Superfan discusses love for Steelers
Fayette County native Joe Hatalla has seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hatalla, a 50-year season ticket holder, was not happy with Saturday’s 30-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“I’ve followed the Steelers all my life. I’ve seen the good the bad and the ugly. The loss to the Ravens was disappointing,” said Hatalla, 73, who has been a diehard fan since the Truman administration. “The way we played, I don’t think we could have won the Super Bowl this year with the team we had. Our defense was not good enough.”
Much of the country, particularly south of the Mason Dixon line, are quietly amazed, maybe puzzled, at Steelers’ fans devotion to their team. In some places, football is just another sport to watch until basketball season starts, but not in Pittsburgh, where all is calm for a few hours on game day, almost as peaceful as Christmas morning.
“I guess I’ve seen it all with the Steelers,” he said. “Game days are long, but enjoyable. If they lose, you hope they do better the next game. I’ve been to a lot of games over the last five decades. There are 31 teams in the National Football League, and then there’s the Pittsburgh Steelers, a notch above.”
Hatalla explained how someone becomes a Steelers’ fan; how he became a diehard fan. He recalls his youth in Fayette and Greene counties where everyone followed the Steelers. He said rooting for the hometown team was more than a feeling, but something everyone around experienced one way or another. For Hatalla, it was attending that first Steelers’ game.
“When I was 12 years old, I went to my first professional football game in 1954. The Steelers beat the Browns 55-27. I’ve followed the Steelers ever since,” said Hatalla, who was a talented local baseball player who played in the Little League World Series in 1954.
Hatalla said he was a Steelers fan when they were a run-of-the-mill team, maybe worse, long before they won multiple Super Bowl victories. Hatalla remembers a stretch back in the ’50s and ’60s marked more by losses than wins. He recalls how in 1963, the New York Giants destroyed the Steelers to claim the eastern division title.
“We were beat rather bad that day,” he said.
To make matters worse for this hardcore Steelers’ fan, Hatalla moved in 1971 to Orrville, Ohio — Cleveland Browns country. Back in the ’50s and ’60s, Hatalla recalls, the Browns were a formidable team, so being a Steelers’ fan was even tougher. However, Hatalla stayed true to his team.
“Growing up in the area, Fayette County, and being a true Steelers’ fan, you develop a dislike for the Browns,” he said. “Back then, when the Steelers were losing, you put up with the bad years, but you enjoy the good ones especially now when the Browns are losing.”
Steelers’ luck changed one day, perhaps with a great play.
Take a moment to jump into cartoon character’s Peabody and Sherman’s “wayback machine” to attend that storied game when Steelers played the Oakland Raiders in Three Rivers Stadium in 1972. The Steelers were trailing in the last 30 seconds of the game when Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass to John Fuqua who collided with the Raiders’ Jack Tatum just as the ball arrived. The ball ricocheted away from the two players, but before it made it to the ground, Steelers’ fullback Franco Harris grabbed it and ran for the game-winning touchdown.
Hatalla recalls how the “Immaculate Reception” marked a turning point for the Steelers’ in 1972.
“If you have to say one year, I guess the tide turned in 1972 with the ‘Immaculate Reception,'” Hatalla said. “That was the thing that put the team together.”
A few years later, Steelers defensive lineman Mean Joe Greene would be making an immortal Coca-Cola commercial and the team would win four Super Bowl championships in the ’70s.
“I’ve been to Super Bowls 13 (1978) and 14 (1979) where they beat Dallas (Cowboys) and then the (Los Angeles) Rams,” he said. “There is nothing greater than to see your team win the Super Bowl.”
Saturday’s game against the Ravens was no Super Bowl.
“Ravens wanted to win more,” Hatalla said. “Even Ben (Roethlisberger/quarterback) didn’t have a good day. He didn’t play good. And he gave the Ravens defense credit for harassing and rushing him more. They had good pressure on him for most of the game. “
Next season should be a winning season if all the right things come into play.
“The defense needs some work, some playmakers,” Hatalla said. “Maybe we will do better in the draft to fill some of the positions of guys who haven’t done as well as expected.”
Hatalla explained the Steelers’ fans’ perpetual optimism.
“They have a very good offense that should be as good or better next year,” he said. “And I think they will address the deficiencies they have on defense. Being a fan you’re always somewhat optimistic. Because they’ve had success on the field and a good organization, I have faith that the team will continue to succeed.”