Somewhere, deep down inside, is a Steelers fan who won't let illness and exhaustion rob him of the chance to yell, "Atta boy, Polamalu!" at the television screen. He is hard-core.

My mother explained to my father's cardiologist, a dour man who barely speaks, that congestive heart failure causes my father to sleep the entire day and night, waking only to eat. The one exception is when the Steelers play. Whether it is a day game or a night game, he is somehow able to remain awake to cheer for the entire three-hour event.

The cardiologist smiled, exercising facial muscles he rarely employs, and suggested that my mother put Steelers games on a recorded loop and play it all day so her husband could stay awake. Mother was not amused.

Three years ago, after the congestive heart failure began, my father became an old person. Before that he was an old person who never acted old. Hailing from a long line of small Italians who drink wine and live forever, he never seemed to age, even into his 80s. Most nights you could find him laughing with his almost 90-year-old sister, Mimi.

Then, a few weeks after his granddaughter's first communion, Dad's condition deteriorated rapidly. He now sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day. At Thanksgiving last year I cleared the table and when I returned he was sound asleep in the chair.

There are moments of grace, when we see glimpses of the old fighting spirit. He still answers all of my mother's spelling questions. If I ask him to remember something, he usually does, much like in my college days when he would call repeatedly to remind me of a test.

On a rare recent phone call he was delighted to learn that his granddaughter is taking up the violin and plans to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for him. As the former music critic for The Pittsburgh Press, a violinist and a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish band, my dad, Carl Apone, has had a lifelong passion for music.

He still receives communion every Sunday at his home. This is poignant, as he was a eucharistic minister to the sick for years. I remember that once the eucharist was in the car that he was driving to the hospital or someone's home, he would not speak. It was a time for reverence.

But by far, the moments when he is most alive, most himself, are Steelers Sundays. My mother positions him in his comfortable chair and tries not to walk in front of the screen during key plays, a habit that has merited much arm waving over the years.

There is something beautiful about the way Pittsburgh embraces Steelers Nation. It is a love affair I've witnessed since childhood when the "Pittsburgh Polka" played and the priests at Our Lady of Grace Church wore Steelers stoles. It is personal to us, not just a sporting event where football players with fat salaries knock each other silly.

The players are part of our Pittsburgh family. We follow the legacy of the Rooney family, owners who know each player by name and show up every day to check not on the profitability of the franchise, but rather on the well-being of the players.

Steelers fans find each other, even in other cities. My parents once spent three weeks in Hilton Head during the winter. They met Steelers fans on the beach within 24 hours. By the next day they were invited to a Super Bowl party with a promise that Impy, the French bull dog, might wear his Steelers sweater.

Steelers fans are happy to stand in the cold and decorate the Terrible Tree on game days, because the Steelers' success is our success. I went to the airport during some recent playoffs and every steward or stewardess at the check-in gate was wearing Steelers garb, as well as most of those boarding. It was a mighty sea of black and gold.

Sure, we complain now and then. Why does Ben have to put us through such agony only to pull off an 11th-hour win? Some of us are old and our hearts can't take it. And why does the new stadium have that open side so we freeze our rumps? Some of us are old and we don't make our own heat anymore.

But when the chips are down, Steelers fans can't be kept from their appointed rounds. Even when congestive heart failure squeezes the last bit of energy from an old, tired body, the heart of a Steelers fan keeps beating. We are hard-core, and we are here, until the final play.

 

You may have seen the special on ESPN 360 about Bob Zinski, the Steelers fan from our area who is fighting a rare form of liver cancer.  Someone who I work with is close to Bob and our bank is helping to sponsor this Casino Fundraiser to help with his bills.  I'm sorry for the short notice of this, but keep in mind the game will be on (I made sure to ask).  It would be great to have some of the Black and Gold Brigade could attend.  All the details are attached!  (Nick I  would appreciate it if you could forward this e-mail)   Thanks, Wade Hartz (215) 327-6311 --- On Fri, 11/6/09, Wade Hartz <Wade.Hartz@...> wrote: From: Wade Hartz <Wade.Hartz@...> Subject: FW: Vantage Point Bank helps to sponsor Casino Fundraiser for Bob Zinski & Fox Chase Cancer Center (Nov 15, 2009) To: "wadehartz72@..." <wadehartz72@...> Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 4:19 PM     Wade H. Hartz 1250 Virginia Drive Suite 175 Fort Washington, PA 19034 Vantage Point Bank p 267.464.7000 ex7586     From: Michelle Scaltrito Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 10:55 AM To: All Associates Subject: Vantage Point Bank helps to sponsor Casino Fundraiser for Bob Zinski & Fox Chase Cancer Center (Nov 15, 2009)   Dear Associates,   A dear friend of mine's husband has been battling a rare form of liver cancer for the past two years.  Bob and Janine's amazing determination and strength have been a true inspiration to me as well as everyone in their lives.  I was honored when asked to participate in the planning of an amazing fundraiser to assist in off-setting some of the medical costs with a portion of the proceeds going to Fox Chase Cancer Center .  I want to thank David and Walt for offering to sponsor a casino table at the event which promises to be a good time which will include dancing, gambling, silent auctions and raffle items.   This event is intended to be a celebration of Life, Laughter and Love.  Please click on the "Respond Here" link below for details on this event and links to Bob's inspirational story.  I hope that you will be able to join us in this celebration.   Sincerely,  Michelle Scaltrito      Can't see this email?  Click here: http://bobzinski.eventbrite.com                 You are invited to the following event: Casino Fundraiser for Bob Zinski & Fox Chase Cancer Center Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009 from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM (ET) Location: Normandy Farm 1401 Morris Road Blue Bell , PA 19422     Can you attend this event?  Respond Here     For more information click here             This email was sent by Eventbrite, your total online solution to publish, register, manage and promote events. Host Your Events With Eventbrite Click here to unsubscribe from events by "Lotus Event Designs, Inc."

From: Richard Smith <henry1845@...>
Subject: [boston_steelers_fans] Steeler Nation in Denver!
To: boston_steelers_fans@yahoogroups.com, "jen bedell" <jbedell@...>, "Jessica W" <sultana0105@...>
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 12:53 PM

 

This picture pretty much says it all...

 

 

 

STUNNED

---

Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now.

From: Shawn K. Kelly <skkelly@...>
Subject: [boston_steelers_fans] Denver Post article about Monday's game
To: boston_steelers_fans@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 12:31 PM

 

http://www.denverpo st.com/premium/ broncos/ci_ 13752175

I think this is requires you to sign up for an account, but I’ve put the link on my facebook page, and that doesn’t require an account.  I’ve cut and pasted the article below, too.  Go Steeler Nation!

 

Shawn K. Kelly, PhD, Visiting Scientist

The Boston Retinal Implant Project

50 Vassar Street, Rm 36-576, Cambridge, MA  02139

http://web.mit. edu/skkelly

617-324-1890

 

Paige: Whose stadium is this, anyway?

By Woody Paige
The Denver Post

 

The Stealers appropriated the stadium, purloined three passes, took the dais and stole "Monday Night Football" from the Broncos.

Steal Deal, 28-10.

The Steelers came with the no-huddle; the Broncos replied with the all-muddle.

A revolting number of the Broncos' players and coaches and a repulsive number of the Broncos' alleged "fans" were no-shows and no-clues.

The 20,000 season-ticket holders who sold their seats — in every section, on every level — to the Steelers' true loyalists should be ashamed. That wasn't a home game for the Broncos. It was a neutralized site.

With 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the stadium had been emptied out — of orange pompom party poopers. All who remained were Women & Men In Black waving the Terrible Towels in victory.

Sick effort, Denver. If you don't want your tickets, at least scalp them to people who bleed orange, blue, mustard and brown.

Super effort, Pittsburgh. The Steal City can snatch a stadium as well as the Continental Army captured Fort Ticonderoga. While the Steelers' masses were cheering Ben Roethlisberger' s three touchdown passes, the Broncos' (reduced) faithful were booing Kyle Orton's three interceptions.

Sick effort, Broncos, who played the chumps to the Steelers' Super Bowl champs. The Broncos brought the Paper Curtain Defense and Monochrome Offense.

The Stealers stole an Orton pass for an interception returned for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. The Stealers stole an Orton pass in the fourth quarter and scored in three plays for a 21-10 lead. And, for bad measure, the Stealers stole Orton's final pass of the game.

"Once we went to the no-huddle (offense)," Roethlisberger said, "it turned things around."

The opposing team is supposed to wear out at altitude, but Pittsburgh got friskier as the game wore on. The Broncos are supposed to be running the no-huddle, hurry-up offense to wear down the opposing team. But Josh McDaniels wants to shorten games, not lengthen them, with his dink-a-dink- a-don't offense.

The Steelers' Rashard Mendenhall must have felt a rush of oxygen. He blew past the Broncos for 155 yards. Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno were in no rush — 14 carries for 27 yards.

The Day-Glo Orange shoes of Brandon Marshall were no match for the gold feet of four Steelers receivers who had 20 receptions.

"We became one-dimensional," McDaniels said.

How about none-dimensional?

The Broncos are 6-2 at the midway juncture of the season but should have a better-feeling texture, because few outside or, even, inside the locker room believed the Broncos would be so lofty on Nov. 9. But the performances in Baltimore and at home (home?) this month have been more septic tank than antiseptic salve.

The Broncos have been outscored 58-17 and have permitted the Chargers to get back in the race.

Just as alarming, the Broncos have not scored in five of their past eight quarters; they have yet to score a touchdown on their first possession this season (but did burp a field goal after the opening kickoff against Pittsburgh); and the only touchdown scored on Monday night was not by the offense, but on a scoop-and- score fumble return.

One offensive touchdown in two games! That efficient offense managed by Orton has become ineffective and unmanageable. New school has become old-fashioned.

"We just can't listen to all this stuff," said Robert Ayers, who did score the Broncos' only touchdown, and he isn't a running back. "Good teams recover from things like this."

What may help the Broncos recover most is not an improved offense or a return of the defense that was MMA tough in the first five games. The Washington Redskins will help most.

The Washington offense is as mobile as a monument.

"We lost to two good football teams," Orton said. "Move on and get ready for Washington." He didn't call Washington a good football team.

This was a night when the Broncos' followers could have ripped the players. But it also was a night when Marshall could have been praised if he had chosen to rip on the fans. Marshall once criticized the crowd for leaving early. Part of the crowd didn't arrive on Monday night.

The Steelers' tailgate party in the parking lot was even larger than the Broncos'. The Steelers travel well. One young man told me he had ridden a bus from Pittsburgh for 36 straight hours to get to the game. "I am afraid to fly, so I'm the John Madden of Steelers Nation." Only his bus has Greyhound on the side. But his long ride back to Pittsburgh will be sweeter now.

The Steelers and zealots were thieves in the night, and the Broncos and their advocates (those who didn't sell out) stood there and meekly accepted it.