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Cars and NFL Football Top 5 Poll: What car makes you think of the Steelers?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Cars and Football LIst
Once upon a time, the saying went: "...Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet". NFL football has now replaced baseball as "America's past time", apple pie is still apple pie, and we see a car commercial every 9 minutes during a Steelers game. Clearly, cars and football are two of the biggest passions in America.

Two industries that have undergone multiple transformations over the years, yet still symbolize basic characteristics of American culture are the auto industry and the NFL. Despite changes in consumer tastes and in the rules governing their use, certain cars and football teams seem natural partners.

So, when you think of football teams, what cars do they represent? When you see a car flash past you and cut through traffic effortlessly, do you say "Dang, that car moves down the road as fast as the Greatest Show on Turf!" (the 1999 St. Louis Rams)

Or when passing a patched up, smoke belching car with an odd colored door holding up traffic in the left lane, barely making the speed limit, do you think to yourself, "...yea, that car sure is a piece of Cleveland Browns!"

Certain football teams just seem to match up well with certain cars. The Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears share similar legacies of playing hard, smash-mouth football; would you pick the same car for the Ravens and Bears as you would the Steelers? The Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings share a legacy of losing Super Bowls. Would they have similar cars? The Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals seem to cruise through their seasons, but fall short in the playoffs; would they be 4 or 6 cylinder versions of performance cars like the Mustang or Camaro; flashy on the outside but lacking under the hood?

Some teams and cars "just go together" because the two are iconic in their own rights; others because the team's character mirrors the image portrayed by a certain automobile in the way it moves, sounds, or the appearance of its grill in your rear view mirror.

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The picture above is from the movie with the greatest car chase scenes in Hollywood history, "Bullitt" starring Steve McQueen, and the iconic 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback and 1968 Dodge Charger.

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The Mustang made the movie a hit as much as McQueen did, so much so that in 2007, "Bullitt" was recognized by the Library of Congress as being a "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" film and has been preserved in the United States National Film Registry and in 2008, the Ford Motor Company produced a limited edition version of the original Mustang Bullitt model to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the car...er film.

Since we're now in the 2014 pre-season, with expectations of watching 60 minutes of Steelers football and three and a half hours of car commercials every Sunday for the next several months thanks to Roger Goodell pimping out the game, we'll be so bombarded with the combination of cars and football that subconsciously we're already equating the teams we see with the car commercials we're forced to watch.

For instance, the Green Bay Packers. A team with a long history of success broken up by periodic shifts of mediocrity. Back in the day, when football players had to have a "real job" to cover their off-season living expenses, you could easily imagine many of the Packers players working construction, in slaughter houses, or on the farm. Even more recently, the Packers former starting quarterback Brett Favre retained his "country boy" persona even while making millions playing in the NFL and with all his product endorsements.

When I think of the Packers, I think of the Ford F-150 pickup truck (I'm exercising my literary license and mixing cars and trucks together here).

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It has been sold continuously for over 60 years, and is the best-selling vehicle in the United States for the past 32 years, and the best-selling pick-up for 43 years, and the best-selling vehicle in Canada, thus its popularity is as wide spread and lasting as the Packers'. It is the "Every Man" vehicle for the "Average Joe" and it is this persona that matches up so perfectly with Green Bay Wisconsin. Back in the Lombardi days, you can easily visualize Packers players in the off season running their trucks down country roads. Today, even with the more urbanized Aaron Rodgers leading Green Bay to success, I still think of the Ford F-150 because while it too has become more urbanized today's pickup trucks are still considered "working vehicles" despite being every bit as luxurious as any expensive sedan or sports car. To me the Packers and Fords complement each other and share many traits.

I'm talking about the teams as a whole; not one individual player. Yes, I mentioned Rodgers and Favre above, but only to recognize that just as Ford's pickup truck has transitioned from a bare-bones country working vehicle to become a luxurious ride in its own right, so too has the Packers' quarterback transitioned from a country boy in Brett Favre to a more urbane one in Rodgers. Yet the Packers, like pickup trucks, are still viewed as being blue collar.

Take another team like the New England Patriots. If you consider just their quarterback, Tom Brady, and his jet-setting life style, you might be inclined to think of Tony Stark from the first Iron Man movie; they both drive Audi R8s.

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But I'm talking about the Patriots as a whole; what car represents that team's character.

To me, the image connecting a car to the Patriots is the Chevrolet Corvette; America's only true production "world" sports car. The Patriots, based in New England, personify (as their name so aptly exploits) America's beginnings, its roots. The Corvette was originally designed by GM (which didn't have a sports car worthy of the name) to compete with Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs and other European road/track cars of the 1950's. The Corvette's design quickly captured the minds and hearts of car-crazed Americans. Through the years the Corvette has grown more and more powerful while becoming ever more aesthetically pleasing. Although today the Corvette Z6 is the most powerful ‘Vette ever produced (until 2015), in my opinion the 1963 ‘Vette still stirs the hearts of car fans around the world, just as the Patriots secure fans simply by exploiting the concept of Americana.

2014 Z6

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1963 Corvette Coupe

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So, with the concept of Car equals Football team, here's my list:

Patriots are Corvettes

Packers are Ford F-150 pickup.

Houston Texans are Chevy Silverado pickup.

Like the Texans to the Indianapolis Colts, the Silverado is seemingly always a runner up to the F-150; never quite as popular, seemingly always a model year behind the Ford in terms of innovations or upgrades, yet a vehicle with a substantial and loyal following.

Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, etc are Stance cars, or Ricers.

Ricer is a generic term used by young men in their late teens to early twenties for heavily customized or modified Nissan GTR R34, Mitsubishi Evolution 10, Mazda RX7, Subaru STI, Honda S2000, Hondas Civics, VWs, and other 4 cylinder cars. Many of the improvements made to the Mazdas, Hondas and VWs are primarily cosmetic, but extreme in nature; in other words, "All Show, No Go", much like the Chiefs, Panthers and Chargers.

However, like the Seahawks or Cardinals, who "modify" themselves inexpensively (Seahawks through late round draft picks, the Cardinals by picking up used parts from the Steelers roster) the engines and transmissions in the Mitsubishi Evos, and Nissan GTRs can be modified rather inexpensively with results that would shame the American Muscle Cars of the 60's and early 1970s. Unfortunately, they still sound like mosquitoes on steroids, and aren't viable long term as usable or drivable vehicles, just as the Jacksonville Jaguars haven't been viable as a long term competitive team for the last eight years or so.

Examples of my automotive view of the Chiefs, Jaguars, Panthers and Chargers :

Honda Civic

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Volkswagen

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Examples of inexpensively modified but extremely fast and powerful Ricers like the Seahawks or Cardinals:

Nissan GTR R34

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Mitsubishi Evolution 10

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So, what automotive vehicle do you think the Pittsburgh Steelers personify? During their first dynasty in the ‘70s they might be matched with a heavy duty pickup truck themselves, or a muscle car of lore like the Plymouth SuperBee or RoadRunner, or the Pontiac GTO or Chevelle SS, but what about today?

Below find a poll listing the vehicles mentioned above, as well as many others. For you non-car folks, ask your brothers, sisters, fathers, uncles etc., I guarantee you know someone who is a car nut; it is as ingrained in the American culture as apple pie and, well, football. Otherwise, click on this link: Cars and Football: List of Cars for pictures of all the cars listed in the poll.

Vote for the car you think best personifies the Steelers; I've kept the list to currently or recently produced vehicles to narrow the field so everyone should be familiar in some degree or another with the choices.

I'll let the poll run a few weeks, then report back in Part II of Cars and Football what you, Steeler Nation, have chosen as the Top 5 cars most likely to be parked in the figurative driveway of the Steelers (remember, what car do you think represents the team, not any one player, coach or owner). I will also unveil PaVaSteeler's choice as the car I think best personifies the Steelers.

Your choices are below. If you don't find what you think best personifies the Steelers, mention it in the Comments Section and I'll add it to the list if enough people reference it.

What car best personifies the Steelers?

The opinions shared here are not those of the editorial staff of Behind the Steel Curtain or SB Nation. These posts are not approved in any way by the editorial staff of this web site.