PITTSBURGH – Sunday’s Steelers game was supposed to be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the franchise’s first team to win the Super Bowl.
But it’s 2024 and everything, even football, is affected by politics.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate – and once owner of the now defunct New Jersey Generals USFL team — attended the match at the invitation of the owner of a private apartment after a weekend spent campaigning in Pennsylvania.
NBC’s broadcast of the game showed Trump in the suite just before the end of the first quarter.
Dok Harris, son of slow Steelers Franco Harris, who was Super Bowl IX MVP, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris (no relation) on Sunday. He said his father would have been delighted to see President Harris and did not seem perturbed by Trump’s plans to attend the game.
“I don’t think Trump showing up at Acrisure Stadium is a big deal,” Harris told the Capital-Star on Sunday. “The Cleveland Browns come once a year. So we have become accustomed to the presence of losers and we are not afraid of it.
Harris said the Super Bowl IX team’s legacy remains intact regardless of who attends Sunday’s game.
“Super Bowl IX really changed Pittsburgh, you know, created a city of champions, yeah, being able to tell people, ‘Hey, I’m from Pittsburgh,’ with pride in your voice again, after, you know, a few difficult years, right? Harris said. “So it doesn’t matter who comes to support.”
On Sunday afternoon, Steelers fans gathered outside Acrisure Stadium as a plane circled overhead with a banner reading “Trump and Jets Fans: Both New York Jagoffs,” using a pejorative term for the former president and visiting team from Pittsburgh.
Trump’s weekend in Pennsylvania: praising Arnold Palmer’s anatomy and making french fries at McDonald’s
Most patrons weren’t too eager to talk politics with a reporter on a pretty October day; Excuses ranged from “my boss doesn’t know I’m going out on this game,” “I have a job where I can’t talk about it,” or “I’m not interested in politics.”
And those who wanted to share their thoughts – regardless of who they plan to vote for next month – didn’t seem too thrilled about the presidential candidate’s appearance at the game.
“If I knew [Trump] I was supposed to be here three days ago, two days ago, I wouldn’t have come,” David Klan, 74, of Dillonvale, Ohio, told the Capital-Star. He said he was a supporter of Kamala Harris and was dismayed by Trump’s appearance, although he admitted it was a shrewd move by the candidate to reach voters. “I don’t even want to be around him, he puts people down all the time. He has no respect for anyone but himself.”
Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was outside Acrisure Stadium on Sunday helping with voter registration, also attended Trump’s rally in Latrobe on Saturday. Klan said he’s not surprised the former Steeler supports Trump.
“Antonio Brown hasn’t been in good form since he came back hit Cincinnati because of that center back they had, he hasn’t been himself since then,” he said. “He he threw the furniture from this balcony in Miami.
Dave Stevick, 62, from Trafford, described himself as a Trump supporter.
“We bought tickets for the match. I’m here to get everyone around the game excited,” Stevick said. “I don’t like that he’s here, but I think it might be a distraction.”
As for Brown, Stevick said he expected the former Steeler to be booed if he was seen at the game.
But he said he understands why candidates spend so much time in the Keystone State. “Pennsylvania can decide the election,” he said. “But everything is politics, it is also business. But once you get on the field, there is no business and no politics.”
“At least we can agree on cupcakes.”
A group of about 50-60 Kamala Harris supporters stood at the tailgate to hand out cupcakes to celebrate her 60th birthday.
The Tailgate for Kamala event was made possible through a partnership of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Young Democrats of Allegheny County, Pitt College Democrats and the Cakes for Kamala initiative. “Founders of Kamala”, a private group of business owners supporting Harris. Harris turned 60 on Sunday.
Around 6 p.m., “Tailgate for Harris” joined a gigantic crowd of Steelers fans dressed in black and gold (and some wearing “Make America Great Again” hats) eating barbecue food and throwing footballs. Harris supporters found part of one parking lot where tables were set up with hundreds of cupcakes, as well as soda, water and other snacks. The crowd united college Democrats and older Democrats motivated to support Harris.
“We put all this together, we literally thought on Friday to do this,” said PA Dems Executive Director Mitch Kates. “Put this into practice quickly.”
He referred fondly to Franco Harris, whom he remembered as a vocal and powerful supporter of the Democratic Party, including President Joe Biden and Harris’s mandate.
“We have worked together for years, one election cycle after another,” Kates said. “It’s strange that he is not here with us today, although he is with us in spirit. We definitely think this is Harris country.”
Pat Francis, press secretary for the Pitt Dems, noted that more University of Pittsburgh students have become involved in the election since Harris became the candidate.
“This event was organized to show that Pittsburgh is not Trump country,” Francis said.
Austin Wise, political director for the Pennsylvania College Democrats, referenced a similar incident at a Pitt Panthers college football game. He cited subsidies for first-time homebuyers, legalization of recreational marijuana and tax cuts for the middle class as Harris 2024 policies popular among adolescent Democrats who run in his circles. He also said that more adolescent people seem interested in forming unions .
Wise met with other adolescent Democrats at a tailgate.
“We’re talking about winning,” Wise said. “Victory, victory, victory. We can’t wait for the prize. College students in particular are more excited than ever to win this election.”
Several groups of students carried boxes of cupcakes around various tailgate events to hand out to anyone interested. One team offered cupcakes to a nearby group performing a lip-sync dance to “Hot to Go!” Chappell Roan.
Another, led by Pitt Dem co-chair Henry Cohen and Carnegie Mellon University College Democratic Party President Avalon Sueiro, handed out what they estimated to be about 50-60 cupcakes. Many rejected them, but others happily accepted the free treat. After handing someone a cupcake, the two explained that the cupcakes were to celebrate Harris’ birthday – if someone said they planned to vote for her, Cohen reminded them to vote on November 5. “We may not agree on everything,” Cohen told them, “but at least we can agree on cupcakes.”
Cohen said one Trump supporter accepted the cupcake and offered a scorching dog in return. The woman asked why they both decided to hand out free cupcakes, and after Cohen’s spiel, she replied, “Do you have vanilla?” She happily accepted one.
“At the end of the day, everyone likes cupcakes, and it’s nice to find something where we can find common ground, especially in divisive times,” Sueiro said.
Cohen compared Trump watching the game in a private luxury suite to Harris supporters like him working on the field.
“We’ve got us here, out and about, actually doing things and talking to people,” Cohen said.
Doc Harris said he supports Kamala Harris because she is more in line with his family’s ideas of who a presidential candidate should be. He said he would work to convince other men to support her candidacy – suggests a recent survey there is a large difference between the genders – women favor Harris and men favor Trump.
“Our job in this team is to say: come and join the team, because in a team everyone has a role, everyone has responsibilities, but everyone unites,” he said. “And when we all move forward, the team wins.”
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