Pittsburgh is a town obsessed with and identified by its sports teams. There are some cool things which fans outside of Pittsburgh may or may not know about, but that we Yinzers can truly appreciate and be proud of, even if they seem trivial to everyone else. This week’s America Loves Countdowns® series lists of ten of those things.

International Heroes
Let’s be honest – Pittsburgh is not the most welcoming place for foreigners. The city had a collective heart attack last year when they found out that Kennywood had been sold to a Spanish company. So it is amazing when you realize that Pittsburgh’s most beloved sports heroes have come from other nations. Ernie Stautner was born in Germany. Roberto Clemente was from Puerto Rico. Mario Lemieux came from Canada and couldn’t even speak English when he first got here. Even today, non-Americans like Sidney Crosby, Jason Bay, and Evgeni Malkin are well-liked stars in Pittsburgh. Now if we could just be that accepting of non-sports figures, we’d be all set.

“Penn State Sucks”
The Pitt Victory Song, which is played by the band often at sporting events, includes the following bridge:

"Da da da da da-da

Fight, Pitt, fight!

Da da da da da-da

Fight, Pitt, fight!

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!"

However, for many years Pitt fans have replaced “Fight, Pitt, fight!” with “Penn State Sucks!”, and “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!” with “P-E-N-N-S-T-Sucks!”. It wouldn’t matter whether or not Pitt was actually playing against Penn State, those were the “lyrics” no matter what! Sadly, the university put an end to this great tradition a few years ago when they ordered the band to stop playing the bridge because they thought it was “embarrassing” to hear all the fans derisively call out another local school. Fortunately, the hatred of Penn State and their senile old football coach, as well as the ability to enjoy moments like this, is still alive and well amongst Pitt fans.

Steelers Fan Songs
I am usually not an artistic guy, but I traveled to Italy a few years ago and was blown away by the talent which created some of the most magnificent paintings, sculptures, and architecture the world has ever seen. There is some of that same artistic talent in Pittsburgh, except we use it on more “appropriate” things – murals of sports legends, plays about team owners, and most importantly, we have people capable of writing songs about the Steelers Super Bowl chances and Troy Polamalu’s funny name. Suck on that, Italy!

PNC Park
Yes, it houses the soon-to-be worst franchise in the history of professional sports (if the Pirates have just two more losing seasons, they will break the record for most consecutive losing seasons in any of the four major sports). But PNC Park is an amazing place. Several years ago ESPN ranked it as the best baseball park in the country, and they were even taking into account the teams which played at the stadiums. Imagine where PNC Park would rank if an even halfway decent team called it home! It’s a deserving place for long-suffering Pirates fans, especially seeing as how their tax dollars paid for it.

Statues
How much does Pittsburgh love its sports statues? Visitors always know what kind of city this is right when they land at the airport. There are two statues positioned side by side at the exit to the main terminal. One statue is of George Washington, father of our country who courageously fought in Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War. The other statue is of Franco Harris making the Immaculate Reception. That just about sums it up, doesn’t it?

Tailgating
Unlike the other items on this list, tailgating is hardly unique to Pittsburgh sports fans, but it’s still a great part of the ambience. Steelers fans in particular go all out when it comes to pre-gaming. Take a stroll thru the Heinz Field parking lot on a Sunday morning sometime. You will see trucks covered in Steelers paint, massive grilles, and setups that look like someone is about to entertain royalty. This would probably be higher on the list if not for the fact that many fans get a bit too, er, what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh yeah, a bit too DRUNK OUT OF THEIR MINDS!

The Oakland Zoo
Basketball has always taken a back seat to other sports in Pittsburgh. For many years the sport just lacked the passion from its fans that was evident in the football, hockey, and (once upon a time) baseball fans. But that all changed in the early 2000′s. As Pitt’s basketball program rose to national prominence and moved into a new building, its students started a section called the Oakland Zoo, and it has been a force at Pitt games ever since. Pittsburgh is often identified as a “pro sports town” more so than a college sports hotbed. While that may be true, the Zoo shows that Pittsburgh fans can show the same passion for our college teams as we do for the pro franchises.

Renegade
This is one phenomenon that is difficult to understand if you’ve never been to a Steelers game at Heinz Field. You see, there is this old Styx song called “Renegade”. You’ve probably heard it many times before. It’s really a terrible song for the most part. But for whatever reason, it has become the anthem of the Steelers defense at home. Whenever there is a point in the game where the defense needs to step up and make a big stop, the scoreboard goes dark, everything gets real quiet, and then all of a sudden… “Oh mama I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law (thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump)…. And the crowd just goes ballistic. A good example of the song’s effectiveness was on display last season in the Seattle game, where the Seahawks o-line promptly jumped twice right after the song ended. The key now has been to play it at the right time (the scoreboard guy failed at this miserably during the last year’s playoffs when he broke it out too early; he should have saved it for that last Jacksonville drive).

The Terrible Towel
When the late Myron Cope dreamed up the idea of waving a yellow towel in the 1970′s, he probably never realized how huge it would become. No other piece of paraphernalia identifies its team’s fans more than the Terrible Towel does for Steelers fans. Many other sports franchises have attempted to copy it in some way, but it has always just been a fad that soon faded away. Not so with the Towel. When I went to the Super Bowl in 2005 and saw a sea of yellow towels inside Detroit’s Ford Field, it really hit me how awesome this Pittsburgh tradition has become.

Mike Lange’s Goal Calls
Catchphrases such as “scratch my face with a rusty razor”, “call Arnold Slick from Turtle Creek”, and “you’d have to be here to believe it” are part of Pittsburgh lore thanks to announcer Mike Lange, who has called Penguins games since before the franchise was even relevant to most local fans. Although he unfairly got demoted to radio duty a few years ago, he still continues to be the true voice of hockey in Pittsburgh. Every great moment in Pens history – Mario’s dramatic last-second goal against Chicago in the 1992 Finals, the quadruple OT thriller in 1996, the unlikely shot that knocked off Buffalo in 2001 – has been narrated by Lange. Nothing is sweeter than hearing him utter those famous four words: “Heeeeeeee shoots and scores!”