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My draft experience was pretty awesome. First time having NFL credentials for photography and getting that kind of access—definitely a bucket list moment. Just finished sorting through the 3k+ images I shot, and these awesome of my favorites.

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There’s been a lot of noise online about the negatives, but honestly—if you were down there, I think you’d agree: Pittsburgh showed up. Big time. In fact, we’re already being looked at by major investors for future events and opportunities. This was basically our test run… and we nailed it. Great job, Pittsburgh.

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What really stood out to me was how beautiful and welcoming the city felt through everyone else’s eyes. If you dig into the Reddit threads and visitor reactions, it’s actually heartwarming. People talking about how friendly it was—some even saying, “It almost freaked me out how nice everyone was coming from NY, I didn’t know how to react.”

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So many comments about the skyline, the rivers wrapping around the city, and how special Pittsburgh feels. It honestly made me proud to live here.

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I’ll stand by it—the draft was a good thing for us. Not everything was perfect (nothing ever is), but hosting 300K people a day without any major issues? That’s a win in my book.

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