NFL Training Camps are set to open in just a few days. This is an exciting part of the NFL offseason as fans get the chance to see their teams and favorite players practice. You might even get to meet a few of your favorite players. I grew up about an hour away from Pittsburgh in southwest Pennsylvania, and going to the Steelers training camps at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA (only about 30-40 minutes from where we lived) provided some of my fondest childhood memories. Below are some of my most memorable moments:
- Getting player autographs! At Steelers training camp the players leave the field by going up these long wooden stairs, walk through a roped-off section through the fans, and into the locker room. Steelers fans crowd around these ropes in the hopes of collecting as many autographs as possible. Rookies were more than delighted to sign - even more than once if you came back to them and often on the same page in my Steelers notebook. They didn't care. I didn't care. It was exciting for everyone! Though not all players would happily oblige their adoring fans...
- Speaking of some players, often star players, not signing for their fans... Kevin Greene was a jerk. In the mid-1990's, Greene appeared a few times at pro wrestling events with Hulk Hogan. Greene even kind of looked like Hulk Hogan. At training camp, Greene would walk through the fans doing Hogan's famous crowd preening moves - you know the one where he puts his hands up to ears to entice louder cheers? Greene would do these as he walked through the entire line, only signing a few autographs. I remember one fan in particular who showed up every day one summer completed decked out in Kevin Greene merchandise. Jersey, hat, steelers pants, a Kevin Greene photo in hand. He was almost always at the front of the crowd and every day would call out for an autograph from his favorite player. Greene never obliged. The next year, that same man showed up to training camp wearing plain street clothes and didn't bother trying to get autographs. A year or two later an aging Greene left for Carolina. No one seemed to mind...
- Mike Tomczak (the best back-up QB ever in the NFL) was not a jerk, but Neil O'Donnell (the man who helped the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowl XXX by throwing two of the worst interceptions of all time) was a bigger douche than Kevin Greene. It was the summer before my fifth grade year and I had managed to find a spot in the player line right next to the locker room entrance. It was me, some kid who was maybe a year or two younger than me, and then the doors. Tomczak signed autographs for everyone. It took him forever to get into the locker room after a grueling practice session, but he didn't care. The boy next to me and I were waiting for Tomczak to finish signing our books and Neil O'Donnell was walking by. The boy next to me said, "Mr. O'Donnell, can I please get an autograph?" Tomczak looked at him and said, "Come on, Neil. Just sign a couple." O'Donnell huffed like it was the biggest burden in the world and reluctantly signed for the kid next to me. When I asked for an autograph as well O'Donnell rolled his eyes, made a noise that suggested saying "as if", and walked away. Tomczak was nice enough to apologize to me though. That was the pre-season before Super Bowl XXX and I'm kind of glad, even though my favorite team lost the Super Bowl, that O'Donnell had a shitty game and left for the Jets soon after.
- Some players were not only jerks but were also stupid. Bam Morris was one of those idiots, and not just because he would later get arrested in Denver when cops found a bunch of cocaine in the trunk of his car during a traffic stop. One day at training camp the ropes that separated the fans from the players were lowered so a delivery truck could go through. Fans made sure the ropes never made it back up. As the crowd of players and fans mingled, Bam Morris decided to ride his motorcycle into the crowd so he could talk to some woman. He almost ran over several fans and then got shot down. I was standing near by and it turns out the woman was married. Despite these past few stories, training camp was more often a great experience than not...
- I met The Bus! One of my favorite player interactions ever was when I met Jerome Bettis. He was very nice and talked some football with me. Not too shabby for a kid about to enter middle school and his autograph is on it's own separate page.
- Though meeting The Bus was not my favorite interaction at training camp. One day, this was the same summer that O'Donnell blew me off for an autograph but a different day, I saw a group of what looked like coaches walking away from the crowd and locker room back up towards the dorms. I took off running, autograph book in hand, and a group of 5 or 6 other kids followed me. When we arrived at the group one of the kids asked who these guys were. I looked at him, astonished, and replied, "It's Coach Cowher!" Bill Cowher looked at me and smiled, one of the few times he probably ever smiled while coaching, and took my autograph book. He found a blank page and signed it for me. Dick Lebeau was there too but he stayed behind the other coaches. After Cowher gave all of us autographs, the group of kids and I walked back to where the players were. Those other kids still weren't quite sure who we had met...
Not all teams open training camp to the public and not all teams provide time for autograph sessions. The fact that the Steelers do this truly shows that they appreciate their fans and shows just why they're one of the greatest franchises in the NFL. I went back to Steelers training camp a few times during college (having attended a university about an hour or so away from St. Vincent's College) and it was wonderful to see that they have added so many great and interactive experiences for the fans. Plus, there's no better way to get pumped up for the season by seeing and showing support to your team during the dog days of summer.
Do you have any fond memories of training camp? Any funny or interesting stories? Please share them below...
