Pittsburgh native A.J. Ross back home to cover Steelers camp

National broadcast journalist and Pittsburgh native A.J. Ross has returned home to cover the Pittsburgh Steelers during training camp and preseason for KDKA-TV.

Ross, of Highland Park, said she grew up playing sports at the Shadyside Boys and Girls Club and cheering for Pittsburgh’s favorite teams. Returning to Pittsburgh to cover the Steelers, she said, is “amazing.”

“It’s still kind of surreal to me, because having the fan vantage point is one thing, but then to cover them professionally has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl,” Ross said Friday. “Some of my earliest memories, I remember watching them as a little girl snuggled up next to my dad watching games every Sunday.”

She said she loves watching the Pittsburgh community come together to rally behind the Steelers, wearing football jerseys everywhere from church to the grocery store.

“Everybody from Pittsburgh knows it’s what we do,” she said. “We come together for the Steelers.”

Ross has spent over 10 years covering news and sports for several outlets, including CBS Sports and ESPN. She began her career in news, but said it became too “emotionally draining.” While working for ABC, she was sent to Brussels to report on ISIS attacks. In Brussels, she said she had an “epiphany” and realized she didn’t want to cover terrorism and other stories that required her to only meet people on their worst days.

She had been freelancing for CBS Sports on the weekends, so she pivoted to cover sports, something she’d always loved.

“It’s just been something near and dear to my heart,” she said of sports.

A few weeks ago, KDKA presented her with the opportunity to cover her hometown football team — a plan that worked well since KDKA is an affiliate of CBS, where she currently works.

“Being that I’m so passionate about the team, I’ve been joking that I’d do it for free,” she said.

During any stay in Pittsburgh, Ross said she tries to visit PNC Park to see the Pirates and stop by a few favorite restaurants, like Mineo’s Pizza in Squirrel Hill and Vento’s Pizza in East Liberty.

But the best part of this time in her hometown, Ross said, is watching the Steelers build up for the upcoming season. Her favorite part of covering training camp, she said, has been “the behind-the-veil vantage point” and watching how the team progresses on a day-to-day basis.

“You’re building brick-by-brick that Steelers tenacity that we see every Sunday,” she said. “To actually see this development from day one of training camp all the way through the start of the season, it’s really cool.”

She’ll return to New York for the regular season. Though she doesn’t know her exact schedule yet, Ross said she’ll be “all over” covering the NFL for CBS.