Taste the Mike Florio salt

[Nicomo Cosca]

(04-24-2020, 09:25 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Mike Florio is a Steelers fan; don't let Da Bears swag fool you.  Let me clue Bengaldom in on how Italian-Americans see the NFL and pick favorite teams.  Maybe Truck 101 can do this for Italian-Canadians. 

Italians from New York and New Jersey mostly follow the Giants and consider family members who follow the Jets lesser individuals.  An Italian in New York or New Jersey who likes the Jets probably thinks the Olive Garden serves Italian food.  If you like the Jets you might be from Connecticut.

If you're Italian from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Vermont you blindly follow Da Pats, capisce?  You have a secret man crush on Tedy Bruschi and wonder why his parents forgot the other "d" in his first name. 

If you're Italian from Pennsylvania or West Virginia you're born and die a Steelers fan, period.  You were tucked in for your nap with a Terrible Towel.  My father is a perfect example.  He came over from Italy, grew up in Pittsburgh, and he was one of the most rabid Steelers fans I ever met.  The reason Italians love the Steelers so much can be described with only two words:  Franco Harris.  Franco was half Italian and there wasn't an Italian male in the 1970s who didn't consider Franco their long lost son.  My father would have left me on the steps of a fire station if he could have adopted Franco Harris in exchange.  I only saw my father cry on two occasions: When my brother needed an emergency appendectomy and whenever Franco Harris scored a touchdown.

In Chicago very few Italians like Da Bears and this goes for Cleveland too.  Da Bears and the Browns are considered by Chicago Italians to be teams for Eastern Europeans to cheer for so Italians in Chicago and Cleveland generally like the Giants or the Steelers.  Chicago and Cleveland are populated by lots of former Eastern Europeans so Da Bears and the Browns will always have plenty of fans.

The Dallas Cowboys have zero Italian followers. 

If you're Italian and a priest your teams are either the Saints or the Cardinals.  Okay, that was just a joke.

For an Italian-American or Italian-Canadian to follow the Cincinnati Bengals takes guts.  "Why-ya follow dat tiger team?" I've been asked.  My explanation is Bengals fans are the closest thing you'll find to an Italian family in real life.  Think about this message board:  We yell, we argue, we threaten each other, we talk about food a lot, and we bond over the Bengals but in the end it's a "Cincinnati against the world" mentality we all share. 

This is just like my Italian family!

My grandpa was an 100% Italian from Chicago, and he definitely liked the Bears.

Me? I was born into this misery...