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Steelers QB Kenny Pickett, Eagles HC Nick Sirianni Trade Pennsylvania Allegiances

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles meet, two men on either sideline will play their childhood favorite as opponents.

Stephen Thompson

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PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni have their fingerprints all over the state of Pennsylvania. 

Sirianni is a native of Jamestown, New York - a town of roughly 28,000 people located just north of the Pennsylvania border. He grew up a fan of the Penguins, Steelers and Pirates. In the late eighties, he cheered for Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek. 

Growing up in Ocean Township, New Jersey, Pickett was conditioned by his Philly fanatic father to root for the Eagles. While Pickett prepares to meet the favorite team of his childhood, his mother is at home digging through photo albums to find a picture of her son and former Eagles quarterback Donavan McNabb.

This weekend, those two will meet at Lincoln Financial Field as adversaries of the teams they grew up rooting for. Pickett said it's exciting to return to a place where the seeds of his NFL dreams were planted. 

"It's full circle," Pickett said about returning to Philadelphia. "I have memories going back to when I was four or five years old. I grew up close by there so It'll be fun to play there."

The fact that they'll meet But there is still one common touchpoint between Sirianni and Pickett, who have traded ends of the state to call home. With the Philadelphia Phillies set to open the World Series this weekend, they'll both be pulling for the underdogs from the east, Pickett as a native fan and Siranni as an adopted one.  

"My dad was a huge Philly guy so he passed it on to me," Pickett said. "So it's pretty cool to see what they're doing there."

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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