PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers got a championship surprise on the final day of minicamp.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino carried the Stanley Cup onto the Steelers practice field after the Thursday session ended, prompting a rowdy response from players.
Bonino then took the Cup to greet coach Mike Tomlin, who studied the details of the trophy, smiled and said, "That's a beautiful thing."
Offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who's from Pittsburgh, said in the background, "That gives me chills."
"That's Lord Stanley. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Tomlin told the media a few minutes later. "A lot of respect for what they've gone through and accomplished. Really appreciate them showing a token of their appreciation of our support for bringing it over and allowing us to get a little glimpse of it. Hopefully we represent Pittsburgh and Western PA in a similar way in a few months."
On Sunday night, the Penguins won their fifth championship (1991-92, 2009, 2016-17) and 16th overall for the three major Pittsburgh sports teams. The Steelers have won six Super Bowls (1974-75, 1978-79, 2005, 08) and the Pittsburgh Pirates have five World Series titles (1909, 1925, 1960, 1971, 1979).
Tomlin had seen the Cup before and added his job comes with a few "spoils." That didn't stop players and team officials from taking turns posing for pictures alongside the Cup.
"Not a lot of cities have that camaraderie or that type of leadership and great bond between teams," defensive end Cam Heyward said. "You see their guys at our games, we are at their games, we're all at baseball games. We appreciate what each other does."
