That is when Dave decided to use the playoff tickets he had scored because he's on the waiting list for Steelers season tickets.
When we got home, we hurriedly booked airline tickets and a hotel room. We made arrangements for Mitchell to stay with friends.
I immediately started worrying about how we were going to stay warm. Dave wasn't all that concerned...at first. Then he got concerned when he saw the weather reports for Pittsburgh. The high for the day of the game was 25 degrees and they were calling for snow.
A few days before we left, we headed to Sears and Dick's to find some warm clothes. Luckily Sears had their Lands End winter stuff on sale for 40% off. We both got these awesome waterproof squall shoes. I highly recommend these. They were extremely comfortable and kept our feet warm and dry.
We arrived in Pittsburgh at 9am on Sunday morning. There was snow on the ground...but luckily not so much that it delayed our flight or impeded our trip to our hotel. We caught the shuttle and arrived at our hotel at 10am. We were thrilled to find out that our room was ready. We walked around downtown a little bit, but we hadn't dressed warmly enough so that trip outside didn't last very long! We grabbed some lunch and hung out in our cozy hotel room and the hotel gym until it was time to get dressed for the game.
I broke out in a sweat after putting on all of these layers:
- silk undershirt/tank top
- long-sleeved shirt
- Lands End fleece pullover
- Zip-up fleece jacket
- Lands End jacket
- long johns
- fleece pants
- ski pants
- socks
- wool socks
- aforementioned Lands End shoes
- gloves
- aforementioned balaclava
- toboggan
We headed out before we really started sweating and our layers got wet! I couldn't believe the sea of black and gold we saw when we got outside. We joined the crowd and headed to Heinz Field. Even though we were early, we decided to head inside while the lines were short.
If you're looking for a good workout, put on clothes that weigh about 50 pounds and walk up stadium stairs. Once I sat down, I decided I would not be getting up and down a lot!
The players were warming up (although since most didn't have any sleeves, I can't imagine how "warm" they really were!). Jerome Bettis was there...I did get a picture of him while they were showing him on the Jumbo tron.
They did a touching swearing ceremony of military personnel who were joining the Army, Navy and Marines. There were also some soldiers who were being deployed to Afghanistan the following week. Then Styx came out and performed the National Anthem. As they were finished up, there was a flyover of 4 military aircrafts. It was all very moving.
The atmosphere of the game was indescribable. I have never been to an NFL game where there were real FANS. These people are dedicated. They dress head to toe in Pittsburgh Steelers gear and brave the cold weather. They wave their Terrible Towels, cheer, boo, yell at the refs, yell at each other and yell at fans of the opposing team.
We sat next to an 83-year-old man who had season tickets since the '70s. He was there with his son. I think they were a little baffled by the fact that we had flown up from Atlanta for the game. They asked us if we were from the area? No. (I didn't tell them that I was actually born in Latrobe, PA. I only lived there for 5 weeks!) Did we have friends or family in the area? No. They didn't get it. Dave is just a fan who wanted to attend a game at Heinz Field.
Thankfully the game went our way. The Steelers beat the Chargers 35-24 and will go on to play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
On Monday, we donned our cold weather clothes again and walked around downtown in search of breakfast. We found a McDonald's and headed in. I ordered "tea" and the woman behind the counter asked, "Iced tea??" in disbelief. I don't know if people don't drink iced tea in the morning or if she was just surprised because it was so cold out. I guess she didn't read my blog about my favorite things that start with the letter "T".
Then it was back to the hotel and the warmth of the comfy bed. Luckily we changed our flight and we weren't flying out until 3:30. So we were able to relax and take our time getting ready. We caught the shuttle from the hotel and got to the airport in plenty of time to have a relaxing lunch and shop for souveneirs. We boarded the plane and found out that we needed to be de-iced. So we were delayed taking off. But we were only 10 minutes late landing in Atlanta.
As soon as we got home I rushed over to the neighbor's house to get Mitchell. He was very excited to see us and sleep in his own bed. Although he also had a great time spending the night with his friend Hazen. Thank goodness the sleepover went well. I'm sure we'll be doing that a lot from now on.
And now that I'm posting this 1 week after the game, I can now say that the Steelers are Super Bowl-bound!
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