Steeler-mania!

Steelers vs. Titans
Week 1 - September 10, 2009

So, after all the Steelers games I've been to in the past, I finally got the cahones to take my camera. I'm always afraid I'll forget it, lose it, break it, or have it confiscated. I don't know why.
But after I finally got my new camera last year, and it's so small - I decided to give it a whirl.

And right off, I have to thank the random dude in the Limus Sweed jersey for picking my purse (with camera inside) up off the damn sidewalk down by the river and tapping me on the shoulder to hand it back. My purse strap had broken and I didn't even know it. (And no, I wasn't that drunk!)
So, thanks random Steelers fan. You're the coolest of cool!
Steeler fans rock, by the way.

Okay, first off we have a few pics of the fandemonium that is Steeler football. What a bunch of lunatics. The walk to the stadium (from where we park way back at the parking garage near Firewaters Restaurant, which is a hike - past PNC Park and on) is a nice one if you take the route by the river.

There are tons of boats, ships, yachts - whatever. This is just a small example:



Just inside the entrance to Heinz Field:



Once in the stadium, I took this pic from the first level, looking down on one of the gates as the fans are going in:



One of the many parking lots where folks tailgate and such:



My uncle Shawn was there, playing before the game with the Kittanning Fireman's Band:



A beautiful shot of Heinz Field just as people are taking their seats and the players are warming up:



Another shot of the stadium:



A shot of the beautiful city of Pittsburgh:



The Steelers bench during the National Anthem:



Troy Polamalu on the jumbotron. Couldn't resist:



Ready to go...
And yes, the seats are high up there in peanut heaven, but man - you can see everything from up there:

The big, bad Steeler "D" (had to get Harrison #92 in a shot for the hubby):

A difficult shot of the stadium, taken by merging three photos. Not great, but you get the jist of it:

Shot of fans whooping it up:

Offense on the move:

Waiting for the next play, or possibly a tv commercial break:

Huddling:

Another commercial break?

Most popular jersey?

#43 - The jersey I also wore.

GO STEELERS!!!!

Too funny!

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are;)

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

I couldn't let the day pass without a ode to Patrick.




I was so bummed to hear that he had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. I suppose it was inevitable, but you always wish you'd hear those miracle stories, especially when it's someone whose work you truly enjoyed.

There are literally thousands of articles, remembrances and thoughts on his fight with cancer, his passing and his extensive body of work, so I feel no need to ramble about that.

More than anything, I just want to say I am quite sad. Not only was he a great actor, he was an active enviromentalist and humanitarian.
Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment, though, was his 34 year marriage to Lisa Niemi, whom he met when he was 19 and she only 15. How many "Hollywood marriages" can say they last that long? That's right, you can probably count them on one hand.



Patrick and Lisa

They had no children, and considered their vast array of horses and dogs their kids.

I was a big fan of his movies - probably seen them all. Naturally, most people would claim Dirty Dancing or Ghost as their faves, but I loved him best as Orry Main in the North and South miniseries back in the mid-eighties.



I remember myself and three of my friends sitting around the tv watching it, in awe of him. Makes me laugh now. But it was really good acting, and I'm proud to say I own the whole damn miniseries (N & S Books 1-3) on DVD. Yeah, baby.




Dirty Dancing (1987) holds a special place in my heart because it was the first movie I saw with my hubby. I should have known right there that any guy who'd see a chick-flick like that was worth keeping ;)



Of course the hubby's favorite will always be Road House (1989). And I'll admit to seeing that one so many times I can't even count. We own it on DVD (of course!) - but every damn time it's on tv (and that's ALOT, people!) my hubby is still glued to the screen.




{"I thought you'd be bigger"... "Yeah? I get that alot."}

Besides Road House, dramatic action movies like Red Dawn, Youngblood, The Outsiders, Point Break, Black Dog, and Next of Kin drew in all the guys, while girls need only watch Dirty Dancing or Ghost to swoon and fall in love.




So goodbye, Patrick. You were loved, and you'll be missed.




(Isn't this just the best photo of him?)

WE REMEMBER....



9-11-01

Strike a pose!

Had to share:




Oliver's strategically posed porno shot.