If you’re a Steelers fan in Long Island, evidently you’re not alone.
Dressed in black and gold, waving Terrible Towels, sipping Iron City beer and trash-talking about six Super Bowl rings, Pittsburgh Steelers fans are set to root for their boys this Sunday evening at pubs, restaurants and bars across Long Island.
In Floral Park on the Queens/Long Island border, Jack Duggan’s pub morphs into a Steelers bonding spot on game days. Bartender Melanie Webb, 31, a Long Island native who’s been following the team for seven years, is such a Steelers fanatic that she has attended the team’s training camp at the end of summer in Latrobe, Pa., for the past four years.
“It’s so much fun, you get to watch the team practice and the coach call plays,” said Webb. “Last year on the last day of camp, Troy Polamalu had his son on his lap and Ben Roethlisberger hung around and was signing autographs and taking pictures. I saw him give his shoe to a little boy.”
Across the island in Huntington, black-and-gold fans gather at JT Carrington’s. “We get a lot of Steelers fans in here,” said bartender Tom Wilson. “We usually do a tailgate barbecue in the parking lot depending on the weather before a Pittsburgh game, or we’ll have a buffet and game-day beer specials.”
Now, all that remains is Sunday night’s outcome — and the all-important bragging rights.
