David Klan, 74, of Dillonvale, Ohio, was in Pittsburgh to attend the Steelers game on Oct. 20, 2024. He said if he had known former President Donald Trump was attending the same game, he would not have come. (Photo by Abigail Hakas for the Capital-Star)
PITTSBURGH— Sunday’s Steelers game was intended to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the franchise’s first Super Bowl-winning team.
But this is 2024 and everything, even football, is affected by politics.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president – and ever owner of the now defunct USFL’s New Jersey Generals – attended the game at the invitation of a private suite holder after a weekend of campaigning in Pennsylvania.
The NBC broadcast of the game showed Trump in the suite just before the end of the first quarter.
Dok Harris, son of late Steelers running back Franco Harris, who was MVP of Super Bowl IX, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris (no relation) on Sunday. He said his father would have loved seeing President Harris and seemed unfazed by Trump’s plans to attend the game.
“Trump showing up at Acrisure Stadium, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Harris told the Capital-Star on Sunday. “The Cleveland Browns come once a year. So we are used to there being losers, we are not afraid of it.”
Harris said the legacy of the Super Bowl IX team remained intact no matter who attended Sunday night’s game.
“Super Bowl IX was really what changed Pittsburgh, you know, created a city of champions, yeah, the opportunity for people to say with pride in their voice again, ‘Hey, I’m from Pittsburgh,’ after, you know, a tough few years, right?” Harris said. “So it doesn’t matter who comes to cheer.”
Steelers tailgaters gathered outside Acrisure Stadium on Sunday afternoon as a plane circled overhead with a banner reading “Trump & Jets Fans: Both Jagoffs from NYC,” using a Pittsburgh pejorative to describe the former president and the visiting describe the team.
Most tailgaters weren’t eager to talk politics with a reporter on a beautiful October day; Excuses ranged from “my boss doesn’t know I’m going to this game” to “I have a job where I can’t talk about it” to “I don’t like politics.”
And those willing to share their thoughts — regardless of who they plan to vote for next month — didn’t seem too happy about the emergence of a presidential candidate.
‘If I knew [Trump] would have been here three days ago, two days ago I wouldn’t have come,” David Klan, 74, of Dillonvale, Ohio, told the Capital-Star. He said he is a Kamala Harris supporter and was stunned that Trump would appear, though he acknowledged it was a smart move by the candidate to reach voters. ‘I don’t even want to be around him, he degrades people all the time. He has no respect for anyone but himself.”
Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was outside Acrisure Stadium on Sunday to help register voters, also attended a Trump rally in Latrobe on Saturday. Klan said he wasn’t surprised the former Steeler endorsed Trump.
‘Antonio Brown has not been right since he arrived hit in Cincinnati because of that middle linebacker they had, he hasn’t been himself since,” he said. “He furniture thrown from that balcony in Miami.”
Dave Stevick, 62, from Trafford, described himself as a Trump supporter.
“We bought tickets for the match. I’m here for the excitement of everyone around the game,” Stevick said. “I don’t mind him being here, but I think it might be a distraction.”
As for Brown, Stevick said he expected the former Steeler to be booed if he was seen at the game.
But he said he understood why the candidates spent so much time in the Keystone State. “Pennsylvania could decide the election,” he said. ‘But everything is political, it is also a business. But once you get on the field, there is no business, no politics.”
‘At least we agree on cupcakes’
A group of about 50 to 60 Kamala Harris supporters joined the tailgate to hand out cupcakes to celebrate her 60th birthday.
The “Tailgate for Kamala” event was created through a partnership between the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Allegheny County Young Democrats, College Democrats in Pitt and “Cakes for Kamala,” an initiative of “Founders of Kamala,” a private pro-Harris group of business owners. Harris turned 60 years old on Sunday.
Around 6 p.m., “Tailgate for Harris” joined a large crowd of Steelers fans, decked out in black and gold (and some wearing “Make America Great Again” hats), eating from the grill and throwing footballs. Harris’ supporters found a section of one of the parking lots to set up tables with hundreds of cupcakes, along with soda, water and other snacks. The crowd united college Democrats with older Democrats motivated to support Harris.
“This all came together, literally Friday we were thinking about doing it,” said PA Dems Executive Director Mitch Kates. “Put it into action quickly.”
He referred fondly to Franco Harris, whom he remembered as an outspoken and strong supporter of the Democratic party, including President Joe Biden and Harris’ ticket.
“We’ve worked together for years, one election cycle after another,” Kates said. ‘It is strange that he is not with us today, even though he is with us in spirit. In our opinion, this is definitely Harris country.”
Pitt Dems press secretary Pat Francis noted that more and more University of Pittsburgh students have become involved in the election since Harris became the nominee.
“This event was organized to show that Pittsburgh is not Trump country,” Francis said.
Austin Wise, director of political affairs for Pennsylvania College Democrats, referred to a similar event at a Pitt Panthers college football game. He cited subsidies for first-time homebuyers, legalizing recreational marijuana and tax cuts for the middle class as popular Harris 2024 policies among young Democrats active in his circles. He also said that more and more young people seem interested in joining a union.
Wise socialized with other young Democrats behind the tailgate.
“We’re talking about winning,” Wise said. “Win, win, win. We have our eyes on the price. Students in particular have more energy than ever to win these elections.”
A few groups of students brought boxes of cupcakes to the various tailgate parties to hand out to anyone who was interested. One team offered cupcakes to a nearby group doing the synchronized dance of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!”
Another, led by Pitt Dem co-president Henry Cohen and Carnegie Mellon University College Democrats President Avalon Sueiro, handed out about 50 to 60 cupcakes, according to their estimate. Many turned them down, but others happily accepted a free treat. After giving someone a cupcake, the two explained that the cupcakes were to celebrate Harris’ birthday. When someone said they planned to vote for her, Cohen reminded them to vote on November 5. Cohen told them, “But at least we can agree on cupcakes.”
One Trump supporter accepted a cupcake and offered a hot dog in return, Cohen said. A woman asked why the two decided to give away free cupcakes, and after Cohen’s story, she replied, “Do you have vanilla?” She happily accepted one.
“At the end of the day, everyone loves cupcakes, and it’s good to find something we can agree on, especially in a time of so much division,” Sueiro said.
Cohen contrasted Trump watching the game in a luxurious private suite with Harris supporters like him working on the floor.
“You have us here, really doing things, really talking to people,” Cohen said.
Doctor Harris said he supported Kamala Harris because she better fits his family’s ideas of what a presidential candidate should be. He said he would work to convince other men to support her candidacy – recent opinion polls suggest there is a large gender gap: women prefer Harris and men prefer Trump.
“What our job is in this team is to say: come on and join the team, because in the team everyone has a role, everyone has a responsibility, but everyone comes together,” he said. “And if we all move forward, the team wins.”
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