Since April, Pirates fans couldn’t get too high or get too low. It is, after all, a 162-game season. Although with some panic meters this year, you’d think it was a NFL season. Finally, the home stretch is here. The Pirates are in the middle of a division title race and a wild card race with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and technically the Washington Nationals.
The Pirates tied the season record for most sellouts in a season, and the fans have been flocking out regularly.
During Tuesday’s game against the San Diego Padres, however, there were plenty of empty seats. It’s technically not uncommon for it to happen. You can look at the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Indians for prime examples of team in the playoff chase that don’t draw well.
On the thing called the Internet, on a website called Twitter (perhaps you’ve heard of it?), A.J. Burnett made a simple statement about the attendance on Tuesday.
Lots of empty seats. Lots!
— AJ Burnett (@wudeydo34) September 18, 2013
Ah, A.J. How many times have we talked about athletes and twitter resulting in bad news?
First, let’s set it straight. Burnett wasn’t slamming the people of the city, nor was he saying anything horrible on Twitter. He was stating that there were empty seats. That’s all. But of course, because he is a player of such prominence, it will be talked about by fans and media pundits in a bad light.
In not so many words, Burnett was saying that in the middle of a playoff hunt, in the final homestand of the series, where is everyone?
And you know what, he has a point. The fans were missing last night, yes. The thing is, it’s fine.
A thing that gets lost is that no athlete should ever criticize a fan base for not showing up to games. Do they want the support? Sure they do. Same goes for the media. It’s often forgotten that not only do we media members get to watch each game for free from a nice, cool press box, but the majority of us get paid to do it.
Neither athletes or media members have a right to tell fans what to do with their money.
In a market the size of Pittsburgh, the city has done well.
Metro region population-Attendance: Pitt. 2.3 – 2.0 LAD 12.8 – 3.1 Det 4.2 – 2.8 Atl 5.4 – 2.3 StL 2.9 – 3.1 Bucs fans plenty supportive.
— David Manel (@DavidManel) September 18, 2013
As you can see from the talented David Manel, the Pirates will fall just short of matching the population with attendance.
For a city that has two other major teams, with the economy still not up to par, there’s only so much money to spend.
The athletes forget that while they collect millions upon millions of dollars (or high six-digit figures), the fans don’t. They are using what extra money they have to come support the team when they can.
Not only that, but look at the fan base. They are blue-collar workers who use the funds they have to provide for their families. Sorry to say, but sporting tickets shouldn’t be a top priority.
Also, look at the comfort that you can enjoy the game in at your house. It’s why I turned down free tickets to the Steelers home opener and won’t care if I attend another NFL game in my life. On a lesser scale, it can apply to baseball.
You are in your own home, watching on high definition (or standard), enjoying your own snacks, your own beer and aren’t spending $135 for a family of four to enjoy a nine-inning game at the ballpark.
To me, TV ratings tell more about fan support than actual attendance does. While the TV ratings will never match the Steelers (seriously, it won’t ever happen), they have still be excellent so far.
Would you like to see the fans pack PNC? Sure you would. A sellout each night would be ideal. But it’s also not realistic.
I said when the team finally put together a winning product, the fans would still have something to complain about. I guess I was right.
