I became a became Steelers fan just after the merger. More accurately, I became a Steelers fan shortly after I became a Pirates fan. I remember watching game 5 of the 1971 World Series on a small TV in our fifth grade classroom of Mt. Vernon Elementary School. I craved more of that experience, so I started following the Steelers. I quickly learned that Steelers fans had, up until then, little cause for cheer. Soon afterward came my favorite Steelers memory. The only time my dad ever hugged me was moments after we heard The Immaculate Reception on the radio. The rest, as they say, is history.

We moved to Minnesota in 1997. One of the first things I did was seek out a place to watch Steelers games with other Steelers fans. That wasn't too challenging. I found the Starting Gate around the same time the Browns found another franchise. I volunteered to manage https://SFoMinn.com in about 2004. I look up occasionally from that during Steelers games: