"Latrobe, PA; approximately 40 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The home of Rolling Rock beer, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and TV's soft-spoken Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
In the center sits Latrobe Memorial Stadium, which becomes Steeler Nation's center of attention for one night every year. Ladies and gentleman, all aboard the black-and-gold train. Destination: the Pittsburgh Steelers' annual night practice."
That's from a piece I wrote last year around this time for Patch. This year, I didn't feel like writing another interesting introduction, so let me get into it. Today, I attended the official night practice of the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was no shirtless Tebow, no shoulderless Peyton..just a father and his two sons enjoying the heat by taking in some football.
We almost didn't make it in time for 7:00, which is when the heap of black-and-gold players exit the big yellow school buses and take the field. For fifteen minutes, each Steeler player heads to a different part of the fence (surrounding the field) and signs autos for fans.
I had the pleasure of chasing down Big Ben Roethlisberger. Well, let me rephrase that. It wasn't exactly pleasure. It was pain. Lots and lots of pain. After sliding between a record-breaking crowd and slamming myself into a pile of sweaty Steelers' fans, I got to add this beauty to my collection:
Beautiful signature on a glossy 8x10 I picked up at a mall outside of Latrobe. I think this is my fourth Roethlisberger autograph, but the first on a picture. With five minutes left, in a scene of clutch heroics, I got tight end Heath Miller to sign this for me:
As for practice, a few notes. First, if Ben has a torn rotator cuff, it sure doesn't look like it. He was throwing the ball accurately with ease, even placing one into a trash can from fifteen yards away (which resulted in some huge cheers from the crowd). Second, even though coach Tomlin doesn't allow goal-line drills, it was getting extremely physical during scrimmage. Apparently, after we left, Willie Colon and Cameron Heyward "fought." I'd love to see some video. And third, I have a few guesses on who won't have a roster spot come season time: WR Jimmy Young, WR Toney Clemons, and S Robert Golden. They made some sloppy plays out there tonight.
But anyways, it was my brother's first training camp, so here's a shoutout buddy! Go Steelers!
