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What a DEAD crowd!!


The Critic

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Originally posted by The Critic

I'm checking out the Penguins-Leafs game on ESPN Dos, and the 15, 000 people are SILENT. Jeez, the Columbus crowd puts them to shame! No wonder the NHL is always trying to find a way to eliminate Pittsburgh - nobody cares about the Pens there!

I live in the grand metropolis of Pgh and I'll tell you anything you want to know (if you care) about Pgh sports or anything Pgh for that matter. As far as that game goes, the crowd was silent mainly because the Penguins were getting their asses kicked. If you are insinuating that this is not a great sports town (it's pronounced tahn here) then Bingo!! You're absolutely right. This is a Steelers town first and foremost. God help you (it's pronounced Gawd here) if you go to Heinz Field and wear the other teams colors.
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Yeah, that's the impression I get about Pittsburgh - there's the Steelers, and who cares about the rest. When the Pirates were good ( remember that? ), the good people of Pittsburgh stayed home during the playoffs. The Penguins don't draw flies without Lemieux, and barely draw flies even with him.

Why do you think that is? I always hear that the economy is bad there, and people can't afford to go to games. Do you think that theory holds water, or is it something else?

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I'll try not to make this too long winded. Pittsburgh is a very quirky area. People here are friendly in an informal way that Chicago folks would find mystifying. Maybe this is a strange analogy, but think of the geography of Chicago and most of the midwest. Mostly flat. People are pretty straight forward and down to earth. Here you have all these hills and valleys and cliffs, people are maddeningly inconsistent. Friendly, but not always loyal or consistent. As far as sports goes, for 40 years the Steelers stunk. In the 70's they took the town and the sports world by storm and this became a Steelers town. This is a football area, many great football players come from SW Pa and they still play the best brand of HS football in the north in Pa and Ohio. People live and die football here and the Pirates, Penguins, and University of Pgh Panthers are poor stepchildren. It is true that the economy sucks big time here. I'd say that of the 50 largest metro areas in the US only Buffalo and New Orleans have weaker economies, and yes I have done some research on the subject. If you ever do come here, visit PNC Park, it's a great place to see a ball game, even if the Pirates aren't a great team to watch. If you go to a Penguins game you'll notice that the fans arrive late and leave early like in LA. You'll also notice that the fans aren't nearly as knowledgeable as in Chi or any of the other original 6 NHL cities. If you go to a Steelers game on the other game, ROOT FOR THE OTHER TEAM AT YOUR OWN RISK! Like I said they take football real seriously here.

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(Yinz) Pittsburghian for you all have to realize to that when Mario Lemieux came to Pittsburgh, there was only 2 hockey rinks in the friggin' city. They have some more now and are becoming more of a hockey place as is most of the U.S. They have the oldest rink in the league. In a place where the Steelers, pronounced Stillers own the town you can't expect a hockey town. The only places where fans go nuts during the game are Edmonton,the original 6 franchises and anywhere where the team is really good. Even in the home of Canadian National hockey Calgary the arena is nicknamed the Saddlemorgue instead of Saddle dome. The majority of the season ticket holders don't really get it and clap when they think something good happens. Add that to the fact the the Pens were getting their asses handed to them and you may see why the rink was quiet.

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