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NFL Films covers out-of-town Steelers fans
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Calling all Steelers fans no longer living in Pittsburgh! That's a mouthful, but there are thousands of Pittsburghers scattered around the country, also known as the Steelers Nation.
This weekend, NFL Films will be shooting a half-hour show on this fan-omenon in Jacksonville, Fla., says Harvey "Mr. Steeler" Aronson, a North Hills native who now lives there and runs the www.steelershotline.com site.
He says NFL Films will be on hand as his JAXB.A.G., or Jacksonville Black and Gold, club holds a pep rally at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Calico Jack's bar at 9551 Baymeadows Road there, in advance of the Steelers' Monday night game vs. the Jaguars. NFL Films will be shooting during tailgating and the game as well.
NFL Films senior producer Keith Cossrow, himself a native of Mt. Lebanon now working in New Jersey and living in Philadelphia, says this will be the last shoot for the piece that he's wanted to do for years and has been working on all summer. He's interviewed everyone from linguists and psychologists to TV news anchor Sally Wiggin and radio DJ Scott Paulsen, who hit a nerve with a Steelers Nation commentary during last year's Super Bowl-winning season.
Mr. Cossrow says people often remark about how well Steelers fans travel to away games, but "the truth is most of us are already there. We live around the country. And that's the hook."
He says the documentary should air sometime in November, first on ESPN and ESPN2, and then on the NFL Network. He says the Jacksonville club's super-enthusiastic casting call has "taken it to another level."
They've hustled to get the word out. Nick Nery, the Pittsburgher who helps Mr. Aronson run the new Steeler Fans United that aims to bring together the 50-plus known clubs worldwide, says, "We're trying to get a representative from each fan club there -- as many black and gold fans as possible."
They say their group's ultimate goal is to organize a Steelers fan convention somewhere.
For more, visit snu.steelershotline.com, which includes a list of clubs.
The Post-Gazette's list of clubs and gathering spots can be found at www.post-gazette.com/steelers/steelerbars.asp.
First Published September 15, 2006 12:00 am
