If the Steelers Ever Moved Out of Pittsburgh, Would You Still Be a Fan?

Before I begin, this 100% a hypothetical question. The Pittsburgh Steelers are not going anywhere any time soon.

But for the sake of this argument let’s just assume that the Steelers are one of the teams being rumored with relocating to Los Angeles, like the St. Louis Rams/Oakland Raiders/San Diego Chargers are. Or even being the team that inevitably ends out in England, my money is still on the Jacksonville Jaguars for that one. The question is if the Pittsburgh Steelers ever moved away from the Steel City would you continue to be a fan of this franchise that has been a staple in western Pennsylvania since 1933?

I think the immediate reaction to this question would be absolutely not. If the Steelers ever became the London Red Coats, how could you possibly cheer for them? That might be worse than the Cleveland Browns moving to Baltimore to become the Ravens. Whether its LA or London or wherever if the Steelers leave Pittsburgh they would no longer be the Steelers in my opinion.

Being from Connecticut, I’ve already dealt with a franchise moving away from my state with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers leaving town in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes. I was only seven years old at the time but I was well on my way to becoming a Whalers diehard and a huge NHL fan. But when they moved to North Carolina, which might as well have been the Moon to a seven-year old from Connecticut, I was done with them and the NHL for a long time.

Therefore, another factor for your answer could be where you live. If you are from Pittsburgh or near it them moving away and never using Heinz Field would be devastating. However if they move to your current city or at least much closer to where you live I could understand how you’d remain a supporter of the franchise because you will get to see them in person much more often.

However a Steelers franchise that moves is no longer the Steelers franchise we know today. In all likelihood the Steelers would have to choose a new name and a different color scheme. T hat would be a sin but that’s what happens when teams move nowadays. The Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Montreal Expos unfortunately became the Washington Nationals. The only teams that could keep their name and colors would be the Rams or Raiders, who have previously called Los Angeles their home. But Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris, Troy Polamalu, and every other Steelers great would not be apart of the new franchises history. They would remain Steelers forever.

All of this being said, thankfully the Pittsburgh Steelers are not going anywhere, just like the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys will never leave their home cities. The Steelers are Pittsburgh in every way. Being part of a community for 82 years usually does that.

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