Cannon Firing Line
Getting Personal
By Ellis Cannon
PSR Publisher

When the NFL's schedule came out last April, the Steelers' grid for the 2009 season hit a soft spot of sorts with a mid-October date in Detroit.

It didn't get too much better after the season started, although the opportunity at that point to reach above .500-as unexpected as that was-certainly proved welcome to the Steelers and their fans.

We mention fans as they were legion for that most recent visit in Detroit, which was no great shock considering they were the ones to sell out Ford Field, as they did when a Super Bowl was there in 2006.

Those fans not only looked like the ones who were in Detroit to watch the Steelers win that Super Bowl-the first in a generation and one not to be overlooked by what the Steelers accomplished in Tampa three years later-they sounded a whole lot like it too.

And, believe me, they were there in high volume, whether it be at what the locals call the "Ren Cen" in downtown Detroit, Greektown, or Ford Field - be it in the regular or postseason.

That's the deal with this team's fans, something that jumps out on every out of town visit. You hear about it and, Lord knows, you hear it when the away games are aired back to Pittsburgh.

It's not possible to travel with every team. It's not possible to visit every venue in which the other teams play. But it's also not possible to really comprehend it, no matter how many accounts you hear about it, unless you're there.

These fans are everywhere. It's so far past being a fan, it's not funny. It's almost a right of passage to make a road trip, to put on the uniform, to get to the team hotel, to spend all night letting everyone in that city know you're there, and then to show up en masse the next day and root your guts out for the Steelers.

Increasingly, it seems the Penguins are receiving a similar boost from their fan base, not just on those trips to Washington and Buffalo as they have always done, but to others as well. It changes the environment through the entire weekend and, ultimately, on gameday.

Why that's the case, or why that's the case seemingly more in Pittsburgh than elsewhere, probably has more to do with the type of fans these teams have. Loyal to the 'nth degree, willing in some cases to spend the extra buck on the road because they can't in Pittsburgh. And don't forget what ex-Steeler Sean Morey told Sporting News back in the fall - the fans' interest in the Steelers is almost personal.

Actually, it's not almost personal. It is personal.

With the final chapter of the Steelers' season played out, and those chapters of another Penguins' season about to, you'll see it again. From one generation of fans to another.

Ellis Cannon is the Publisher of the Pittsburgh Sports Report. His weeknight radio show, "Ellis Cannon's SportsLine Pittsburgh," airs on FM NewsTalk 105.7 FM from 6-8 p.m.