Steeler Nation

Steeler Nation is the unofficial name of the fan base of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, coined by NFL Films narrator John Facenda in "Blueprint for Victory," the team's 1975 highlights film. Steelers Country is often used for the Pittsburgh area where the fan base originates or for areas with a large Steelers fan base.

History

Early years

The Steelers have had a following in Western Pennsylvania since 1933. That year, Pennsylvania relaxed its blue laws allowing sporting events in the commonwealth on Sundays, paving the way for the Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles to begin play for the 1933 NFL season. Previously, the state had teams in Pottsville and Frankford, but both had already folded, due to both the Great Depression and their inability to play on Sunday, when most NFL games took place.

Much like the league itself in the early years, the Steelers had to compete with baseball and college football teams in the city, making the team third in the hierarchy to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pitt Panthers. Despite the team's early struggles, it had a small but loyal fan base in the city due to the popularity of American football at all levels, dating back to the 1800s, when Pittsburgh hosted the first wholly professional football game in 1895.

Nation

Nation (from Latin: natio, "people, tribe, kin, genus, class, flock") is a social concept with no uncontroversial definition, but that is most commonly used to designate larger groups or collectives of people with common characteristics attributed to them—including language, traditions, customs (mores), habits (habitus), and ethnicity. A nation, by comparison, is more impersonal, abstract, and overtly political than an ethnic group. It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.

According to Joseph Stalin: "a nation is not a racial or tribal, but a historically constituted community of people;" "a nation is not a casual or ephemeral conglomeration, but a stable community of people"; "a nation is formed only as a result of lengthy and systematic intercourse, as a result of people living together generation after generation"; and, in its entirety: "a nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture."

Wiz Khalifa

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008.

Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, Deal or No Deal, in November 2009. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29, 2011. He followed that album with O.N.I.F.C. on December 4, 2012, which was backed by the singles "Work Hard, Play Hard" and "Remember You". Wiz released his fourth album Blacc Hollywood on August 18, 2014, backed by the lead single We Dem Boyz. In March 2015, he released "See You Again" for the soundtrack of the film Furious 7 and the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Le'Veon Bell

Le'Veon Andrew Bell (pronounced LAY-vee-on; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State, and was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

High school career

Bell attended Groveport Madison High School in Groveport, Ohio, where he played football, basketball and ran track. He played running back for the Groveport Cruisers football team. As a sophomore, Bell ran for 789 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior, Bell ran for 1,100 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and as a senior, Bell ran for 1,333 yards on 200 carries with 21 touchdowns. He was selected first-team All-Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division as a senior. He ran as a junior, and added as a sophomore. In basketball, Bell earned second-team All-OCC Ohio Division honors as a junior. He also participated in track & field while at Groveport, where he ran the 100 and 200-meter dashes and was one of the state's top performers in the high jump (personal-best of 6'8" or 2.03 meters).