Pittsburgh sports fans: any of you guys rank the PIRATES as your fav. local team? (price, stats) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

mlh1981 · 09-22-2009, 10:17 PM

any real DIEHARDS in here. Talk about your experiences in following this team and what keeps you hanging on. If the Pirates are your favorite team in the area, what is it about them that makes you like them more than the Steelers/Penguins?

Just curious.

nuwaver88 · 09-22-2009, 11:31 PM

I love the Pirates as much as I love the Steelers, The Penguins and The Pitt Panthers. There are so many people who laugh at me for watching the Pirates. Most of these people are the same bandwagoneers who did not know anything about hockey a few years ago. All of a sudden, they are now HUGE Penguin fans because of their success. That is actually a good thing and I hope that the Pirates can have some bandwagoneers if they become successful in a few years. I hope the Pirates success coincides with the continued transformation of the North Shore. The North Shore will be the sexy place to be in September if the Pirates are in a pennant race. Thanks for posting this. It is easy to attach oneself to a winner, and support a winner. True fans support their team through thick and thin. I do not think that many Pittsburghers realize how important the Pirates are to Pittsburgh. They play eighty-one games in the city every year. That is far more than the Steelers and Penguins combined. I understand and respect the fact that people are frustrated with 17 losing seasons. However, I honestly feel that they have a strong nucleus of young talent on the 40 man roster and in the minors. This has not always been the case. Hopeully things will get better soon. The Pirates need our support.

Thruway · 09-23-2009, 12:30 AM

The Pens had solid support for two decades...the faded for two years when they became the Bucs and sold all their players.
They don't have bandwagon fans.

The Bucs....they didn't draw even when good.

khyron · 09-23-2009, 04:58 AM

"...what is it about them that makes you like them more than the Steelers/Penguins?"

Simply put, the more democratic feeling I get from attending a Pirates game. See I'm not really a "sports fan" by any traditional definition. I don't get off on knowing a bunch of stuff about the players, and I don't care about rivalries or even who wins the game. I just really enjoy going out on a nice breezy night to sit in a wonderful, modern stadium, eat some comfort food and share a beer with my wife while surrounded by thousands of enthusiastic people watching baseball...all for a price that's affordable by anyone.

They very idea that Steelers or Penguins tickets are expensive and/or hard to even come by turns me off immediately from the experience. There's nothing fun about exclusivity or elitism to me...like, if I was magically transported to the middle of the Super Bowl last year, I'd just look around thinking so much about the waste and excess and irresponsibility of every single person attending the game that I'd never enjoy it.

So, since you asked, there's my two cents of brain damage.

greg42 · 09-23-2009, 06:06 AM

Pretty much the same relationship I have with baseball, for sure. I don't know the players, don't get into the stats, but I like going to a game once in a while, like this Sunday.

Hopefully it'll be over in time to watch the Steelers.

Beat02 · 09-23-2009, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thruway

The Pens had solid support for two decades...the faded for two years when they became the Bucs and sold all their players.
They don't have bandwagon fans.

BS x10

Thruway · 09-23-2009, 09:27 AM

Here is a question.
If the Bucs had a turn around....would the fans come back and would the stadium be filled OR have the fans been so turned off, are they so skeptical, and have they alientated the youth to such a degree.....it would be lukewarm?

What would a winning Bucs team be like...would it spark a turn around and buzz like Cleveland was in the 90s....or would it be like Cleveland was this decade when even with good teams (05 and 07) they didn't have attendance or Tampa this season?

Bagger · 09-23-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlh1981

any real DIEHARDS in here. Talk about your experiences in following this team and what keeps you hanging on. If the Pirates are your favorite team in the area, what is it about them that makes you like them more than the Steelers/Penguins?

Just curious.

They aren't my favorite overall team, but they still are my favorite baseball team. I follow them from San Jose.... always check what they did the day before in the Mercury News.

trotter_rej · 09-23-2009, 11:55 AM

They are my favorite team, even though they are difficult to watch now. I love the Steelers, Penguins, and Panthers as well, but baseball will always be my favorite sport and the Pirates are my team.

As to whether people would return if they became competitive, of course they would. While it's true that there are many young people who can't remember a good Pirates team, the opportunity to witness meaningful games after May would keep PNC Park hopping. The park itself is enough of a draw to bring people in now on weekends and for promotions, and a decent team would only add to the appeal.

It's true that the Bucs didn't sell out their stadium when they were good, but that was Three Rivers, which was a multi-purpose stadium that didn't do any of its purposes exceedingly well, baseball in particular. Also, it seated over 50,000 people, with many seats that were poor for viewing a baseball game.

Mugatu · 09-23-2009, 12:11 PM

As a transplant, the Pirates are my favorite LOCAL sports team (the FL teams I grew up watching will always be first to me). I always had a passion for baseball and just love the sport. I think PNC is an amazing park, it's just a shame the Pirates have the worst ownership in baseball. I think they would have a great fan base if they played anything remotely close to competitive baseball.

I've enjoyed watching the Penguins but I never was that into the sport hockey. I'm a big football fan too, but the whole unhealthy obsession the people of this city have with the Steelers is a HUGE turnoff. I really like the TEAM and Mike Tomlin and under normal circumstances, I could easily be a fan. They are a great team with great ownership. But Steeler-mania is just too much for me here. I wonder how many other tranplants feel this way too?