‘I always need the first day of Steelers training camp off’: Fans flock to Saint Vincent as practices begin
It doesn’t take a trained eye to see that Jaime Lucchetti is a diehard Steelers football fan.
Her arms, legs and collarbone are decorated with 30 tattoos of Pittsburgh players’ faces, team logos and iconic phrases such as former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s 2018 huddle call, “dilly dilly.” It took her only three years to collect them all.
Lucchetti joined the hundreds of fans who poured onto Saint Vincent College’s campus in Unity Thursday for the first day of the team’s annual training camp. Fans in black and gold jerseys dotted the hillside surrounding the football field, craning their necks to get an up-close look at their favorite players.
Lucchetti has faithfully attended the first day of training camp for nine years. This year, she sported a white T-shirt reading “If found, please return to TJ Watt.”
“Where I work at, they know,” said Lucchetti, 48, of Ligonier. “I say ‘Listen, I always need the first day of Steelers training camp off.’ ”
She runs a Facebook group titled “Steelers Training Camp,” where she shares information and advice for attending the annual event.
I am at @steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Unity today. The parking lot is starting to fill up.
Stay tuned to @TribLIVE for updates. pic.twitter.com/lreGWMRbm5
— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) July 25, 2024
Lucchetti’s favorite training camp memory occurred a few years ago, when she got to throw a football to Roethlisberger.
“I was throwing catch with my daughter over here and I actually threw it over (the fence), and Ben Roethlisberger came over and he threw the ball back,” she said. “He looked this way. He goes, ‘Throw it to me.’ I had an arm. I threw it the whole way past. Everyone said, ‘There’s your replacement, Ben!’”
She also has a collection of photos and autographs from other players.
For Baylee Morris, the goal of this year’s training camp is to track down autographs from safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and wide receiver George Pickens.
Morris, 12, has attended training camp with her dad for about four or five years, making the hourlong drive from Washington, Pa.
Some of the players have recognized Morris over the years at defensive lineman Cam Heyward’s celebrity softball game benefiting the Heyward House charity.
“We go to the softball thing every year, and it’s always around my birthday, so they’ll usually remember me,” said Morris, wearing a Fitzpatrick jersey, black and gold shoes and socks with Watt’s face on them.
Fans line up to greet @steelers players as they enter the field for training camp at Saint Vincent College in Unity. | @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/o65Hib7ygC
— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) July 25, 2024
Devonte Bonds and his family drove six hours from their home in Tuckerton, N.J., to get a sneak peek of the Steelers’ team chemistry.
Bonds, 18, has been a Steelers fan for as long as he can remember. He and his family have collected signatures from every starting player in the five years they have attended training camp — except for Pickens, quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Bonds is optimistic about the team’s performance this season.
“I’m hoping to see an improvement in our offense, because that’s what we struggled with last year, big time. Glad that we got a quarterback switch. Fields and Russ really are going to get the job done I feel like,” he said of the team’s new quarterbacks, Justin Fields and Wilson.
Michael Yoder hopes to see the Steelers compete against the New England Patriots to go to the Super Bowl this season.
“They’re both tied at six Super Bowl (wins),” he said, “so that would be a cool experience.”
Yoder attended training camp for the first time Thursday with his mom, who grew up in Latrobe, and grandfather, a Saint Vincent College graduate.
Yoder, 8, of Bethlehem, Pa., was more than prepared for the occasion, decked out in Steelers sandals, shorts with “Watt” and “90” at the hem and a shirt emblazoned with “Say Watt.”
“I’ve enjoyed all of it,” he said. “I just really like to see them practice.”
Players sign autographs for fans at the end of Thursday’s @steelers training camp practice. | @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/lTK1G5Dfbf
— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) July 25, 2024
Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com.
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