THE BLACK AND GOLD POST

Our annual trip to the Mighty 'Burgh was all that and then some. The Fan Club was able to secure a total of 243 tickets to the game and our Steelers survived a minor 4th quarter scare from the Vikes of Minnesota to come away with a 21-16 victory. That's the condensed version. If you were there for this one-of-a-kind weekend, you know there was much, much more.

PSFCOB Black 'n Gold began to trickle in Friday afternoon and evening and by the next day, that trickle became a veritable flood. You couldn't sit at the bar in the lobby for more than a few minutes before seeing someone you knew from Baltimore. Many of us take this weekend to enjoy renewed friendships with those who we only see on this special weekend. We all have our favorite PSFCOB bar that we frequent on game days but to mix us all together, you know the good times will roll. We spread out over Station Square and the rest of the city like it was a college homecoming and the party was on !!!

Our Saturday Night party officially kicked off the weekend's festivities and what a party it was. About 200 people made there way to the Bash and we knocked off 8 kegs of Michelob in a little over 5 hours. The Terrible Bar enjoyed the attention and did not disappoint. In addition to these ice cold offerings, we kept the appointed Sheraton bartender busy all evening with numerous mixed drink orders. We were also introduced to a small band of Black 'n Gold brethren across the hall who called themselves the Pittsburgh Steeler fan Club of Central New York. While they were small in number (about a dozen) they more than made up for it in their passion for the Steelers. Of course, they fit in quite nicely with our crew.

Once again, Jim O'Brien, the epitome of all that is just and good in the City of Champions, made an appearance along with his wife Kathleen. Jim was kind enough to bring copies of all his books including his most recent work entitled "The Chief - Art Rooney and his Pittsburgh Steelers". Jim spent the better part of a couple hours autographing his books for eager PSFCOBers and, upon departing, gave a short speech to further fire up an already frenzied crowd for the work that lay ahead the following day.

Unlike the previous year, Sunday morning dawned bright, sunny and (ugh), warm. The set up crew made its way to our tailgate location and began setting up for the best damn Tailgate Party in town. I guarantee we more than lived up to that monicker. The PSFCOB, in effect, took over this parking lot. Unconfirmed estimates put the number of partygoers at between 400 and 500 patrons. The Terrible Grill was cooking for all it was worth and The Terrible Bar didn't miss a beat from the night before. Kolbasi sizzled, burgers fried, beer flowed and one and all had a FANtastic time.

High noon saw the party go into hiatus mode as we made our way towards Heinz Field. For many of us, this was the first time in the new home of The Steelers and we were not disappointed. We made our way to our seats and saw our beloved Black 'n Gold dominate for over 3 ½ quarters. The apparition that was Todd Bouman only served to give us something to talk about as we made our way back to the Tailgate party for steaming piles of pit beef, good conversation and the knowledge that we had achieved another job well done.

While there are numerous people who went out of their way to make this weekend what it has become, a few folks deserve special mention. Many PSFCOB thanks go to former President Jim Day, Big Bill Contron, Debbie "Sharkey" Rade, Doug "Pav" Pavlosky, Tim "kind of a raisin fan" Lawler, Big Bob Keifer, Chris "Beno" Binaut, Carole Binaut, Sandy and Ray McCoy, Kim Price and Christine Thomas. I know that all those who contributed are not listed here but that does not make your assistance any less appreciated.

It is this kind of commitment, this kind of teamwork, this kind of purpose for a common goal that makes this weekend so very special for so many and this is why we will continue to do it every year. Of course, a Steeler victory is also a must.

December 16th. Those silly raisins. Fighting for their playoff lives. Talking all the trash they could muster. Tony Siragusa edging on Joe Fan to do what he knew as a team the raisins could not do. National television. A perfect stage for two football teams to show what they were all about.

At the conclusion of this "contest", there was no doubt who the best team was. The final score of 26-21 does not adequately describe the thorough beating the Mighty Steelers put on these pitiful purple punks to claim the last AFC Central Division Crown. Kordell threw for a career high 333 yards and the Black 'n Gold controlled the ball for over 41 minutes to show the entire country why they are deservedly, the best team in the NFL.

Throngs of PSFCOBers made the short trip to the lavender lavatory and joined those wearing the colors who made the commute down from God's country to turn the purple potty into Heinz Field south. One of the best parts was that, come Monday morning, even the loudest Baltimoron could only mutter in disgust and agree that they had been soundly thrashed. And this is why this was "The Game of the Year" (so far).

One of the accolades of being on a successful team is being noticed and recognized by your peers, other coaches and fans all around the world. When the NFL recently announced their Pro Bowl Rosters, it was evident that the Mighty Black 'n Gold had earned the respect of many.

Congratulations go out to 1st time selection (and starter) Alan Faneca and starting linebacker Jason Gildon. Congrats also go out to backups Kordell Stewart and Jerome Bettis. You make us proud !!!

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