Team owners reflect the cities where their teams toil
Posted by tom | Feb 7, 2006As the victory parade rolls through downtown this morning (and lots of kids skip school and downtown employees take a break), here's a business section piece that attempts to tackle the question of why Pittsburgh's fans place their identity in 'da Stillers Contending Super Bowl franchise owners reflect their home towns: The Rooneys and Paul Allen, respective owners of the Steelers and Seahawks, reflect the cities where their teams toil. There was a sardonic smugness on both sides of the ball, i.e., The contrasts between them are as startling as the image gap between the two cities: Pittsburgh, the rusting industrial titan, and Seattle, cradle of technology superstar Microsoft. Pittsburgh's Old Economy is stoked by Iron City beer while in Seattle you'll find the headwaters of Starbucks, the caffeinated lubricant of the New Economy. Pittsburgh Brewing, brewer of Iron City, is mired in bankruptcy. Starbucks last week reported a 20 percent increase in quarterly profits.
But I must say that Rich Sewald's Gridiron & Steel is a must see to enter the story of the rise of football in the region, the emergence of the City of Pittsburgh on the national scene, and how each supported the other through good times and bad. Hard to top. Want to learn more about 'da Burgh? Check out WQED's Pittsburgh History Series hosted by Rick Sebak.

