Steelers Diaspora

By Jim Russell

Chris Briem (Null Space blog) noticed my reference to an academic article about Steelers Nation. The author is Jon Kraszewski, a member of the Burgh Diaspora and assistant professor at Seton Hall University. I found the full publication at the University of Colorado at Boulder library and I was delighted to discover that Dr. Kraszewski's research is quite useful for the IntoPittsburgh networking project:

People at the Steelers bar did not socialize with other members when we were not watching football at our bar. People had well-established lives in Fort Worth and did not desire this extra social network.

Dr. Kraszewski did an ethnography of a Steelers bar in Ft. Worth, Texas. I remember enough of my own graduate studies to be careful when extrapolating a case study. But my experience with Steelers Nation supports Kraszewski's observation. Diaspora networking rarely extends beyond the passion for the Pittsburgh Steelers and game day is often the extent of any interaction.

IntoPittsburgh might do some piggybacking on Steelers Nation, but interested parties will be a much smaller subset of fans of the Black and Gold. Membership at LinkedIn is now well over 150, with the bulk residing in the Pittsburgh region. If you want to boomerang back to Pittsburgh, joining our group is a good start and a rich source of valuable contacts. Yet I worry that most of the Burgh Diaspora do "not desire this extra social network."