Mama Said "Home is Where the Heart is," When I Left that Town

New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia. Say what you will, none of them are better than my hometown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yes, I understand that it’s not somewhere tourists go out of their way to see, but as a native Pittsburgher, I think it should be number one on everyone’s list. The city has everything: food, theatre, sports, music, college life, and probably anything else you could ever think of. To me, there’s nothing better than going downtown some random night to do something fun. Really, there’s nothing better than driving into the city. The skyline, well, it’s gorgeous-and pretty underrated. Although I go to Penn State, nothing gives me worse stomach butterflies than when I come home from school, drive through the Squirrel Hill Tunnels and am suddenly surrounded by the lights and buildings of my beautiful hometown. It honestly takes my breath away, and I just can’t help but smile when I see my city reflected off of the three rivers that make up the point. What could really be better?

So maybe none of the buildings are recognizable to those outside of the city, and maybe no one discusses how amazing the Pittsburgh skyline is. Thankfully I know that out there, there is an entire city that backs up these beliefs. I also know there are tons of people that probably think I’m crazy.  Well you know what? I don’t care. That’s what being a Pittsburgher has taught me. I’ve learned that it’s okay to cry when your beloved Steelers lose the Superbowl, that it’s perfectly acceptable to carry a Terrible Towel anywhere and everywhere you go during football season, to scream “IT’S A HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH,” to eat french fries and cole slaw on a sandwich and to have school canceled because the Steelers or Penguins won the Superbowl or the Stanley Cup (let’s face it, we’d all skip school anyway). We’re one crazy melting pot that can basically be brought together by anything—and Pittsburghers can be found anywhere. Wear a Steelers jersey in Florida? It’s likely someone will chant “here we go Steelers” at you. Travel to Arizona? You could probably find a bar revolving around Pittsburgh sports. Us Pittsburghers, we’re everywhere, and each one of us is just as passionate as the next. 

Yes, we may get a little out of hand when it comes to certain things, and yes, we have a crazy accent, with some seriously strange slang, and maybe we’re a “drinking town with a football problem,” but were also the City of Bridges, the Steel City, and most importantly, the City of Champions. So say what you want about my city, all I know is I’m proud to be a Pittsburgher. 

And I hope all of yinz are too.