Women On Yinzhers Podcast Trying To Break Mold Of How Pittsburgh Sports Media Sounds And Looks
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- From her home out near Pittsburgh International Airport, Jordan DeFigio talks about the men of steel.
Born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, there was only one Sunday tradition growing up.
"It was a Sunday tradition that I just latched onto from the moment I can remember remembering anything," DeFigio said.
Every week, she is joined by Samantha James and Morgan Urtso as they forge a new way to talk about Steelers football.
"We love the Steelers. We can do this. It's easy. It comes naturally to us," James said over Zoom.
The three women are part of the Yinzhers podcast. Planning started around the holidays. All three contribute to the Steelers Nation website, and the site's manager asked if they would like to do a podcast.
"We were all immediately on board with it," DeFigio said. "Because that's just not something you see, particularly here in Pittsburgh."
It debuted in February, and the podcast's first special guest was Sammy Toa-Schuster, JuJu Smith-Schuster's mother.
"I am all about women empowerment, so I'm in love with this," she said during the podcast.
The star receiver even made an appearance himself.
"I look up and he's there next to Sammy. Am I hallucinating? Is this happening?" Urtso said.
With the hosts being in three different corners of the country, they're using Zoom to connect viewers and followers with Steelers content.
"We've made it work. It's one of those things we are really passionate about. So we're willing to stay up late if we have to," Urtso said.
James is in Arizona and Urtso contributes from Texas. Each week is hours of prep and keeping up with the latest news. They also try to bring on the women of the NFL as guests.
"Whether that's moms, hopefully eventually wives of players and writers as well," DeFigio said.
They walk the line of talking about the struggle of women in the sports industry and their passion for the Steelers.
"We want our opinions to be valued in a way that both women and men can listen and see our side and enjoy listening to the podcast," DeFigio said.
Moving forward, they hope the podcast can continue to grow and inspire the next generation of women to pursue their dreams.
"Pittsburgh sports media is a huge pond full of very opinionated and loud fish, and everyone can come hang," Urtso said.
Click here to listen to the Yinzhers podcast.
