Hart of Black and Gold

Point Park student spends unforgettable season with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Published 2/19/98

Point Park College student Dan Hart had always wanted to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, and last year on May 24 he received a phone call from the Steelers' organization asking him to be a part of their team.

Hart wasn't trying out for quarterback, linebacker or wide receiver - he was applying for a media relations internship.

"I've always wanted to be a Steeler, but I didn't think I'd work for the Steelers this way. This is my childhood dream," Hart said, who was chosen from 475 applicants for the position.

From the beginning, Hart knew this wasn't going to be like anything he's experienced before. A one-year stint as a public relations intern with the Pittsburgh Penguins and his six years' experience covering high school sports for a community newspaper didn't come close to the responsibility he was given with the Steelers, he said. "When I started, I was told, 'This is a job. Expect to work 15-hour days. Expect to word seven days a week,' and you know what? I did."

Hart's first task as a Steelers' intern was to update the annual media guide, a booklet published at the beginning of every season that has information ranging from past performances against NFL teams to current player biographies.

From June 4 to July 14, Hart spent hours double checking every name and statistic, hoping this exercise would improve his ability to remember names and faces on the Steelers' roster.

When Hart arrived at St. Vincent College, the Steelers' training camp, in July, he had a typical work day that began at 6:30 a.m. and ended at 10:30 p.m.

Enduring 90-degree weather while writing news releases, and arranging interviews between players and the surrounding media, Hart said "Training camp is a worst nightmare come true."

What made Hart's job of remembering names and faces easier was an encounter early in training camp when Mike Tomzack, the Steelers' backup quarterback, introduced himself to Hart and showed him around the locker room.

"I was flattered. Mike took me around and introduced me to every player," Hart said.

Making friends on the team was inevitable for Hart. "There's a different story behind every player, and when you spend eight months with them you get to learn all about them. I averaged 10 hours a day and four to five of them them were spent with the players. It's difficult not to establish friendships with people when you've been around them for that amount of time," he said.

A newcomer to the Steelers' organization, Hart could relate to the rookies on the team, some of them his age or younger. One player he befriended was Justin Chabot, a rookie offensive lineman from Northwestern University who was eventually cut from the team.

"Justin was really nice and he plays a position that the Steelers are very deep in. He was a long shot to make it in training camp, but he kept a good attitude and worked extremely hard. I don't know how he did it," Hart said.

When the regular season began, the Steelers coped with weekly gridiron battles against teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots, and while Hart's opponents weren't 300-lb defensive lineman, he was up against an equally difficult foe: time.

After every game, Hart immediately went to work Monday morning typing summaries of next week's upcoming opponent, recording statistics from the previous game and highlighting player achievements that were sent out to the local media.

Hart also researched the upcoming opponents' local connections with the Steelers' organization, a player or coach, or the Pittsburgh region.

"When Denver came into town, everybody wanted to talk to Kordell (Stewart) C.J. (Charles Johnson) and Joel Steed because they were all from Colorado," Hart said.

Tuesdays were spent preparing for Bill Cowher's weekly news conference and going through what is known across the NFL as "book day," a weekly ritual that began at 9 a.m. for Hart and had to be finished before FedEx and UPS closed its doors at 9:30 p.m.

Some of the items that Hart had to include in these books, which had to be delivered to television networks, opposing teams and the NFL, included information such as game statistics, newspaper clippings, transcripts from Cowher's news conference, game summaries, player transactions and a current Steelers roster.

Although a delivery was never missed, there were times the books would be delivered at 9:29 p.m. "We pushed the envelope a few times," Hart said.

The weekly grind was evident to Hart's peers, especially his roommate Chris Woodley, a Point Park senior.

"He would often come home and fall asleep without saying a word," Woodley said, noting the 60-hour work weeks Hart was enduring.

Wednesdays through Fridays weren't as demanding. Hart's duties included attending practices and sending out press releases. "Once you get past Monday and Tuesday, then it's okay," he said.

Saturday was known as production day and tasks like setting up network media paper in the press box, and arranging interviews between players, coaches and the media were on Hart's short list.

Before a Steelers' home game, one of Hart's first duties was to meet with the referees and the opposing team's public relations representative. Hart would hand over a list of deactivated Steelers, go over rules regarding television and injury time outs, and overtime procedures.

Hart would then go to the visiting team's locker room and find out if they wanted the announcer to introduce their offensive or defensive unit.

After the opening kick off, Hart's primary job was to keep an eye on the sideline reporter covering the Steelers' bench.

Some of the rules restricting sideline reporters, Hart said, are that they aren't allowed to talk with players or coaches, they aren't allowed to ask anyone about player injuries during the game and they must stand within the 30-yard line markers on the field.

Hart said although the sideline reporters are aware of the rules, there are times when they would test him to see if he knew.

Hart remembers an incident late in a game when NBC-TV reporter John Dockery snuck away from him and tried to ask place-kicker Norm Johnson what was the longest field goal he ever kicked.

"I turned around and there he was talking to Norm," Hart said.

In the closing minutes of every home game, Hart received requests from networks asking for permission to talk with certain Steelers after the game.

"It's chaos down there," Hart said. "Reporters tell me who they would like to interview and I have to ask my public relations director if it would be okay. Then, after the game, I had to round up the requested players."

Despite all the confusion with both teams stampeding towards their locker rooms, Hart said he was able to round up every player the networks asked for during the regular season and playoffs.

Hart's most memorable moment came while escorting ABC-TV sideline reporter and former Steelers' wide receiver, Lynn Swann, during the preseason. "He was my boyhood idol," Hart said. "He was the easiest sideline reporter I dealt with."

"I get sick before games. I drive down the exit ramp, and I can smell the barbecues, I can see the flags being waved, I can see the fans having a good time and I think 'they're here to see the team I work for,'" Hart said, explaining the feeling he got before every home game.

"Every Sunday on game day when you walk out of that tunnel and you see those 60,000 people; you see Terrible Towels waving and you can feel the crowd electrify your body. That's the greatest rush in the world,"he said.

The Steelers' 7-6 playoff victory extended Hart's internship one week, but he didn't use excuses like questionable play calling or poor execution for the abrupt end to his tour with the Steelers after a home loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. "That game was not lost by one or two plays. We lost as a team," Hart said.

Although Hart would have gone to San Diego, the sight of Super Bowl XXXII, if the Steelers would have defeated the Broncos in the conference championship game, the whole season was an experience he'd never forget.

"I've been offered jobs and internships I've never considered before," Hart said.

• Caption one: Dan Hart stands in front of Three Rivers Stadium, where he spent the 1997-'98 NFL season as a media relations intern for the AFC Central Division champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Caption two: Hart poses in front of the Steelers' four Super Bowl trophies. The Steelers were one game away from possibly adding on to its collection that season.

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