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Pittsburgh Sports Traditions · Pittsburgh Sports Memories

0:00
SPEAKER_04: Hello and welcome to another uh episode of Pittsburgh Sports Memories.
0:05
SPEAKER_04: On this uh episode, we're gonna do Pittsburgh's favorite sports traditions.
0:24
SPEAKER_04: As you know, lots of teams and cities around the country have uh their and around the world, quite frankly, have their own traditions, and uh, but I don't think none are as quite as unique or as memorable as Pittsburgh.
0:35
SPEAKER_04: And um, well, I might be not objective about that, might be a little biased since I grew up here and live here.
0:42
SPEAKER_04: But uh at least in this episode, we're gonna cover um all the different traditions that I could think of and or remember, and Tim helped me help me out.
0:51
SPEAKER_04: As usual, Tim Hannon is uh joining me.
0:53
SPEAKER_04: I'm Steve Wirt.
0:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, this should be fun because there is a lot of good good traditions when you go through Pittsburgh Sports History.
1:04
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
1:05
SPEAKER_04: So I kind of organized these into old or defunct, and I think I had current and then I have timeless.
1:13
SPEAKER_04: So we'll start with the old and defunct.
1:16
SPEAKER_04: So there um if you're younger, maybe you're one of those darn millennials we keep hearing about.
1:24
SPEAKER_04: Uh you know, you probably might not be very familiar with this.
1:28
SPEAKER_04: Um, The Steelers Polka.
1:30
SPEAKER_04: It was ripping written by a gentleman named Jimmy Pasulish.
1:34
SPEAKER_04: I I I'm my Greek is not that good, so um, I apologize to him.
1:40
SPEAKER_04: Uh he was a Greek immigrant to the United States in 1947.
1:43
SPEAKER_04: He actually changed his name to Jimmy Pol, and then he got uh he got big into radio, he ran his own radio station for a while, and uh to capitalize on the Steelers' success in the uh early to you know 70s, he uh wrote a polka called the Steelers Polka, and the song goes to the tune of the Pennsylvania polka.
2:07
SPEAKER_04: And um I'm going to play this now.
2:18
SPEAKER_06: We're from the time with the great football team.
2:22
SPEAKER_06: We cheer the Pittsburgh Stealers.
2:26
SPEAKER_06: Chuck No and Noki's friends from the team.
2:30
SPEAKER_06: Go out and get them stealers.
2:34
SPEAKER_06: Radsaw and Rocky and Franco and Lee.
2:38
SPEAKER_06: We love you, Pittsburgh Stealers.
2:42
SPEAKER_06: It's been many years in coming.
2:45
SPEAKER_06: Just keep that stealer of machinery on me.
2:52
SPEAKER_04: All right, well, you get the get the idea that it's kind of just a name check kind of polka, but it it is the Pennsylvania polka.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Um fun fun thing was um my wife's my wife's grandmother actually had that on a 45 record.
3:05
SPEAKER_04: So so we're really dating ourselves there.
3:09
SPEAKER_04: Um, you know, it's just kind of very steeler.
3:11
SPEAKER_04: Like I remember the Houston Oilers had like a country music song for theirs, so it's very uh fits the uh, you know, the kind of the um, I don't know, what would you say, the ethnicity of Pittsburgh there, at least back in the 70s, a lot of a lot of great uh polka and uh Polish people and Germans and such like their polka music.
3:28
SPEAKER_04: So good times, good times are had.
3:31
SPEAKER_04: There was a remake by a group called Gene the Werewolf.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: I'm not gonna play that because I think it's horrible, but there'll be links to all this on our on our uh website, which is uh Pittsburgh Sports Memories at what weebly.com.
3:45
SPEAKER_05: And and Steve, I I talked about this in a previous episode when we talked about the stewards of the 80s.
3:50
SPEAKER_05: It was a fun song, but man, they played it forever and all the way into like the late 80s.
3:57
SPEAKER_05: If we scored a touchdown, they would play this song.
3:59
SPEAKER_05: And it was so dated at that point, it's like it's you know, Merrill Hodge or somebody would score a touchdown and they'd be like Franco and Lin Swan, and you know, it's like those guys they never updated the tired years ago.
4:13
SPEAKER_05: Like, why are we still playing this song?
4:18
SPEAKER_04: Well, at least uh we made the lyrics easier to remember, at least.
4:22
SPEAKER_04: But um uh poor uh Jimmy Paul uh passed away in uh 2012.
4:28
SPEAKER_04: He had a pretty cool obituary in the Post Gazette.
4:31
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we'll try and link to that.
4:32
SPEAKER_04: Hopefully, it doesn't you don't get jammed up by the Post Gazette's paywall on that.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: But uh uh just to hint clear their web browser if you ever do, because the Postgazette isn't smart enough to uh figure out a way to block that.
4:44
SPEAKER_04: So see, you get tips on how to save money here on the Pittsburgh Sports Memories podcast.
4:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh move moving on, uh the Pit Victory song.
4:55
SPEAKER_04: Um, it was uh written with uh lyrics in 1916.
4:59
SPEAKER_04: Um the song has actual lyrics, and uh it has a part where it has like a whole bunch of lyrics, but at the one part it's what you're supposed to say fight pit fight, and this was written back in 1916, and it's been around forever, and it kind of stayed fight, pit, fight, until I would say the 70s, when the uh students started chanting Penn State Socks instead.
5:24
SPEAKER_04: So um, let me see if I can we'll get that to play right now.
6:14
SPEAKER_05: I miss that song.
6:16
SPEAKER_04: I miss saying that.
6:17
SPEAKER_04: I miss that part of the song.
6:18
SPEAKER_04: So what happened was that that went on for like what, twenty or thirty years, and uh in 2001, um Steve Peterson, who was athletic director at the time, got embarrassed and uh decided to demand a I guess ordered the pit band to stop playing it.
6:34
SPEAKER_04: And I assume he did this while clutching his pearls and saying, Oh my goodness, or Well I Never, you know, or something like that.
6:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and that's what they did.
6:46
SPEAKER_05: Like they actually just cut out that part of the fight song.
6:49
SPEAKER_05: They still play the fight song, but they'd cut out that dun dun dun dun dun dun dun, like they just cut out that whole part.
6:55
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
6:56
SPEAKER_04: And i I guess they figured that was undignified for a university of Pitt's stature.
7:02
SPEAKER_04: And um, you know, what a what a party pooper and yo, hey, it's better than what the uh West Virginia p fans chant at Pitt games, so Yeah, that's true.
7:13
SPEAKER_05: We we use cleaner language at least.
7:15
SPEAKER_05: And and and it's back now, right?
7:17
SPEAKER_05: They play that part of the song now, but I think now because there's no more rivalry with Penn State, it just kind of nobody ever says that anymore except us old timers.
7:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I don't know.
7:28
SPEAKER_04: I mean it's uh I I whatever.
7:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, who cares?
7:34
SPEAKER_04: Let let let the students have their fun.
7:36
SPEAKER_04: But um anyway, uh another defunct tradition in uh Pitt.
7:42
SPEAKER_04: And Pitt doesn't have very many like traditions that you know are longstanding, but unfortunately that's one of them that uh went away.
7:51
SPEAKER_04: Um another one that um I guess this is like just an up.
7:55
SPEAKER_04: It was kind of like an update.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: You were complaining about the updated ver the Steelers Polka.
8:00
SPEAKER_04: Well, in 1994, a gentleman named Roger Wood uh wrote the song Here We Go Steelers, and um it's pretty much the same song all the time, but this time instead of like the Franco and Harris, they updated it.
8:14
SPEAKER_04: It's not a polka, it's like a more of a modern song, and it's it they would just update the names.
8:21
SPEAKER_04: And I just I remember them updating the names because at one part they say, you know, get three points off of Anderson slash Johnson slash Boswell's toe, you know, and all the other kicker, I guess it was Reed and you know Peterson and whoever else we had as a kicker.
8:40
SPEAKER_04: But uh, I think I have that one.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: Let me see.
8:47
SPEAKER_04: Oh man.
8:49
SPEAKER_04: Here we go.
8:52
SPEAKER_04: This is the most well not really, you'll hear why.
8:57
unknown: There we go.
8:59
unknown: Here we go.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: It's best on the football.
9:04
unknown: There we go.
9:05
SPEAKER_02: Cheer the Steelers, back in a goal.
9:08
SPEAKER_02: Here we go.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: It's kind of Pittsburgh's heart and soul.
9:12
SPEAKER_02: Here we go.
9:13
SPEAKER_02: The Steeler nation has the best fans.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: We are from Pittsburgh, the six times Super Bowl.
9:20
SPEAKER_02: Here we go.
9:29
unknown: Stealers, here we go.
9:32
SPEAKER_03: Pittsburgh's gone to the Super Bowl.
9:35
SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
9:36
SPEAKER_03: Coach Tom Lynn is ready to win.
9:39
SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
9:40
SPEAKER_03: With Johnson, Juju, Claypool and Ben.
9:43
SPEAKER_03: Here we go.
9:44
SPEAKER_03: We'll go to Connor when we need a touchdown.
9:47
SPEAKER_03: And if you get in his way, he's gonna knock you around.
9:52
SPEAKER_05: I had no idea they were still making this.
9:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and and the best part is they're gonna have to change it again because that's still a Connor in it.
9:59
SPEAKER_04: So as of this is 2021, they'll have to go to Harris.
10:03
SPEAKER_04: Najee Harris will knock you around, I guess.
10:05
SPEAKER_04: So this guy's like gonna be in business forever.
10:09
SPEAKER_04: So uh in 2005, they actually had to change the lyrics because it used to be this will be the year we win the one for the thumb.
10:17
SPEAKER_04: And they had to change it because we won one for the thumb.
10:19
SPEAKER_04: And I guess if I let the sound play the whole way through, it says that we're gonna win one for the other thumb now.
10:26
SPEAKER_04: So nice.
10:27
SPEAKER_05: That gives you some space there.
10:29
SPEAKER_05: You don't have to change it for a while.
10:31
SPEAKER_05: It's very smart, very practical.
10:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, this song was so polarizing, Steve.
10:36
SPEAKER_05: I mean, and and it's kind of faded now.
10:37
SPEAKER_05: I don't I like I said, I had no idea they were still making it.
10:40
SPEAKER_05: I I would say it's it's definitely not as part of the consciousness as it used to be.
10:47
SPEAKER_05: But do you remember like in the 90s especially?
10:49
SPEAKER_05: I felt like that song was so polarizing.
10:51
SPEAKER_05: Like people were either either loved it or hated it.
10:55
SPEAKER_04: I only I I don't remember anybody hating it, but I remember like uh a guy we uh remember Seth we went to high school with, he was a Browns fan.
11:05
SPEAKER_04: And uh and and I I remember like I had the I gave him a ride somewhere and they came on and I remember like blasting like my radio just to just to be annoying.
11:15
SPEAKER_04: But you know me, uh I'm ever the pot stirrer, I guess.
11:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh but uh yeah, I guess the Roger uh will be there in uh business forever there until he doesn't want to make these anymore.
11:32
SPEAKER_04: But I don't hear like you used to hear it on like B94 or what would it be, like Star 100.7 or 96.1.
11:38
SPEAKER_04: Not that I don't really listen to 96.1 anymore.
11:41
SPEAKER_04: I guess I'm too old for that.
11:42
SPEAKER_04: So I don't know if they still play that or what yeah, I I I have not heard it a lot.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: That's true.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
11:49
SPEAKER_04: I mean, who listens to the radio?
11:50
SPEAKER_04: Everybody listen to Pause.
11:51
SPEAKER_05: That's right, that's what they should be doing.
11:53
SPEAKER_05: Especially this one.
11:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
11:57
SPEAKER_04: Um another another great uh thing of the tradition of the past was uh and this kind of is current, but not really.
12:05
SPEAKER_04: I I still listen to it as like old.
12:07
SPEAKER_04: I always consider it kind of old or not done anymore.
12:10
SPEAKER_04: Playing We Are Family.
12:13
SPEAKER_04: So uh it's it was the late 70s, it was the disco baby.
12:17
SPEAKER_04: I was like four years old, Tim was like what, two maybe one.
12:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh platform shoes were in style, disco stew was boogieing down, and studio four, uh studio 54 was uh wrapping up its run.
12:34
SPEAKER_04: Meanwhile, on the on the baseball season uh of the 79, the pirates were uh nine games out of first place, and uh all that changed when Willie Stargeel uh made the team song We Are Family by Sister Sledge, and our good old Pirates boogieed all the way to a World Series win.
12:54
SPEAKER_07: We are family.
12:58
SPEAKER_07: I've got all my sisters with me.
13:03
SPEAKER_07: We are family.
13:11
SPEAKER_04: Fun facts about Sister Sledge is um they're an RB quartet of actual sisters, Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy.
13:19
SPEAKER_04: They're all from Philadelphia.
13:21
SPEAKER_04: Uh this was their biggest hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Pop Charts and number one on the RB charts.
13:26
SPEAKER_04: That's my best Casey Case in there.
13:29
SPEAKER_04: Uh and they they actually sang the national anthem in front of 45,000 people in Three River Stadium at the opener, I think, the following season.
13:36
SPEAKER_04: So and the song is briefly played after Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch at PNC Park.
13:44
SPEAKER_04: After they play, you'll hear it like ever so briefly, but they don't play it very long.
13:48
SPEAKER_04: So I guess it's still kind of around, but not really.
13:53
SPEAKER_05: That song, I mean, uh unlike some of the future ones which we're gonna talk about on this list, it that was really associated with one team, that 79 team.
14:01
SPEAKER_05: Like like you really it was never associated with any of the other teams.
14:05
SPEAKER_05: Not that any other teams ever won anything after that, but but had the pirates, even those teams they had in the early 90s, like that song just wasn't associated with the with those teams.
14:14
SPEAKER_05: It was always that 79 team.
14:15
SPEAKER_05: So I I think that's kind of where it'll forever stay.
14:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean it's definitely um like some of the other ones you'll see on this list, like are should we say borrowed or we'll say shared.
14:30
SPEAKER_04: We'll be nice, shared with other cities and such.
14:33
SPEAKER_04: So um you'll see kind of like that as we go on that uh maybe not all these traditions are uniquely Pittsburgh completely, but um we've kindly put our own twist on it and made it our own.
14:44
SPEAKER_04: Um, I don't remember if anybody will remember this except for me, but I remember this.
14:49
SPEAKER_04: Um in Three River Stadium after the Pirates would win, um, the scoreboard would play um that last clip from the Wizard of Oz here.
14:57
SPEAKER_04: I I actually have this one here.
15:02
SPEAKER_07: Oh, Eddie M.
15:05
SPEAKER_07: There's no place like hope.
15:10
SPEAKER_04: Okay, and it it would always like I always thought that was I don't know my my ten year old self thought that was pretty cool.
15:17
SPEAKER_04: Because like then it would put like the end, like they'd have the like little the end credit and the music from The Wizard of Oz.
15:23
SPEAKER_04: So it was just a cool way to end a uh pirate game.
15:26
SPEAKER_04: I I I do have they now they play some like pirate song at the end of the game that uh I did not include on our list of traditions because I don't think it's all that great of a tradition.
15:38
SPEAKER_05: But if it's a song that they only play after a win, then I'm guessing you probably don't hear it a whole lot these days.
15:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, probably not.
15:49
SPEAKER_04: Another another great uh thing they used to kind of do at the uh at the Pirates game was um now this you might have heard more, I don't know, but the pirates were good back then, so um if the pirates were down a couple runs late in the game, like before the ninth inning, I also remember the scoreboard playing, and this was a heavily edited version of this of uh Bluto's speech from Animal House by John Belushi.
16:12
SPEAKER_04: And I cannot include a clip of this because there is a lot more swearing in it than I remember.
16:18
SPEAKER_04: I I I I was watching as I was prepping for that, I was like, wow, there's a lot of swearing in this.
16:25
SPEAKER_04: But it's still the funniest line is you know, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
16:29
SPEAKER_04: And he's like, What?
16:30
SPEAKER_04: It's like don't stop him, he's on a roll, you know.
16:33
SPEAKER_04: But uh but just a classic speech by John Belushi, who's definitely the uh funnier Belushi than uh than Jim Belushi, but um it maybe not as successful as uh some as Renegade later on there, but um hey, it couldn't have hurt, right?
16:56
SPEAKER_04: Do you remember either of those Tim at all from from the games at all?
17:01
SPEAKER_05: I don't remember the Wizard of Oz thing.
17:03
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I don't remember the Wizard of Oz thing, but I I vaguely remember Animal House.
17:08
SPEAKER_05: Because I because at the time I didn't really know what that movie was.
17:11
SPEAKER_05: You know, I I think I might have known who John Belushi was, but I I didn't know I'd never seen Animal House.
17:18
SPEAKER_05: So I remember thinking like I don't know what that is, but seems kind of funny.
17:23
SPEAKER_04: Because it was just like him yelling, let's do it.
17:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
17:27
SPEAKER_04: So well, that's the uh moving on to the uh stuff that is currently going on with the old buckos here, or not buckos, but traditions.
17:37
SPEAKER_04: But the first one is a pirate tradition that they've we'll say share with a couple other teams in baseball.
17:44
SPEAKER_04: So in 1999, the pirates started having people in pierogi costume costumes race around the outfield track, just in case anybody's confused, those aren't like like somehow genetically engineered pierogis with legs, that there's people inside those costumes.
17:59
SPEAKER_04: So it's become a hit, uh, an instant hit, and it's become a tradition ever since.
18:05
SPEAKER_04: Um, just in case you were curious what the names of the pierogies were there's uh potato peat, jalapeno Hannah, uh cheese chester, sauerkraut saw, and Oliver, the highly intelligent Oliver Onion, and Bacon Burt and Pizza Penny.
18:22
SPEAKER_04: And I think bacon burt and pizza penny are kind of new.
18:27
SPEAKER_04: And uh Potato Pete is retired because he I guess he cheats too much, but he had to come out of retirement because uh I forget what year, I think it was in 2015 or 2014, uh the Cheese Chester broke their foot during a race, and uh the pirates actually literally put them on a 15-day disabled list.
18:48
SPEAKER_04: And uh Cheese Chester had to go to Altuno for rehab.
18:51
SPEAKER_04: I'm not making that up.
18:52
SPEAKER_04: He literally ran uh ran a race against uh some other thing they do in Altuno.
18:59
SPEAKER_04: So uh Chiechester, I don't know if he won his rehab race or not, or what place, but the pirates uh reactivated him from the disabled list and uh Potato Pete went back into the uh freezer.
19:11
SPEAKER_04: They locked him in a freezer because he was cheating too much.
19:14
SPEAKER_04: So um like I said, uh if you remember, um there they race uh sausages in Milwaukee and they race presidents in uh Washington for the Nationals.
19:26
SPEAKER_04: And uh of course the infamous incident in you know Milwaukee or Randall Simon hit the top of a sausage.
19:34
SPEAKER_04: There's not really a person's head there, but the Milwaukee DA totally overreacted to that.
19:39
SPEAKER_04: But um, I guess the pier's go up to Milwaukee, and I don't know if they return the favor and come back here and they race, you know, if there's like a home at home or how they work the scheduling on that, but um the pier's race the sausages and they also race the uh presidents.
19:56
SPEAKER_04: And uh I think in Washington Teddy Roosevelt never wins.
19:59
SPEAKER_04: Is that the there's there's one of the presidents who never wins in that that race, so I I don't know.
20:05
SPEAKER_04: Um I do remember this distinctly is uh when I went to the military bowl in 2015 between Pitt and Navy, they um had the um progies and the presidents race each other at halftime.
20:18
SPEAKER_04: So like they ran all the way across the football field.
20:21
SPEAKER_04: Nice.
20:22
SPEAKER_04: And I don't remember I I think I think one of the pros did win that race.
20:27
SPEAKER_04: And um and I really tried really hard.
20:29
SPEAKER_04: I really did do about five different Google searches on this, and I could not find a uh statistics on which pierogi is the all-time wins leader.
20:37
SPEAKER_04: So I don't know like what good is the internet if you don't have that information.
20:42
SPEAKER_04: That's the kind of I mean, I'm not looking for like the boiling point of water at sea level here.
20:46
SPEAKER_04: I want to know which pierogi is the all-time wins leader in P in pierce history, right?
20:53
SPEAKER_04: And you know somebody's tracking it somewhere.
20:57
SPEAKER_04: I couldn't find it.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: If somebody finds it, please let me know because I would love to know like who is the all-times win leader.
21:04
SPEAKER_04: It's probably I think it's Oliver Onion because he's highly intelligent.
21:08
SPEAKER_04: So but uh I mean that's just always good fun and it's very Pittsburgh.
21:16
SPEAKER_04: And you know, I've run into people who didn't know what a pierogi was.
21:22
SPEAKER_04: Have you ever had that?
21:23
SPEAKER_05: Like I like how do you not know?
21:25
SPEAKER_05: Well, I mean, if you've never I mean, I I've and and that's kind of a unique food because I've run into people that don't know what like a hoagie is, you know, but they know what a sub is.
21:34
SPEAKER_05: Like they have different names for it than we have locally.
21:36
SPEAKER_05: But I but yeah, I mean pierogi, I mean it's it's one of those foods.
21:40
SPEAKER_05: I don't know if it's a that common.
21:41
SPEAKER_05: I mean, how many restaurants, how many chain restaurants can you go to?
21:44
SPEAKER_05: Ones that are like are over the country, like Applebee's.
21:47
SPEAKER_05: How many how many chain restaurants can you go to and order pierogies?
21:52
SPEAKER_04: Well, you know what they they they call it a wonton, which is really just a you know uh a Japanese pierogi.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: Chinese broken.
22:01
SPEAKER_04: Basically.
22:02
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's it's meat wrapped in dough, you know.
22:04
SPEAKER_04: It's it's it's not that revolutionary.
22:07
SPEAKER_04: I mean it I guess it is to some people.
22:09
SPEAKER_04: And Mrs.
22:10
SPEAKER_04: T's, I didn't realize Mrs.
22:11
SPEAKER_04: T's is a regional brand.
22:13
SPEAKER_04: I didn't know.
22:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's that's what I'm saying.
22:14
SPEAKER_05: I don't I don't think it's I don't think that's a food that uh it doesn't surprise me, I guess is what I'm saying.
22:20
SPEAKER_04: Well, yeah, we had some friends from Michigan and we're like, oh yeah, you want pierogies, and they're like, what's a pierogi?
22:24
SPEAKER_04: And me and my wife looked at me like, What?
22:26
SPEAKER_04: Huh?
22:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean now there's people I've come across people that didn't know what wedding soup was.
22:32
SPEAKER_05: I mean, there's all kinds of things that you just think that I've eaten that my whole life here in Pittsburgh, and so everybody else would probably know what that is, and they don't always.
22:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I'm not sure what uh what was going on there.
22:50
SPEAKER_04: So um next uh up uh another tradition that's um I guess this is more recent.
22:56
SPEAKER_04: So uh Justin Acherno was the directed of director of ticket marketing for pit football in 2008.
23:03
SPEAKER_04: And you talk about a tough job.
23:04
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
23:05
SPEAKER_04: I mean that's right up there with uh you know, I don't know what's a tough job, nuclear scientist, I don't know.
23:12
SPEAKER_04: I mean genetics, some sort of genetic neurology, I mean something you're really smart to do that.
23:18
SPEAKER_04: So he brainstormed with some fans and came up with an idea of playing the 1970 hit song by uh Neil Diamond, Sweet Caroline in between the third and fourth quarters.
23:28
SPEAKER_04: And this would be um they they actually put the lyrics up so people knew to sing along.
23:34
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I was there the first time they did, and everybody was kind of confused, but I would say within like a minute, everybody kind of jumped in and started singing along with it.
23:44
SPEAKER_04: But um, so and they replaced um the one party goes bum bum bum with let's go pit.
23:51
SPEAKER_04: So I mean it's it's pretty cool.
23:54
SPEAKER_04: Um Pitt actually played the song for a first time in a home football game, and they were actually losing the Buffalo at that point, and Pitt came back and won the game 27 to 16.
24:05
SPEAKER_04: So that entrenched it there.
24:08
SPEAKER_04: Um, I remember one time I was at a wedding and they played Sweet Caroline, and everybody chanted the let's go pit and go pit go at part.
24:16
SPEAKER_04: So that was that was pretty cool.
24:18
SPEAKER_04: Um unfortunately in 2016, another like much like Steve Pierce and another athletic director got too smart for their own good, Heather Like changed it from being played after the third quarter to any time during the game.
24:32
SPEAKER_04: And um now they the official word is this is to anytime they felt student uh fan engagement was lacking or the team needed a boost, like they tried to try and make it into like a renegade type thing, but the real reason was we were all being punished because uh because we all uh there was a game against Oklahoma State, actually Mason Rudolph was the quarterback where they were like beating Pitt by like 40 points by the by the halftime, and everybody left after Sweet Caroline in the third quarter.
25:06
SPEAKER_04: You know, in between the third and you know, I guess Heather didn't like that.
25:10
SPEAKER_05: So people would have definitely stuck around.
25:12
SPEAKER_05: Had you um you know played it in the fourth quarter?
25:16
SPEAKER_04: Like to an empty stadium with like whatever amount of Oklahoma State fans were left, you know.
25:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's overthinking that one a little bit.
25:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
25:28
SPEAKER_04: Other teams use this song.
25:29
SPEAKER_04: This is another like shared tradition.
25:31
SPEAKER_04: The most nobly, the Boston Red Sox, which kind of makes me but you know, it's a the pit one, I I don't know.
25:38
SPEAKER_04: I like I like the pit version.
25:40
SPEAKER_05: So did we have it first or did they?
25:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think they they probably had it first.
25:48
SPEAKER_05: Okay, so so your marketing director that's all smart maybe kind of just reused an idea that the Boston Red Sacks already had.
25:57
SPEAKER_05: Is that what you're saying?
25:58
SPEAKER_04: Well, I don't know if he's all smart.
25:59
SPEAKER_04: I just said he had a tough job.
26:02
SPEAKER_04: You compare him to a nuclear scientist.
26:08
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's a tough job.
26:10
SPEAKER_04: I mean, doesn't mean you're good at it.
26:12
SPEAKER_04: I mean, the guy that was running Chernobyl had a tough job.
26:15
SPEAKER_04: Doesn't mean he was good at it.
26:20
SPEAKER_04: It still doesn't make the job any easier.
26:24
SPEAKER_04: Uh touchy.
26:28
SPEAKER_04: But uh nuclear accidents aside, and I mean I could say, you know, it's like selling, you know, ice to, you know, I want to say, you know, Inuits, but equity.
26:39
SPEAKER_04: I'm just gonna say ice to Eskimos or Cold to you know Africa or whatever, you know, up there with that.
26:43
SPEAKER_04: But um moving on, uh the the song Renegade, we've mentioned it a couple times.
26:48
SPEAKER_04: This has definitely become a huge Pittsburgh tradition, and this is still they still play this at the games right today, right?
26:54
SPEAKER_05: Yes.
26:55
SPEAKER_05: Well, when there's people there again, hopefully they will.
26:59
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
26:59
SPEAKER_04: Let me see.
27:00
SPEAKER_04: Uh Renegade, um, it's a Sticks songs.
27:03
SPEAKER_04: Um, they have like a little video they play to get the fans and the players hyped up during the game.
27:09
SPEAKER_04: Um, the song actually peaked in 1979 at 16 on the Billboard charts.
27:15
SPEAKER_04: And um, and it's the last song that is normally played at a Sticks concert.
27:20
SPEAKER_04: Um, so it was never really that big of a hit.
27:22
SPEAKER_04: It just kind of like take taking on a life of its own because of like the Steelers being so popular.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: I would say the opposite is of like selling steeler tickets.
27:33
SPEAKER_04: If you're the director of steeler ticket marketing, it would be the easiest job in the world.
27:38
SPEAKER_04: It's the opposite of pit ticket marketing.
27:41
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's just like, hey, do you want some steeler tickets?
27:44
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
27:46
SPEAKER_04: And there's like millions of people who want them, you know, so that's a pretty easy sell there.
27:53
SPEAKER_04: Um and I here's a uh little clip of the um renegade song.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law.
28:12
SPEAKER_01: Lawman is put an end to my running, and I'm so far from my home.
28:23
SPEAKER_01: Oh mama, I can hear you a crystal scan of the man is coming down.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: from the gallows and I don't have that religion finally found me.
28:48
SPEAKER_07: You had it late, straight for a mounting, nevermore to go astray.
29:01
SPEAKER_04: Okay, yeah, if that didn't get you pumped up for the uh Steelers defense to go on the field, nothing will.
29:07
SPEAKER_04: Um The Pens actually played their a version of well, it's still Renegade, but they put like their highlights before the stadium series against the Flyers.
29:17
SPEAKER_04: What do you remember what year was that when they played in Heinz Field?
29:20
SPEAKER_05: Was that uh Um I was at that game, I want to say 2018, some somewhere around there.
29:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
29:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
29:26
SPEAKER_04: And they they actually I guess because the Steelers they and they had like I have a video of that, but it's like a fan video.
29:33
SPEAKER_04: So I'm not gonna share that one because it's just like a bunch of fans like yelling and screaming.
29:38
SPEAKER_04: But it's pretty pretty cool.
29:41
SPEAKER_04: Um uh would you say that I I've heard you say this before, judicious use of this song.
29:46
SPEAKER_04: You know, it's an important talk about a you know, uh an important job, at least.
29:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, outside of you know engineering, you know, running a nuclear power plant is probably running the uh deciding when to play renegade in a Steeler game.
30:00
SPEAKER_04: Because I mean you you could decide the outcome of the game.
30:05
SPEAKER_05: It it yeah, you you there were there were a few times where they um they played it and had like magical powers.
30:13
SPEAKER_05: And I and I want to say that 2008 season was probably one of the ones I mean I they played it they were playing Baltimore at home and uh we were down by two scores and they played it and and Lamar Woodley got like a fumble return touchdown right after that on defense.
30:31
SPEAKER_05: They played it uh the Dallas game that year where the St.
30:35
SPEAKER_05: Townsend picked off Tony Romo in the final seconds, pick six to win the game, and then the AFC championship where Tori picked off Flacco.
30:42
SPEAKER_05: I mean, there was definitely some it had like magical powers at that point.
30:47
SPEAKER_05: And then into the next decade when the defense was kind of not anywhere near where it had been, you know, they'd play it and everybody'd be on their feet and screaming, and then like the other team would just kind of drive down the field and get like a bunch of first downs and score a touchdown, and it'd be like, oh.
31:04
SPEAKER_04: So you know mama, no.
31:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean it it's it's definitely a good like it when you're at the game, you know it's coming because they they turn off the scoreboards, like usually they have ads and stuff going, and everything gets like dark uh on the screens.
31:21
SPEAKER_05: Everything like the everything just turns off, and everybody just starts rising to their feet because they know that means renegade's coming.
31:28
SPEAKER_05: And and it's it just it it like jacks up the whole crowd.
31:32
SPEAKER_05: And it's I I was I was in favor of retiring it.
31:36
SPEAKER_05: I have been in favor of retiring it, but I at this point I'm kind of okay keeping it around just because it's fun.
31:42
SPEAKER_05: It just doesn't have the magic that it used to have, and it's kind of like that Steelers polka song where yeah, it didn't have didn't like name players from that era, it wasn't like Aaron Smith and James Ferrier, like it didn't have their names in the song like the polka song, but it has that same kind of thing where it's like, yeah, this this was really about those teams and those defenses.
32:01
SPEAKER_05: Um so I don't know.
32:03
SPEAKER_05: I I'm kind of ambivalent at this point because it's still a fun song and it and it really gets the crowd going, really gets the players going.
32:10
SPEAKER_05: It's it's it's fun.
32:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I I say I think it's single-handedly responsible for the trip to Super Bowl 43, because it's you know definitely and I wonder if Tony Romo predicted his interception before he threw it to the Shea Towns.
32:26
SPEAKER_04: Like, yeah, I'm gonna I think I'm gonna throw a pick right to the Shea Towns in here.
32:30
SPEAKER_05: Well, a fun fact about that play is he actually mocked the Steelers' defense called a timeout before that play.
32:37
SPEAKER_05: And he like was uh couldn't believe it.
32:40
SPEAKER_05: He was saying like to the the players, you guys call it a timeout because Dallas was trying to drive in the final seconds the game was tied.
32:46
SPEAKER_05: And he's like, Why would you call a timeout?
32:49
SPEAKER_05: Dummies, and then he threw a pick six on the next play.
32:53
SPEAKER_04: Well, who's the dummy now?
32:56
SPEAKER_04: I guess the guy making six figures to like watch a football game.
33:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:03
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
33:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, he's really dumb.
33:05
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, he's what an idiot that guy is.
33:08
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
33:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
33:12
SPEAKER_04: Um, moving on from uh an analyst turn golfers slash quarterbacks.
33:18
SPEAKER_04: Um with the penguins, our first penguins won.
33:22
SPEAKER_04: The penguins uh goal songs, and they've had a few of them that I can remember.
33:27
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if they had any back in the 70s or what they were, but um, I don't even remember any in the 80s.
33:33
SPEAKER_04: I was I didn't go to very many.
33:34
SPEAKER_04: I went to a few penguins games, but not that many.
33:38
SPEAKER_04: But I remember um Blur Song 2.
33:41
SPEAKER_04: It's like woo-hoo, people call it the woo-hoo song.
33:44
SPEAKER_04: And uh Liverpool Football Club has that as a goal song.
33:48
SPEAKER_04: A lot of teams use that song.
33:51
SPEAKER_04: I I I I guess I don't know why they well, I know why they changed to this song.
33:56
SPEAKER_04: Now, the song they had before that in the 90s was uh a song by Gary Glitter, and it's called Rock and Roll Song Part 2.
34:04
SPEAKER_04: And most people just call it the hay song.
34:07
SPEAKER_04: We'll uh here we'll play a little bit of that song for you now.
34:28
SPEAKER_04: Alright, uh, yeah, that's uh Gary Glitter.
34:31
SPEAKER_04: Um this song, his part two song really wasn't that big of a hit.
34:35
SPEAKER_04: It was uh they're a British band, and um it until it became a goal song in the NHL and minor league hockey games, and it was like really played by everybody, that that hay song.
34:46
SPEAKER_04: And um this Gary Glitter had quite the little like cottage industry out of just like you know, all these teams playing the song.
34:53
SPEAKER_04: I guess he got rights.
34:55
SPEAKER_04: But um unfortunately uh Gary Glitter had a um a uh what I don't know how to put it.
35:01
SPEAKER_04: He he got himself in some trouble with uh underage uh people doing uh not very nice things.
35:07
SPEAKER_04: Um so uh the NHL actually banned his song from being used.
35:12
SPEAKER_04: You're not allowed to play that as a goal song in the NHL.
35:14
SPEAKER_04: So that's I mean, that's probably big that and the scandal was a big reason that the penguins had to switch to blur song too.
35:23
SPEAKER_04: So after that, the uh penguins went to uh Andrew WK Party Hard, and that was from like 2015 to 2019, and I think people really liked that, and um but but then they switched in 2019 to Jump Around for some reason.
35:40
SPEAKER_04: I don't know why, maybe they just don't have for four years, but then they brought it back because I guess everybody liked that Andrew WK song, so I I don't know.
35:49
SPEAKER_04: Uh I I I I always remember more of the Hay song after goals than the uh you know House of Pain song, but or or you know Andrew WK.
36:02
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I I remember that too.
36:04
SPEAKER_05: That was that was that was a shame that that went away, and and I know why it didn't make sense, but it's still a shame that it went away because that's the song that I think a lot of Penns fans will always associate with the team more so than any of the other ones, like you said.
36:18
SPEAKER_04: And and a fun thing, and an interesting thing is like you don't hear that song at all, except I went and saw the movie Joker with Joaquin Phoenix, and in that movie they have a clip where he like dances around like as the Joker, like when he's like descending into his like madness to the hay song, and I couldn't believe they played it during the movie because I imagine they had to pay Gary Glitter for that.
36:44
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you can't just use a song.
36:46
SPEAKER_04: I I mean that I could when it was happening, I said I can't believe they're doing this, but hey, that I mean he really like stuck it to him, so he could have like retired off that money, you know.
36:59
SPEAKER_04: But uh, you know, his loss is Andrew WK's gain, I guess.
37:05
SPEAKER_04: So staying with the uh penguins theme, um the Sid uh uh these are more Sidney Crosby superstitions.
37:16
SPEAKER_04: Um he wears the uh he he's been he always does this, he wears the same hat for post-game interviews and practice, and like um you can look at like has like all kinds of like sweat stains and stuff on it.
37:28
SPEAKER_04: And there's actually was an interesting story.
37:30
SPEAKER_04: The one year he had um gotten Sid was supposed to have a meeting with like I guess like kids that are like had you know illnesses like cancer and such, and he had gotten sick and hadn't made it.
37:41
SPEAKER_04: And the one kid he was supposed to hang out with in bowl um gave a hat, and the hat made it to Sid, and Sid made that his hat for the whole season.
37:51
SPEAKER_04: And you can see like it'd be funny if you could do like like a progression from like October to whatever they're out of the playoffs, like the deterioration of that hat.
38:01
SPEAKER_04: But um, it's always something I always thought was pretty interesting.
38:04
SPEAKER_04: It's uh pretty gross, but um, like I said, I have my pirates hat and I've had this for like 10 years, and I kind of in the same situation was said, I'm kind of superstitious about it.
38:13
SPEAKER_04: So I always think it kind of brings me good luck.
38:16
SPEAKER_04: So although I haven't won any uh, you know, Stanley Cups or anything, but uh you know, yeah, yeah, you never know.
38:26
SPEAKER_04: You never know.
38:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh um touching the Prince of Wales trophy, which is an interesting one.
38:33
SPEAKER_04: Um, the Prince of Wales trophy is awarded to the team that wins the Eastern Conference and makes the Stanley Cup finals.
38:40
SPEAKER_04: Um most teams have a superstition of not touching it, but um the Penguins in 91 and 92, uh, Mario and all the guys like were totally all over the Prince of Wales trophy, and they won the cup final both times.
38:55
SPEAKER_04: So in 2008, um Crosby stuck with the tradition of not touching it, and of course, they lost in the final that year.
39:05
SPEAKER_04: So in the next year, when they went back and they touched the cup, they touched the Prince of Wales trophy, and of course, that's the memorable run where you know Mark Arnold makes the save in game seven.
39:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we I think we yes, we covered that season in a uh pod uh previous podcast.
39:23
SPEAKER_04: So but uh it's become now, I guess it's a penguin tradition to always touch the Prince of Wales trophy.
39:30
SPEAKER_04: So um uh fun fact about the Prince of Wales trophy, it's actually named after Edward the Eighth, the King of England, for like one year.
39:39
SPEAKER_04: He was the Prince of Wales in 1925 when the trophy was created.
39:43
SPEAKER_04: And then even more fun fact about Edward VIII was he was a Nazi sympathizer who abdicated the crown to marry a socialite from Baltimore named Wallace Simpson.
39:52
SPEAKER_04: So if you haven't tell, I've uh watched a lot on the crown.
39:56
SPEAKER_05: So that was a that was part of the plot line in that um King's speech movie, too.
40:03
SPEAKER_05: Because that's why that's why George became king was because his brother advocated.
40:08
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's why we have Queen Elizabeth now, because if that never would have happened, right?
40:13
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if him and Wallace Simpson would have had any kids, but oh well.
40:18
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's enough about British uh monarchy, I guess.
40:22
SPEAKER_04: The British monarchy part of our podcast is now over.
40:27
SPEAKER_04: You'll learn about Henry the Henry VIII later.
40:32
SPEAKER_04: Um now we're gonna go to the timeless ones.
40:35
SPEAKER_04: These are the ones that are probably gonna be around for long after I have shuffled off this mortal coil.
40:40
SPEAKER_04: Tim might still be here to uh to share to doing the podcast, but um these ones are uh probably some of my favorites, and um this is one of my personal favorites.
40:50
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if a lot though a lot of people know about this, but it's one of my personal favorites.
40:54
SPEAKER_04: I just I kind of have a personal connection with this.
40:57
SPEAKER_04: Um the the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland is a tall skyscraper, it's 535 feet tall and it has 42 stories.
41:06
SPEAKER_04: It's also done in the gothic gothic style.
41:08
SPEAKER_04: It houses some pit classroom and has these national nationality rooms, which in like full disclosure, I've never been to.
41:16
SPEAKER_04: It's kind of like one of those things you always like, oh yeah, I'm gonna do that someday, and then you just never do it.
41:21
SPEAKER_04: So so uh yeah.
41:24
SPEAKER_04: Um, it looks like some sort of like somebody like time traveled like a medieval tower from like you know the you know medieval times to us.
41:34
SPEAKER_04: So no word on whether you have to eat your chicken with your hands while you're in there, but um um pit has like these lights that light up the top, and they they only turn them on after when Pitt wins a big football or basketball game or a national championship, which you can figure, um, yeah, those lights haven't been turned on too much.
41:59
SPEAKER_04: And actually a fun story I was reading about while researching this is they have another light that goes like a blue light that goes up as part of the victory lights, and like somebody was like, Oh, you gotta like turn it off after so long because the birds get disoriented in it.
42:13
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, what whatever.
42:15
SPEAKER_04: But um, yeah, it it's just a really cool tradition that um, like I said, given the current state of bit of athletics, probably doesn't happen too often.
42:26
SPEAKER_05: So it's a cool building.
42:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I I knew I knew they turned on the lights.
42:32
SPEAKER_05: I didn't I didn't remember what like had to prompt that.
42:37
SPEAKER_05: But but you're right, it's a it's a very cool building, and um definitely one that you know anybody that's visiting that area should go check out.
42:45
SPEAKER_05: I I had a couple of classes in there when I was at Pitt, and uh it was just neat to be in the building.
42:51
SPEAKER_04: Well, you've been in the building more than I have, so well I had to be, so you know, I can't I can't say that I that I went in there as like a a tourist.
43:02
SPEAKER_05: I I was taking classes and that's where they told me to go.
43:05
SPEAKER_04: So Well, did the bathroom stalls still don't have any doors?
43:10
SPEAKER_05: When I went there, the the men's bathroom on the it was on like the third floor or something, yes, did not have any doors on the stalls.
43:17
SPEAKER_05: That was that was 20 years ago.
43:20
SPEAKER_05: So I I do not know if that has changed or not.
43:24
SPEAKER_04: I cannot act a more a more personal story, and I I don't know that I was thinking I'm debating, I'm just gonna tell it.
43:30
SPEAKER_04: It's it's it's a it's a cool story, and it means a lot to me.
43:33
SPEAKER_04: And is you can file this under cool story, bro.
43:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, I was I I I was very um I I had an illness and I was in the hospital, and uh, the room I was in, I was in Shady Side Hospital, and so the room I was in was facing the cathedral learning.
43:48
SPEAKER_04: And at that time, Pitt was playing, so I would make this 2019, probably like September.
43:54
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, definitely September.
43:56
SPEAKER_04: They're playing uh Central Florida, which isn't a huge rival, but They really killed Pitt the year before, and this was they were ranked, I think they were in the top ten, but they came to Hines Field, and that was the uh Pitt special.
44:09
SPEAKER_04: They beat Pitt on the they basically stole a page out of the Philly Philadelphia playbook, and they ran the Pitt special with Kenny Pickett catching a touchdown, the game clutching touchdown.
44:19
SPEAKER_04: I remember watching the I was looking out my window, calling my mom, going, Oh my god, they're gonna turn on the lights, they're gonna turn up.
44:25
SPEAKER_04: I guess the clock ticked down there, all the lights came on.
44:27
SPEAKER_04: It was just really cool, and it kind of cheered me up when I wasn't feeling too good.
44:31
SPEAKER_04: So that that's a that's probably why that tradition means a little bit more to me, probably, than it should to the general public.
44:39
SPEAKER_04: But hey, whatever.
44:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's a that's a really good story, Steve, and a lot better of a one than I thought you were going to tell when you said maybe I shouldn't tell this immediately following a conversation about bathroom stalls.
44:50
SPEAKER_04: So well, it's definitely more inspirational than bathroom stalls or the lack of doors.
44:57
SPEAKER_04: I why won't they put doors on it?
44:59
SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
45:00
SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
45:01
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean it probably made me feel a little like more you know upbeat and stuff, you know.
45:06
SPEAKER_04: So it was I I I still that's one of my favorite.
45:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, when the future spoiler, one of these podcasts we're gonna do like my favorite sports, and that's definitely that game, and I'm gonna go into more detail in that podcast.
45:19
SPEAKER_04: But I was kind of saving that story for that podcast, but oh well.
45:23
SPEAKER_04: My excitement got the better of me.
45:25
SPEAKER_04: Um happens a lot now.
45:28
SPEAKER_04: Uh um another cool tradition is the color-coordinated black and gold for all the pro sports teams.
45:35
SPEAKER_04: So the black and gold color scheme, it comes from the coat of arms from William Pitt the Elder, the former Prime Minister of England, and that's actually who Pitt is named after, not Pitt the Younger, who is also Prime Minister of England.
45:50
SPEAKER_04: I know we're learning much more about English politics than we ever wanted to today, but um hey, you know, school's in session.
45:57
SPEAKER_04: Um there is a funny uh Simpsons clip where Barney and Wade Boggs argue over who's the better um, you know, prime minister of England, him or uh I think it's Lord Palmerston, so um Art Art Rooney was the first to use the colors for the Steelers when he founded them in 1933, which leads to an absolute you think the Bumblebee uniforms are bad.
46:22
SPEAKER_04: You should see that uniform.
46:24
SPEAKER_04: That's that that's an ouch.
46:26
SPEAKER_04: Uh in 1948, the penguins were or the not the penguins, the pirates were red, white, and blue, and they changed their colors to black and gold.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: And then from 1967 to 1980, the penguins actually were those cool navy blue and white ones, but in 1980 they switched to black and gold.
46:44
SPEAKER_04: And so in 1980, Pittsburgh, and since 1980, as far as I know, Pittsburgh's the only town where all the professional sports teams colors are coordinated and the same.
46:55
SPEAKER_04: Black and gold, the city's colors.
46:57
SPEAKER_04: So and it just looks cool.
46:59
SPEAKER_04: So I you know, not all other cities, I guess, can say that.
47:02
SPEAKER_04: I don't know what the other colors of those other cities are, but black and gold, everybody seems to work well for us.
47:11
SPEAKER_05: It is it is a cool tradition that you they just say the black and gold, and it could be referring to to any Pittsburgh sports team.
47:20
SPEAKER_05: Even though, even though the gold's really yellow.
47:22
SPEAKER_05: Well, that's a gold.
47:25
SPEAKER_04: It's on the crest of the city of Pittsburgh, too, like whatever crest we have, so it's kind of cool.
47:31
SPEAKER_04: Um, another, like, this is a very well-known tradition.
47:34
SPEAKER_04: Um uh the terrible towel.
47:37
SPEAKER_04: It was created by broadcaster Myron Cope for a playoff game in 1975 against the Baltimore Colts.
47:43
SPEAKER_04: And um another interesting thing is all the proceeds from the sale are donated to the Allegheny Valley School.
47:50
SPEAKER_04: And uh this school cares for people who have mental and physical disabilities.
47:56
SPEAKER_04: Um, after that, the introduction of the Tau, the Steelers went on to win the playoff game against they won that game against the Colts, and then they won that the Super Bowl that year over the Cowboys.
48:07
SPEAKER_04: So it's just become like part of the fan base, man.
48:11
SPEAKER_04: Everybody has a terrible towel.
48:13
SPEAKER_04: And uh Steeler fans really have like, you know, kind of they take them everywhere.
48:17
SPEAKER_04: They go to you know, Mount Everest, Afghanistan, you know, you see them at your cousin's wedding, you know, next to the cookie table.
48:24
SPEAKER_04: You know, so it's it's just uh really cool thing.
48:28
SPEAKER_04: Um, I only get mine out for the big games, for the AFC championship games, the Super Bowl.
48:34
SPEAKER_04: But um, I went my super my terrible towel went like one for three early on, so I think mine was broken.
48:40
SPEAKER_04: I I don't know.
48:41
SPEAKER_04: Maybe I should have returned it for a new one, but um maybe I got a dud terrible towel.
48:46
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
48:47
SPEAKER_04: But um they lost Super Bowl 30 and everything.
48:50
SPEAKER_04: Um this is this is one where um every like where like sweet Caroline and the pierogi races, like we're kind of copying up our other people.
49:00
SPEAKER_04: Now everybody's copied this off of us.
49:03
SPEAKER_04: Ha ha take that, sports fans.
49:06
SPEAKER_04: So uh because everywhere you look now, every team has like some sort of towel with their team's logo on it and all that.
49:14
SPEAKER_04: Um I went to the military bowl once again, and at that game, they actually I think I still have that towel.
49:20
SPEAKER_04: They have a that they gave uh it was said the military bowl on it, and they give you a little towel.
49:26
SPEAKER_04: Um a few teams they have uh chosen to disrespect the terrible towel, and it always seems to lead to disastrous consequences.
49:35
SPEAKER_04: Bad things happen, man.
49:38
SPEAKER_04: Bad things.
49:39
SPEAKER_04: Um, of course, most famously was TJ Hushmanzada.
49:43
SPEAKER_04: Um so the Bengals, after he he after a win in Pittsburgh, he shined his shoes with the terrible towel, and then Carson Palmer paid the price by breaking his knee and they lost the playoff game.
49:56
SPEAKER_04: So uh Lendell White and Keith Bullock, um, they like stomped on a terrible towel when they were blowing out the Steelers during a regular season game.
50:05
SPEAKER_04: And they actually, I think they lost the they lost their playoff game when they were like the number one seed.
50:12
SPEAKER_04: So uh things really didn't work out too well for Tennessee.
50:16
SPEAKER_04: Also, uh Jacksonville mascot Jackson Deville.
50:20
SPEAKER_04: So I guess he was like, you know, disrespect.
50:24
SPEAKER_04: I think he was like just like stomping on it and stuff.
50:27
SPEAKER_04: So he he uh Jacksonville was leading, and then when he did that, they lost the game and went on a losing streak after that.
50:34
SPEAKER_04: So that might have just been like Jacksonville not being very good.
50:37
SPEAKER_04: I I I don't know that that had anything to do with the terrible towel.
50:43
SPEAKER_04: Is your ter is your terrible towel in full functioning order too?
50:48
SPEAKER_05: It is, and and like you, it has it has mixed results, and and like you, I probably have only brought it out for the bigger games.
50:56
SPEAKER_05: I don't know that I break it out for just any any game.
51:00
SPEAKER_05: Um I think I still have my I think the one I have is actually from like the inaugural season of Hines Field.
51:06
SPEAKER_05: So that one's definitely seen somewhere in tear over the years, and I think I brought it to the Super Bowl with me too.
51:12
SPEAKER_05: So when I when I was fortunate enough to to attend Super Bowl 40.
51:16
SPEAKER_05: So it's it's it's gotten some travel.
51:18
SPEAKER_05: I think I brought it to some other countries too.
51:20
SPEAKER_05: I brought it to places like Italy and Thailand, and it was one of those Yinzers that you know took a picture in front of like the David statue with my terrible tower or whatever.
51:29
SPEAKER_04: So nice.
51:31
SPEAKER_04: Did you make the David statue decent with it?
51:33
SPEAKER_05: Like how that's exactly what I did, actually.
51:36
SPEAKER_04: Really?
51:38
SPEAKER_04: I didn't know that.
51:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I I yes.
51:41
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
51:42
SPEAKER_04: That's hilarious.
51:44
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
51:45
SPEAKER_04: That's incredible.
51:47
SPEAKER_04: That's that's uh now that's a cool story.
51:53
SPEAKER_04: Uh another another great tradition that um our city has, and that uh just just a great thing, uh, fireworks.
52:00
SPEAKER_04: So uh if if you've lived around here for any amount of time, we shoot fireworks off for any reason at all.
52:07
SPEAKER_04: Absolute any.
52:08
SPEAKER_04: You know, pirates after home runs, July 4th, your kid's eighth birthday.
52:13
SPEAKER_04: If it's an event, it ain't an event until the fireworks are going off.
52:18
SPEAKER_04: Uh the pirates actually have a whole fireworks night called Skyblast.
52:23
SPEAKER_04: And in 1984, I was there the night the fireworks exploded in the stands at the River Stadium.
52:28
SPEAKER_04: It was it was horrific.
52:29
SPEAKER_04: I was like young too.
52:30
SPEAKER_04: I was like in third grade.
52:32
SPEAKER_04: I remember that.
52:33
SPEAKER_04: And uh uh, I don't know.
52:34
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, there you go.
52:36
SPEAKER_04: Maybe explains like uh why I am the way I am.
52:39
SPEAKER_04: I saw like people, people burning with fireworks when I was very young.
52:43
SPEAKER_04: So uh pit football even had a fireworks night.
52:47
SPEAKER_04: Um, and also the the Riverhounds, the the minor league soccer team, they they actually schedule a game on July 4th or whatever, you know, sometimes they have it on the third, whatever the fireworks for the city of Pittsburgh are, they schedule it because the way their stadium is is you can see the fireworks perfectly from their stadium.
53:04
SPEAKER_04: So it's like whoever is doing maybe Justin Acerno is doing the marketing for the ticket marketing for the Riverhounds because he's smart enough to schedule that game around.
53:17
SPEAKER_04: Um I think uh Pittsburgh in general, we're probably keeping the Zambelli's up there in Newcastle in business.
53:25
SPEAKER_04: Um at the 250th year celebration, they actually had 17 different locations around the city shooting fireworks off.
53:32
SPEAKER_04: I remember they like two barges on each of the rivers, and I guess there was like some on the bridges, and it was it was just everywhere.
53:40
SPEAKER_04: Um there's a great we have a great clip we're gonna link to about Atari fireworks night.
53:47
SPEAKER_04: Um it's Chuck Tanner talking about the uh Atari fireworks night.
53:51
SPEAKER_04: Here we go.
53:53
SPEAKER_00: Fans, the Pirates and Atari have done a super job in bringing some fantastic fireworks displays to Three Rivers this year.
54:00
SPEAKER_00: This is Chuck Tanner inviting you to the final Atari Fireworks night on Saturday, August the 21st.
54:06
SPEAKER_00: We'll be meeting the tough Dodgers at 705.
54:09
SPEAKER_00: Then after that, Atari will present a fireworks display you people won't forget.
54:14
SPEAKER_00: Make your plans today and join us on Atari Fireworks Night, Saturday, August 21st.
54:19
SPEAKER_00: Call 323-1150.
54:24
SPEAKER_05: Everything about that commercial is dated.
54:26
SPEAKER_05: You know, the the Atari and giving the phone number without the area code.
54:32
SPEAKER_04: I like the Starjill stars on uh Tanner's hat.
54:36
SPEAKER_04: So of course that was when the drug the drug trials were kicking off there.
54:41
SPEAKER_05: So there was an alternate version of that commercial um where it was like Dale Berra and and I don't know, Lee Mazzilli.
54:49
SPEAKER_05: There was like two two Pirates players like secretly like playing Atari 2600 in the locker room, and Tanner like walks in on them.
54:58
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm sure that's on YouTube somewhere too.
55:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, not for the cocaine thing, right?
55:04
SPEAKER_04: Playing Atari, that's a problem.
55:10
SPEAKER_04: Uh some some honorable mentions.
55:12
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we're not going to go over these in too detail.
55:15
SPEAKER_04: Um, we also have the history of Zambelli fireworks if you're really into that.
55:18
SPEAKER_04: Uh we'll link that up on our website also.
55:22
SPEAKER_04: Um, the parking lots looking like a landfill after the Kenny Chesney concert.
55:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh rain during the Three Rivers uh Arts Festival.
55:30
SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, if you know, and parts of the country where they have a drought, they should just move the Three Rivers Arts Festival there and they'll take care of their problem.
55:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh almost a hundred years of one-party rule in Pittsburgh.
55:43
SPEAKER_04: We haven't had a Republican mayor since what, 1933?
55:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think so.
55:48
SPEAKER_04: Something like that.
55:49
SPEAKER_04: Uh cookie tables at weddings.
55:52
SPEAKER_04: I didn't know that wasn't that was like a Western Pennsylvania thing until I went to like another.
55:56
SPEAKER_04: It's like, where's the cookies?
55:57
SPEAKER_04: What?
55:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
55:59
SPEAKER_04: Uh breaking for absolutely no reason going into a tunnel, especially the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.
56:05
SPEAKER_04: Like, it's just like all the cars, like half the cars disappear or something when you go there.
56:10
SPEAKER_04: Um I some were ill-conceived.
56:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh, one was something called the Pittsburgh Greats race.
56:17
SPEAKER_04: It's not the Pittsburgh Great Race, the Pittsburgh Greats race.
56:21
SPEAKER_04: And it was like kind of like they tried to play off like the pierogi race pit, and they had like Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Ditka, I think Dan Marino and Tony Dorset like costumes and people would run across the football field.
56:36
SPEAKER_04: It was it was a horrible idea.
56:38
SPEAKER_04: So I think they got rid of it.
56:40
SPEAKER_04: And uh, and of course the infamous uh Heather like idea.
56:44
SPEAKER_04: Um maybe Justin Acerno wasn't there to talk her out of it.
56:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh giving away a free drink at a blowout loss pit game to entice people to stay for the second half.
56:54
SPEAKER_04: That was a part that was part of like besides getting punished with taking away Sweet Caroline.
56:59
SPEAKER_04: She tried to entice him like, hey, if you stay to watch like because it was like a really hot day, you stay to watch like Pit lose by like 40, you get a free pop.
57:08
SPEAKER_04: Woo-hoo, you know.
57:11
SPEAKER_04: Never mind if you bought like a pop with a free refill, you already have it.
57:16
SPEAKER_04: But anyway, not to besmirch our wondrous athletic director any more than I have today.
57:22
SPEAKER_04: Those are great traditions.
57:24
SPEAKER_04: If you have any more, feel free to uh you know, uh let us know on Twitter.
57:31
SPEAKER_04: So um anything else?
57:33
SPEAKER_04: Any traditions that I missed there, Tim?
57:37
SPEAKER_05: Um blaming the coaches for every loss in steel or history.
57:42
SPEAKER_05: Does that count?
57:44
SPEAKER_04: There you go.
57:45
SPEAKER_04: The offensive coordinator stinks.
57:47
SPEAKER_05: Right.
57:49
SPEAKER_04: There you go.
57:50
SPEAKER_04: Well, um, thank you for joining us.
57:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh hopefully, uh, yeah, you'll enjoy all these traditions and we'll enjoy them uh far into the future.
57:58
SPEAKER_04: Um we'll catch you next time on Pittsburgh Sports Memories.
58:02
SPEAKER_05: Bye, everybody.
58:05
unknown: Bye bye.