Mick Griffith has been a Pittsburgh Steelers season-ticket holder for 30 years, but he has no desire to attend the much-hyped game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day at Acrisure Stadium.

“Christmas Day is not for football,” he said.

Steelers fans who celebrate Christmas on Wednesday will balance a love of the game with loyalty to faith and family. Notably, how does a holiday often steeped in family tradition match up with a love for the Steelers, who find themselves in a fight for the AFC North division title and better playoff seeding?

Hanukkah also begins Dec. 25 at sundown. With the Steelers game at 1 p.m., that leaves a tight window for anyone to get home before dark to kick off celebrations.

The last time the Steelers played a home game on Christmas was 2016, when they played the Baltimore Ravens. Attendance was announced as 66,276. The stadium’s capacity is 68,400.

The Steelers hosted the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Eve in 2022 with 64,761 in attendance on a 9-degree night. Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception was honored during the game, just four days after his death Dec. 20., 2022

The NFL launched yuletide day games — played during a period of several days around and on Christmas — in 1971 before bringing them back on a semi-regular basis in 1989.

The Raiders versus Chiefs game on Dec. 25, 2023 — Taylor Swift and Santa Claus attended — drew the highest Christmas Day viewership since 1988.

In all, the NFL has held 30 games on Christmas.

Traditions tested

Since the time his children were babies, Mick Griffith and his wife have traveled from Scott to sleep at his mother-in-law’s house in Clarion on Christmas Eve.

“They wake up on Christmas at grandma’s,” said Griffith, whose children are now grown. “It’s a tradition.”

Griffith has been a season-ticket holder since 1994. He is often found tailgating before games. But not come Wednesday.

“I believe a lot of families don’t want football on Christmas Day,” he said. “I am a huge fan, but I decided to give tickets to a friend who wants to bring his dad.”

He won’t totally unplug, though.

He said his family plans to eat at noon and won’t turn the game on until some time in the second half. He did not attend the games when the Steelers played at home Christmas Day in 2016 or Christmas Eve in 2022.

Bill Aguglia of Lower Burrell attended the 2022 Christmas Eve game with daughters Alyssa and Billie but will not be at the Christmas Day game this week. He said his family considers Steelers games as a family event — and not being able to get tickets for the entire family is the biggest reason he won’t be at the game. Instead, more than a dozen family members will have brunch and watch at his son Cameron’s house in Reserve.

“The Steelers and sports have been a part of my life since I was a kid,” Aguglia said. “I played sports, I love sports, and I am a football fan. We watch games on Thanksgiving, too. Some families might be watching Christmas movies on Christmas Day, but this family will be watching sports.”

Michael Katchur of White Oak said he would be tailgating outside Acrisure.

“We will be celebrating a Steelers victory right here,” Katchur said as he stood on the North Shore before the Steelers and Browns game on Dec. 8. “The Steelers bring family members together, and some of my relatives want to come to the game. Some think they might spot Taylor Swift.”

That’s a possibility — the pop superstar has attended NFL games to cheer for her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Merrill Stabile, president of ALCO Parking, said he expects a “moderate crowd.”

“People have other plans on Christmas Day and (the first night of) Hanukkah,” he said. “So I don’t anticipate record crowds.”

Game day logistics

He said much of the same game day logistics apply — gates will open five hours before game time, and parking prices will be the same as any other game day. Stabile said he will have a crew of 40 employees whom he will pay time and a half to work on Christmas Day.

He said the 1 p.m. game was preferable for his staff because they will have time to get home for holiday dinner.

Bruce Ibe of Squirrel Hill is an avid fan who travels to many of the away games in addition to watching at Acriscure. He said he won’t be at the Christmas game because he spends the week between Christmas and New Year’s in Florida — and this year will include a Hanukkah celebration, as Ibe is Jewish.

“This could be an important game and could affect home-field advantage (in the playoffs),” Ibe said. “I love the Steelers, and I support them. I will be watching on television and wishing I were there.”

He said he also feels for the players and their families. The period between games is short in terms of players’ health, and the Kansas City team won’t get home until late Christmas night.

Ibe’s friend Jimmy Depetris, a native of Blairsville who lives in Florida, said he spends $30,000 a year traveling to Steelers games — all of the home games and a few away games. He said he has been to 409 games in all. He hasn’t missed a playoff game since 1977 and has attended six Steelers Super Bowls. He owns a condominium in Downtown Pittsburgh where he stays for games. It is decorated in black and gold, and he calls it “the fan cave.”

But he also will miss this week’s game.

“This is so disheartening that we won’t get to see back-to-back Super Bowl Champions (Kansas City Chiefs) in person,” Depetris said. “But Christmas is a family day at home. We can work the game into the schedule that day, but going to a game is not more important than being with the people you love on Christmas.”

Steve Bland of Highland Park, who runs a tailgate with Max Beier of Shadyside, said he plans to attend the game and tailgate.

“Die-hard fans will be here,” Bland said.

But one of those die-hard fans won’t be: Kim Shanahan-Sezawich of Whitehall has a Steelers bus with a photo of her late husband, Joe, on the side that she drives to tailgates. They had four children, and Christmas is an important time to her parents to be together with the kids and grandkids, she said.

She and her second husband, Karl, are avid Steelers fans, and their families know not to schedule events on the game days.

“This is an exception,” Shanahan-Sezawich said. “Christmas is a holiday for the kids and grandkids. My family knows that life stops for Steelers games for me, but a Steelers game on Christmas is an exception. It’s about church and family.”

Jeff Hrapla of Cranberry had a Christmas tree with lights at the Dec. 8 tailgate — with an IC Light can as the star at the top. He plans to be at the game on Christmas.

“All I want for Christmas is a Super Bowl championship,” he said.

Bob Kostelnik of West Mifflin said he would love to tailgate and go to the game on Christmas, but he won’t.

“I have grandkids,” he said. “This is a day to spend with them. Maybe when they are older and if there is a game on Christmas I can bring them. But you only get those years to watch them open presents when they are little for a short time.”

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at [email protected].