Brett Kostoff is one of the more popular (infamous?) people in our AFC North community. Kostoff was a longtime Cincinnati Bengals fan who recently auctioned his fandom on eBay and wound up a card-carrying member of Steeler Nation.

Occasionally, we will check in with Kostoff to see how he's doing with his newfound fandom. With the lockout over, here is Kostoff's latest update:

"As far as being a Steelers fan, it's like nothing I've experienced in sports. Steeler fans are intelligent and know the game. They would rather tell you how great their best players are instead of bashing their best players (Bengals). The Steelers are the most well-respected organization in football today (Ravens, Cowboys, Bengals fans save it, you envy the Steelers. Got six?). Steeler Nation is the best fan base in the NFL. They live, die everything Steelers. For fans to have as much passion and love for a team in April and May as they do in September and January is unreal! Everything the organization does really can't be questioned by fans. They have made moves in previous seasons that have been questioned - letting go Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, Joey Porter, Alan Faneca to name a few and the end result remains the same. A steady winner and replacements that continue to fill those shoes and make fans forget about such impact players. The biggest difference to me is the expectations - anything less than a Super Bowl is unacceptable in Pittsburgh. In Cincinnati to not have a top-10 draft pick the following year is considered a successful year. I've meet so many great Steeler fans through my website that I would defend them against anyone. I've been nothing but engulfed in everything Pittsburgh Steelers."

Kostoff seems to be fine with the transition. He has yet to root for Pittsburgh in a game. But that will come next week in the Steelers' preseason debut against the Washington Redskins on Aug. 12.