Charlie

John A. Carver  01-21-1952 to 06-18-1995