Game Day.
Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland
One of the oldest rivalries in the NFL.
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| It is a beautiful day for some football! |
I wake up at 6:00 AM. I lay in my most comfortable hotel bed at the Days Inn Conference Center starring at my game day ensemble spread out on the club chair by the patio doors. The air conditioner has begun humming once again. This is for real. This is no longer just a dream. This is my reality. Today I am going to Heinz Field. Today I will witness one of the most legendary rivalries in all of football.
A list about a mile in length of things that could go wrong stream through my head. I won't even get into how ridiculous and far fetched that list becomes within a span of 60 seconds. Instead, I get out of bed and open the patio door to have a smoke. (I was so excited the nice gentleman at the desk gave us a room on the first floor with patio doors. This will be my Pittsburgh hotel from here on out!) I don't want to wake Becky. I am actually pissed I am up so early too because I know now, there is no way in hell I am falling back asleep and I don't want to be tired for the game.
I sit on the ground and light up. It is looking to be a beautiful day for some football. The rain from the previous night is all but a memory as the late summer sun starts peeking out of the early morning sky. I decide to walk to the breakfast area to get a coffee. I will wait until Becky wakes for breakfast but I am honestly afraid to eat. Don't want to risk a belly ache for the game. I don't want to pass out at the game either. The dilemma!
I grab my coffee and head back to the room. I watch the end of a movie. Knocked Up. A great, funny comedy to calm my nerves. I turn on Sportscenter because for some ungodly reason the cable company this hotel uses does not have the NFL channel. Seriously?? This is Pittsburgh right? Huge football city last time I checked. Why the f@ck would you not have the NFL channel in the NFL's most winning team's city? Obviously they missed the memo about the City of Champions!!!
Doesn't matter. I look at my game day clothes again. Another dilemma.
The night before, after our adventure in State College which I will write about in another blog, Becky and I enjoyed some shopping in a Pittsburgh Wal-Mart. Perhaps we tried on Halloween masks. Becky looks smoking as Mrs. Captain America. I decide to buy a Batgirl nightgown complete with cape! I always wanted to wear a cape. Now I can! So exciting!! Perhaps I also found a Pittsburgh Steelers dress.....with an interesting story behind it. Not sure if I am going to get into that story yet. Maybe....Maybe not. As of right now...only Becky knows the story. And it's quite funny.
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| Mrs. Captain America |
Perhaps we were a little taken aback by the sole other NFL team apparel being sold in this Pittsburgh Wal-Mart. Yea... so of course there was going to be mostly Steelers clothing being sold in this Walmart. Duh...We were by Pittsburgh. It's only natural. And I know in the Hazleton Walmart, they sell mostly Eagles and Steelers NFL clothing because they are the two major state teams. It would make sense. However, as much as I enjoy this team, it was not what I was expecting as the "secondary" team for the Pittsburgh area. It didn't make sense. I was expecting Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals gear. None of that was being had around these parts!
So...apparently there is a renegade contingency of NY Giants fans in the Pittsburgh area because that was the only other NFL team stuff being sold at this Walmart. Bill, my NY Giants fan father, would be both pleased and proud at the selection of NY Giants beer coozies, shot glasses, coffee mugs and car decals available in Western PA. Becky and I had a good laugh about it. Go Bill! Go G-Men! Anyways, I buy the Steelers dress. I decide I will wear it to the game tomorrow instead of my beloved Bettis jersey.
After some swimming in the hotel swimming pool where Becky dazzled me with her one woman synchronized swimming routine (The Olympics have no idea what great talent they were robbed of. This was a gold medal performance! So not fair!) and some room service pizza, I decide to try on my dress. I really loved it. I go to the full length mirror to take a better look. Hmmmmm.....something seems off about it. I ask Becky for her opinion. She likes it. She says I could totally pull it off. I look back in the mirror. And so it begins.....
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| The lovely hotel swimming pool where one woman synchronized swimming events are sometimes held. |
Am I really going to wear a "dress" to my first Pittsburgh Steelers game? Really? That is so girly. Thus starts another epic battle between the tom boy part of me and the girly part of me. Usually it is pretty balanced and the two live in harmony but today is one of those days where the two are in complete disagreement. I tell myself I can pull this off and who cares if I wear a dress to the game. Hello? I am a girl. Well a woman but you know what I mean. I stare over at my Bettis jersey. The guilt washes over me. I swore I would wear his jersey to my first game. I swore!
The betrayal is eating away at me. Way to go Chrissy. Way to buy a cute Steelers dress and go all girly for this big game. I stare at myself in the dress again. Dammit! I do a turn. There is something just off about this dress for some reason. I can't put my finger on it. I walk over and grab my jeans and pull them on. I walk back to the mirror. Well that looks stupid. A dress with jeans? I take the jeans off and put on my leggings. Looks better but leggings at a football game? Oh my god what am I doing to myself?? Stop it.
I take the leggings off and put the jeans back on. Poor Becky. She is engrossed in a TV show while I talk aloud about creating my own personal hell over what to wear to the game. I tie the dress up in a knot at the end to make it look like a shirt. I turn and show Becky. She laughs at how perplexed I am but says it looks good. I tell her this is what I am going with tomorrow. It is set. I also bought a Steelers baseball cap to wear although I may still do the bandana thing with my hair.
So as the morning has arrived and I look at the chair displaying my clothes, the guilt washes over me once again. I have to wear that jersey. I have to. It's a football game dammit not a high school prom!! Calm yourself. But the dress I turned into a T-shirt is so pretty!! Damn. I make an executive snap decision. F@ck it! I am wearing all of it. The jeans, the dress, the jersey! I am wearing all of it and I can just shut the hell up now.
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| The wardrobe drama |
Becky comes from the shower and sees me standing in my jeans and Bettis jersey. I decided not to go with the dress she asks. I pull up the jersey to show her I am also wearing the dress. She starts rolling. Now that that part is over, it is time to decide what to do with my head. Do I wear my new Steelers baseball cap or the yellow bandana that means golden showers or the black bandana that means BDSM. Decisions, decisions. ( Black and yellow bandanas in the gay community mean something entirely different than Pittsburgh Steelers. Who knew? LOL!) To be safe....I go with my hat.
Well now all that drama is finally over. It is almost 10 AM. Time to leave for the game.
We chat with a fellow Steelers fan in the parking lot for a few minutes. He too is going to be heading over to the stadium as well very shortly. We get recommendations on where to park. Do not try to park near the stadium. It is all reserved already and there is very little parking over there. Park downtown and take the T or the ferry over to the stadium. (What the f@ck is a T? I have no idea what that is but Becky seems to understand what he is saying so that is good.) Becky had researched all of this earlier on the internet but it was nice hearing confirmation from someone who has been there before.
We hop in the car onto the next leg of this fantastic journey. It is just the beginning.
Chrissy
The Free Spirit Bucket List Football Weekend Series
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part I: Prelude
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part II: The Morning of the Big Day
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part III: You Are Now In Steelers
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part IV: 3 Rivers Run Through It
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part V: The Mothership
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part VI: May The Lombardi Be With You
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part VII: Under The Bleachers
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part VIII: Pre-Gaming It
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part IX: Game Time
#1 Attend A Pittsburgh Steelers Game Part X: Game Over
