Nicholas :: Primanti Bros. :: October 2008
The Steelers were having a bad night.
All the TV’s in the place just further reminded me that we didn’t have a chance in hell of getting this one.
And people in the place were so involved-- it got pretty crazy. It was hard to keep up with the steady rush of orders, and it always felt like sandwiches took forever to be made.
I delivered a couple beers to table seven just in time to see my team score a touchdown. Finally. The place went wild with screaming and hollering and the like.
Almost everyone was excited except my one table, the ones who had been there forever.
Pittsburgh was a place where you could easily spot tourists, even if just from a few states over, or a maybe just a town. The telling factor was when they said, “Coleslaw? On the sandwich?” And they did, they always did.
My girlfriend and I were supposed to watch the game together, but of course, they put me on the schedule. And seeing this couple together didn’t make things any easier.
And they were tourists. But they actually liked the food, despite their hesitations, which is pretty much the case, 99% of the time. But they didn’t cheer, just talked to each other and didn’t focus for a second on the game.
I went back to their table with a couple more beers, after the chaos had settled down. They asked me to recommend some sight-seeing destinations, but I couldn’t really think of any that would involve not being a Steelers fan.
Or maybe I could-- I just didn’t like the idea of non-Steelers fans taking my advice.
I tried to think of what my girlfriend would say she liked to do. When we went out, it was basically movies, and that was boring. So I came up with the lamest thing ever, and much to my chagrin and my sympathy for the guy, I suggested the Pittsburgh Zoo.
And she was thrilled with that idea.
And, throwing me for a loop, he seemed just about as happy as she was.
“Now we can finally admire creatures and snakes and penguins together,” she joked.
“Finally. Life outside of Scranton. It is just what we need,” he replied.
I told my girlfriend about this, and we referred to the story, from then on, “The Non-Steeler couple.”
I hated to admit it, but it was sort of cool to see a relationship built on more than just sports.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Jim and Pam in pittsburgh-- my favorite place to eat :D oh, and this one's a waiter instead of a waitress.
