Salena Zito

It is rare to find a film today that captures the essence of a region, its people and the ties that bind them with a purity that excludes any outside influences. Yet that is exactly what NFL Films has done with “The Football Town,” a unique production that brings to life the storied history of western Pennsylvania’s tradition of football, faith, grit and community.

It hits the mark beyond the story of football and manufacturing greatness and captures a region that celebrates its rootedness in community. And it shows how that community has humbly shaped the nation, thanks to its location, the hardiness of its people, and its love of a game that has both inspired them and held them together when everything around them was crumbling.

The film was made for the lead up to the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, as part of a partnership with VisitPITTSBURGH, the Pittsburgh Steelers and U.S. Steel. The picture opens with a sweeping shot of a river navigating the rolling Appalachian Mountains containing it.

As the camera follows the curving flow of a river heading toward parts yet unknown, the rugged landscape serves as a symbolic element of the narration about to begin. You immediately understand that the river represents the flow of life, the bonds of community, and the possibilities the places ahead hold.

“There’s something in the water,” narrator Pat McAfee says. “That’s what people say about western Pennsylvania. It’s a metaphor, but it’s true here. The rivers are the source of life. They were here before, man. They brought man here and they will outlast man in his grand designs.”

The film isn’t just about football, although that’s the main star. It isn’t just about steelmaking, although that serves as a riveting costar. Instead it is about place. It celebrates the rootedness that has shaped this region, and through that prism it captures the heart of the country.

McAfee’s narration makes the viewer want to be part of what he was part of — even if their team isn’t the Pittsburgh Steelers, and even if no one in their family ever toiled in a steel mill. This right here is America at its finest.

The story begins with a reverence for the local history that shaped our country. It takes the viewer deep within the Appalachian Mountains that Washington surveyed as a young man, to the forts that protected the assets of the French, then the British, in the frontier’s early days. And it reminds both locals and newcomers to the region that while the city has successfully diversified its economy, embracing premier technology, research and robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, none of that would have been possible without the blue-collar men and women who make things in this region.

Without the men and women who get their hands dirty at the three U.S. Steel plants, there wouldn’t be any AI data centers being built here and across the country to power the future. All that is in the backdrop as communities draw together every Friday night to see their young people play at the local high school, or on Saturday mornings to watch Pop Warner ball, and, of course, on Sunday, to watch their beloved Pittsburgh Steelers play.

“There is no other place in the country that can do all of that with the skills and work ethic legacy,” Charlie Batch said after the film. Batch, who was part of a Steeler Super Bowl championship team, added that he was blown away by how well the filmmakers captured the essence of this region.

This isn’t just a film to preview before the NFL draft comes to Pittsburgh in April. It is about why a region such as western Pennsylvania perseveres through whatever is thrown at it, all while never losing its rootedness — even if it is forced to move away.

There is a reason the region is called the “Cradle of Quarterbacks.” Western Pennsylvania has produced 17% of all quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame, including legends such as Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, George Bland and Johnny Unitas.

The feature film will exclusively play at the Kamin Science Center for two months leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh on April 23 through 25.