The Pittsburgh Steelers have been shipwrecked for almost 17 years in search of their seventh Super Bowl title. Despite the trophy drought, they remain one of the teams with the greatest fans in Mexico, along with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. Their oldest fans, who began to support them since the 1960s-1970s, when the first NFL games were broadcast in the country on open television, trust that recruiting young talent can be the way to return to competitive places in the league, after the departure of coach Mike Tomlin.
“Steelers fans are very loyal, like the majority of fans of other NFL teams who do not change their colors for anything, despite the ups and downs. Those of the old guard who are in the group seek to transmit that affection for the team to the new generations, who still do not have great references like we had in the 1970s, when they won four Super Bowls. That team was full of idols like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann, the truth is there were a lot talent,” explained Sergio Carrasco, founder of the Steelers Family group in Mexico.
Every season, this group meets at a bar in the Condesa neighborhood to support their team; Around 350 members attended the wildcard duel, waving their “terrible towels” non-stop. According to league data, Mexico is one of the countries with the most NFL fans in the world, with around 40 million followers.
Necessary restructuring
“There was a lot of emotion in the game against Houston, because during the first three quarters we were in the fight and with the drama of the previous game we knew that anything was possible. But the defeat confirmed that a restructuring was already necessary. The feeling about Tomlin leaving has been strange, because since I have been a fan of the team I have seen only three coaches leave (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin,” added Carrasco.
Pittsburgh last won the Super Bowl in 2009, when Ben Roethlisberger threw the winning pass to beat the Arizona Cardinals and win the sixth championship for the franchise, which has not won a game of playoffs since 2016. Since Ben’s departure in 2022, they do not have a star who provides constant joy, since Super Bowl champion quarterbacks such as Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers did not give the desired results
“I hope they will be difficult years but not disastrous. Currently I do not see any emblematic player in the squad, I hope the team can recruit young talent in the Draftwhich will take place in April precisely in Pittsburgh, to build a good base of players with the new coach. I would like it to happen like in the 1970s, when a vintage team was built with pure youth and they were later members of the Hall of Fame,” Carrasco concluded.
