Day 72 – Aug 23, 2015 – Pittsburgh PA – 0 Day

Day 72- Aug, 23, 2015 – Pittsburgh – 0 Day

Here we are in Pittsburgh, sandwiched between two sports stadiums with nothing to do. We slept in, 9am wow. Gregg wanted to stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing. I got up and had a clear plan, the Andy Warhol museum and….perhaps a game? As many of you know I am a sports fan, not a fanatic but, I enjoy a good game, and that’s pretty much any sports game.

So, we got us and fought our way through the breakfast lines filled with Steelers, Pirates and Packers fans, for a little typical motel/hotel breakfast fare. Oh we did not see any Giants fans. Then I had a big discussion with Gregg about going to the “game”, which meant the Steelers preseason match against Packers. He did not want to go, period. I said I would pay for the tickets if he would stay until half time. OK, he reluctantly agreed. He simply thinks that it is boring and a waste of time. Gregg looks down on these people. (Which is not true — Gregg) Gregg believes, which is true, that this is all a big distraction from things that really count. He thinks that people should also be out voting or going to political rallies or actually doing sports, rather than only attending these overpriced sports events that have been corrupted by corporate influence….. Yes, yes, yes, but I like it. I thought wow we are so close to an NFL stadium and there are tickets to be had, why not go? So we did.

But first, we went to my first choice of events which was a visit to the Andy Warhol museum. Many people may have mixed feelings about Warhol but what ever you may think of the artist and the man, the museum was really good. Each floor was a dedicated to a couple decades of his life and art. I learned a lot more about him. Without going into a criticism of his art, I can say that I have always appreciated him. I walked in and said aloud “the Pop Punk!”. Yep, he spat it out as good or better than they all did, courting the “crowd” and then flattening them unceremoniously with ink and roller on a flat piece of paper. Here you are and here you are, and there he was a poor kid from Pittsburgh.

We got to the game a couple minutes after the national anthem was sung, sad, but the Warhol museum kept us longer than we expected. The stadium was about 2/3 full – about a crowd of 44,500. I read that since 1972 every home game has been sold out, a record for the NFL. So I felt lucky to have scored some tickets in the nose bleed section. Actually we were lucky since that section was under cover and out of the sun for all of the game, the rest of the spectators weren’t so lucky.

I have to say that I was disappointed. I should have known better being a semi NFL sports fan myself. But the preseason game is a glorified scrimmage game. They simply do not play as hard as in the real season games. Both Rothlesberger and Rodgers left the game at about 11 mins into the game. Packers substituted a quarterback one more time. The atmosphere was great but even the fans were lack luster. The guy next to me was looking at the season schedules and his fantasy football tables and other Steelers tables he was not watching the game at all. He looked like a serious fan who brought his son to the game as some sort of obligation. The “real” games start in a few weeks, and that is when season ticket holders get real serious.

So, I was disappointed. Only a couple of times at the beginning of the game did I see the fans spin their towels and get excited. I heard so much about these crazy Pittsburgh fans yet there was little to show for that. Anyway, Gregg had never been to a NFL game. He still was not interested and as soon as it was half time he was gone. Our hotel was only about 1000 yards from the stadium. I stayed to the end, having some peanuts and a Goose Island. At one point, with about 6 mins left I snuck down to the lower sections. Too hot, and again, not enough spirit.
Steelers won 24-19, in case anyone is interested.

All in all, a relaxing day. Had a beer at a beer place with over 200 beers, 40 on tap and no food. Wow. After the game I got Gregg up out of his nap and we went, on recommendation from my brother Robin to the “Meet and Potatoes” restaurant which was very good. We had to wait to get a seat. I had an excellent steak and a nice martini. It was very hipster and the glasses of wine were super over priced. But all in all a great experience.

Crossing the bridge back to our hotel we waded through crowds of Pirates fans. The next game was beginning to start. Yes, this town had a double header today. The bridge was closed to car traffic and crowds were partying in the streets. Pittsburgh does enjoy its sports teams. We had a nice time here. Tomorrow we are off for the last of our ride. Bitter sweet.