Steeler Bar Google Map

A couple months after the Super Bowl, I was brain storming with Blitz about possible features for this site. During the conversation we hit upon the idea of a google map for Steeler Nation. The main purpose of the map would be to help people find Steeler Bars - that is places to watch the game on Sunday. 

In any case, it's testament to my laziness that it has taken me nearly 8 months to get this post up.  However with some big deadlines looming on the school and work front, I figured this would be the perfect time to work on it.  

I like to think of procrastination as a double edged sword.  A sword that usually sits in the closet and isn't pulled out till the very last minute.

View Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation in a larger map">

Why a google map?  

As many of you know the Post-Gazette has a great listing of Steeler Bars.  

Why should we waste our precious time (or in some of your cases your employers precious time) re-inventing the list?  There are two good reasons:

First, the Post-Gazette list is a fairly static list. You have to go through the PG to add or delete a bar. There is no additional information available about any of the bars - for example - do they have audio of the game? Are they a Steeler only bar or a big sports bar with the Sunday ticket etc.?  With the google map YOU (that is all of Steeler Nation) will be able to go online and edit the list. 

Second, you can't see the locations of the bars in the Post-Gazette list. In fact you can only search by state. With the google map you will be able to just type name of the city (or address) and see all the bars and landmarks around it.

How to add a bar or a landmark

First click on the link below. If you have a google account you should be ready to edit. If not you will need to create one. This is easy and should take all of two seconds. (You do not need G-Mail to have a google account)

Once you are on you can edit at will.  

A couple of tips:

1. You can search for your bar by name on Google maps. Many of the bars already have business listings on Google maps. If you find it you can simply add by clicking "Save to MyMaps".  Just make sure that you save it to the Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation map. You should be able to see it in the drop down menu.

2. If you can't find your bar on a search of google maps you can simply add it to the map by searching the address and then adding the address (along with the name) in the same way. 

3. Write something about the bars you know. Let us know if they have audio for the games, what the crowd is like etc.  Be as brief or fancy as you like.  

Overall Google maps is pretty amazing. If there is anyone who knows the program well and wants to add cool features that map, please do.  

Some extra instructions here for anyone who is have a hard time.  

View Steeler Bars and Steeler Nation in a larger map

What next?

So far, I have only put a couple of bars.

To start with, it would be great if everyone on here could just add a couple of the places that they know well. This is especially important if you live outside of Pittsburgh and go to a local place to catch the game.  

I will be adding some of the ones from the Post-Gazette list as time goes on - anybody else who has time should feel free to add their own.

As the list grows, it will hopefully turn in to a comprehensive resource for Steeler fans around the world.

Landmarks apart from Bars

It might also be interesting to add certain landmarks. I am not sure exactly what that would entail, but essentially think of it as a way to put interesting Steeler things on the map.  Maybe you know a place that has a 20 foot tall statue of Jack Lambert or a life sized wax statue of Franco Harris making the immaculate reception. That might be worth putting on the map. Perhaps a store front that someone really did nice 

via farm4.static.flickr.com

A couple Simple Rules:  

Although other stuff might come up only a few things strike me as potentially problematic.

1. Posting private information. If you know where Mike Tomlin lives, good for you, but keep it to yourself. There is no reason the rest of the world needs to know.  

2. Wrong or misleading information.  Not sure there is too much we can do with an open community, but let's all try to police it as best as possible. Be on the look out for information that looks outdated, wrong or misleading.