OT: 1st Dawnhtawhn Experience / Pirates Game in Almost 20 Years

[Zeldas Open Roof]

They are 2 for $1, even of the pretzel roll if you scan your Sheetz reward card. Then, I basically get 10 gallon drink (it seems) every time because they give you a million points for buying anything. I swear they are trying to go out of business.

dagnabbit, i knew of no such deal. thanks for the heads up..

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

If you go to the Zoo- stop my Lock and Dam outside for a good dog or hamburger

on butler street, just looked it up. believe it or not, on weekends, im out that way and always looking for a place to eat. this will be my goal for this weekend. thanks.

 

[ChiefJusticeMarshall]

What makes it an garbage industry? There is a demand for what they do. I don't buy from them because tickets are cheap on the broker sites but many people do or else they wouldn't be out there.

Imagine the difference now and say the early 90's or even mid 2010's. Now with all the brokerage services, it has to eat into their customer base. But in the early 90's, you had the Pirates winning divisions and going to the playoffs, the Pens winning back 2 back Cups and perennial contender and the Steelers in the AFC Champ at least almost every year. Same set up in the Mid 2010's with those teams.

Now? It is the worst Pittsburgh sports ha been in the history of my life as the great Rocky Balboa once said.

 

[PittPharm2002]

on butler street, just looked it up. believe it or not, on weekends, im out that way and always looking for a place to eat. this will be my goal for this weekend. thanks.

They have soft serve too , along with Hershey’s hard serve .

 

[jtownknowitall]

not sure but they are there. truly hope that the digital ticket era completely wipes out this abomination of an industry..

the day you can go to a football game or baseball game in the north shore and not be surrounded by this filth, will be a beautiful day..

you’re quite a snowflake, frat boy.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

you’re quite a snowflake, frat boy.

if wanting to push a scalper garbage human being clown in a wheel chair with no legs into the river is wrong, , i dont want to be right.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

2) I asked for the best available at a reasonable price on the 3B side. They were $30 each, which is more I wanted to pay for that product given the weather, but we went with it. Like I said, no one was there, maybe 200 people within the surrounding sections. The ticket guy gave us seats in the 320's where we would had to look directly through an area of protective glass near the stairwell to see the batter. Ridiculous. We moved over of course, but do these people not use any discretion?

You could have saved some coin if you had deflated your girlfriend, put her in your pocket, and then not blown her back up again until you were in your seats.

 

[Frabjous]

Anybody remember the guy in the 70s-80s who wore a sign ‘Why can’t Lansberry get mail?’

 

[pittdan77]

I have to be honest, the only time I've ever been uncomfortable walking through downtown Pittsburgh was when it was really freaking humid. Got a little swampy and that's about it. I've been to "dangerous" places and Pittsburgh just ain't that.

 

[PittPharm2002]

I have to be honest, the only time I've ever been uncomfortable walking through downtown Pittsburgh was when it was really freaking humid. Got a little swampy and that's about it. I've been to "dangerous" places and Pittsburgh just ain't that.

I mean I’ve walked downtown after stiller games and concerts at stage ae to catch a bus home -
It’s really not scary

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

I have to be honest, the only time I've ever been uncomfortable walking through downtown Pittsburgh was when it was really freaking humid. Got a little swampy and that's about it. I've been to "dangerous" places and Pittsburgh just ain't that.

yeah, not dangerous, just run down, abandoned and depressing. like hazelwood, no one is scared walking thru there, just more depressing than anything..

downtown pittsburgh at night? It's vacant, barren, empty after 6pm.. no one is there to be scared of..


I worked in north side area, in winter, after dark it used to have homeless people taking dumps and bathing in the fountains, i kid you not. that's why the fountains were empty. again, not scary but flat out freaking gross to stumble upon..

 

[pittdan77]

yeah, not dangerous, just run down, abandoned and depressing. like hazelwood, no one is scared walking thru there, just more depressing than anything..

downtown pittsburgh at night? It's vacant, barren, empty after 6pm.. no one is there to be scared of..

Most Midwest cities are like that.

 

[PittPharm2002]

yeah, not dangerous, just run down, abandoned and depressing. like hazelwood, no one is scared walking thru there, just more depressing than anything..

downtown pittsburgh at night? It's vacant, barren, empty after 6pm.. no one is there to be scared of..


I worked in north side area, in winter, after dark it used to have homeless people taking dumps and bathing in the fountains, i kid you not. that's why the fountains were empty. again, not scary but flat out freaking gross to stumble upon..

The fountain is under repairs again -not to rain on your parade.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Sax guy is a jackass. Don't give him a penny. Ever.

You're point on the incline is true. In typical Pittsburgh fashion, it's 3x more difficult then it needs to be to park and ride that thing. Probably better off just driving up to Mt Washington and finding street parking. Then just walking over to the overlook.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

The fountain is under repairs again -not to rain on your parade.

it's been empty for years. a pittsburgh police officer told me this is why they were emptied, because homeless people used it as a toilet (and a bathtub).

not the one at the point,

 

[PittComm92]

Back in the late 80s - early 90s there was a woman who would stand on the steps/walkway going from the lower to the upper parking lots at the Civic Arena after Penguins games (and I think some concerts too). She would tell every that the world was ending in three days, that everyone should go home and stay inside and wait for the apocalypse.

So one day we were walking up after a game and she was there yelling her message, and as we got up to where she was I said "hey, last week you told me the world was ending in three days so I went home and stayed inside waiting for the world to end, and now it's a week later and we are all still here."

And she just looked at me like I had two heads. Which, in her world, maybe I did.

The Sparrow Lady!

Yeah, the Sparrow was a LEGEND during that time. Was in Oakland a lot and seemed to be at every big sporting event. She got around.

So her story gets even better. Turns out she disappeared around '92, which is why the younger folks here aren't familiar with her. Her family had her declared dead. Then a couple years back they found her in Puerto Rico, alive and in some kind of care home.

Patricia Kopta, Pittsburgh woman missing for over 30 years, found alive in Puerto Rico: "Total shock"

Patricia Kopta — who was nicknamed "The Sparrow" because of her slight build — had been declared legally dead by authorities.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

wheelchair scalper with no legs guy

I think that guy's name is Valentine.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Anybody remember the guy in the 70s-80s who wore a sign ‘Why can’t Lansberry get mail?’

I think that is the same person I referenced earlier in this thread

 

[joeydavid]

I brought my g/f that had never been to Pittsburgh before into town over the weekend and we decided to go to the Pirate game despite the less than ideal weather on Friday night. We were staying at a hotel on Grant Street and I wanted to walk over the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which I had never done before despite going to many games at PNC in the early 2000s. I used to love attending and was excited to show off the gorgeous ballpark and skyline, but unfortunately, it was just a bad experience.

1) Interesting that the online ticket brokers must not be allowed to sell tickets an hour after the scheduled first pitch. I was all ready to order some tickets a few rows up from the 3rd base dugout for the unheard deal of $30, but unfortunately, I waited too long while deciding on the weather, so we had to utilize the stadium ticket window. I thought maybe the time limit would start AFTER first pitch, not AFTER the scheduled start since there was a delayed start.

2) I asked for the best available at a reasonable price on the 3B side. They were $30 each, which is more I wanted to pay for that product given the weather, but we went with it. Like I said, no one was there, maybe 200 people within the surrounding sections. The ticket guy gave us seats in the 320's where we would had to look directly through an area of protective glass near the stairwell to see the batter. Ridiculous. We moved over of course, but do these people not use any discretion?

3) Props to the 5K or so fans that were at the game despite the rain delay. Although, it seemed like half of them were from San Diego.

4) The, I presume, homeless POS that 'plays' the saxophone on the RCB after games should be removed, by force, if necessary. He was verbally insulting to everyone that passed who didn't GIVE HIM MONEY. He wasn't even playing music, he just demanded money. And I'm talking insulting in a very personal manner to every group. Screaming obscenities every other word, including to an 8 year old. I thought his dad was going to toss him off the bridge.

5) Wow is downtown shady after dark. This was at like 10PM on a Friday so I wasn't too worried about it. I've lived in many cities across my lifetime and thought the short walk back to Grant would be easy and typical enough for a city, but boy was I wrong. There were some scary and aggressive individuals out and about. What is going on there? I know opioids are a problem in lots of places, but is it hitting Pittsburgh particularly hard? It seemed like lots of meth heads out and about. It was sad.

6) Getting a car rental was impossible, I guess because of graduation, the storms and the marathon. We had a rental reservation for Saturday morning pickup, which they couldn't fulfill, so we had to make our way to the airport after lots of phone calls to find a vehicle.

7) Could they make the Duquesne incline more confusing of a tourist spot? I had never done it, but how about some preemptive parking signs (across the street). It was a pain to loop back around when you aren't familiar with the area. Parking was an outrageous $15. There were no signs to tell you that you have to walk all the way around the fence to the main street in the opposite direction of the stairwell in order to get to the incline booth. Lots of us in the parking lot were walking the wrong way at first and annoyed.

8) What is up with the two old ladies collecting money for the incline? I understand that they may be historic holdovers from the 1960s, but I've never met more miserable and unhelpful people in such a role that will be interacting with tourists. Luckily, their behavior was so poor that it was a great memory and we just laughed about it.

9) We loved the view from the top and the highlight of our day were the drinks and people watching from the bar at the summit. They have some interesting staff and patronage going on there.

I need to plan better next time and bring her in for a football game in the Fall. The weather sucked this time and I didn't realize the marathon and graduation were also this weekend, so traffic was brutal on Saturday trying to find our rental to leave. Overall, it wasn't a good first impression despite her unexpected realization that the city is so historic and the confluence and architecture is so gorgeous.

Onward and upward.

 

[razzaba]

Sax man

Sombrero man

Rite aid Amazing grace blind guy

Wheelchair scalper with no legs

Lady in Oakland that always had a dead relative with a plane ticket but just needed 20 bucks to get to the airport.

Legends of years past.

We brought sombrero man to one of our fraternity parties once. That was a highlight.

Then you had the guy who would sing with music playing from an old boombox. One day, he was out there with a really nice, new stereo. And all my friends and I could think about was the thought process of begging for money when you’re playing music from a stereo that was worth several hundred dollars.

 

[Pittisit4me]

The Sparrow Lady!

Yeah, the Sparrow was a LEGEND during that time. Was in Oakland a lot and seemed to be at every big sporting event. She got around.

So her story gets even better. Turns out she disappeared around '92, which is why the younger folks here aren't familiar with her. Her family had her declared dead. Then a couple years back they found her in Puerto Rico, alive and in some kind of care home.

Patricia Kopta, Pittsburgh woman missing for over 30 years, found alive in Puerto Rico: "Total shock"

Patricia Kopta — who was nicknamed "The Sparrow" because of her slight build — had been declared legally dead by authorities.

www.cbsnews.com

I remember her well. She was at every big event that drew a crowd to Pittsburgh. She proclaimed the end was coming and even named the first cities that would be hit with nukes.

 

[PittPharm2002]

it's been empty for years. a pittsburgh police officer told me this is why they were emptied, because homeless people used it as a toilet (and a bathtub).

not the one at the point,

Hence , again .

 

[HopeandChangeforAntoons]

The one thing Pittsburgh has always lacked was one of those "Jesus is Coming" guys. Charlotte has a good one. Was doing his thing after the ACCCG in 2021.

Have you ever seen the guy that dresses in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform around downtown? Not just a jersey. Helmet, shoulder pads, football, pants. I used to see him waiting for the bus down on Smithfield.

 

[ratking17]

Have you ever seen the guy that dresses in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform around downtown? Not just a jersey. Helmet, shoulder pads, football, pants. I used to see him waiting for the bus down on Smithfield.

That's just Andy Reid in the off-season. He is scouting the stillers

 

[Upg bobcat]

Have you ever seen the guy that dresses in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform around downtown? Not just a jersey. Helmet, shoulder pads, football, pants. I used to see him waiting for the bus down on Smithfield.

Is he the guy that drives a scooter with a Cuban flag on it?

Also, there is the "do you have 50 cents or a dollar" guy.

 

[FireballZ]

You could have saved some coin if you had deflated your girlfriend, put her in your pocket, and then not blown her back up again until you were in your seats.

I save that for the HOV lanes.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Anyone remember the "How you Doin'" guy in Oakland? Younger, not homeless. Just a weirdo

 

[Seneca_Valley]

I save that for the HOV lanes.

Be honest, you use that doll for more than a seat holder. And it's OK, everyone should be loved.