The Steelers aren’t just a football team, they are family

For those who pay close attention to the quantity of content released here at BTSC, you might have noticed over the weekend things were slower than usual. Sure, weekends in the offseason are normally as slow as molasses, but we strive to give you quality content all year long.

The reason for the dip in production was due to a death in my family. My last living grandparent, my grandmother, passed away at the age of 90. It has been a shock to the system, to say the least, and plenty of time over the past few days, and weeks ahead, have been spent with family.

As things slowly revert back to some sense of normalcy, I find myself thinking back to the craziness which was this past weekend. While sadness gripped us all, I couldn’t help but look around and see what turned out to be a family reunion. Cousins, aunts and uncles I hadn’t seen in months, some years, gathered together to say goodbye to a lady we all loved a heck of a lot.

At this point, you might be wondering what this has to do with football.

I’m getting there.

I’ll never forget meeting at the funeral home for the final family visitation, and as we awaited the attendants to make the final preparations, I sat talking with my cousin’s husband, who is a Patriots fan from Boston.

I gave him my very half-hearted apologies over the Super Bowl, told him I was happy the Patriots lost and added how Josh McDaniels is a giant turd — yes, I used those words at the funeral home. We laughed, talked football, and with him living in Pittsburgh he knew plenty about the Steelers’ situation heading into next season.

From there, after the funeral we all meandered down to the parish hall for a reception. Here is where my family was just getting started. Surrounded by my cousins and uncles, we talked about what the Steelers need to do to get to the Super Bowl next season. I laughed at my cousin suggesting the team would be better off without Le’Veon Bell, we talked about whether Ryan Shazier could, or would, ever play again, and we discussed how long until the team needs to draft a quarterback.

We talked about a lot more than that, and this conversation/debate wasn’t brief. I’m sure many of you reading this know exactly what these type of conversations are like. A war room of personalities all with the same goal in mind — the Steelers getting No. 7.

It made me realize how this isn’t just a game, and it isn’t just a team. No, this is family. The Steelers have become ingrained into our beings, and that is something which can’t be undone. The love we all share for this team is deep enough to be a common denominator throughout the toughest of times in our lives.

I guess what I’m trying to say throughout this story is how the Steelers aren’t just a football team. Not to me. No, the Steelers are family.

RIP G-Ma