Doomsday may be coming soon to Pittsburgh.

No, zombies aren’t about to overrun the city. An asteroid won’t slam into Heinz Field any time soon.

An ever worse kind of apocalypse is looming, however.

Gasp, Pittsburgh sports teams may, gulp, crumble like so many plots in so many disaster movies.

And it’s been happening all around us.

Quietly. Subversively.

We’re just taking notice now.

But, it may be too late to save our fandom.

It started with the University of Pittsburgh. Hopewell graduate Rushel Shell decided to take his talents to Southern California and UCLA. Then a slew of basketball players at the school decided to run a fast break out of town.

Things have gotten worse:

Steelers’ lineman Mike Adams was stabbed.

Ben Roethlisberger had a surprise knee surgery.

The Pirates have woken up and remembered, “Hey, we’re the Pirates,” and have lost three in a row and five of their last six. They have been one-hit twice in a week.

And the Penguins. Enough said.

While it’s not quite at the level of the sports dysfunction going on in Cleveland, these could be the dawning of some dark days for the franchises in the ‘Burgh.

Pittsburgh fans are spoiled, which is going to make these pending dark ages even less palatable.

The Steelers have been one of the most stable and consistent franchises in the NFL for decades.

The Steelers have done it by drafting well, staying away from head cases and taking the blue-collar approach, to which the fan base can relate.

In recent years, the franchise has strayed a bit from that approach and the team has been weakened.

Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger and is good for a severe injury or two every season.

The wide receiver and running back situation is in turmoil and most of the members of the defense can order off the seniors’ menu at Perkins.

I always wondered what would happen in the Pittsburgh area should the Steelers have a prolonged stretch of stinkyness.

It just hasn’t happened.

The last time the Steelers had three consecutive losing seasons was from 1969-71.

There is a whole generation of Steelers’ fans who haven’t had to endure a string of lousy football.

That makes Steelers’ followers probably the most spoiled group of fans on the planet.

Of course, things can only get better for the Pirates. Unlike the Steelers, there is a generation of baseball fans in this area who have not experienced winning baseball. Or not. A few more losing seasons would do the trick.

And the Pens. Oh, the Pens.

Growing up near Cleveland and rooting for the Buffalo Bills most of my life, I know what doomsday looks like.

Welcome to the beginning of the end, Pittsburgh.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.