Winners

January 18, 2009
Posted by Jay Livingston

In some places these days, there’s more than one reason to celebrate.


(For those who don’t recognize this image – could there be such? – it’s Mike Tomlin, head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. For more on the link between the broader appeal of the Steelers and the Democrats, see this post from the early days of the Socioblog.)

I don’t know much about copyright law, but I imagine that the Obama campaign wouldn’t have wanted to copyright “Yes we can” even if they could. As for the visual, I guess you can’t copyright a style, a look, or a technique. Besides, Shepard Fairey, who created the Obama picture, says he’s not interested in enforcing the copyright, at least not against those who are using it for a worthy cause. And Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are certainly worthy.

The graphic was created by CommonWealth Press, a printing company on Pittsburgh’s South Side. If you want a t-shirt (and of course you do), go here. Pittsburghers take the Steelers seriously. The fifteen highest rated TV broadcasts of 2008 in the Pittsburgh market were fifteen Steeler games, with a 44.5 rating and a 66 share.