Great Steeler Shrine In Post Gazette

Believe me, if you live here, you've seen your share of Pittsburgh Steeler shrines and Man Caves (not all made by men)but the one in today's post is above average for sure and likely borders on good folk art. It includes a good story too.

Like all real shrines, it combines holy relics, objects of devotion, proof of sacred moments or miracles and the physical manifestation of it's creator's love and devotion.

"More hand-painted miniatures. No. 92 is body-slamming a Browns fan. Several years ago, linebacker James Harris (who wears 92) did just that to a drunken Browns fan who ran onto the field."

Two seats from Three Rivers Stadium

Steel beam from Three Rivers Stadium

Chef's hat that was signed by former Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El

Huge photo of the Ice Bowl signed by some of the greats who played in the game

"And then there's the pickle slice that one of the DeLuca boys tossed against the stadium wall one day after removing it from a hamburger. It, or a facsimile, stayed there for years. Before Three Rivers turned to dust, "we scraped it off the wall, took it to Kinko's and had it laminated," Mr. DeLuca said.

There's a red-white-and-blue football that his mother, the late Violet DeLuca, hid in 1965 to stop him from throwing it against the walls.

"The day she was on her death bed, she told me there was a football hidden inside a plastic seasonal coat bag" in the closet, he said."

The photos are great but I wish for more closeups of Deluca's hand painted figures and other stuff.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10009/1026824-30.stm##ixzz0c8npQUs5