COMMENTARY Steelers Now Renting for 2011! .I.tllo' Nation: from coast to coast MIRANDA MCCORMICK staff reporter Have you walked around downtown Pitts burgh lately? If not, let me paint the picture for you. The whole town is covered in black and gold. Everywhere you look, you'll find that fa mous symbol with the three diamonds, one blue one red and one yel low, strategically placed so that you can see the shape of a football be tween them. This town is all about the Steelers! Western Pennsylvania is not the only place where you can find this famous symbol. You can go al most anywhere in the country and find some one representing the black and gold. This is what we, Steelers fans, call the Steelers Nation. It's spreading like wild fire! It actually amazes me how many Pittsburgh fans there are in this country. It doesn't mat ter where the Steelers are playing, whether it's (814) 899-5160 3 and 4 Bedroom Apartments Available Located Across From the Entrance to Behrencl WWW.UNIVERSITYGATEAPARTMENTS.COM at home or in Dallas, just look to the crowd and you'll see those Terrible Towels waving. Seeing Steelers fans at random games is my favorite thing. I was watching the Detroit vs. New Eng land game on Thanks giving Day with my fam ily. What is to pop up on the screen right before they go to a commercial break but a man wear ing a James Harrison jersey and covered in black and gold. My en tire family started cheer ing and going crazy, and we weren't even watch ing a Steelers game. I can tell you from personal experience that Steelers fans are some of the most dedicated people around. It doesn't matter if it's 80 degrees or 20 degrees, those cra zy Pittsburgh fans will be at the games. I never said these people would be dressed like average sports fans either. They will be covered from head-to-toe in black and gold with a Troy Pola malu wig on with their Community Center Featuring: -- New Exercise Room - New Laundry Facility - Student Lounge with WIFI - Hungry Howie's Pizza APPLY ONLINE TODAY AT: faces painted carrying signs with the cleverest sayings about the Steel ers. I can be your perfect example. Open up my closet and half of what you will find is black and gold, including jerseys, t-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants. Take a look in my jewelry box, you'll find Steelers necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Then, you can just look around my room. You'll see my Terrible Towel hanging above my bed, a Steelers sign on my desk, Steelers hats and even a Heath Miller bob ble-head. Steelers fans go above and beyond to show support for their team and these people are ev erywhere. My favorite experi ence was going on va cation with my family to Orlando, Florida in mid-September of 2008. Sunday comes around and my whole family is decked out in their Pitts burgh gear. To be hon est, I thought we would be the only ones dressed in black and gold. I ex pected to see Miami fans everywhere, but I was wrong. Everywhere I turned, there were Steelers fans. Even the bar in our resort, Jim myZ, was a Steelers bar! We were so excited to be surrounded by fans just like us so far away from Pittsburgh. There are bars that support the Steelers all around the country, and its seems to be that the Steelers have the largest fan base in the country. Steelers fans truly are everywhere you go. They are extremely pas sionate about the sport, the city, and most impor tantly their team. Don't be surprised if you're traveling the country and you happen to find a few Pittsburgh fans here and there. They are just showing their sup port so that everyone around knows that they are a proud member of the Steelers Nation. tlickr creative commons I Bdeseattle flicks creative commons I utiansaddle i 7173