The NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh is exciting for a lot of reasons.

There’s the football, of course. There’s the national attention. There’s the chance to welcome fans from across the country to a city that knows a thing or two about the game.

But more than anything, the draft gives Pittsburgh a chance to show people who we are now.

For too long, too many people have held onto an outdated image of Pittsburgh — smoky skies, steel mills and a city stuck in the past. That history matters. It shaped us. It gave this region its grit, its work ethic and its identity.

But Pittsburgh is not a smoggy old mill town waiting to be rediscovered.

We’ve been here all along.

And when the NFL Draft brings visitors, media and football fans to town, they’re going to see a city that is beautiful, lively and full of things to do.

They’ll see our rivers. They’ll see our skyline. They’ll see Downtown, the North Shore, Mount Washington and all sorts of areas that can tell the Pittsburgh story first-hand.

They’ll see a city and region that has changed without forgetting where it came from.

Downtown deserves the spotlight

Pittsburgh’s Downtown is made for a moment like this.

It’s walkable. It’s scenic. It’s packed with history, restaurants, hotels, theaters and riverfront views. You can stand at Point State Park and look out at the place where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio. You can walk across a bridge to the North Shore. You can look up and see hillsides rising around the city.

That’s not something every city can offer.

And for visitors coming in for the draft, Downtown will be more than a backdrop. It will be part of the experience.

They’ll be able to explore before and after events. They’ll be able to walk to restaurants, museums, bars, theaters and hotels. They’ll be able to see why so many of us love this place—even when we complain about construction, parking or which tunnel is backed up.

Because all of that makes Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.

We’re more than steel, even if steel helped make us

Pittsburgh should never run away from its steel history or blue-collar mindset.

The mills built communities. They brought families here. They helped create the work ethic people still associate with this region.

But the mistake is thinking the story stopped there.

Today’s Pittsburgh is a city of education, medicine, technology, arts, culture, research, food, sports and neighborhoods with strong identities. It is a place where old industrial buildings have found new life, where riverfronts have become gathering places and where people still feel connected to their communities.

That’s what the NFL Draft can help show.

It can show that Pittsburgh’s past is important, but it is not the only thing that defines us.

Let’s talk about “eds and meds”

People like to use the phrase “eds and meds” when they talk about Pittsburgh’s modern economy.

It can sound a little too simple, but there’s truth behind it.

Our universities, hospitals and research institutions have helped carry this region into a new era. They bring students, doctors, nurses, researchers, professors, patients, families and workers into Pittsburgh from all over the world.

Our museums are worth the trip

Pittsburgh also has museums that deserve national attention.

The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are one of the region’s great cultural assets. Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Kamin Science Center and The Andy Warhol Museum give visitors a little bit of everything — art, science, history, dinosaurs, innovation and one of Pittsburgh’s most famous creative voices.

The Heinz History Center tells the story of Western Pennsylvania in a way that helps people understand how this region grew, changed and contributed to the country.

And Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is one of the most beautiful places in the city. It is a reminder that Pittsburgh is greener, brighter and more alive than outsiders sometimes expect.

These are places that make Pittsburgh richer. They give families, students, visitors and longtime residents reasons to keep learning and exploring.

Don’t forget the libraries

Pittsburgh is also a library city.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system is one of the city’s most important civic resources. Its branches serve neighborhoods across the city and offer far more than books. They offer programming, public space, internet access, job resources, children’s activities and a place for people to gather.

Across the county, the Allegheny County Library Association and the network of suburban libraries do the same kind of work.

Libraries are one of the best measures of a community’s priorities. In Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, they remain vital pieces of public life.

When visitors come here, they may notice the stadiums first. That’s fine. They’re hard to miss.

But part of what makes Pittsburgh special is that our pride extends beyond sports. It includes the places that help people read, learn, connect and grow.

The arts are part of the city’s heartbeat

Let’s not forget about Pittsburgh’s arts scene.

The Cultural District has helped make Downtown a destination for theater, music, dance and public art. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has been a major part of that transformation.

Pittsburgh CLO brings musical theater to generations of audiences. Heinz Hall remains one of Downtown’s great landmarks and the home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The Benedum Center, Byham Theater and other venues help keep the city’s arts scene active year-round.

This is another part of Pittsburgh that surprises people.

They come expecting sports. They find theater, music, dance, galleries, festivals and public art.

That combination is what makes the city interesting. You can go from a football game on the North Shore to a show Downtown in the same night. You can spend one day at a museum and the next at Kennywood.

There’s plenty of fun here, too

Speaking of Kennywood, the isn’t limited to Downtown and the city’s limits.

Kennywood is one of the great Pittsburgh traditions. Generations of families have gone there for roller coasters, Potato Patch fries and summer nights that feel like childhood.

Just down the road from Kennywood, its water park, Sandcastle, gives the region a place to cool off along the Monongahela River. (Not in, though — let’s make that distinction, haha.)

And about an hour away from Kennywood is sister park Idlewild, which is part of the Western Pennsylvania family tradition, especially for younger kids and parents who want a day that feels a little slower and a little sweeter. Daniel Tiger and his friends are among the main attractions at Idlewild.

This is Pittsburgh’s moment

The NFL Draft will bring attention to Pittsburgh.

That is good for the city. It is good for restaurants, hotels, small businesses and attractions. It is good for the people who have been saying for years that Pittsburgh deserves more credit than it gets.

But the most exciting part is not just that people will come here, it is that they will see a city with three rivers, great neighborhoods, strong institutions, beautiful parks, serious culture and a sense of identity that cannot be — dare I say — manufactured.

They will see that Pittsburgh is not stuck in the past.

They will see that we are proud of where we came from and excited about where we are going.

And maybe, after a few days here, they’ll understand what we already know: Pittsburgh is a great place to visit, a great place to explore and a great place to call home.