Bret Michaels on His Die-Hard Steelers Fandom & Pittsburgh Hosting the NFL Draft

Bret Michaels walks onto the set in Pittsburgh and the accent gets thicker by the second. He's home. Native son. Headlining the NFL Draft Entertainment Series presented by Bud Light alongside Wiz Khalifa, and the Poison frontman is treating it like a family reunion.

Rich talks weather. A little overnight rain Friday into Saturday, but Thursday night looks gorgeous, and the aerial shots of this city, Bret says, are second to none in America. When you get spat out of the tunnel and see downtown Pittsburgh light up, it looks like Gotham City out of a comic book. The fans love football. They put french fries on their sandwiches. They put french fries on everything. You have to bump up your pant size before you leave town.

The food talk turns into a full pierogi-and-Primanti love letter. Joe Manganiello tipped the show off to Alla Famiglia the night before. The crew walked in as Mike McCarthy and a bunch of Steelers were walking out, which Rich takes as proof they found the magic spot. Bret confirms. He hasn't eaten since.

Rich asks the question. Who was your Steeler growing up. Bret heads straight to Latrobe. Every summer, every year, training camp. Back when there was no security, just a yellow rope you lifted up and ducked under. Terry Bradshaw signed an autograph. Roy Gerela came to the fence. Mean Joe Greene was right there. The crew pulls up an old photo of a young Bret Michaels in a jacket, fired up, lid pulled down, standing in the exact spot he just described.

Then the moment turns. Bret slows down. He talks about being diagnosed as a diabetic when he was very young. Music and football didn't just change his life. They saved it. His parents gave him two choices. Victory or victim. He picked victorious. The Steelers were winning at the time. He decided to do the same. Beat the disease, live a long awesome rock and roll life, never look back.

The room sits with that for a beat. Then Bret pivots back into Pittsburgh-ese. Yinz doing good. You going downtown such. Giant Eagle for groceries. The whole bit. The accent has now fully taken over.

Thursday night the draft kicks off in his hometown, the city he says rolls out the carpet for everybody. Steelers Steelers Steelers, he closes. Go Steelers. You made it all the way to the end. Thanks for that.