In 2010, Hubs (then boyfriend) and I went to Pittsburgh to see the Cardinals play the Pirates. We didn’t really expect much from the steel town city; we thought we were just checking a stadium off of our list.
But we fell in love with the city! The people were so genuinely welcoming to us. We walked up to the stadium box office with our Cardinals jerseys on, and a couple handed us two extra tickets that they couldn’t use! Many people thanked us for visiting. Bartenders bought us drinks. We were questioning the reality of the entire visit.
And then we loved the stadium! To get there you walk across the Clemente Bridge, and then once inside the stadium, the outfield opens up and provides the beautiful views of the city on the other side of the Allegheny River.
The view of Pittsburgh from PNC park
At the time, their team was not competitive. And the stadium was not full. But they had Andrew “Cutch” McCutchen, and people did come to see HIM. He is a great athlete and fun to watch. Cutch was traded during the off season after 13 years as a Pirate. He wrote about it, and it is a great read. Most of the time professional athletes try to leave their emotions on the field so I found it refreshing to get this glimpse into Cutch's head and heart.
May it Last, a documentary about the Avett Brothers made by Judd Apatow, premiered on HBO this past week! I’ve been waiting to see it since I missed it at the theaters. The film was so much better than I thought it would be. These guys are so funny, so sweet, so real. They are all about love. About growing up. About forgiveness and righting wrongs. These are some of my favorite lyrics of theirs:
"We came for salvation
We came for family
We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away
We came to break the bad
We came to cheer the sad
We came to leave behind the world a better way"
And finally, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, Jr. recreating the last dance from dirty dancing! If you love Dirty Dancing (and admit it, you do), you need to watch it.