\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFans arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport are being greeted with interactive NFL Draft-themed experiences, including a stage where they can step up to the podium and act like they\u2019re making draft picks.They are also greeted by a Franco Harris statue showing off the Immaculate Reception. Visitors are sharing their enthusiasm for the draft and the diversity of fans arriving in Pittsburgh. \u201cIt\u2019s just the experience of it all,\u201d one fan said. Another added, \u201cThere was a Texan, Dallas Cowboy fan on our flight, and some Washington Commanders.\u201d NFL Draft in Pittsburgh >> Visit our special draft page for latest headlines and what you need to know about the draftFor some, this marks their first draft experience. \u201cLooking forward to the draft. First time for us,\u201d one attendee said. Others, like Brad Huse from Minnesota, are seasoned veterans. \u201cI\u2019ve come along with some good friends of mine. This is our sixth one,\u201d Huse said. Steelers fans are also making their presence known. Jackson Gogolin, 11, of Dallas, Texas, shared his lifelong loyalty to the Pittsburgh team.\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to just hoping that the Steelers get some good picks, maybe trade for some other picks,” he said. “I’m a Steeler fan. I\u2019ve always been black and yellow. I was born that way.”Cedric Gordon, a Steelers fan from Aiken, South Carolina, kicked off his draft experience before even landing in Pittsburgh.\u201cI did see Lynn Swann. He did fly on the plane with us,\u201d said Gordon, who captured the moment with a photo of the Steelers legend.Fans of other teams are also joining the festivities.\u201cWe\u2019re from Kansas City,\u201d Linnea Cullumber said. \u201cWe actually got an invitation from the Chiefs as season ticket members, so we get to do the inner circle.”Each fan is here for their own draft experience, including one from Houston who described himself as \u201cjust one of the craziest fans you’ll ever see. I promise you that.\u201d He shared a photo from the Texans’ wild-card win over the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.As the draft kicks off Thursday, fans are embracing the excitement and camaraderie. \u201cWe’re here at the draft and looking to have a good time,\u201d Gordon said.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tPITTSBURGH \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Fans arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport are being greeted with interactive NFL Draft<\/a>-themed experiences, including a stage where they can step up to the podium and act like they\u2019re making draft picks.<\/p>\n They are also greeted by a Franco Harris statue showing off the Immaculate Reception. <\/p>\n Visitors are sharing their enthusiasm for the draft and the diversity of fans arriving in Pittsburgh. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the experience of it all,\u201d one fan said. Another added, \u201cThere was a Texan, Dallas Cowboy fan on our flight, and some Washington Commanders.\u201d <\/p>\n NFL Draft in Pittsburgh >> Visit our special draft page for latest headlines and what you need to know about the draft<\/a><\/p>\n For some, this marks their first draft experience. <\/p>\n \u201cLooking forward to the draft. First time for us,\u201d one attendee said. <\/p>\n Others, like Brad Huse from Minnesota, are seasoned veterans. \u201cI\u2019ve come along with some good friends of mine. This is our sixth one,\u201d Huse said. <\/p>\n Steelers fans are also making their presence known. Jackson Gogolin, 11, of Dallas, Texas, shared his lifelong loyalty to the Pittsburgh team.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to just hoping that the Steelers get some good picks, maybe trade for some other picks,” he said. “I’m a Steeler fan. I\u2019ve always been black and yellow. I was born that way.”<\/p>\n Cedric Gordon, a Steelers fan from Aiken, South Carolina, kicked off his draft experience before even landing in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n \u201cI did see Lynn Swann. He did fly on the plane with us,\u201d said Gordon, who captured the moment with a photo of the Steelers legend.<\/p>\n Fans of other teams are also joining the festivities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re from Kansas City,\u201d Linnea Cullumber said. \u201cWe actually got an invitation from the Chiefs as season ticket members, so we get to do the inner circle.”<\/p>\n Each fan is here for their own draft experience, including one from Houston who described himself as \u201cjust one of the craziest fans you’ll ever see. I promise you that.\u201d He shared a photo from the Texans’ wild-card win over the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.<\/p>\n As the draft kicks off Thursday, fans are embracing the excitement and camaraderie. <\/p>\n \u201cWe’re here at the draft and looking to have a good time,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get breaking news in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport are being greeted with interactive NFL Draft-themed experiences, including a stage where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[77781,77779,17866,14087,77780,139,3537,11718,11520,73,6845,75,6846,74,40117,1829,77782,77783],"class_list":{"0":"post-173363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-brad-huse","9":"tag-cedric-gordon","10":"tag-draft","11":"tag-fan","12":"tag-first-draft-experience","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-nfl-draft","15":"tag-other","16":"tag-photo","17":"tag-pittsburgh","18":"tag-pittsburgh-airport","19":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","20":"tag-pittsburgh-international-airport","21":"tag-pittsburgh-news","22":"tag-steeler-fan","23":"tag-steelers","24":"tag-steelers-legend","25":"tag-wild-card-win"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}