I would like to make a clarification to the letters by the overly sensitive students Mike Ruhl and Pat Byrne, "Steelers fan living in past, should focus on the future" (Oct. 7) and "Rivalry column was written to be humorous, sarcastic" (Oct. 6), respectively. First, I do not have an inability to perceive satire. I was fully aware in reading Nordeman's piece, "A tale of two cities finds resolution" (Sept. 24), of the sarcastic statements he made. I myself wrote my rebuttal with a smile on my face and a bit of attitude. Do I care what sandwich or action star is better? No, someone just needed to back up Western Pennsylvanians.

The past shapes our future so I will not stop living in memory of our championships. Would we really consider 2006 that far in the past? Also, who gives a hoot how many people live in either city. Pittsburgh is small but the fact still remains that Steelers have the largest worldwide fan base and the largest female fan base. I have nothing against the Eagles and never knew we had a rivalry until I came to Penn State. Considering we were all once Stegals, our rivalry should remain friendly.

Kudos to Mr. Nordeman for writing such a great column catching all of our attention.

Haley Eveland

junior-earth science