Black & Gold Girls Group Growing
JEANNETTE (KDKA) - A lot of women are loyal Pittsburgh Steelers fans and there's even a worldwide group, based in Jeannette, that's dedicated to all things black and gold.
Most customers at the Fun Party Store on Route 30 seem interested in a single theme.
The aisles rock to a black and gold beat with every shelf and every bin packed with Steelers stuff.
Bob LaVella helps his father stock the shelves of a store that opened 40 years ago. Does the current inventory cater to men? That's so last millennium. A couple years ago, LaVella and his wife, Cindy, came to a realization.
It occurred to them that 50 percent of the Steelers fan base is made up of females. Thus, the Black N Gold Girls were formed.
"The Black N Gold Girls Facebook page currently has 23,500 girls," Lavella said.
So far, BlackNGoldGirls.com has members in all 50 states, and 27 countries.
Cassandra Buncie is a co-founder of the Black N Gold Girls. So is Natalie Shugars, but the group is not just about the Steelers.
"We gather members of our community and do community service projects once a month. And we do girls' nights out, which is also a chance for girls to get together and network," Buncie said.
But it still comes back to the Steelers.
"We are passionate about our sports. We're not afraid to go toe-to-toe with guys when it comes to statistics," Shugars said. "We are women. Hear us roar."
Click here to visit the group's Facebook page!
You can watch the AFC Championship Game on KDKA-TV at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
