His favourite Pittsburgh Steelers may be heavy underdogs in their playoff game against the Bills, but Tim Piett stays optimistic.
“They have a few injuries like we do,” said Piett, “and I think we have more offensive power than they do.”
Piett, 65, has been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan his entire life and works as the store manager at Yinzers in the Burgh in the Strip District. He is on his 41st year of selling Steelers stuff.
“When I was growing up back in the ’70s, I saw my very first Super Bowl,” he told me. “I was like 12 years old.”
Terry Bradshaw was the Steelers’ quarterback back then. On Sunday, Piett argued that the starting quarterback must be Mason Rudolph over 2022 first-round selection pick Kenny
Abbey Larotonda, the store manager of Rally House North Shore, witnessed the Steelers’ preseason victory over the Bills at Acrisure Stadium. That game did not count. This one will be a difficult challenge.
“They’re turning around, and they’re looking good,” Ambridge resident Larotonda, 30, said of the Steelers. “We made a run for it so, hopefully, we can keep going.”
Rudolph is also her pick to start at quarterback on Sunday.
“The fans are with Rudolph for now,” she remarked. “He’s showing up for us.”
Jason Abrahams, a store manager at Rally House Federal Street, thinks the Steelers have a “really good shot” at beating Buffalo.
“I think that we can shock the world,” he went on to say. “We’re coming in hot.”
After Sunday, Abrahams, 47, of Carrick, believes the team will not move much further.
“I just don’t think that we’re built for being a playoff team to be honest,” he told reporters. “We got a lot of great energy going into the first round of the playoffs, but playoffs are different than regular season.”
He feels the Steelers will struggle to win more than one postseason game with standout linebacker T.J. Watt out injured. Watt suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s win over Baltimore.
Abrahams also believes Rudolph is “1,000%” the best option for Sunday’s game. The players are rallying around Rudolph.
“I just think that he, as a veteran, … gives us our best chance to win,” he told reporters.
Jaejun Lee feels the Steelers can pull off an upset.
“Obviously, we have a chance,” he remarked. “I think a lot of the teams and fan bases are sleeping on us.”
Lee, 23, from Pittsburgh’s South Side, grew up in the Steelers merchandise industry. His parents operate the Pgh Sports merchandise store in the Strip District.
Lee graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where Pickett played college football. He is a Pickett fan. Still, he believes the Steelers require “hot hand” Rudolph to start on Sunday.
“I like how (Rudolph’s) playing fearless,” Lee went on to say. “He’s been letting it fly. “I’ve been liking that.”
William Morgan stated he begins each Steelers season believing the team would win the Super Bowl. Of course.
