In a world of high-flying quarterbacks and wild shootouts, the Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to win the old-school way. A solid run game. A fierce defense. Edging out a close victory in the final moments. And they’re doing it in front of a fanbase who still appreciates that style of football.
Appearing on The Green Light Podcast hosted by former NFL defensive end Chris Long, Steelers’ CB Patrick Peterson made sure to show some love to Steelers’ Nation.
“Pittsburgh fans are, by far, some of the best fans that I’ve been around,” Peterson told Long. “They travel well. They support their team win, lose, or draw. They just love defense and football.”
Peterson signed a two-year deal with the Steelers this offseason with training camp being his first continual exposure to Steelers’ Nation. Though Pittsburgh returned to Saint Vincent College last season after missing two years due to the pandemic, the crowds this year are larger than ever. There was a record turnout for the team’s Friday Night Lights practice, almost 14,000 in the stands (to be fair, that was the first such practice since 2019; the 2022 version was rained out).
Yesterday, there was a massive crowd for the final weekend training camp practice of the year with literally every lot on campus full, forcing the staffers to open up lots that have never been used before. A section of cars, a solid ten-rows deep, had to park down a hill adjacent to the main field, something that’s never happened in the decade I’ve been attending camp. Leaving practice, there was a row of cars a mile down the road without any space to park in the field and having to line the narrow roadway to the main entrance.
But Steelers fans don’t just show up when they’re close to the city.
“When you’re at your home field and your crowd is making it tougher for your opponents,” Peterson said. “And then you travel and they’re still making it tough for the opponents. That’s a beautiful thing.”
Pittsburgh was well-represented in Tampa Bay for the preseason opener. Those in attendance said there was a huge contingent of Steelers fans helping to drown out the Buccaneers’ crowd. Pittsburgh is well-known for being one of the best road fanbases in the NFL, not because the team travels well (that’s a misnomer), but because fans are scattered all over the country. They’ll travel well again in 2023.
This year, Peterson will get to be part of something Steelers’ Nation hasn’t gotten to celebrate in nearly a decade. Pittsburgh will have a regular season opener at home for the first time since 2014 when they host the San Francisco 49ers in Week One in what should be a great litmus test for the Steelers. They’ll have back-to-back home games when they take on the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium for a primetime Monday night matchup in Week Two.
Catch the whole clip between Peterson and Long below.
