The Pittsburgh Steelers moved into Heinz Field officially on August 18, 2001, and two huge ketchup bottles were installed atop the scoreboard. The decorative bottles were sealed, but made to appear as if they were pouring digital ketchup whenever the Steelers got into the red zone. The real question with the name change to Acrisure Stadium is, what happens to the bottles now?
The Steelers celebrated their inaugural season at Heinz Field by going 13-3 and hosting the AFC Championship game against the ketchup hating, Spygate New England Patriots. The Patriots were rumored to have started filming practices not because they were dirty cheaters, but because Robert Kraft, despite his name, had no association with Kraft Foods and Heinz Ketchup and was bitter for being mistaken as the founder of Kraft foods. It is also rumored that Bill Belichick owned stock in the Hunts ketchup brand and was eager to strike a blow and start a ketchup war.
New England Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick (left) and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher (right). Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images
The Steelers concession stands have never had to tap into the thousands of gallons the bottles must hold to feed the faithful at Heinz Field. During The Great Condiment Crisis of 2008, it was briefly unknown if they had enough ketchup for the second half of the season finale against the Cleveland Browns. The crowd unexpectedly rushed the concessions stands early in the fourth quarter as the game got out of hand. However, the supply held, and the bottles integrity remained.
You may be asking yourself, does ketchup expire and the answer to that question is, how often do you eat ketchup and does anyone ever have a bottle go bad? However, because they have been stored outside, it is a valid question as the bottles will no longer be decorating the stadium. According to Mashed.com:
"We all know sell-by and best-by dates are notoriously unscientific (according to Science Daily, the Institute of Food Technologists state that even dates labeled 'use-by' are more of a suggestion based on quality than actual food safety), so using those numbers as a cut-off point could lead you to throwing away perfectly good condiments, wasting money and food. Luckily for you, there are a number of signs that your ketchup has gone bad, so you can stop tossing those perfectly good, if a little aged bottles."
The giant ketchup bottles are 20 years old, so to determine if the sealed contents are still edible, we must examine a few things:
Are the bottles bloated or leaking? The answer is definitely not, or at least probably not as there are no visible signs of patches when you are looking at the bottles.
Do the bottles show any significant signs of mold? The maintenance crew at Heinz Field keeps them looking shiny and new. Paint and regular pressure washing may have a lot to do with it, but the answer is no, you cannot see mold.
It appears that the Steelers, now that the bottles are no longer decorative, can use them if they pass the third and final test, which is simply tasting them to see if they are still good.
PITTSBURGH - AUGUST 26: Giant Heinz ketchup bottle sits atop the Heinz Field scoreboard inside Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Panthers football teams in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 26, 2016. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
The Rooney family would never subject the Steelers fans to experimentally tasting ketchup, so as a solution, they are donating 100 gallons of ketchup for the New England Patriots training camp food supply as a gesture of good will. It would be shame if it was not fit to eat. Jesse James has already departed Pittsburgh with a van full of bottles and should complete delivery soon. Ok, Ok I am not advocating for potentially giving the Patriots food poisoning, but after all the shenanigans this century by that organization, it would be poetic justice.
The ketchup bottles will head to storage in a Heinz warehouse, and I know they don’t have ketchup actually in the bottles. However, for 20 years, they have been a great part of the stadium and perhaps they should be inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor. Then future generations could enjoy the quirky stadium decorations and remember every time Pittsburgh got close to scoring, there was ketchup for all.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you want to see the bottles stay in the Hall of Honor or are you jazzed about the change to Acrisure? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
