About 10 days ago, this publication and several members of the local sports media were invited to the Kamin Science Center. It was an invitation from the Steelers that we graciously accepted on a cold and windy day.
The sole purpose of the gathering was to offer a media-only showing of a 52-minute documentary film titled “The Football Town.” This documentary was produced as a precursor, or kickoff if you will, to the upcoming NFL Draft to be held in Pittsburgh next month.
Gazette freelance reporter Antonio Rossetti, in his Feb. 23 article, offered his insightful breakdown of the documentary and post-film press conference and yours truly provided the usual host of complementary still photography images from the press conference for our loyal readers.
Allow me to offer my perspective, speaking strictly from a life-long fan and Western Pennsylvania native point of view. For me, this production hits very close to home and afforded me the opportunity to travel down memory lane. It’s a journey that I don’t take very often due to the everyday hustle and bustle of this crazy thing called LIFE.
My intent is not to detail every segment of the film, ruining its content for those of you unable to view it now. However I will outline what the film’s narration and footage mean to me.
To begin, this was the first immersive documentary NFL Films has ever made, as it deployed the ARRI Alexa 35 Xtreme camera. This new unit was capable of shooting 660 frames per second. Believe me, this camera definitely lived up to all the hype associated with it.
Next up is the film’s narrator — Plum Borough native, former West Virginia and NFL punter Pat McAfee. The epitome of a Yinzer, McAfee with his deep, gruffy, loud steel worker voice, which at times softened to fit the narration, was an excellent selection. Provided he was still alive, the logical choice to depict Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania with his voice would have been Myron Cope.
Kamin Science Center’s 71-by-40 foot screen offers the perfect setting, fixing the viewer’s attention to the film’s immediate breathtaking opening view. Shining the spotlight on Pennsylvania’s rolling hills, deep valleys and forceful flowing waters, the film grabs you from the onset.
Further traveling down memory lane, that footage took me back to a tiny hunting cabin in the mountains of Clarion County for countless opening days of Pennsylvania’s antlered deer season.
Continuing my journey, I flashed back to J&L Steel in Aliquippa and my father, along with a host of other family members, toiling relentlessly day after day in unthinkable conditions to provide for their families. It strengthened and toughened them for life-teaching lessons to pass on to their children. Their resilience embodies the fabric of an area built on steel, in an arena far bigger than any sports venue.
Sunday drives offered family entertainment at a very minimal cost (gas was cheaper then) as along the way your family sought more free options. One of those for us was sitting along the bricks at the fountain at Point State Park.
There you could view the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers meeting the Mighty Ohio and simply carry on a conversation filled with numerous topics. Of course, all this followed church and Sunday family dinner. On a side note, we were never allowed to wear anything but the prerequisite Sunday church clothes to Mass. Black and gold was your only option for showing your colors as long as it adhered to proper dress clothes etiquette.
Thinking back on my pre-high school days of football weekends, my mind drifts to a hectic albeit fun-filled weekend. So many memories with my dad beginning with Friday high school football, Pitt football Saturdays (at the Panthers’ own stadium) and finally Steeler Sunday at Three Rivers Stadium. That was provided we were given free tickets or actually possessed extra cash to spend.
Those weekends continued up until dad’s passing, no matter if it was just us in the stands or myself being a working media member with a credential for him also. It was always us, our time at our games.
Moving along in my work as an EMS provider, when we had a few minutes in between runs, I would cruise by the maternity wards at local hospitals just to unwind and recharge the batteries in my brain. To this day, I don’t really understand my reasoning. Perhaps it was just the fact that I found peace, comfort and solace in viewing a precious child beginning life’s journey.
Oakland’s UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital was one of my favorites as I gazed through the viewing window pondering what the future would hold for them. They were already born into the so-called Yinzer mentality as they enjoyed their slumber. These kings and queens were not wrapped in swaddling clothes or lying in a manger. Rather, they were Forever Pittsburghers who already donned the black & gold after their entrance into the world.
On the way back to our station sometimes we would deviate from our normal route and venture up to Mount Washington. The iconic view of Pittsburgh and beyond is simply something to behold. The Mon Incline and majestic scenery for miles and miles exemplifies the story of Pittsburgh.
Driving back I found myself gazing out of the passenger’s side window just staring at the scenery of towns we passed through. Something I still do to this day, just not while driving. I often think of the view similar to that out of an airplane window or perhaps a drone looking at houses, churches and schools, which are closely interwoven making small communities special.
The attention to detail in this film and its overall production, which by the way was captured by a team of NFL Films employees all in a single weekend, is epic.
Western Pennsylvania prides itself on numerous aspects from its diverse ethnic backgrounds, food, churches, businesses, kindness, compassion, bridges and marquee infrastructure. Our area is well-known for education, movie producers and stars, inventors, astronauts and doctors as well as star athletes and Hall of Famers. All mesh as one cohesive unit with the root of it all being football.
Sports has always been the glue that holds families and businesses together in our neck of the woods. Just ask any Yinzer. We bleed black & gold, Pittsburgh Steelers football, from birth to death. After all, name me a sports franchise that can be directly associated with a Pittsburgh or Steelers theme as a basis for their business. Beyond this area, the answer is easy — just about every city in the United States and worldwide. Restaurants and watering holes are owned by transplanted Yinzers or loyal fans.
Rich in history, our region has so much to offer on a daily basis, as depicted by the documentary, and there is one constant: football. From the youth Pop Warner leagues, high school, college and the pros, it always has been, always will be, football.
Football, where Steelers season ticket requests have 10,000 people on the waiting list. Football, where thousands of people make the daily trip to the rolling hills and green grass of Latrobe for July training camp at Saint Vincent College. Football, where 65,000-plus people invade the North Shore for a Sunday home game. Football, as thousands of Steeler faithful travel and invade enemy stadiums for away contests. Football is the lasting main thread that holds our finest clothing together. This NFL Films masterpiece depicts that and so much more.
“The Football Town” opened for viewing to the public on Feb. 28 and runs through the end of the NFL Draft in late April. Discussions are still ongoing to see if the documentary will continue to be available for viewing beyond its targeted end date.
I’ll give this production a rousing 5-star review. In the event you have the time and the extra money, do yourself a favor and swing by and view firsthand what this documentary offers and its meaning to our area. Believe me, for the $10 admission price tag, it will be the best money you have spent in a long time.
The longer you wait, the bigger the crowds will get as an estimated one million football fans will descend on our fair city for the April Draft week. Parking and navigation around the area will be extremely challenging.
FYI…. unfortunately this column does not contain the usual host of gallery images to complement the writing. The NFL, Steelers and their partners prohibited any video or still photography images during our viewing.
Allow me to impose upon our readers one final time. Go see this production, as you won’t be disappointed. Go back in our archives and reread Antonio’s original article as I’ve attempted to provide my additional insight into this film.
Read between my lines and perhaps you’ll see my attempt to tell you the film’s content, without telling the film’s content, via my walk down memory lane.
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