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I was curious from an objective point of view how you would compare and rate Pittsburgh as an NHL town compared to DC.
I’d like to know how they compare in terms of which one is the better town, which has better widespread support and hardcore loyalty as well as general knowledge and passion for the team and sport, if they aren’t equal.
1) I’ve always like to consider Pittsburgh as being a strong NHL town.
-As a young adult…I’ve remembered many of their strong teams…and their solid home attendance to go with a very healthy contingent of road fans.
-This to me signaled Pittsburgh is a solid hockey town and a solid number 2 behind the Stillers.
-I confirmed this by checking out the stats of their attendance since the late 80s.
They averaged over 16,000 almost every year…except in 1998 and then during the fire sale years earlier this decade.
-I thought I’d give them a mulligan for this decade…because those teams were AHL hockey and when a team is bankrupt…it’s really hard to justify in a struggling economy like Pittsburgh getting disposable income for that product.
2) Living outside the DC area…to me it always appeared this was not a good hockey town.
-The Caps were rarely mentioned locally..except by die hards.
-The arena was empty…very few road fans existed.
-Until AO came along and exploded this year.
-Now the Caps are selling out and passion is like I have never seen before.
3) I thought Pittsburgh was this solid hockey town…evidenced by the sellouts since Crosby came.
-They poured on immediately…they didn’t wait three years to draw…and last year they started the sellouts of each contest.
4) Yet now that Washington is selling out due to AO…it has me asking myself…is Pittsburgh really that special a hockey town?
-Is it really any better than Washington?
-Consider…while for the most part as long as I have been a fan…Pittsburgh has drawn…they’ve has Mario, Jaromir, and now Sid.
-The Caps have had good teams..but mostly defensive teams…now they get AO…who is like Mario…and they draw.
5) My opinion of DC will not change…they’re a fair weather football town.
-They had a team for three decades and never got more than a sniff of notice…until AO came.
-There is not much of a youth hockey prescene at all..very limited.
-This puts them in the mediocre, fair weather category, nothing special…although for the next several years of AO…this is going to be quite different.
6) I’m wondering…is Pittsburgh any different.
-Many people I know, they are not from the city, tell me Pittsburgh is no better than DC.
-It’s all Steelers and bandwagon everything else…and point to how when Mario retired attendance dropped way off in 1998.
-I never gave it much consideration…but seeing how AO has made DC into hockey…I wonder…what separates PIT from DC?
-Is youth hockey big...or is the traditional US sports?
-Is this really any more of a solid, stable hockeytown, both or is it ride the tide?
If you have lived in one or both markets...your response is most desired.
Thanks.
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When it comes to tradition and producing players that make it to major college or pros, Pittsburgh is a lot better than DC. NHL support historically though, overall, has been just about even.
I'm a Caps fan and I'd say Pittsburgh has a much much better hockey tradition and better fans than the Caps. Hands down. There aren't many die-hard Caps fans compared to the Pens.
I can't say about Pittsburgh, but having lived in the metro D.C. area for a few years now, I can tell you this is the Redskins' town. The Caps and Wizards both seem to have a lot of fair-weather fans and bandwagoners. Heck, I think people get more excited about the Nats and D.C. United than they do about the hockey and basketball teams. But they all pale in comparison to the Skins. No question.
I can't say about Pittsburgh, but having lived in the metro D.C. area for a few years now, I can tell you this is the Redskins' town. The Caps and Wizards both seem to have a lot of fair-weather fans and bandwagoners. Heck, I think people get more excited about the Nats and D.C. United than they do about the hockey and basketball teams. But they all pale in comparison to the Skins. No question.
I live in the DC area too...and agree.
I wanted to know how PIT compares.
As a Pens fan people like to tease me saying PIT fans in hockey are just like Caps fans...very fair weather.
I wanted to know if this is true.
One of the things that bothered me about the Penguins organization (pre Mario ownership) was that there were some of us die hard fans that consistently turned out when the Pens weren't doing well. We loyal fans filled those seats during the rough, pre-cup years. We bought season tickets and we bought the expensive beer. We brought our friends and made a night of it; each and every game. Once the cups were won the owners decided that the "traditional" Pittsburgh fan was expendable and then they raised ticket prices, screwed with our seating, placed stupid boxes in front of our front row seats, etc. The ticket prices were raised so high that only the corporate expense accounts could afford them; think "business write-off". Many of us loyal season ticket holders had to stay home. And we all know what happened to this story and then people wonder where the loyal Penguins fans have gone? We had to go home or to our neighborhood bars. No doubt that PIT is a Steeler town; but, there were die hard hockey fans that got the shaft. You have to maintain your core group of fans; they will carry you through. When teams lose it isn't "sexy" to take your business dinner client out to watch that. A die hard PIT hockey generation was lost during that time post cup. Pittsburgh Penguins have no right to whine about their support in PIT. Karma baby.
Don't know much about Pittsburgh, but I spent a week in D.C recently and not one person I talked to had ever been to a Caps game. Also, I didn't see a single person wearing any Caps gear. Of course keep in mind that Washington is very much a city where many of the people who live there aren't from there originally. Perhaps the Capitols get more support from D.C. area natives out in the suburbs.
Don't know much about Pittsburgh, but I spent a week in D.C recently and not one person I talked to had ever been to a Caps game. Also, I didn't see a single person wearing any Caps gear. Of course keep in mind that Washington is very much a city where many of the people who live there aren't from there originally. Perhaps the Capitols get more support from D.C. area natives out in the suburbs.
Yep, DC proper is so full of transient transplants and tourists the only time you'll see Caps gear is on game day and that's when the surburanites flood in on the metro.
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