Check Out the Steelers’ Practice Facility and “Unite” With the Team

WHERE: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

WHEN: Any time, though the facility is not open to the public.

HOW TO DO IT: Go to Pittsburgh’s South Side and the facility is just off South Water Street.

COST FACTOR: This one is free.

DIFFICULTY FACTOR: It is easy to get close to the facility for fans who just want a peek at where the Steelers spend the most time as far as their homes. Getting in is another question as tours are limited.

BUCKET RANK:

The Steelers’ practice facility runs along the Monongahela River, not far from the Hot Metal Bridge, and fans seeking autographs or trying to catch a glimpse of practice have a limited opportunity to do both.

I don’t recommend staking out the street leading into the facility as players aren’t going to stop their car and sign autographs. Practices, meanwhile, are closed to the public and the fence framing the practice fields and accompanying tarp don’t allow for sight lines. If you are content to listening to practice, have at it—and with Steelers fans you never know.

The biggest draw of the facility that the Steelers share with the Pitt Panthers is the library on the second floor. Six gleaming Lombardi Trophies stand behind a large glass window and coaches pass them on the way to their offices. They are a powerful sight and definitely worth seeing.

Those who don’t have the connections to get a tour of the facility have the opportunity to do so through Steelers Nation Unite.

The organization started the initiative in October, 2015, and it uses technology to connect fans from all over the world with the Steelers and each other. Membership is free and is consummated in mere minutes after going to www.steelersnationunite.com. Steelers fans would be crazy not to take advantage of it.

Steelers Nation Unite does a little bit of everything to bring fans closer to the team. It regularly stages conference calls with Steelers players, past and present, as well as others in the organization. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Jerome Bettis, John Stallworth, and Lynn Swann were among those who took part in the weekly calls during the 2015 season.

“We try to give that insider access,” said Michael “Ponch” Hustava, Steelers Nation Unite marketing coordinator. “The biggest thing is to try to keep it fresh.”

Steelers Nation Unite does that for home games—and away from Heinz Field.

Members attending games simply have to RSVP by sending a text alert to Steelers Nation Unite. That qualifies them for prizes that include pregame field passes and participation in the Terrible Towel twirl as well post-game field passes and photo opportunities.

During the Steelers’ 45–10 win over the Indianapolis Colts on December 6, 2015, two members of Steelers Nation Unite were presented with an upcoming trip to Cleveland that included tickets and transportation in a limousine. When the Steelers held their annual reunion weekend three weeks earlier against the Browns, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, and James Farrior were among those who surprised Steelers Nation Unite members in their seats with signed jerseys from Super Bowl XL.

Steelers Nation Unite is also active on the road.

It seeks out Steelers fans for road games and delivers Terrible Towels among other things to tailgates. It also gathers fans the night before games at Steelers bars, something it did in San Diego and Seattle.

The San Diego gathering attracted around 400 fans as well as special guest and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dermontti Dawson, who lives in that area. The Seattle party also packed the place and fans went nuts when Steelers Nation Unite snuck Keisel into the bar through a back door.

Steelers Nation Unite is still evolving—and will continue to adapt to emerging technology—but it is already such a success that it has members from more than 110 countries, Hustava said.

This is an easy one to check off on a Black and Gold bucket list and the mere minutes it takes to become a member is well worth it for Steelers fans of all stripes.

No Fooling Chuck Noll

Frenchy Fuqua joined the Steelers in 1970 via a trade with the New York Giants, and he learned early that it was tough to pull one over on coach Chuck Noll. The night before a home game the Steelers were lodging at the Roosevelt Hotel in Pittsburgh and Fuqua decided to have his fiancé stay in his room past the 10:00 pm curfew.

He told her to hide in the shower when Noll knocked on his door with a request to use Fuqua’s stereo. Fuqua nervously obliged and Noll listened to one song before heading for the door. Just as Fuqua was about to exhale, Noll walked into the bathroom and pulled back the shower curtain. “Madam,” he said, “you have to leave. This man has to work tomorrow.” Noll didn’t follow through on fining Fuqua, as he said he would do, but the second-year coach made his point. “I never attempted that again,” Fuqua said with a laugh.