Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Dan Rooney endorses Obama!

[RamboLiberal]

Sen. Barack Obama began his remarks to the Alliance for American Manufacturing today by greeting his "good friend" and Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, and later deflecting criticism of his remarks on "bitter" Pennsylvania voters.

"You know, there's been a lot of talk in this campaign lately about who's in touch with the workers of Pennsylvania. Sen. Clinton and Sen. McCain seem to be singing from the same hymn book, saying that I'm "out of touch" -- an elitist -- because I said a lot of folks are bitter about their economic circumstances.

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"Around election time, the candidates can't do enough -- they'll promise you anything, they'll give you a long list of proposals and even come around, with TV crews in tow, to throw back a shot and a beer," he said with a laugh.

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The Illinois senator said he has been a Steelers fan since he was 10 years old. He said they are a "favorite" team of his, though he has "to root for the Bears when those two teams are playing."

Despite that, the Steelers chairman released a letter endorsing Mr. Obama. "As a grandfather and a citizen of this community I think Barack Obama's thoughtful, strategic approach is important for America," the letter addressed to"fellow Pennsylvanians" said. "When I hear how excited young people seem to be when they about this man, I believe he will do what is best for them, which is to inspire them to be great Americans."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08105/873204-100.stm

And don't forget he also got Franco "The Immaculate Reception" Harris and Jerome "The Bus" Bettis in his corner. In Pittsburgh I'd rather have Rooney's endorsement over "Fast Eddie" Rendell, Dan "The Hated Drink Tax" Onoroto or Luke "The Boy Mayor Opie" Ravenstahl.

The Rooney's are a very respected and loved family in Steeler Country!

[scheming daemons]

1. Dan Rooney may be the most respected man in Pittsburgh....

Trust me.... I've lived here my whole life.


Dan was the man who put the "Rooney rule" into effect in the NFL.... which requires teams that have a head-coaching opening to at least interview a black candidate.


Not only that.... Dan is devoutly Catholic.... and his opinion holds a lot of sway with Catholics here.


This is a pretty big endorsement.

[Adelante]

6. I'm glad to hear that

I like Pittsburgh a lot, but I'm pretty ignorant about sports. Thanks.

[me b zola]

24. Thank you for the PA perspective

It helps to know just how big of an endorsement this is. :bounce:

[thewiseguy]

2. This is huge!

[PragmatismRules]

53. why?

the steelers didn't win the last super bowl . ..so what?

[AllentownJake]

3. The 5 time Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

Are dead to me.

[scheming daemons]

4. Please... spell PittsburgH correctly.....

.... It's a pet peeve for most of us.


;-)

[AllentownJake]

9. My apologies

I never one a spelling bee...a geography bee but never a spelling bee

[RamboLiberal]

7. No True Steeler fan misspells Pittsburgh

with an 'h' if you please!

[AllentownJake]

11. To be honest

I'm from near Philly so we have a lot of envy towards that team since they have 5 and we have 0

[JVS]

29. but a true fan spells it Stillers!

[DevonRex]

5. knr

[Avalux]

8. Oh wow. Rooney is an icon. His family is well-loved by Pittsburgh.

This is a HUGE endorsement! :woohoo:

[rug]

10. Who are the Penguins endorsing?

[scheming daemons]

15. Other than Ryan Malone.... most are not Americans...

...


;-)

[JimGinPA]

17. We Know The Ducks Won't Be Endorsing Hillary

:spank:

[Bigleaf]

19. Well you know Crosby, Roberts and Malkin would support Obama although they could not vote.

3 winners.

[scheming daemons]

20. As a non-Pittsburgher, you fail to understand the importance of sports in this area....

Think of the effect that Bret Favre's endorsement would have in Wisconsin.


...and then multiply by 10.

[SteelPenguin]

30. As another Pittsburgher I'm gonna have to disagree with you

Oh, not about how big sports are here. I've lived all over, from Boston to Dallas to Wisconsin, to San Francisco, and the level of fanaticism here is without rival, though Wisconsin's love of the Packers comes close.

Also the Rooney family are members of the Pittsburgh nobility, along with the Heinz family, the Mellon family, etc. The respect for them is extremely high.

I just don't see his endorsement doing anything to sway many people. Pittsburgher's are a bit too down to earth to be affected by endorsements like this, imho. They're more likely to be affected inversely, than positively. ie Rendell endorsing Clinton would be more of a influence on people around here voting for Obama, than Rooney endorsing Obama.

Just my 2c.

[scheming daemons]

31. What it does is to calm down wavering Obama supporters.....

"If Dan's ok with him, then I guess he's ok."


It won't sway hard-core Hillary supporters.... or the Jim Quinn nutcases around these parts....


But those that were inclined to support Obama, but not sure. Dan's endorsement gives them "cover" to feel ok about liking the guy.

[SteelPenguin]

35. I don't know

I'd have to see hard numbers on it, or talk to someone swayed in such a way for me to believe it.

Though, sure, maybe someone really on that last line of wavering, it could be that needle that tips over the haystack, but it's still just a needle, and not all that much of a factor unless you're looking at those really specific cases.

After my initial post I talked to a couple people who I know were Clinton supporters but are now thinking of switching to Obama, one has said they'll probably vote for Obama but they're not sure yet...all of them steelers fans. None said it would affect them in any way. Anecdotal I admit, but I'm just not thinking it'll make a huge difference.

[Dr.Phool]

56. I liked Obama until now.

To any die hard Cleveland Browns fan, this is akin to Adolph Hitler endorsing Roosevelt!

Obama, yer dead to me.

[livetohike]

12. Now this is a great endorsement !

:hi:

[ampad]

13. K&R for good news

[kentuck]

14. Meaningless...

Because there are no Steeler fans in PA. :-)

[Tarheel_Dem]

16. YYYYAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

God, I miss that city. Best city in the world. Thank you Dan Rooney, thank you Jerome and thank you Franco.

[awoke_in_2003]

43. "God, I miss that city"

Me too. Especially miss Primanti Brothers. It is almost impossible to find good pizza in Texas.

[Tarheel_Dem]

47. refresh my memory, cause it was the 80's, and i was pretty out there

if you know what i mean. primanti brothers was downtown, liberty or penn ave; open all night? i forget which, but i do remember the food.

[awoke_in_2003]

48. I think you are right

but I did get a bit messed up. I love Primanti's sandwiches. My favorite pizza has to tip to Beto's. Cold toppings- it's a Pittsburgh thing.

[hogwyld]

18. The Rooney's don't count

IF they're not a SD according to the Hillary rules...

[Araxen]

21. This just in Hillary is an Eagles fan now!

[AllentownJake]

23. We don't want her

[scheming daemons]

25. She just likes to associate with entities that are used to coming up JUST short of the big prize....

;-)


Just kidding....

[AllentownJake]

27. Lucky

They don't have a mooning smiley :-)

[awoke_in_2003]

44. Sure they do:

http://www.fanbolt.com/forums/misc.php?do=showsmilies

Look for :moon:

[immoderate]

This is big.

Pittsburgh is a jewel. I always enjoyed my visits to that beautiful city. I also root for the Steelers when they are not playing against my home favorites.

Rooney has to be one of Barack's most influential endorsers. I am impressed. So much of the sports establishment is reflexively Republican. Rooney shows himself to be a thoughtful man.

--IMM

[grantcart]

22. k and r

[TexasLady]

26. I may be a Cowboys fan

but this will work!

[awoke_in_2003]

45. Well,

you are an Obama fan, so I guess I can forgive you :)

[catgirl]

28. Very cool! (nt)

[liberaldem4ever]

32. That's great!!

Gobama!!! :thumbsup:

[PVnRT]

33. Response from Hillary's camp:

"It is clearer than ever that Obama is out of touch with the people of the AFC North, and we can't help but wonder what it is he has against the final working people of Cleveland."

[livetohike]

36. ROFLMAO!

:rofl: and :toast:

[tabasco]

34. That's worth more than any politician in Western PA.

Thank you, Mr. Rooney!

[PragmatismRules]

54. mr Rooney must not be too bright

[tabasco]

58. Anonymous poster on a message board who uses bad grammar

must not be too bright.

Football Hall of Fame inductee Dan Rooney is a genius.

[suston96]

37. And that endoresement took courage because most of his football players are white.....nt

[scheming daemons]

38. Actually.... most are black......

Go over the roster at steelers.com.


About 2/3 black.

[suston96]

39. Most are black? Oh, really......? LMAO!

[Scurrilous]

40. Great news!

K & R :thumbsup:

[DemsUnited]

41. kick & rec

:kick:

[azmouse]

42. kick

[AlinPA]

46. Dan Rooney is a republican. (reported on KDKA news tonight)

[PragmatismRules]

52. i used to be a steelers fan

never again

[scheming daemons]

55. You were never a Stillers fan... because there is no such thing as a "used to be" Stillers fan....

Sorry.... nobody is a "casual" fan of the Stillers.

[JVS]

59. no such thing as a "used to be" Stillers fan

Well there is one case. When that Stillers fan has died.

[OneSelf]

49. Fantastic news!

:thumbsup:

[CreekDog]

50. Howard Wolfson responds:

this would've mattered more had they made the endorsement when they were winning all those superbowls. :eyes:

[PragmatismRules]

51. Who Cares?

so what? just another woman-hater

[Cha]

57. I don't know Dan Rooney but he

obviously has keen insight.