Excitement, pride alive and well in Pittsburgh ahead of Super Bowl

LOS ANGELES — Even without the Steelers in the Super Bowl this year, there was plenty of excitement and pride in Pittsburgh.

With a game this big, Channel 11 sent sports anchor Jenna Harner to Los Angeles. Throughout the week, she kept her eyes on Tyler Boyd, Aaron Donald, T.J. Watt and Steeler fans still sporting black and gold outside SoFi stadium. 

From Clairton High School to Pitt to the Cincinnati Bengals, wide receiver Tyler Boyd is the pride of Clairton. His former teachers and coach told Harner they knew he was destined for the big stage.

His mom, Tonya Scott, showed Harner a picture Boyd drew in fourth grade. The assignment was to answer the question: “What do you want to be when you grew up?” Boyd drew an NFL player. 

At Penn Hills High School, football players told Harner that Aaron Donald motivates them. His former coach still talks about his work ethic. Donald went from Penn Hills High School to Pitt and then to the Los Angeles Rams. His older sister, Akita, talked to Harner in Los Angeles about his foundation, AD99 Solutions, which helps underserved children in the Pittsburgh area. She said seeing her brother grow is such a source of pride. 

There was so much excitement and pride in the Penn Hills and Clairton communities that the superintendents went on Channel 11 to make a bet.  The loser has to serve lunch at the winner’s school.

At the University of Pittsburgh, head coach Pat Narduzzi told Harner seeing two former players on the largest stage shows so much about the Pitt football program. He talked to Harner standing in front of a painting his brother did of all the Pitt players currently in the NFL, including Donald and Boyd.  

While in Los Angeles, Harner got a tour of the home of Super Bowl 2022. SoFi has prepared for the game for months and pulled out all the stops for the Super Bowl menu. Harner sampled it all, including the special tater tots.

Harner also got to talk to Watt, the Steelers edge rusher, just hours after he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Watt gifted Super Bowl tickets to the widow of a Korean War veteran, who is a Pittsburgh native now living in California. Watt told Harner his grandfather served in the Korean War, and it is his honor to recognize and remember those heroes and their families.

Harner ran into Steelers fans all over Los Angeles. At the Super Bowl Fan Experience, she saw the spectacular wall of helmets and talked to former Steeler Chris Hoke’s brother, Aaron. He told her the Super Bowl was better when the Steelers were in it. Other Steelers fans told her the black and gold will be back next year. 

Channel 11 runs into Steelers fans in Los Angeles, ahead of Super Bowl

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