PITTSBURGHESE

There has been much written about the unique colloquial way of speaking that is referred to as Pittsburghese. Some might argue that "colloquial" has less to do with "location" than it does with "locution" - but, that's a boring interpretation - even for me.

At my age I continue to be amazed when thrown in with a group of strangers from around the country to hear someone say, "You must be from Pittsburgh.". It's not just the expressions I learned growing up in Pittsburgh, but, things as simple as the pronunciation of "downtown" - which turns into "dahntahn" as it rolls out of my mouth.

When you lived in only one place for over 50 years , no matter how much you travelled around this great country of ours, you tend to assume everybody talks like you. They don't.

It was not unusual for us to hear growing up, "Yinz goin' food shoppinat da gint igl n'at." and know it was a critical observation as to how you were dressed on your way to The Giant Eagle grocery store to do some "food shoppin".

No pro ballgame was complete if you didn't hear the vendor yell: "Hay Bir Here."

It wasn't only the language and the expressions that caused Pittsburgh to be unique - it was also the people.

Here's a story I've often repeated: I once took my bride from Harrisburg into Pittsburgh to see my kids and experience the sights. I made her a promise as we were enjoying that amazing view of the "burgh" as we departed the Fort Pitt Tunnels heading into town..

"Phyl," I said, " I guarantee you when we stop at one of the local Tambellini restaurant/bars for their fried Zucchini that it won't be 5 minutes before someone other than an employee strikes up a conversation with you.". Pittsburgh didn't let me down and my wife was amazed as it happened over and over again during our stay. It's a friendly town.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know there are a lot of proud people from a lot of cities and towns around the U.S., and rightfully so, but, our bragging rights are somewhat unique.

We are considered by many to be "a big city" but actually you can walk the perimeter of Pittsburgh proper in a relatively short period of time. Some have referred to the town as the "smallest big city in the world".

The city may be small but the people are not. Recently they demonstrated this loud and clear in assessing their feelings about severing the relationship between their proud "Stillers" and it's two time Super Bowl winning quarterback, Ben Rothlisberger.

One would think when you got a guy who led you to winning those Super Bowls and gave you two years of bragging rights, that you might excuse almost anything in the way of boorish behavior, the possession of a testosterone overload and incredible bad judgment.

"He'll grow out of it", some might say - and did -but not the majority of the folks. As one writer put it, "of course we care whether they win or lose. But we care much more what they stand for."

So, it isn't all about winning? Didn't we hear that from such famous sports gurus as Vince Lombardi? Wasn't it baseball manager Leo Durocher who was quoted as saying, "Nice guys finish last"? Even Tiger made that clear in his post final round interview at the Masters, "I didn't come here to lose!", and Tiger has much bigger problems.

Yeah winning is important - but not the only thing. Not in my town, thank you. They still come out to watch their beloved Pirates anchored by a 17 season losing streak.

"The Steeler Way" sounds a little like the Boy Scout Law. It's about being proud, fair, honest, and playing with a greater agenda. It's the philosophy of the Rooney family, the owners and also their fans, "The SteelerNation" , has come to not only to expect it -but- to respect it.

It's a creed that is very important to it's residents and fans . As a loyal fan base, they are quite supportive when the local management team decides to deep-six a star who doesn't "get it" - even if they might gripe about what "we got in return."

Recently, they overwhelmingly made their feelings known when asked to participate in a survey that was taken of several thousand fans. Many concluded that "letting their star quarterback go" was a viable option.

Post-Gazette columnist Gene Collier - who makes a living from writing about winning teams such as the Penguins and The Steelers - said it most eloquently in a recent column when he concluded that the Steelers could stick with Big Ben and try to rehab him , but, "it is a bathroom I wouldn't want to walk into."

Now, that's a form of "Pittsburghese" for which I am extremely proud.