Van Roethlisberger
Val Tells Us Why Her Favorite Band Mirrors Her Favorite Team
By Val Porter

Much like a sports team, a rock band relies on the skills of all its members. Over the years, the Steelers have done a remarkable job of replacing departing players with others who can get the job done. In many cases, those new players made fans forget the last guy.

The same might be said for my favorite band, Van Halen. Members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van Halen has had several incarnations over the years… some, of course, better than others.

My personal favorite is the original. There's no front man quite like David Lee Roth. And even though he's not the namesake of the band, one might compare him to the quarterback, directing the team and calling the plays to give the fans what they want. Diamond Dave was with Van Halen almost from the beginning, since they were called Mammoth.

All the members of Van Halen have lead to its success. Eddie Van Halen, like a star wide receiver, has the ability to bring fans to their feet with an amazing performance. Eddie, considered by many to be one of the best guitarists of all time, can hypnotize you with a screaming guitar solo the same way a receiver can amaze you with a diving catch you thought he'd never make.

With Alex Van Halen on drums and Michael Anthony on bass, I'd compare them to the Steelers' defense: always solid, and there to be the powerful force its designed to be.

And along the years the players changed. Roth departed in 1985 and was replaced by Sammy Hagar, and many thought the "team" was better than ever. The players had new life and, it would turn out, more commercial success than the original.

But remember how much we all loved Kordell Stewart when he first won the QB job? Time passes, familiarity breeds contempt, and another player departs.

So Sammy left in 1996 and the band made a half-hearted attempt to reconcile with an old teammate…David Lee Roth.

But, much like superstar athletes, egos and attitudes got in the way, and it never happened.

Add another quarterback to the team in 1998, Gary Cherone. He was kind of like the Van Halen version of Kent Graham. And like Graham, thankfully, Cherone lasted just one season with the team.

But now, it's back to the original "quarterback," the one who got them all the attention in the beginning…Old Diamond Dave.

And although part of that solid defense is gone with Michael Anthony being fired, I still love my favorite band. Like many Steelers fans who wish they'd been around back in the four Super Bowl years, I wish I'd been able to see Van Halen around that same time period, the mid to late '70s. I wish I'd been able to see them in the days when they were hungry for success and slugging it out in the dirty trenches around the Los Angeles club scene.

But I'll still support my favorite team-just like I support my favorite band-no matter who the players are.

Val saw Van Halen's last tour with Sammy Hagar - four times: Once in Pittsburgh, once in Cleveland and two shows in Vegas. She also paid to see Gary Cherone front the band in 1997.