A connection like no other

Jim Zimmerman Sr. got a surprise of a lifetime when he was honored before the Steelers-Eagles game as the winner of the Steelers 2022 Fan of the Year for his love and passion for the team.

“I almost cried,” said Zimmerman of getting news on the field before the game from linebacker T.J. Watt. “I never expected anything like this in my life. That was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me.”

But his love and passion for the team is just the tip of the iceberg as to why he was selected as the winner this year.

Zimmerman is a man who bleeds black and gold.

He is Pittsburgh born and bred, and he loves all of his Pittsburgh sports teams, with the Steelers as close to his heart as anything in life is.

It’s his passion, his joy, his way to find happiness.

On the flip side, one of his newest and closest friends, Bill Soloway loves his Philadelphia sports teams, and has a passion for the Eagles as he is a diehard fan who was born and raised in the Philadelphia area.

But despite his love for the Eagles, he is quick to admit his heart is with the Steelers.

And it’s all because of Zimmerman.

About nine years ago, Soloway was given a diagnosis that changed his entire life. He was diagnosed with Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that took the life of his brother and his mother, and now was threatening his own life after he suffered congestive heart failure.

The outlook was grim and Soloway was in a state of panic. As the primary care giver for his 85-year-old father, John, he didn’t know what would happen if his life was cut short like others he loved.

Without many choices, Soloway met with doctors and experts at Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia about the potential of a heart transplant. He knew the odds were stacked against him, but it was his only hope.

“So many people die every day waiting for a life-saving heart transplant,” said Soloway. “I didn’t want to be a statistic. It’s pretty nerve wracking in some instances.

“My quality of life deteriorated to point…