Steelers to have introductions, cue up 'Renegade' for home opener vs. Broncos

No Terrible Towels will be twirling Sunday inside Heinz Field. The lack of fans for the Pittsburgh Steelers home opener, however, won’t keep the team from conducting customary pregame introductions.

Steelers starters will run out of the tunnel prior to their 1 p.m. game against the Denver Broncos.

The game will be the first of at least two this season for the Steelers without fans inside Heinz Field. The other is next Sunday against the Houston Texans. No decision on whether fans will be permitted to return for the remaining six home games has been made.

The pregame introduction is one of the touches the Steelers are doing to create a home-field advantage. The Steelers did a trial run before a night practice during training camp that the players seemed to appreciate.

“It definitely does have a home game feel to it as far as being able to drive in, change in your own locker room and wearing the black jerseys,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “We’ll have all the third-down sounds that we are used to, things that remind you that it is a home game. Even though the atmosphere isn’t going to be everything that we are used to, it will be nice to be at Heinz Field.”

The NFL is permitting teams to pump in ambient crowd noise no louder than 70 decibels. TV viewers will hear crowd noise recorded by NFL Films over the past four years.

The big question is whether the Steelers will cue up their customary Styx anthem “Renegade” during a fourth-quarter stoppage in play before the defense takes the field.

“I hope so,” Watt said. “I hope at some point they play it.”

Ryan Huzjak, the Steelers vice president of sales and marketing, told KDKA-TV that Renegade will make an appearance against the Broncos.

“I think our guys would be disappointed if we didn’t (play it),” Huzjak said.

That surely will make Watt happy.

“I always love watching the video and seeing what new wrinkle they add to the video and the explosive game-changing plays the defense and offense has,” Watt said. “I know it will be different without fans, but I’m sure it will bring back memories of what the atmosphere should be like, and it will juice up our defense for sure.”