The Pittsburgh Penguins’ fans have done it again.
For the third year in a row they have been named the NHL’s best fans by Forbes Magazine. So what makes the Penguins fans so special to win such an award three years in a row?
Forbes based their study upon five measurable calculations: hometown crowd reach, television ratings, arena attendance as a percentage of capacity, merchandise sales, and social media reach. The data covers the last three years.
“One thing for sure about our fan base is that it is not all centered around the Pittsburgh area,” said Pittsburgh native and Penguins fan Thomas Soergel. “There are fans all across the United States and even international.”
Soergel grew up in Pittsburgh and has lived here all of his life. His sister, whom he calls “the biggest Penguins fans you will meet,” was the reason he became such a fan of hockey. His sister now lives in California but is still a huge fan of the Penguins.
“My sister has all knowledge of the players, by going down to games to wish them luck, [and by] going to the ‘Mario’s TV’ during the playoffs and reserving seats at eight in the morning for a 7:30pm games,” he said. “These are things she used to do when she lived in Pittsburgh. She also used to write stats in notebooks for each game. Through her example, I have become a bigger Penguins fan and will stay one.”
Through it all, he feels that the fans like himself and many others that show dedication to the team is the reason Penguins fans deserve the honor of being the best fans.
They show that dedication “by standing with them in difficult times and showing they are faithful by going to the games, buying jerseys, [shirts], water bottles, and other merchandise” he said.
Gwen ore Pokrifka became a Penguins fan after her brother got the EA Sports NHL video game. Before that, no one in her house really cared about hockey. She and her brother soon began watching the games on TV rather than just playing the video games.
“It took me about a year to really get into understanding the rules and watching with comprehension, but by then I was sold” she said.
She finds, unlike most other professional sports, hockey is fast and aggressive, making it quite fun to watch. As for Penguins hockey in particular, she became a fan of them because she grew up in Pittsburgh.
“I would say that true Penguins fans are always Penguins fans,” said Pokrifka “Many of the other fans who I know personally have similar roots as myself by developing their loyalty to the Penguins because they are from the Pittsburgh area”
The study not only showed the quantity of Penguins fans in attendance at the games and those watching at home, but those that follow the team online as well.
“I had no idea that [as the Forbes article stated] NHL fans spend more time on social networking sites than other sports fans,” said Hannah Stubert. “I think that the Penguins organization does a very good job of connecting fans through social media which definitely helps when you’re not in Pittsburgh anymore.”
Hannah has been a Penguins fan ever since she was little. She was born and raised here in Pittsburgh, but since has moved. Stubert did not become fully into hockey until the year before the lockout in 2012-2013. She had loved watching the sport, but wasn’t that into it until she started following a few players careers and getting invested into the team as a whole.
“There are so many special things about the Penguins organization,” she said. “I think the thing that is the most special about the Penguins is that they truly care about their fans and the city they are based in”
She finds that the players are accessible to fans, the team provides viewing parties for the playoffs, and they are very active in the community and through various other organizations.
Her favorite part about the being a Penguins fan? The fan base’s wide reach: “No matter where you are in the U.S. you will find someone else who is a Penguins fan.”
Photo Credit: NHL
