Decades before he was a household name as a member of *NSYNC, or a podcast host with Name Drop, Chris Kirkpatrick was a proud part of Steelers Nation. He was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and like many native Yinzers, a passion for the black and gold was a prerequisite for living in the area.
"I remember as a real little kid running around and all the police officers at the time used to have those football cards," Kirkpatrick says. "But they were a little bigger than football cards, and I had Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Hamm, Jack Lambert, Rocky Bleier. All the good ones."
The dynasty teams had an entire roster of Hall of Famers, but for Chris, one player was head and shoulders above the rest.
"Number one on my list has always been Mister Swann," Kirkpatrick says. "As a little kid, I had a little doll that my Grandma crocheted of Lynn Swann. At one point, the other number eight started to fall off, so it looked more like an 89. I had to fill it back in to make it back to 88. But Lynn's always been my favorite player."
As he got older, Kirkpatrick left the area to chase a college education and his music dreams. But even when he became an international star, he always supported the black and gold and started befriending his gridiron heroes. That was apparent in May when Troy Polamalu invited Chris to his inaugural Resilience Bowl charity flag football game.
"The Steelers called me up," Kirkpatrick says. "They know I'm a big Pittsburgh backer. I always try to make it back for a couple of games every year. If not, I'll see them on the road somewhere. I've gone back and sang the anthem. So anytime they're doing something, they'll call me up and ask if I can be a part of it."
Even though the Resilience Bowl lineups were made up of celebrities and retired Steelers legends, the players couldn't hide their competitive nature.
"I was joking with Troy before the game," Kirkpatrick says. "I was like, 'Y'all gotta go easy on me. I'm old now. I've got bad knees.' He's like, 'Oh Chris, don't worry about it. We're only going to go 40 percent.' And I'm thinking in my head. Yeah, but your 40 percent is my 800 percent."
Kirkpatrick says Ike Taylor played so hard, that he needed to shower afterwards. And Ben Roethlisberger was not interested in taking an "L."
"Troy put all the musicians and celebrities on one team, and Troy had the other team completely stacked," Kirkpatrick says. "So once his team started losing a little bit, Ben came out in a no-huddle and just started getting a little too serious. I'll tell you, Deebo, James Harrison, that dude still looks like he could play. He's so scary. There was one ball that went over in his direction. I was like 'You know what? I'm gonna let one of those little TikTok kids run over and grab that one.'"
Even though the game featured a number of celebrities, including actors Patrick Fabian, Billy Gardell, and Charles Esten, and WWE legend Kurt Angle, Kirkpatrick says the real attraction was the Steelers legends.
"Ben and Hines, Kordell, Heath. All those guys came in and as soon as they showed up, everybody was kind of flocking around them," Kirkpatrick says. "Even the musicians, we were all trying to get around the Steelers like, 'Hey, how's it going, guys? Can we take a picture with you?'"
As a member of one of the best-selling groups of all time, Kirkpatrick has met many famous people and public figures. That's the premise of his podcast Name Drop with former MTV VJ Brian McFadden. They give their guests carte blanche to share the stories that no one else gets to hear, because casually mentioning one's celebrity encounters isn't always the best look. But when it comes to the Steelers, Kirkpatrick says he's been able to name-drop less and less these days.
"I think the only current player (in my phone contacts) now is Cam," Kirkpatrick says. "I used to be good buds with Ike, Ben, Bus, Kordell -- all those guys. But as current Steelers go, I'm running a little thin. My era is a little older than these kids."
Kirkpatrick appeared on the NFL's biggest stage when *NSYNC performed at the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXV. But even then, his mind was on the black and gold.
"I remember we're performing at a halftime show, and I'm thinking it would only be better if the Steelers were there," Kirkpatrick says. "I look across the field, and it's the Ravens. It was gut-wrenching for me. I was like, 'Well, I guess I have to be a Giants fan now.' But that was one of those moments where you pinch yourself. How did I get here, and more importantly, what is going on in my life that this is what I'm doing? I'm out here performing at the halftime of the Super Bowl, and coming from where I came from that was never on the list of things that I would end up doing."
Today, Chris says he's a fan just like everyone else. He's very excited about this year's defense, especially T.J. Watt.
"No matter all the accolades that you can give 90, I still don't think he gets the respect he deserves," Kirkpatrick says. "They talk about Miles Garrett and some of these others, but nobody does what T.J. Watt does week in and week out. And the fact that he didn't get Defense Player of the Year last year was a travesty. I was actually more upset by him not getting that award than I was by us not advancing in the playoffs. That man deserves it. He's Steelers through and through. He's Hines. He's Jack Lambert. He's what we build the Steelers organization on. Even in that first game, I know the refs were against us every time Watt made a great play. They had to blow some stupid whistle because they didn't want him getting it again."
Kirkpatrick says this is the first season that he has real expectations for the Steelers.
"I'm hoping for a great season getting these two guys in at quarterback," Kirkpatrick says. "I'll be a little bummed out if we don't make the playoffs, and at least make a little run in the playoffs, and hopefully win the Super Bowl. But I'm also a realist. We'll see what happens. I think we're still missing a couple of pieces. We'll see where it goes. If Russell Wilson gets healthy and comes back and leads the team, or if Justin leads the team. Either way, I'm a fan of both, so it's nice to have a quarterback back there, especially with Justin, that the minute he gets outside the pocket, you're yelling, 'Run, run!' With Ben, It was always like, 'Get rid of it!' But with this guy, you're like, 'Take off!'"
Kirkpatrick lives in Nashville now, but he's still attempting to raise the next generation of Steelers Nation.
"My son is six years old," Kirkpatrick says. "Last season, he wasn't really into football. Right before this season started, he got 'Madden NFL,' he started playing it and loving it. He goes 'Dad, play me. I'm going to be the Vikings because I love Justin Jefferson.' Well, I'm going to be the Steelers knowing that I've played the game way more. Eight T.J. Watt sacks later, he's like, 'Dad, I wanna play as the Steelers.' He went to a game when he was about two where I sang the anthem, and we took him to the Buffalo preseason game, and he got to meet Cam. He's a big Najee Harris fan. He calls him 'Nashy Harris' when he plays in the game because my son's name is Nash. So yeah, I tricked him into becoming a Steelers fan. He's black and gold for sure."