On Nov. 22, 1992, I covered my first Steelers game, two days after my 24th birthday.
I had talked the sports editor of the newspaper for which I worked at the time, The Derrick in Oil City, Pa., into covering the game because Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda was a native of nearby Franklin.
The Steelers won that game, 30-14, and I was among the throng at Three Rivers Stadium who talked to Marchibroda about the special thing Bill Cowher seemed to be building in Pittsburgh.
A few months later, I was hired at The Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa. I wasn't initially hired to cover the Steelers, but when the opportunity arose that offseason to be the paper's beat writer, I jumped at it.
When I was later asked to fill in on some radio shows on the Steelers Radio Network starting in 2008, I jumped at that opportunity, as well.
The same goes for when I was asked to join the fledgling Steelers Nation Radio in 2014, even though at that time I had no idea what digital radio happened to be. Together with my partner in crime the past four years, Matt Williamson, we've turned SNR Drive on Steelers Nation Radio into one of the top Steelers podcasts around.
And when the opportunity came to work for the Steelers as a writer, editor and contributor to more of their media platforms, I leaped at that, as well.
I've spent more than half of my life covering the team. If I'm not writing about them, I'm talking about them. It's what I do.
There have been hundreds of wins and losses, plenty of AFC Championship games, Super Bowl wins and losses along the way. And thousands of stories.
At the end of the day, it's always about the stories. It still is.
Now, after spending the past three decades telling those stories and talking about the team on other platforms, I'll be doing so with the Steelers on a regular basis across their media platforms, which includes writing about the team on a year-round basis.
I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing so.
Together, along with the excellent staff and other reporters and contributors here, we'll continue to bring you the best Steelers stories, videos and more on the team.
We do this because Steelers Nation really is much more than a nation. It's a worldwide phenomenon that only continues to grow with each passing day. We do it because of the passionate fanbase that is second to none.
The passion of Steelers Nation is unrivaled. And you deserve unrivaled coverage of the team, just as you demand.
