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Sunday, October 20, 2002

By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Are you ready for some football hoopla?

Mayor Tom Murphy, Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey, WTAE-TV, the H.J. Heinz Co. and the Steelers are gearing up to take advantage of the glitz that always surrounds a nationally televised "Monday Night Football" game.

Murphy and Roddey will welcome ABC broadcasters John Madden, Al Michaels and Melissa Stark at a "pep rally" in Market Square at noon tomorrow. Murphy will give the broadcasters a key to the city and will declare it "Black and Gold Day" in Pittsburgh.

The rally is being sponsored by WTAE Channel 4, which also will have a pre-game football show at 8 p.m. followed by the Steelers vs. the Indianapolis Colts at 9 p.m. at Heinz Field.

Football fans who attend the rally will have a chance to ask questions of some former Steelers players, including Dwayne Woodruff, Robin Cole and Andy Russell.

At Heinz Field, the Coca-Cola Great Hall and South Plaza will open at 6 p.m., three hours before kickoff. Stadium gates open at 7 p.m., and the Steelers are urging fans to arrive early to avoid any delays that may occur as a result of security measures at the gates.

Also prior to the game, the H.J. Heinz Co., which paid $57 million for the stadium naming rights, will sponsor what it's billing as a "Big Red Tailgate Party" at Gate B, with local chef and caterer Rania Harris. The event will feature food made with Heinz products, including something the company is calling Big Red Chili Chow.

As usual during nationally televised games on Monday nights, the Building Owners and Managers Association is asking Downtown landlords to leave the lights on in their windows, creating an unofficial "light-up night."

"We are hoping that especially those buildings that are visible from the stadium, and hopefully all the city's signature buildings, will be lighted up," said BOMA Executive Director Barbara Wise-Rau. . "If there is an event that the national media are likely to cover, we want the city to look its best."

Heinz officials are going for a special look at the U.S. Steel Tower. On two sides of the skyscraper, the windows will be left on in a way to form Heinz's well-known symbol, the keystone with "57" in the center.

Heinz occupies 2 1/2 floors in the 64-story building, with offices for 200 employees in its international division.

And then at about 8:30 p.m. comes the "piece de resistance" in terms of showmanship. Heinz will go to new heights as it stages an eight-minute fireworks display, with the pyrotechnics shot from the top of the tower. About 80 percent of the fireworks will be crimson, and the rest will be gold.

"We are trying to paint the town red," said Debbie Foster, Heinz's director of corporate communications. "We want to create some excitement. It's a salute from Heinz to the city of Pittsburgh."

Heinz also is sponsoring a contest for both amateur and professional photographers, who can win cash prizes for the best color photo of the fireworks display and the building's windows. Entries must be submitted by Nov. 15. Contest rules will be posted on http://www.heinz.com.

Back over at Heinz Field, the Jaggerz, a local band best known for its song "The Rapper," will entertain in the Great Hall from 7 p.m. to 8:40 p.m.

For the coin toss before the game, National Football League hall of famer Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers' quarterback from their glory days in the 1970s, will march out on the field as an honorary co-captain of the Steelers. It will be Bradshaw's first appearance at a Steelers' home game since his retirement.

"I think our fans will go crazy," said Steelers marketing Director Tony Quatrini, adding that video clips of Bradshaw's career as a player will be shown on the scoreboard at half-time.

Since Bradshaw retired from football, some fans have had the feeling that he has avoided coming back to Pittsburgh, but that notion is incorrect, said Quatrini.

For several years Bradshaw has been a football broadcaster on TV and is now a host on Fox Sports NFL Sunday.

"He has been so busy with his network responsibilities that he just hasn't had the time to come back to Pittsburgh," Quatrini said.

Team owner Dan Rooney added, "Terry was one of the great quarterbacks of all time, and it will be a special night to recognize him in front of all the Steelers fans."