Is it possible to narrow 30 years of covering football in western Pennsylvania in 30 moments?I am going to give it a try.My 30 years of memories, in no particular order:1. Pitt stuns West Virginia in 2007Name any game in football history, just by its final score. It cannot be done, unless you say “13-9.”2. James Harrison’s 100-yard return in Super Bowl XLIIII was at the top of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — the perfect location to see this entire play unfold, including Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s mad dash through his own sideline to catch Harrison at the goal line. Just one step too late.3. Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIIIOne of the downsides of the TV business: I had to watch the greatest clutch throw and catch in Super Bowl history … on a monitor inside a tunnel, waiting to go on the field at game’s end.4. Super Bowl XXXTwo thoughts: Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland would have been MVP had Neil O’Donnell not thrown two late interceptions, and that “America’s Team” moniker for the Dallas Cowboys disappeared in my mind with all the Terrible Towels flying at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.5. “Operation Football Classic” at Three Rivers Stadium in 1997Seemed like a great idea: A Friday night doubleheader featuring four of the best WPIAL teams. However, Connellsville and Bethel Park played multiple overtimes before the Black Hawks won. It was close to 11 p.m. before North Hills and Upper St. Clair took the field, and let’s just say their legendary coaches were not happy.6. Pitt wins 2021 ACC ChampionshipWe went live after the game in Charlotte during the on-field trophy presentation when the team and the fans sang “Sweet Caroline.” I stopped talking, and hoped my producer could see what we were doing. She did. It made a memorable moment during your 11 p.m. news.7. Barry Sanders IS DangerousThe first regular-season Steelers game I ever covered, and I was excited to not only see the black and gold but also Barry Sanders for the first time. The great escape artist made a move to elude Rod Woodson and send Pittsburgh’s All-Pro cornerback to the ground. The Detroit rusher’s elusiveness had caused Woodson to tear his ACL.8. LaVar Arrington and the 2001 NFL DraftSo many memories with LaVar. He was our first Student-Athlete of the Week Award winner, and who can forget the “LaVar Leap” he perfected at Penn State? But going to the draft in New York with Arrington, his family and his high school coach ranks at the top, even getting to interview the former North Hills star one-on-one shortly after he was selected by Washington in the first round. That does not happen today.9. Steelers beat the Bears in December 2005The snow was falling as I was driving to the stadium. You had the sense it might be a special day, and when Jerome Bettis rolled over Brian Urlacher at the goal line, my suspicions were confirmed. It was the start of an eight-game win streak that resulted in “one for the thumb.”10. Jerome Bettis’ final home gameThe Steelers closed out the regular season with a dominating win over Bettis’ hometown Detroit Lions. He scored three times, but the moment that sticks with me? As I was taping segments on the field, Bettis and his family came out to take pictures inside the empty Heinz Field. I would share it with you, but camera phones were not as prevalent in 2005. 11. 1996 AFC ChampionshipThe Super Bowl hopes of the Indianapolis Colts against the Steelers came down to a Jim Harbaugh “Hail Mary” into the end zone. I was behind the Pittsburgh bench, ready to get interviews. I saw the ball descend, then disappear. The Three Rivers Stadium crowd was my eyes. Silence, then screaming as the Steelers were Super Bowl-bound.12. Terrelle PryorCovering WPIAL football for 30 years, you can see which players are going to be stars on the next level and beyond. Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor was that kind of player. It was a man playing with boys when he was on the field.13. Operation Football Friday nightsI have covered Super Bowls, national championship games, All-Star games and Stanley Cup finals, yet nothing excites me more than every Friday night covering high school football. It’s a tradition in our region and it gives me great joy to share the highlights every week.14. Larry FitzgeraldI still do not know how Fitzgerald did not win the Heisman Trophy at Pitt. His performance in 2003 and the plays he made that season certainly passed the sight test for me when it came to choosing the Heisman winner. Greatest receiver I have ever seen.15. Black and Gold Primetime “Blackout” with Sally WigginI could do a top 30 moments just with Sally Wiggin on our Steelers pregame show, but none will ever match up to the Monday night blackout that hit Candlestick Park as our pregame show was winding down. Sally and yours truly found a hallway with an emergency light to continue broadcasting that night in San Francisco.16. Super Bowl XLIt will always be “One for the Thumb” — but for me, it was the fact that we were at the Super Bowl and it was more like being in Pittsburgh. Ran into so many friends from Pittsburgh in the corridors at Ford Field in Detroit that it felt like a home game.17. Moving Kent Graham into dorm at Saint VincentThere was a time that move-in day at Steelers training camp was not such a media circus. In 2000, Pittsburgh’s new quarterback was trying to get his big tube TV into the dorms and was close to dropping it. I asked if he needed help. Together, we got the TV inside, and a local newspaper captured the moment. I do not know why I still get grief from some over the image of me helping Graham.18. Joe Montana Bridges dedicationI was asked to emcee Montana’s return to the Mon Valley for a dinner and the dedication of the bridges in his name on the Mon-Fayette Expressway. We spent the day together, and Montana told me he was nervous addressing the dinner that night, but we took part in a live auction together earlier and he loosened up and was a natural.19. Swann and Mazeroski Hall of Fame induction weekendPossibly the greatest weekend of my professional career: Being in Canton in 2001 for Lynn Swann’s long-awaited induction. The Steelers legend finished with a shout-out to Pirates great Bill Mazeroski in Cooperstown, New York, and that’s where we jetted to next for Maz’s induction. He did not get through his speech, and never told me the words he did not deliver.20. Operation Football Student-Athlete of the WeekThanks to the weekly segment, I have been to nearly every WPIAL school. One thing remains true 30 years later: The student body at Frazier High School in Perryopolis in 1995 remains the loudest.21. AFC Championship: Polamalu’s pick beats RavensThe play officially covered 40 yards, but Troy Polamalu must have run over 100 yards in a twisting, winding route to the end zone at Heinz Field to beat the Baltimore Ravens and punch Pittsburgh’s ticket to Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII.22. Working out with Duquesne FootballIt was part story, part personal memory. I joined the Duquesne football team for their first day of practice in 2000. At 32 years old, I trained all summer to play at defensive back. Tony Zimmerman was the Dukes’ quarterback, and his performance led to my comment: “I knew what he was doing. I just could not get there fast enough.”23. Quaker Valley beats Aliquippa for WPIAL titleFor those who think the time of day does not impact a game, please take a look at the 2017 WPIAL championship game. The 11 a.m. kickoff at Heinz Field certainly threw both teams off their game, but underdog Quaker Valley stunned a dominant Aliquippa team to win the Class 3A title in one of the greatest upsets ever.24. Passion for the gameInside a high school gym on Valentine’s Day 2002, I interviewed a group of women who left their significant others at home to practice their true passion. Twenty-three years and three national championships later, the Pittsburgh Passion have become part of the fabric of western Pennsylvania football.25. Last game at Pitt StadiumFrom above Pitt Stadium for the final seconds of the game prior to going live, seeing the mass of humanity rush the field was something to witness. Later, the assistant athletic director and I had some fun carrying what was left of the goal post off the field.26. Watching NFL at Acrisure Stadium during COVIDAn empty stadium with a game in progress, with journalists spaced out in a press box, wearing masks and taking notes. It was one of the strangest and most surreal scenes I have ever seen, and hope never to see again.27. Steelers beat Colts to advance to AFC ChampionshipSally Wiggin was next to me in Indianapolis on Jan. 15, 2006, for what should have been a game-clinching touchdown by Jerome Bettis. What followed left both of us screaming: The fumble. The Ben Roethlisberger tackle. The missed field goal by Mike Vanderjagt. The celebration. My heart still beats faster when I think of that improbable sequence.28. Helping to build the Hall of HonorI never could have imagined covering a Northside Chamber of Commerce luncheon would open the door to the opportunity of a lifetime. That’s when Art Rooney II asked me to join the team’s new “Hall of Honor” committee. What unfolded over the next five years was selecting some of the greatest Steelers — and those perhaps lost to history — for induction. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be part of the process.29. Steelers go to Ireland … the first timeThis coming fall’s trip to Ireland is not the first time for the Black and Gold. I traveled with them to Dublin for a 1997 preseason game against the Bears.The Steelers spent the week sampling Irish culture. Greg Lloyd made headlines for his less-than-positive critique of the country. The Irish were still learning the game, so field goals and extra points drew the loudest cheers. Pittsburgh won, and the Waterford Crystal trophy still resides in the team’s South Side offices.30. Penn State “White Out”Maybe it’s a full house jumping up and down, wearing white, or maybe it’s the jet black darkness over Beaver Stadium. Either way, it’s one of the most distinctive and dramatic scenes in all of football.
PITTSBURGH —
Is it possible to narrow 30 years of covering football in western Pennsylvania in 30 moments?
I am going to give it a try.
My 30 years of memories, in no particular order:
1. Pitt stuns West Virginia in 2007
Name any game in football history, just by its final score. It cannot be done, unless you say “13-9.”
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
2. James Harrison’s 100-yard return in Super Bowl XLIII
I was at the top of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — the perfect location to see this entire play unfold, including Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s mad dash through his own sideline to catch Harrison at the goal line. Just one step too late.
3. Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII
One of the downsides of the TV business: I had to watch the greatest clutch throw and catch in Super Bowl history … on a monitor inside a tunnel, waiting to go on the field at game’s end.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
4. Super Bowl XXX
Two thoughts: Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland would have been MVP had Neil O’Donnell not thrown two late interceptions, and that “America’s Team” moniker for the Dallas Cowboys disappeared in my mind with all the Terrible Towels flying at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
5. “Operation Football Classic” at Three Rivers Stadium in 1997
Seemed like a great idea: A Friday night doubleheader featuring four of the best WPIAL teams. However, Connellsville and Bethel Park played multiple overtimes before the Black Hawks won. It was close to 11 p.m. before North Hills and Upper St. Clair took the field, and let’s just say their legendary coaches were not happy.
6. Pitt wins 2021 ACC Championship
We went live after the game in Charlotte during the on-field trophy presentation when the team and the fans sang “Sweet Caroline.” I stopped talking, and hoped my producer could see what we were doing. She did. It made a memorable moment during your 11 p.m. news.
7. Barry Sanders IS Dangerous
The first regular-season Steelers game I ever covered, and I was excited to not only see the black and gold but also Barry Sanders for the first time. The great escape artist made a move to elude Rod Woodson and send Pittsburgh’s All-Pro cornerback to the ground. The Detroit rusher’s elusiveness had caused Woodson to tear his ACL.
8. LaVar Arrington and the 2001 NFL Draft
So many memories with LaVar. He was our first Student-Athlete of the Week Award winner, and who can forget the “LaVar Leap” he perfected at Penn State? But going to the draft in New York with Arrington, his family and his high school coach ranks at the top, even getting to interview the former North Hills star one-on-one shortly after he was selected by Washington in the first round. That does not happen today.
9. Steelers beat the Bears in December 2005
The snow was falling as I was driving to the stadium. You had the sense it might be a special day, and when Jerome Bettis rolled over Brian Urlacher at the goal line, my suspicions were confirmed. It was the start of an eight-game win streak that resulted in “one for the thumb.”
10. Jerome Bettis’ final home game
The Steelers closed out the regular season with a dominating win over Bettis’ hometown Detroit Lions. He scored three times, but the moment that sticks with me? As I was taping segments on the field, Bettis and his family came out to take pictures inside the empty Heinz Field. I would share it with you, but camera phones were not as prevalent in 2005.
11. 1996 AFC Championship
The Super Bowl hopes of the Indianapolis Colts against the Steelers came down to a Jim Harbaugh “Hail Mary” into the end zone. I was behind the Pittsburgh bench, ready to get interviews. I saw the ball descend, then disappear. The Three Rivers Stadium crowd was my eyes. Silence, then screaming as the Steelers were Super Bowl-bound.
WTAE
Andrew Stockey interviews Pitt legend Dan Marino
12. Terrelle Pryor
Covering WPIAL football for 30 years, you can see which players are going to be stars on the next level and beyond. Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor was that kind of player. It was a man playing with boys when he was on the field.
13. Operation Football Friday nights
I have covered Super Bowls, national championship games, All-Star games and Stanley Cup finals, yet nothing excites me more than every Friday night covering high school football. It’s a tradition in our region and it gives me great joy to share the highlights every week.
14. Larry Fitzgerald
I still do not know how Fitzgerald did not win the Heisman Trophy at Pitt. His performance in 2003 and the plays he made that season certainly passed the sight test for me when it came to choosing the Heisman winner. Greatest receiver I have ever seen.
15. Black and Gold Primetime “Blackout” with Sally Wiggin
I could do a top 30 moments just with Sally Wiggin on our Steelers pregame show, but none will ever match up to the Monday night blackout that hit Candlestick Park as our pregame show was winding down. Sally and yours truly found a hallway with an emergency light to continue broadcasting that night in San Francisco.
16. Super Bowl XL
It will always be “One for the Thumb” — but for me, it was the fact that we were at the Super Bowl and it was more like being in Pittsburgh. Ran into so many friends from Pittsburgh in the corridors at Ford Field in Detroit that it felt like a home game.
17. Moving Kent Graham into dorm at Saint Vincent
There was a time that move-in day at Steelers training camp was not such a media circus. In 2000, Pittsburgh’s new quarterback was trying to get his big tube TV into the dorms and was close to dropping it. I asked if he needed help. Together, we got the TV inside, and a local newspaper captured the moment. I do not know why I still get grief from some over the image of me helping Graham.
18. Joe Montana Bridges dedication
I was asked to emcee Montana’s return to the Mon Valley for a dinner and the dedication of the bridges in his name on the Mon-Fayette Expressway. We spent the day together, and Montana told me he was nervous addressing the dinner that night, but we took part in a live auction together earlier and he loosened up and was a natural.
19. Swann and Mazeroski Hall of Fame induction weekend
Possibly the greatest weekend of my professional career: Being in Canton in 2001 for Lynn Swann’s long-awaited induction. The Steelers legend finished with a shout-out to Pirates great Bill Mazeroski in Cooperstown, New York, and that’s where we jetted to next for Maz’s induction. He did not get through his speech, and never told me the words he did not deliver.
20. Operation Football Student-Athlete of the Week
Thanks to the weekly segment, I have been to nearly every WPIAL school. One thing remains true 30 years later: The student body at Frazier High School in Perryopolis in 1995 remains the loudest.
21. AFC Championship: Polamalu’s pick beats Ravens
The play officially covered 40 yards, but Troy Polamalu must have run over 100 yards in a twisting, winding route to the end zone at Heinz Field to beat the Baltimore Ravens and punch Pittsburgh’s ticket to Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII.
22. Working out with Duquesne Football
It was part story, part personal memory. I joined the Duquesne football team for their first day of practice in 2000. At 32 years old, I trained all summer to play at defensive back. Tony Zimmerman was the Dukes’ quarterback, and his performance led to my comment: “I knew what he was doing. I just could not get there fast enough.”
23. Quaker Valley beats Aliquippa for WPIAL title
For those who think the time of day does not impact a game, please take a look at the 2017 WPIAL championship game. The 11 a.m. kickoff at Heinz Field certainly threw both teams off their game, but underdog Quaker Valley stunned a dominant Aliquippa team to win the Class 3A title in one of the greatest upsets ever.
24. Passion for the game
Inside a high school gym on Valentine’s Day 2002, I interviewed a group of women who left their significant others at home to practice their true passion. Twenty-three years and three national championships later, the Pittsburgh Passion have become part of the fabric of western Pennsylvania football.
25. Last game at Pitt Stadium
From above Pitt Stadium for the final seconds of the game prior to going live, seeing the mass of humanity rush the field was something to witness. Later, the assistant athletic director and I had some fun carrying what was left of the goal post off the field.
26. Watching NFL at Acrisure Stadium during COVID
An empty stadium with a game in progress, with journalists spaced out in a press box, wearing masks and taking notes. It was one of the strangest and most surreal scenes I have ever seen, and hope never to see again.
27. Steelers beat Colts to advance to AFC Championship
Sally Wiggin was next to me in Indianapolis on Jan. 15, 2006, for what should have been a game-clinching touchdown by Jerome Bettis. What followed left both of us screaming: The fumble. The Ben Roethlisberger tackle. The missed field goal by Mike Vanderjagt. The celebration. My heart still beats faster when I think of that improbable sequence.
28. Helping to build the Hall of Honor
I never could have imagined covering a Northside Chamber of Commerce luncheon would open the door to the opportunity of a lifetime. That’s when Art Rooney II asked me to join the team’s new “Hall of Honor” committee. What unfolded over the next five years was selecting some of the greatest Steelers — and those perhaps lost to history — for induction. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be part of the process.
29. Steelers go to Ireland … the first time
This coming fall’s trip to Ireland is not the first time for the Black and Gold. I traveled with them to Dublin for a 1997 preseason game against the Bears.
The Steelers spent the week sampling Irish culture. Greg Lloyd made headlines for his less-than-positive critique of the country. The Irish were still learning the game, so field goals and extra points drew the loudest cheers.
WTAE
Andrew Stockey interviews Jerome Bettis in Ireland
Pittsburgh won, and the Waterford Crystal trophy still resides in the team’s South Side offices.
30. Penn State “White Out”
Maybe it’s a full house jumping up and down, wearing white, or maybe it’s the jet black darkness over Beaver Stadium. Either way, it’s one of the most distinctive and dramatic scenes in all of football.
