Steelers Steam
That's Camp
By Jerry DiPaola

On a truly hot day, you can see the steam sitting atop the Laurel Mountains while men as big as mountains sweat puddles into the ground at St. Vincent College. Grunts, taunts, groans and moans echo from the fields during the demanding practice sessions conducted by Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

Meanwhile, fans dressed in sandals and shorts, wrap sunglasses around their eyes and sip from cold cans holding a wide assortment of beverages. Funny, they sit on their coolers and complain to each other about how easy these millionaire players have it.

It's Steelers training camp, and it begins July 24 at St. Vincent College in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, not far from downtown Latrobe.

This year's camp marks the 35th consecutive summer in which the Steelers will hold camp at St. Vincent.

The team has a state-of-the art training facility on the South Side -- the UPMC Sports Performance Complex -- that has everything a coach demands from camp, but Cowher elects to tuck his team into St. Vincent's Rooney Hall for a month each summer.

The situation is ideal for fans, because the Steelers do not open practice to the public when they are in Pittsburgh; every afternoon practice at St. Vincent is open, and fans treat it like a picnic.

The Steelers experience is similar to the NFL Experience that travels to Super Bowl sites and includes eight interactive football skill stations. Fan can display their passing and kicking skills and run the 40-yard dash.

The games are open for 19 days from July 26 through Aug. 22, only in the afternoons and mainly from 2 to 6 p.m. The dates are July 26-30, Aug. 1-6, 11-13, 15-16 and 20-22. Times vary on July 28, Aug. 4 and 11 (3 to 7 p.m.) and Aug. 3 (12:30-4:30 p.m.).