[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

But I do live in Steeler Country and let me tell you everything stops when they play around here. The people take this very seriously and know each player as if their own family member..... Stores have to schedule staff so all can see at least part of the game, but business is far less for the game going on.....flags go up everywhere....and oh THE FOOD MENU for all the parties galore is off the scale!....Rich or poor they all party hearty here. And you should hear these people when they loose a game....emotions are high....they actually will scold the players! It's really quite an all consuming event for the people here......not me...no thanks.

I will never understand why so many people get so emotionally invested in something that has absolutely no bearing on their lives.

It's like they've been brainwashed or something.

[gusty]

It’s fun. Outside of staying alive, everything else has no bearing in your life. As Francis Costello stated in “The Departed” “I do not need p***y anymore either, but I like it.”

[caww]

Oh but it does have a bearing on their life here....I think it’s a major outlet for the daily grind...and a strong source of bringing this community together....

Where I live is a smaller city , a tad backward in many ways as are many of the people here. I went thru culture shock when first arriving here...it was such a change from the city living I had prior.

It took awhile for me to understand their infatuation with the Steelers until I realized how much the entire community comes together for the games.... they truly do see the “Steelers as “Their Own”........and these games do unite the community remarkably so. Thus all the food and hooplah.....and they do indeed celebrate their wins.

So I couldn’t say it has no bearing on their lives....it truly unites them all regardless of their station or economic status. Fun to watch this gathering “in” when it happens....

[Theophilus]

I wear my Steelers shirt on business trips and the good will I get from it is priceless.

[discostu]

Or possibly that the human brains craves entertainment, and a sense of belonging in a community. Really 99% of things EVERYBODY (including you) get excited about have no actual impact on their lives. Even politics, really if you pay attention to how little things change from one administration to the next how much effort we put into trying to effect the direction of the country is insane. The human brain needs this kind of stuff though, without the distractions we go bonkers. You can pretend your distractions are different, but that’s just pretend... which itself is a form of entertainment.

[Borges]

In smaller communities the success of a local team can be a huge economic boon. Everything from local restaurants to souvenir shops.