Some grandmas knit. Others read. This grandma dominates the pickleball courts, beating Pittsburgh Steelers players while she’s at it — without even knowing who she was playing against.
On Saturday, 64-year-old attorney Meg Burkardt saw two men playing one-on-one pickleball, while a third man sat and watched. Burkardt asked if she could join and play doubles, offering to let one of them use her extra paddle, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I could tell they were beginners. Don’t tell them I said that,” Burkardt told the Post Gazette.
After the games, Burkardt texted a photo with her new friends to her family group chat. Burkardt has five children and one grandson.
Her daughter, Natalie, saw the picture and recognized the trio as defensive players for the Pittsburgh Steelers, including T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Alex Highsmith.
She tweeted the photo, and Watt also tweeted it to his followers, causing the story to go viral.
Who were the Pittsburgh Steelers players she played with?
Watt was recently named with Cam Heyward as the NFL’s second best defensive duo by CBS Sports. Last year, he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, “after leading the league in sacks with 22.5, which tied Michael Strahan for the all-time single-season record,” per CBS Sports.
Free safety Fitzpatrick was ranked 97th in CBS Sports NFL’s top 100 players list. Highsmith is a key defensive player for the Steelers, as outside linebacker, recording six sacks in the 2021 season, per Trib Live.
Burkardt told the Post Gazette that she plans on watching the Steelers more often this season.
“I figure now I’ll have a good reason to watch. If they need any tips or help on their pickleball game, they can always call me,” she said.