The first day of football season (Thursday’s debut game notwithstanding) is always such an exciting day.  The jersey comes off the hanger, the hats come down from the rack.  As the weather cools, the sweatshirts are cuddled up in at night.  My whole life exists, especially on Sunday, in black & gold.

Ah Pittsburgh.  I love yinz.

There is something utterly exhilarating for me to watch my team come out onto the field in their uniforms, faces stony in concentration, hair cut, beards shaved ~ everyone clean cut, fresh and new.

This year we play the Ravens on Opening Day ~ our biggest Division Rival ~ the salt in many wounds.  I watched the AFC Divisional Game in January 2009 with my little brother, in Row 521 (or there about) in the endzone as the wind whipped and the snow fell.  It was the best NFL game experience I have ever had.  We barely sat down (the benches were coated in ice), we screamed, we swung terrible towels (sidenote: my arm actually hurt the next day ~ true story), we screamed until we couldn’t scream any more …. It was worth all the blood, sweat and tears it took to get there.  (Dave came down to Philly from NYC, I picked him up at 6am, we drove down to my parents, got my dad, and the three of us drove across the state in a snow storm).

At the beginning

In a sea of black & gold

This game isn’t as heavy as that game ~ but it’s a doozy of a way to start the season.  May Ben play well, may our O line play well, may our defense be epic, and may we suffer no season-ending or crucial injuries to our major players.

One can’t really ask for more than that.

Here we go Steelers, Here we go!