Pittsburgh Is the Nation's Premier Sports Town

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport on a trip back to the city to attend my brother’s wedding, we were greeted at the top of the airport's escalator by two lifelike mannequins.

One was of General George Washington suited for battle, celebrating his history in the area and the other was of Franco Harris, also suited for battle, a tribute to the city’s incredible sports legacy. 

And those competing images are the perfect representation of a city whose history and culture is so seamlessly intertwined with its sports traditions.

Pittsburgh is a special place.  I wasn't ready to admit that after leaving the city not long after graduating from high school. 

Like many kids, I figured the grass was greener on the other side.  There was a great big world out there to explore...the land of Rocky Mountain highs (natural of course), California Girls, Oktoberfests, and all such things. 

But, after living all over the country and the world, I've come to realize that Pittsburgh is one of the most unique cities in the U.S.  I think those of us who have left the city know best what we left behind. 

No city generates as much civic pride in its residents as Pittsburgh.  When people ask me where I'm from, I always feel a sense of pride when I establish my Pittsburgh "street cred."

Contrast this with the reaction when the President announced Pittsburgh would be hosting the G20 Summit. 

The elitists in the White House press corps, a group collectively unaware that there are cities in the U.S. not named New York, Washington, or Los Angeles, actually laughed. 

That, in and of itself, is also a point of pride, that some people will never understand why we love our hometown so much. 

There are several factors that I think account for why Pittsburgh is such a fascinating place to both be from and to call home. 

There is the very powerful historical narrative...the pride we feel in the city's blue collar roots.  We take pride that our fathers and grandfathers worked in the steel mills as part of the industry that helped build our nation, even if that industry is no longer the lifeblood of the city.

The city and the surrounding area also played huge parts in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars which were so important in forming the identity of our country.

There are the distinctly Pittsburgh traditions, like eating a hot dog at the Original "O" in Oakland or a Primanti Brother's sandwich, waiting in the long line to get in the back seat on the Thunderbolt roller coaster at Kennywood because it is the best seat, stepping onboard the Gateway Clipper riverboat to be ferried to old Three Rivers Stadium to watch the Steelers or Pirates, riding an incline up to Mount Washington on light up night, or listening to Donny Iris tell us that some girl named Leah "is looking better than a body has a right to." 

There is the diverse flavor of so many different areas like the South Side, the Strip District, and Oakland, areas that hold so many memories for nearly all of us who ever called the city home.

There is the city's rebirth as an educational and medical leader. 

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