Full disclosure, I grew up in New Ken, left Burgh after college in mid-90's for my first job in Baltimore, and have been in Atlanta ever since early 98. By all accounts I've not lost much if any of my Pittsburgh accent to this very day (although just in pronunciation, as I never used yinz and worsh for whatever reason). I have heard about this accent pretty often over the years, in all capacities (good, bad, funny, insulting, borderline fisticuffs, etc). I never gave a sh*t what anyone really thought about it, and always embraced the uniqueness. And we all know the accent and style of talk is unique, no question.
Because I live in Atlanta which is a transient city, I also hear lots of other different accents. I regularly forget the obvious presence of mine until someone mentions it or my family/friends visit, or I am in Burgh, and I actually hear it with my own ears. My point in diving into this topic? It's Pat McAfee. Western PA native (Plum) and burgeoning media giant Pat McAfee.
This guy speaks Pittsburgh lingo all week long in a national capacity and now on Saturday Gameday as well. Now I'm in sales, travel some 8 overnights a month or so for that work, and have friends/associates via business in most parts of the country. I cannot tell you how many folks, over the last 2-3 years, have told me that listening to McAfee is "exactly like listening to you talk".
The culmination of this was last weekend, when apparently on Gameday McAfee mentioned "The guy is from right down the road in New Ken from where I grew up" on Gameday when talking about Duke's D-Coordinator Tyler Santucci. My phone blew up, because a lot of those same folks have heard the New Ken reference from me also for, ahem, various reasons in stories over the years.
So I have to wonder, are other Pittsburgh natives on this board who might have relocated or have similar work exposure away from the Burgh or northeast, been hearing the same stuff about McAfee and the accent? Funny stuff either way imo. H2P
Because I live in Atlanta which is a transient city, I also hear lots of other different accents. I regularly forget the obvious presence of mine until someone mentions it or my family/friends visit, or I am in Burgh, and I actually hear it with my own ears. My point in diving into this topic? It's Pat McAfee. Western PA native (Plum) and burgeoning media giant Pat McAfee.
This guy speaks Pittsburgh lingo all week long in a national capacity and now on Saturday Gameday as well. Now I'm in sales, travel some 8 overnights a month or so for that work, and have friends/associates via business in most parts of the country. I cannot tell you how many folks, over the last 2-3 years, have told me that listening to McAfee is "exactly like listening to you talk".
The culmination of this was last weekend, when apparently on Gameday McAfee mentioned "The guy is from right down the road in New Ken from where I grew up" on Gameday when talking about Duke's D-Coordinator Tyler Santucci. My phone blew up, because a lot of those same folks have heard the New Ken reference from me also for, ahem, various reasons in stories over the years.
So I have to wonder, are other Pittsburgh natives on this board who might have relocated or have similar work exposure away from the Burgh or northeast, been hearing the same stuff about McAfee and the accent? Funny stuff either way imo. H2P
