Football Player Turned Opera Singer Loves Steelers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Steelers welcomed a very special guest to their game Sunday night, but neither the players, nor anyone sitting in the surrounding seats likely knew who he was.

That's because he's the star of the opera playing in Pittsburgh this week and football and the Opera don't typically draw the same crowd.

David Lomeli is the star tenor of "Lucia Di Lammermoor," the show playing this week at the Benedum Center.

He's a rising star on the world's opera scene, but there was a time, growing up in Mexico, when he had hoped to make it as a star football player. He was even a die-hard Steelers fan. So when his tour schedule showed he'd be stopping over in Pittsburgh, his dream of seeing a Steelers game in person was about to come true.

"It's awesome. I love it," he said when he arrived at his seat. "I love it. I didn't know there was this hall of fame downstairs and the rock band and the passion around the stadium it's amazing.

"You'd hope you'd see a little of it at the opera house, but it's phenomenal, but it's not even full but you can feel already, there's a Pat uniform and everyone's like, 'Booooo.' I love it."

He was dressed for the part, wearing a Steelers poncho over a Hines Ward jersey, a Steelers T-shirt and of course had his Terrible Towel.

"I'm a huge fan, not because I'm here, but I'm a huge fan of the Steelers," he said. "I grew up hearing about the Steel Curtain all the time. I'm excited to see it."

And David doesn't just enjoy watching football, he used to play it.

"I'm 6'1" and I was almost 300 pounds and I could run the 40 yards pretty decently, it was the natural choice," he said.

So how does a defensive end wind up belting, not quarterbacks, but belting out booming notes and operas?

"I wasn't that good," he modestly explains. "The football team offered me 50 percent off scholarship, the opera company 100 percent."

So David traded in being a, well, fat lineman, for singing with the fat lady. And listening to him, it's clear he made the right choice.