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I don't doubt for a minute that our SB wins in the 70's brought a lot of fans to the already solid fan base, however, I too, was a teenager back in the STEEL CURTAIN days when Chuck Noll was at the helm. I wasn't a band wagon fan back then---hell, I probably could say Touch Down before any other word when I first started talking. My family was and still are die hard Steeler fans--I remember treking across the road to my uncles house on Sunday afternoons because we had a black and white TV and they had a colored TV just so we could watch the Steelers in color.
The reason there were probably a lot of young Steeler fans in Detroit probably was as you said--we were winning and Detroit wasn't. Detroit Lions shouldn't have a huge fan base all over the country because they don't have the titles to back them up and by titles, I'm not only referring to SB ones! It goes to show what kind of fan base Detroit had to begin with.
The Steelers have had a lot of success so now all of sudden those fans who were fans back in the NOT SO GLORY days are being accused of being bandwagon fans!
I'm sure we do have our share of bandwagon fans but the Steeler fan base was HUGE prior to winning these recent 2 SB titles and we always travel well as a fan base! There are buses pulling out of the city during every away game week-end. They are headed to the host city with their Terrible Towels!
The Lions were just an example. But the Lions are still the #1 team in Michigan. All the Steeler fans I referred to were in the Chicago burbs. You did however, unintetionally, proove my point. Real fans stick to their team glory or not and don't piggyback on other teams. I guarantee the glorious 70s is the main reason they have a huge following outside of Steeltown. The last Super Bowl wins have not hurt either.
Location: Pittsburgh--Home of the 6 time Super Bowl Champions!
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Originally Posted by Bondurant
The Lions were just an example. But the Lions are still the #1 team in Michigan. All the Steeler fans I referred to were in the Chicago burbs. You did however, unintetionally, proove my point. Real fans stick to their team glory or not and don't piggyback on other teams. I guarantee the glorious 70s is the main reason they have a huge following outside of Steeltown. The last Super Bowl wins have not hurt either.
But you are calling these fans who started liking the Steelers back in the 70's "bandwagon" fans!! I agree they would be bandwagon fans if they jumped off the wagon in the 80's (ya know--when we sucked!). If they remained a part of the fan base up til now, then I don't consider them bandwagon fans. Big deal--they started cheering for the Steelers during the Bradshaw, Madog White, Green, Harris, Swann years!! If they remained fans, then they are true fans IMO. We had some bad seasons during the 80's.
Detroit Lions shouldn't have a huge fan base all over the country because they don't have the titles to back them up and by titles, I'm not only referring to SB ones!
How did I miss this the last time around? The Lions have no titles? Check your sources.
The Lions were just an example. But the Lions are still the #1 team in Michigan. All the Steeler fans I referred to were in the Chicago burbs. You did however, unintetionally, proove my point. Real fans stick to their team glory or not and don't piggyback on other teams. I guarantee the glorious 70s is the main reason they have a huge following outside of Steeltown. The last Super Bowl wins have not hurt either.
The primary reason the Steelers have a widespread fan base is because the collapse the steel industry during the 1970's and 1980's created a diaspora of ex-Pittsburghers all across the country. It's the silver lining to two decades worth of dark clouds.
I have a Saints Jacket that I got for free about 10 years ago and I seldom wear it. Last year I wore it after the win, just for the fun of it, and strangers busted on me for wearing it.
Anybody need a Saints jacket?
I think another group of annoying fan "type" are the ones that use their favorite team to personify themselves as winners/tough/etc. You know, the ones that say "we" in sentences like "We kicked your a$$e$" etc.
BTW, every fanbase does this. Some are worse than others though.
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