PITTSBURGH -- While families prepped yams and turkeys this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers were grabbing 300-calorie snacks on the way to the practice fields.
Each work day, Steelers down Smucker's Uncrustables peanut butter-and-grape jelly sandwiches from the team cafeteria. The kitchen staff orders about four 36-pack boxes per game week, and all 144 packaged sandwiches are usually gone by Saturday's walk-through.
This 76-gram circular ball of goo on wheat is just what cornerback Artie Burns craves.
"I had one right before practice, right there on the field before warmups," said Burns, whose been known to grab a handful of packages for the road on off days. "You get the good mixture of the jelly, peanut butter and bread. It just gives you a nice little settling of your stomach as you go out there."
The sandwich advertises 14 total grams of sugar, three grams of saturated fat and no high fructose corn syrup. Sure, it's processed food, but some players prefer the light snack over a heavy lunch before jogging onto the field. Then they can hit up the full-service cafeteria for an early dinner.
Players are often overheard placing an order of two grape sandwiches to a teammate making a cafeteria run. Veteran linebacker Arthur Moats summoned Burns on Wednesday to fulfill his fix.
"The perfect snack!" Moats said. "Tastes good, protein, and not too heavy before practice."
The Steelers also carry a strawberry version, but it's not nearly as popular. For Burns, Grape is more nostalgic.
"It's something good that you like when you're a little kid," Burns said. "You can just grab it and go."
The NBA's love for PBJs shows the sandwiches versatility. Players make them dozens of different ways.
For the Steelers, the process is more simplistic.
Grab, open, devour, practice.
