As many of you have seen through my whored out Facebook statuses, I am profiling people who live in the Chicago area and are fans of out of town teams.
Thank you to everyone who has filled out a survey so far. If you're a fan of an out-of-town team and I haven't given you a questionnaire to fill out, please let me know ASAP, as I am looking to profile as many people as possible.
My tenth feature highlights a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Mike Walsh was born and raised in Chicago but became a fan of the Steelers during the Steel Curtain days of the 1970s. I know Mike from my days at the Daily Southtown (now the SouthtownStar) when I would call him on a weekly basis (he works at De La Salle) for the team's latest's stats.
Thank you to everyone who has filled out a survey so far. If you're a fan of an out-of-town team and I haven't given you a questionnaire to fill out, please let me know ASAP, as I am looking to profile as many people as possible.
My tenth feature highlights a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Mike Walsh was born and raised in Chicago but became a fan of the Steelers during the Steel Curtain days of the 1970s. I know Mike from my days at the Daily Southtown (now the SouthtownStar) when I would call him on a weekly basis (he works at De La Salle) for the team's latest's stats.
Here's a list of other blogs in the out-of-town feature series:
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Tennessee Titans
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Minnesota Vikings
5. Denver Broncos
A lifelong Chicagoan, Mike Walsh grew up in the age of the NFL where the Pittsburgh Steelers & their "Steel Curtain" were making their presence known as one of the most formidable and feared franchises in the league in their 1970s dynasty. This, along with the Steelers garb, was a big selling point in Mike's choice of favorite football team.
"I became a Steelers fan because they were really good in the 70s when I was a little kid and starting to follow football," Mike said. "I loved the black uniforms and the helmet as well."
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| Mean Joe Greene was one of Mike's favorites. Pretty sure the little kid is not Mike. |
His favorite players of all time came from those teams: Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Joe Greene & Lynn Swann - all of whom are immortalized in the Hall of Fame.
Thanks to their success that started in Mike's childhood and has continued into modern times, the Steelers are often featured on national TV and prime-time games. This allows Mike to consume many of the games on regular TV, not DirecTV like many fans of out-of-town teams must do. Otherwise, he'll watch the NFL Red Zone channel, catch the highlights and read the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette online.
Just because he is a Steelers fan does not mean Mike hates the Bears. In fact, he considers himself a fan of his hometown team, just not as much as Pittsburgh.
"I root for the Bears every game except on the rare occasions when they play the Steelers," he said. "I do consider the Bears my 1-A NFL team."
In addition to following some Bears stuff in the local papers, Mike has also attended a Bears game at Soldier Field when they faced the Steelers in the early 90s. He went with a friend who was a Bears' season ticket holder and was given specific instructions when attending the game.
"He threatened to kick my ass if he saw any Steelers apparel," Mike said. "It was winter, so I was OK".
He believes that B-Bo Knows prediction of the Steelers (10-6, AFC North champs) is close to his own thoughts, but he went a step further in his prediction. In addition to a division title, he expects Pittsburgh to be AFC Champs and a legitimate contender to win the Super Bowl.
Speaking of which, the Steelers own 6 Super Bowl titles, the only team in NFL history with that distinction. Mike enjoys this fact and makes sure his football-following friends know about it.
"It means everything since I am a diehard Steelers fan and two good friends despise my beloved Steelers," he said. "It gives me bragging rights and allows me to gloat, good-naturedly."
| Mike Walsh | |
| (whole life in/near Chicago) | |
| Favorite team | Steelers |
| A fan since… | 1970s |
| # of games attended | 1 (in Chicago) |
| Choice of Team Consumption | National TV, RedZone |
| Channel, Pittsburgh Gazette | |
| Favorite Player All-Time | Mike Webster, Lynn Swann |
| Jack Lambert, Joe Greene | |
| Favorite Player Currently | Heath Miller (O) |
| Troy Polamalu (D) | |
| 2012 Prediction | (12-4, AFC Champs) |
| Vegas Projection for team | 10 wins |
| (as of 9-6-12) 5dimes.eu | |
| Over/under? | Over |
| Odds to win division - 5dimes.eu | (+115) |
| Super Bowl odds | 20/1 (+2000) |
| (as of 9-6-12) - 5dimes.eu |
