STEELERS DL CAMERON HEYWARD wears his late dad’s #34 Atlanta Falcons jersey to the post game press conference at Mercedes- Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Photo by Diane Larche’)
Visit father’s grave, then play critical role in Steelers win vs. Atlanta
by Diane Larche’
For New Pittsburgh Courier
ATLANTA—The Pittsburgh Steelers came to Atlanta to play the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Steeler Nation showed up to this away game in a big way.
Waving black and yellow terrible towels and the jerseys of their favorite team members current and past, this could very well have been a home game for them.
When the Steelers play on the road, there are often just as many, if not, more of their fans in the stands and tailgating around the stadium as the home team. Such was the case on Sunday, Dec. 4. The Steelers held off the Falcons, 19-16.
Picking up a second consecutive win, two brothers playing on the Steelers made a major impact.
Rookie TE/FB Connor Heyward scored on a 17-yard touchdown in the second quarter, his first touchdown of his young career against a team his late father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward played for. Connor Heyward’s older brother, Cameron, got the Steelers’ only sack against Falcons QB Marcus Mariota.
It was an emotional trip back to where they were raised in Duluth, Ga., just north of Atlanta. They graduated and played ball at Pine Ridge High School in Suwanee, Gwinnett County . Their father, who starred on the University of Pittsburgh football team, died of a cancerous brain tumor in 2006. The brothers traveled to a suburb of Atlanta to visit their dad’s grave just hours before playing in the game.
Talking about his brother Connor’s first touchdown against the team his father played on, Cameron said: “I was pretty emotional when he got the touchdown.”
Cameron wore his dad’s number #34 Falcons jersey at the postgame press conference, something he did as a little boy. Cameron himself had an impact on the game with the only sack of Falcons QB Marcus Mariota.
Many of the Heyward boys’ friends and family attended the game, including their mother, Charlotte Heyward-Wesley, a Pittsburgh native who still lives in the metro Atlanta area.
CHARLOTTE HEYWARD-WESLEY, Pittsburgh native and mother of Cameron and Connor Heyward, and widow of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward who played for Pitt and the Atlanta Falcons. (Photo by Diane Larche’)
“I always want all of my children to have the opportunity to live their dreams,” Heyward-Wesley told the New Pittsburgh Courier. She has a third son, Corey, who played basketball at Georgia Tech. “To play in the NFL is a dream of many and a reality for few. To come home and get a win in their hometown and also play a major part in that win is amazing. As a family we are basking with joy on this day and grateful for the opportunity that they earned,” she said, wearing Cameron’s #97 Steelers jersey.
QB Kenny Pickett picked up a win on Sunday vs the Falcons – 19-16.
Another Pitt alumnus, Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett, called the day “special” for the Heyward brothers. “We were walking out to the tunnel, and I said, ‘we’re gonna get the win for his pops today.’ For Connor to go out there and get his first touchdown in this building, it’s incredibly special. It’s not a coincidence. I think everything happens for a reason. Incredibly proud of him and really happy we got the win for both those guys.”
Both Cameron and Connor agree that living in Pittsburgh allows them to get more family time with each other and other family members, including their maternal grandmother. Cameron is a father now and said having his brother there to be with him and his family is very special. Connor said the biggest thing he misses about living in Atlanta is the weather and being home with his mother and his dogs. The thing he likes the most about living in Pittsburgh is, “It’s really cool being at work with him (Cameron) on and off the field.”
Connor also said he fulfilled a “childhood dream playing for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.”
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