Once upon a time (during the NHL Lockout), I remember a young Pittsburgh lad came to me and said that his Penguins would one day fill their arena full of fans… I of course pushed him over and said “That’s impossible,” after which I stole his ice cream. I also said that the Penguins should have moved to Kansas City and skated on a delicious vat of frozen bbq sauce. Never bringing hockey to Pittsburgh again…
Earlier this year, I remember a certain hockey team with a player that likes to “entertain.” Don Cherry hates this particular player, and the Pittsburgh fans would cry “bandwagoners!” when their arena would fill to capacity. The Pens fans screamed ““We are true fans, through and through, we don’t miss a beat!” in their brand new 24-hour overnighted jerseys.
I often look back and wonder if that little boy ever came to his senses…The fans that cried bandwagon have their own story of how they bandwagoned into the spotlight… let’s go to the stats (honest to goodness journalistic reporting on this one).
*Just a few notes: Mellon Arena is not the biggest arena in the NHL... that will be why I did not post their overall rank in attendance (so all the haters can not say that). Also there are mixed reports of the actual capacity of Mellon Arena.
Attendance (Mellon Arena)
2001- 16,277 (avg) Record 42-28-9
2002 -15,649 (average), Record 28-41-5
2003- 14,750 (average) Record 27-44-6
2004- 11,877 (average), (DEAD LAST IN NHL) Record 23-47-8
2005- LOCKOUT
2006- 15,804 (avg) Record 22-46, this might have something to do with a #1 pick…
2007- 16,424 (avg), 47-24-0-11
2008- 17,076 (avg), Record 47-27-0-8
2009- 16,975 (avg) Record, 45-28
So in conclusion... when the team sucks, attendance goes down. So far down, however, that they had the worst attendance in the league!!! Then here comes a #1 pick, and attendance increases. There was a slight decrease in my findings for this past season (is the slow start is to blame!?). The response of the fans that cried bandwagon will be unruly... My response... Pittsburgh sucks.
Sources:
http://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/24/schedule/reg2008
http://www.mellonarena.com/site41.php
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=his_records
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2009
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19 comments:
It happens to all sports there champ... look at the Crapitals a couple years ago... they got Ovie who is the 3rd best player in the league and DC has a circle jerk
Just proves Pittsburgh fans are no better than other fans. They aren't any more "loyal" than joe schmo.
Btw, i know several pittsburgh fans. And guess what? None of the ones I know are from or were born in pittsburgh. it's a trend i've been seeing lately. what's that? because your uncle's, cousin's, daughter's, friend's, roomate drove through pittsburgh one time, that makes you a pittsburgh fan?
"It happens to all sports there champ... look at the Crapitals a couple years ago... they got Ovie who is the 3rd best player in the league and DC has a circle jerk"
Everyone knows DC isn't a sportstown (too busy cleaning up the mess that is Shittsburgh). But, every fan I have met who likes Shittsburgh claims they have the best most loyal fans, which is laughable. And you are lucky Bettman hand fed you top 5 picks over a three year span to keep your franchise in Shittsburgh.
So lets see here.... The Craps had 13,900 back in 2004... DC is a much bigger city than Pittsburgh. How does it only have 2,000 more people going to the games? It's funny when you try to rationalize comparing the nations capital to Pittsburgh lol
"So lets see here.... The Craps had 13,900 back in 2004... DC is a much bigger city than Pittsburgh. How does it only have 2,000 more people going to the games? It's funny when you try to rationalize comparing the nations capital to Pittsburgh lol"
You know why DC is a bigger city? Cause it is full of people who left Pittsburgh
You're right... DC is more of a murdertown...
You should be happy that Bettman hand fed you Ovie so your team is still there. But then again, no one would really know or care if they weren't...
The hate on this board is flattering... it really is... I try to come here as much as possible because it really makes me feel like we are extremely bothering you being alive... and you know what... I brings a smile to my face...
Mission Accomplished
Deep down though, I really wish I was from Pittsburgh. I guess I'm a little jealous.
"The hate on this board is flattering... it really is... I try to come here as much as possible because it really makes me feel like we are extremely bothering you being alive... and you know what... I brings a smile to my face..."
Wrong. What would bother me is if I were from Shittsburgh.
hi, i'm from pittsburgh. That means i like to have sexual relations with cousins.
I'm just mad that the Pens always beat the Caps... thats all really.
The city is actually pretty fun.
Keep rationalizing your hate based on specific, relative instances. Guess what, one time, I saw a Saints fan say a dirty word. I guess that means all Fans of any New Orleans-based teams are all rude swear-word users.
Attendance rises and falls with a team's production. Common sense.
Those of us that were rooting for Rico Fata and Dick Tarnstom think you and your arguments are a joke.
"Attendance rises and falls with a team's production. Common sense."
Yes it does, but all Pens fans claim how they're loyal to their team and make it out win or lose like the fans of the Flyers, Rangers, etc. News flash you Pen fans are fairweather so stop claiming you're not.
I guess I'll put this in bold, since the haters can't grasp the concept.
Quit rationalizing your hate based on specific, relative instances.
Find new people to hang out with if someone uses those excuses. You're the only one that can change whatever situation you're in.
You're talking about a team AND city that were both bankrupt at the same time. There's more to being a supportive fan than showing up at the arena. A lot of people couldn't afford tix. Work has moved me away from Pittsburgh, meaning I haven't gotten to a game in some time. Does that mean I wasn't supporting Kris Beech if I wasn't watching him in person? That argument is the biggest joke.
If you wanna get pissed, shit on Wings fans, who still claim "Hockeytown" even though they still aren't selling out SCF tix two years in a row.
Or, and this might be a stretch for you to comprehend...SUPPORT YOUR OWN TEAMS RATHER THAN HATING ON SOMEONE ELSE'S! I know it's a tough concept to grasp, but try it out sometime.
SO the mere possibility that someone is bashing Pittsburgh makes them come out of the woodwork to defend their 3rd tier city.
Pens fans are down there with Sabres fans, the whiniest, thinest skinned people on earth!
i've been going to pens games for a couple years now, ever since student rush made it affordable, and it's like any sports team, if the product isn't good why go? Why spend the money to see a shit team lose? Yea, yea real hockey fans wouldn't care, yea they may not care to spend the pretty penny to go see a shitty team, but they may watch on TV.
I'm not quite sure the 2009 statistic is valid though, i went to 20 odd games this year and it was never below 17,000. Standing room sellout most of the time.
No one wants to see a team that's crap - take the freaking Pirates for example.
Flyers have had bad seasons. Did their attendance go down? Nope. Look at the Leafs, who havent won a cup since the 60s or 70s (I forget). Did their attendance go down that drastically? Nope. Pittsburgh fans are the PURE definition of bandwagoners. Please, PLEASE shut up you "fans"!!!
Its fine for fans to be fairweather, as long as they admit that they are. Penguins fans act like they've been there the six or seven seasons their team has sucked ass, which is evidently not true looking at the number of tickets here. But hey, without those seasons, you would have never seen faces like Crosby, Staal, MAF, Malkin, and Orpik. You can't suck forever, and the Penguins are a prime example...
Been to DC many many times and have family there. They can keep that shithole of a city.
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