Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of those franchises that not only seem to embody the spirit of the town they come from but to somehow instantly evoke the essence of their sport. Founded in 1933 as an expansion NFL team (alongside the Philadelphia Eagles), the Steelers derived their name from Pittsburgh’s robust steel industry and it seemed the perfect name for a team in a rough sport that required so much internal steel to play. Unfortunately, the Steelers’ early years on the gridiron were not ones to remember for the team’s hard-working fans, who suffered through nearly four decades in which the Steelers only made a single playoff appearance (which they lost 21-0 to the Eagles). Few would have predicted their dramatic turnaround in the years following the NFL-AFL merger of 1970, which saw the Steelers take over as one of the new league’s dominant forces. The team won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1974 and 1975, dispatching the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX and Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X. Incredibly, they repeated the feat within the decade, outlasting the Cowboys 35-31 in a classic encounter in Super Bowl XIII in 1978 and battering the Los Angeles Rams 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV in 1979. The Steelers remained competitive through the 1980s and into the 1990s. When they reached Super Bowl XXX in 1995, fans in Pittsburgh were hoping that history would repeat itself against a heavily favored Cowboysteam, with the added spice that whoever won would pull alongside the San Francisco 49ers as the franchise with the most Super Bowl wins (5). Unfortunately (for Pittsburgh), the Steelers came up just short on the day, losing the game 27-17. Their next crack at the Big Show came in 2005 at Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks and this time the Steelers made no mistake, winning 21-10 to match the accomplishments of the 49ers and Cowboys with their fifth Super Bowl victory. The team went one further in 2008, upping the ante with a sixth Super Bowl win after they beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 to win Super Bowl XLIII (and they nearly added a seventh in 2010 against the Green Bay Packers). With the New England Patriots now on six title wins too, Steelers fans will no doubt be backing their team and revvin’ for seven to cement their legacy as the best ever NFL team.
Read more about the Pittsburgh Steelers in our article about the Steelers Season Recap on TicketX Magazine.