Mayor Corey O’Connor using NFL Draft to shine light on Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor is looking to shine the spotlight on the city through the NFL Draft.

For O’Connor, it’s been a four-month sprint to get ready for the draft.

On Thursday, he met with football fans outside the draft stage.

He spent more than 30 minutes shaking hands and posing for pictures. He even did a little trash-talking.

“I mean, we have six Super Bowls, last I counted, you could only count on one hand,” he said to one Philadelphia Eagles fan.

It has been a busy week for O’Connor, who has attended a host of ground breakings and kick-off ceremonies.

“It’s finally here. It’s exciting. We greeted everybody in line, a hundred people this morning. They’re from all over the world,” O’Connor said.

People like Scott and Jamie Wilson-Houghtalen, both from Western Pennsylvania, but now living in Florida, drove 17 hours with their six children, all Steelers fans, to go to the draft.

“There’s nothing like Pittsburgh. There’s nothing like this. The magic of the city, bringing them up for the draft...is now they’re true Pittsburgh fans. They weren’t until today,” Jamie Wilson-Houghtalen said.

When their young son found a rock on the ground to play with, O’Connor joked that he was getting part of an authentic Yinzer experience.

“Your son found a piece of pothole. It’s the Pittsburgh experience. You can take it home with you, a souvenir,” O’Connor said.

“That’s right, we will take a piece of Pittsburgh home with us, Scott Wilson-Houghtalen said.

It was a mix of fun and business for the mayor.

“I want to talk to the fans, I want to see how their experience is going. What do you like? What should we change? We want the fans to go back home and tell ten friends, ‘I had a great time in Pittsburgh, you should go there,’” O’Connor said.

The mayor said he’s also met with a number of businesses and he’s hoping to convince some of them to set up shop in Pittsburgh.

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