Bio Piece

Bio
November 25, 2012
805

Fitzpatrick 

Jane Hercules: Professor, Mother, and Football Fan?

         Jane Hercules is an Instructor of Communications at Georgia Perimeter College Newton Campus. After taking her class there is one thing for sure that you will know about her. She is a huge football fan. You would never expect such a die-hard fan to be hidden inside the sweet and funny professor. On the outside, she looks like your typical professor, but on the inside her veins run , “black and yellow,” with the colors of her favorite team, the Pittsburg Steelers. She is a fan through and through.

          “Oh yeah, she’s a fan alright, she’s even got their banner on her office wall,” stated Leila Lawlor, Instructor of Business and coworker of Hercules. Lawlor was completely serious about the banner but that was an understatement. In Hercules’s office she has her, “bad call brick,” as well as her “terrible towel.” The love she has for the Steelers is evident; she even had a Steelers hand sanitizer bottle.

          According to Reuters.com, the Pittsburg Steelers were founded in 1933 by Art Rooney. One player, known for his long curly hair, Troy Polamalu plays strong safety for the team and had this to say of Steelers fans, "If anyone knows Pittsburg and their fans, they know they're the biggest fans of any sport, I believe, and more supportive of their sport than anybody." They have won a record six Super Bowls, the last, Super Bowl XLII was February 1, 2009. Hercules told me that is another reason she loves them and proudly stated, “What other team has done that?” Mike Tomlin, head coach of the Steelers since 2007 stated, “I like to think we are a group on the rise, one that's gelling and coming together, and solidifying a personality." She has been a fan of the Steelers since a child. 

         She also grew up in Western Pennsylvania in a suburb of Pittsburg. Hercules stated when asked when she began liking the Steelers, “When you’re from Western Pennsylvania you basically have to sign a contract in blood.” This professor who has been surrounded by football her entire life, lives and breathes the game.

          Ryan Bolson who is a past student of Hercules and aspiring sports journalist experienced her passion first hand. “She has a good connection to the Pittsburgh Steelers and knows enough about them to say she is a fan. She keeps up with and watches the games, and has a good deal of apparel for the Steelers that I've seen.” Ryan said of his former professor. Ryan has been a sports fan since he can remember and loves having Hercules to banter back and forth with about who backs the better team.

Hercules’s father and uncles were football coaches. She grew up in stadiums watching games, and believes that because there was a personal connection with the game that, naturally she was drawn to it. “Its action packed, fast-paced, and hard-hitting.” She just has a true passion for the game like I’ve never seen in anyone before.

          Bolson stated when asked what makes a football fan,” It is the commitment to not only watch a game or games, but to keep up with certain things around the league, such as the divisions and injuries of players, things like that. To sum it up, you got to know the sport good enough to know what's going on.”

          Since Hercules has been defined as an extreme fan of not only the Steelers, but of football itself, I thought it wise to ask her what I thought was the easiest question yet. “How many Steelers games have you been to?” The question was a little saddening to her and what came out of her mouth was by far the most shocking answer to any of the questions of the day. “Believe it or not, I have actually never been to a Steelers game.” Hercules then continued to say that she did have tickets to a game about 21 years ago, but because the seats were really high up, and she was extremely pregnant she decided it was best to not go.  Two days before that very game, she went into labor.

          Hercules has an extreme passion for her Pittsburg Steelers even though she has never made it to a game. Football runs deep in her veins and she has a true love for the game. Her sons also play football and she believes that football will be a tradition passed on throughout her family, because so far it has been an important aspect of life.

         “I love the athletic aspect of the game, the players’ abilities and just watching the competition on the field,” said Hercules. When I asked her if she had anything to add, she jokingly stated, “Yeah, I think you should begin to watch some football, and you gotta love the Pittsburg Steelers.”

[Places that may want to publish this piece:]

The Pittsburg City Newspaper

650 Smithfield Street, Suite 2200
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Editor: Charlie Deitch

Phone: 412.316.3342

Sports Illustrated/ Time Inc.

1271 6th Avenue,
New York, NY 10020

Editor: John Huey

Phone: (212) 522-1212