Steelers-Chiefs fans ready to spend Christmas in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Football fans are ready to spend Christmas in Pittsburgh for the Steelers-Chiefs game at Acrisure Stadium.
"Our goal was to spend Christmas here," Chris Higbee of Winnemucca, Nevada, said. "We just love the city here. So, we're gonna catch the Chiefs game."
"There's a Kansas City-Steelers game on," Chris Carey of Auckland, New Zealand, said. "So, we decided we'd meet here first, and go to the game on Christmas Day."
It's fascinating that Chris and Samuel Carey are in Pittsburgh for the game on Wednesday. The father-son pair's allegiances are split.
"I've been a Steelers fan for 40-odd years," Chris Carey said.
"When the St. Louis Rams moved to Los Angeles, I was like, well, I gotta choose the next team in Missouri," Samuel Carey said. "So, I chose the Chiefs."
There was a decent number of Chiefs fans in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and more divided families like Chris and Todd Roberts.
"When the schedule came out, what a better present to give my son than his first game on Christmas Day, seeing the Chiefs versus my favorite team, the Steelers," Todd Roberts of Utica, New York, said. "So, it was just something we had to do."
Many of the hotels on the North Shore will be booked with out-of-towners for the next couple of nights. Plenty of these people will try to have a Christmas dinner or drink too afterward.
"Our son, our daughter-in-law and our two granddaughters bought us gift certificates for Mike's (Beer Bar), so we're gonna have steak on a stone," Chris Higbee said.
They're not the only ones who have their priorities straight for Wednesday. Samuel Carey is going to enjoy the game at Acrisure Stadium, but he still has some questions.
"Why do Americans always play sports on the holidays?" he said. "I mean, don't the athletes also deserve a break? It doesn't really make any sense to me."
Pittsburgh bars and restaurants ready to host football fans
Many restaurants and bars on the North Shore will be waiting to serve football fans on Wednesday.
"Hopefully I can get some sleep. I know tomorrow's gonna be a very long day," said Billy Smalls, kitchen manager at Tom's Watch Bar.
From burgers to beer, many North Shore businesses want to take advantage of the holiday influx.
"We plan on providing any person and all people a place to eat and watch the game," Smalls said.
They say "all the sports" at Tom's Watch Bar, but it's one game that matters on Wednesday.
"It's all about providing everything for Steeler fans and Pittsburgh on Christmas Day," Smalls said.
Tom's Watch Bar will even have its outside patio open.
"We're a big enough venue that we can hold anywhere from 300 to 400 inside the building," Smalls said. "So, it's gonna be packed from the moment we open, I believe."
North Shore Tavern and Burgatory also will be open on Wednesday.
"This is the second Christmas Day game we've experienced, and that was a fairly large crowd. So, we do expect a pretty robust day," said Vic Bovalino, Burgatory's president.
Both Burgatory and Tom's say they'll have enough people power to handle all those coming in.
"We have an all-volunteer staff for tomorrow," Bovalino said. "We don't want to put pressure on people to work on Christmas Day."
"We are staffing up pretty heavily to be able to provide the best service for all the crowds that are coming in," Smalls said.
For the people keeping these spots open on Wednesday, providing good service means making a little bit of a sacrifice.
"Usually, my wife isn't too happy about us leaving Christmas Day," Smalls said.
