MY ASS WAS IN THE HOUSE, VOLUME
II:� TONYV15220 UNVEILED
�.my bro speak out
By Swissvale72
In response to the first volume of �My Ass Was In the
House,� posted herein last week, my brother, Tonyv15220, and I shared a few
e-mails and phone calls about said topic.�
See, a lot of these events were days that we shared.� Honestly, we have a helluva
lot more communication during football season, and our conversations are always
Steeler-dominated.�
Here�s an example.� Tony called me
a few days before Christmas, 1992. �Dave,� he says, �wanted you to know, Uncle
Joe died.�� I say, in response to the
passing of my dad�s brother.� �Gee, Anth, that�s really too bad.� Hey, what�s Eric Greene�s status for
The great
thing about having a brother to share this stuff with is that we complement
each other, remembering details that each other forgets.� Here�s classic Tony.� The 1997 playoffs�.forget
why, reason doesn�t matter, but I was getting a raft of shit about coming down
to the playoff game versus the Patriots.�
Tony�s driving me back to the airport on Saturday night, following the
game.� He says, �So, you coming down next
week, for the Championship Game?�� I say,
�I don�t know, Anth, I really thought this year, I�d
make an effort to be a better husband and father.�� Tony�s response?� �Fuck THAT.�
Do that next year.�� Here�s TonyV15220�s thoughts:
We were sired by a guy who hated the
Pirates for 60+ years because they traded Kiki Cuyler, his favorite player, and a mom who was related to
Albert Anastasia. They were married less than two months after they first met,
though they had corresponded during the War. Hence, Swiss'
writing skills.
My first Steelers game was to be when I was in 8th grade. I had begged off
going to church because I claimed to be sick. Uncle Lou calls to take me to the
game. Dad says he can't go, he's sick. One could have
taken the approach that it was my fault for faking being sick, I chose to hate
organized religion and established a lifelong principle of favoring Steelers
football over all else.
My real first game was four long years later. No fuzzy warm memories of going
to the game with my Dad. I went with the local numbers writer who used my Uncle
Chuck's gas station as a place of business. I worked there for slave wages.
I have several highlight games: 1) Swiss falling on his crutches walking into
3RS after his first knee surgery, Green Bay, 1970 2) the guys behind me at 3RS
with the hammer, chisel and crowbar on the last day; guys offered me a piece of
concrete and I thanked them for it, 3) Seeing Willie Stargell
and Dock Ellis drunk in the cheap end zone at Pitt Stadium for a
Steelers-Browns game; if I remember right, Dock was wearing a fur coat (he was Tony, the fur coat made me remember, they were a few rows below
us, off to the left); both were
drinking from a bottle and arguing with Browns fans; I also remember a huge
lady from Cleveland city there, and some guy telling me � don�t mess that MFer, 4) the Immaculate Reception game where the Steelers,
unaccustomed to playoffs, offered season ticket holders the opportunity to buy
extra tickets, 5) my first date with my wife -- Oct 31 vs
San Diego we win 23-0; its obvious she knows shit about football; she tried to
cancel the date because her father had fallen off the roof of their house but
she didn�t know how to spell my last name -- how life might have been
different; she floats ridiculous comments like we should take a ride in the
fall on Sunday to look at leaves -- I tell her she is nuts, 6) Not the
Steelers, but my in-laws show up on my doorstep during the PSU/Nebraska game in
1981 -- I tell them the wife is shopping and Gina is sleeping and close the
door � wife returns home and is super pissed � no apology forthcoming � one
needs to draw lines in their lives, 7) the game against the Browns where I sat
with Swiss in the auxiliary press box with tickets given to me by a company VP
and Swiss yells his famed comments at the end of the game, 8) in general, the
fact that I have never taken a piss at a stadium during a Steelers game
A couple of TV game highlights: 1) The asshole game. My wife leaves me alone
with my 2 year old son to watch Todd Blackledge lead
the Steelers into battle with the Browns. The next we�re watching the 6 o�clock
news and little David comes rumbling into the room points to the TV screen
where they�re showing Steelers highlights �and says � look Dad there�s asshole. Mrs. Tonyv, well on her way to sainthood, is not amused; 2)
Famous Thanksgiving Game against the Lions � Steelers lose and I�m irate � I fire
a pillow across the room and hit my mother (should have let me go to that
Steelers game lady); I then proceed to my garage where I sit in my car and
scream profanities; I then proceed back upstairs to eat Thanksgiving dinner
(the appetite never leaves me) with everyone staring at me; 3) Steelers vs Browns again with Vinny Testeverde at the helm for the Browns; me and my son again
watching the game; Vinny fires an interception and I
am moved to moon the TV set and yell at Vinny;
convince my son never to mention this act to mom.