{"id":772772,"date":"2026-02-24T08:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T08:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772772\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T08:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T08:18:26","slug":"the-football-town-celebrates-western-pennsylvanias-football-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772772\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Football Town\u2019 celebrates Western Pennsylvania\u2019s football tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n \/Local News
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

1 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bill Cohwer, left, and Jerome Bettis, right talk about the love that people in western Pennsylvania hav for the game of football in “The Football Town.”<\/p>\n

2 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“The Football Town,” an NFL Films documentary, highlights football in Western Pennsylvania, including Pop Warner players and players at the high school, college, and professional levels.<\/p>\n

3 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“The Football Town” highlights the connection between the region’s steel industry and football. The Football Township is presented by U.S. Steel, in collaboration with the Steelers and NFL Films.<\/p>\n

4 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield
\n“The Football Town,” a documentary celebrating the Pittsburgh region’s football heritage, premiered on Monday at the Kamin Science Center’s Rangos Giant Cinema. From left are Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Neil Zender of NFL Films, Michael Williams of U.S. Steel, and Jim Britt of SportsPITTSBURGH.<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield<\/p>\n

5 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield
\nDan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks about the new documentary, “The Football Town,” at a media event held Monday. The film will run from Saturday through the NFL Draft at the Kamin Science Center’s Rangos Giant Cinema.<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield<\/p>\n

6 \/ 6<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield
\n“The Football Town” is an NFL Films documentary that celebrates the Pittsburgh region’s football heritage and the role that the region’s culture and values play in shaping the game.<\/p>\n

Karen Mansfield<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

[expand]<\/p>\n

close
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

Pittsburgh will host the NFL Draft in 60 days, and the celebration officially gets underway Saturday at Kamin Science Center with the release of \u201cThe Football Town, a documentary that celebrates Western Pennsylvania\u2019s storied football tradition. <\/p>\n

The NFL Films documentary will run at the science center\u2019s Rangos Giant Cinema in the weeks leading to the draft, being held from April 23-25.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our first real activation headed up to the NFL Draft,\u201d said Jim Britt, VisitPITTSBURGH Vice President of Sports Events, at a media preview screening on Monday. \u201cWe believe that football is just a pure part of the culture of Western Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n

The documentary was created in partnership with the Steelers, VisitPittsburgh and U.S. Steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Football Town\u201d explores Western Pennsylvania\u2019s gridiron legacy and features appearances by Steelers legends Bill Cowher, Jerome Bettis, Joey Porter Sr., James Harrison, and others. <\/p>\n

It also highlights a number of youth, high school and college football programs, from Pop Warner players to the Pitt Panthers. <\/p>\n

Most of the footage was shot over a single weekend by seven camera crews.<\/p>\n

It is narrated by football analyst and former NFL punter Pat McAfee, a Plum native and, according to NFL Films coordinating producer Neil Zender, wrote his own narration. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things a newborn yinzer learns is football is an important part of life,\u201d McAfee says in the film, as footage of babies swaddled in Terrible Towel blankets in a Pittsburgh hospital maternity unit plays. <\/p>\n

The film also dives into the region\u2019s steel industry and its blue-collar history, and the \u201cgrit\u201d of Pittsburghers.<\/p>\n

Dan Rooney, Steelers vice president of strategy, noted the significant role Western Pennsylvania has played in the growth of the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWestern Pennsylvania has much to celebrate, from the ties to the very origins of the draft, which can be traced back to a 1935 NFL owners meeting over at the Fort Pitt Hotel, to building a dynasty through the draft under coach Chuck Noll,\u201d Rooney said. <\/p>\n

He noted that the region has produced more than 750 NFL players, including over 20 Hall of Famers, along with legendary coaches and scouts. The 1974 Steelers draft class produced five Hall of Famers and is generally considered the best draft class in NFL history.<\/p>\n

Zender said the film was challenging to make, and that NFL Films used, for the time, a specialized camera to accommodate the theater\u2019s 71-by-40-foot screens, which is twice as large as most movie screens. Drones and helicopters were used to shoot footage.<\/p>\n

In many ways, the film is a love note to the region and its passion for football \u2013 one scene is shot in a church on Sunday, where many of the church-goers are clad in black and gold \u2013 and it pays homage to Pittsburgh\u2019s football history and the legendary athletes who have shaped it. <\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh isn\u2019t just a football town, it\u2019s THE football town. Football is different here. It means more to people here,\u201d said Zender.<\/p>\n

Rooney was delighted with the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs conversations began about how to highlight this legacy, we knew the story deserved to be told in a deeper, more expansive way, he said. \u201cThe concept for this film was born and given to NFL Films, and they were the perfect partner to bring this film to life. The release of \u201cThe Football Town\u201d marks the beginning of our celebration and sets the tone for everything to come, as we build toward the draft. We\u2019re proud to share this with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Football Town will run from Saturday through the NFL Draft at the Kamin Science Center\u2019s Rangos Giant Cinema. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on the science center\u2019s website.<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \/Local News 1 \/ 6 Bill Cohwer, left, and Jerome…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[29667,7,61488,15,520,109636,56392],"class_list":{"0":"post-772772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-fayette-county","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-greene-county","11":"tag-nfl-draft","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-the-football-town","14":"tag-washington-county"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116124630406220833","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}