I said the lower bowl was 2/3 full,and that's probably only between the end zones. There were more than 30K for sure, probably around 40K at peak. It was a late arriving crowd and a bunch of people left at halftime....definitely weak.
People Who Do Not Attend Games
- Thread starter Piranha
- Start date
I said the lower bowl was 2/3 full,and that's probably only between the end zones. There were more than 30K for sure, probably around 40K at peak. It was a late arriving crowd and a bunch of people left at halftime....definitely weak.
A lot of people did arrive late and left early. Probably 40k entered stadium. It is bizarre to me that people leave a close game that is in doubt.
I was at Notre Dame Saturday. 2-5 football team, 30 minutes before kickoff there were 60k in their seats. At kick off there were 4 rows of empty seats in the student section, that's it. Pitt will need a full season of being ranked to hit that, and one slip will put them right back down to what it is today. I've come to terms with rooting for a second rate program who plays at a nfl stadium.
Alot of good points. Alot of tickets are sold but not used. If you "right size" the stadium you can RAISE ticket prices to make it more painful for people to just blow off games. Let's face it, the cost of some sporting events nowadays, paying say $250 for 2 season tickets, and only using them for say 2 of the 7 games is not really out of line with what you would pay for a Pro sporting event.
But some Pitt fans, and I need to keep on banging my head against the wall, don't get it. There just aren't that many Pitt fans. Oh sure, there are casual college football fans to go see a Florida State, or ,maybe a Clemson. And then there are PSU, ND and WVU, which brings alot of fans themselves. But think about why those games are either sellouts or close to? Because there is a demand, an atmosphere. People like going to games to experience that atmosphere.
And then there is the result. Once again, big stage, possible chance to move into the rankings and well, Pitt lost. It has done this so much the last 3 plus decades that people are now immune to hope concerning Pitt football.
Alot of people talk about how Steeler fans don't use the same excuses that Pitt fans do, that they go to games. Pitt's high moment in the last 15 years was beating WVU to go 5-7. The Steelers have been to 3 Super Bowls and won 2. Been to 5 AFC Championship games. And that is just the last 20 years.
Why is the fanbase "negative self loathing"? Why? We are Indiana. We are Iowa State. We are Vanderbilt. We are Wake Forest. We are NC State. We are who the company we keep.
This is what I hate about Pitt fans....the BS to make things out worse than they are. Pitt is far above the level of those programs. It isn't even close.
Absolutely horrendous post.
People come for the tailgates as much as the game, it's a social event. Nobody is running away from the last beer to not miss the kickoff. To be honest, if tailgating was made illegal, I'd never go to another Pitt or Steelers game again! If it's just about watching football with no partying allowed, the view is better on my 52" TV,
How so? They are the programs that have not had a season of less than 3 losses over the past 35 years. Oh Wazzou State also. How are we so above those programs? How? What, cause we won National Titles in 1929?
Then stop complaining when we only win 6 or 7 games. If that is how you view this program, then why do you expect us to land elite recruits and win more games?
We are essentially BC or GT's brother playing in an NFL stadium. You make a fair point, so it is irrational for people to go off the deep end when we win 6 or 7 games.
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You are correct, many see it like this. It would be great if things were different but as of now, they are not. I am the first one who will be so happy once we get above this level we been on, for 30 years
Pitt will need about 20 years of support from the admin without them tinkering or screwing up big every 2-3 years.
Sure, I do too, most of the time, sometimes you're finishing a beer and decide not to rush, no big deal? 80% the time I'm in the stadium at kickoff.
I don't think we are at that level (neither is NC State). We are a team who consistently resides in the middle tier of our conference with occasional forays into the conference championship race. We haven't been a doormat in quite some time and most of the teams you mention cycle between doormat and mediocrity. Vandy has had 3 winning seasons since 2000, ISU 5, IU 1 while we've had 10. We currently have more in common with Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Northwestern, UCLA...teams that live in the middle/upper tiers of the conference, stay relevant, and occasionally make a decent run in the top 25. I'd like to think we can rise above that level and end the season in the top 10 once in a while.
I don't pretend like we are Alabama or Ohio State, so I guess I don't get all that depressed when we lose close games to good teams. I'm happy as long as our administration and coaches have us headed in the right direction, which I believe they do.
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Good post and accurate. That is why certain people on here that expect us to be these teams and then complain when we do not meet their expectations are trolls.
No thanks. I sit in the first row of the upper deck near midfield on the home side where the sun is never in my eyes. The east stands are brutal on hot sunny days. Tarp the upper corners and the end zone bleachers and you can get to 50-55K easily.
We have what, finished in the Top 25 like 3 times in 30 years? We are splitting hairs.
We aren't tarping because I don't believe the Rooney's will allow it. Too much work.
Tarping is stupid. It's all just for visual perception, and let's say you tarp if at 45000 max and 47000 show up that day, lost revenue.
I don't complain. I expect Pitt to be about a 7 to 8 win a year program on average. Maybe there will be a stretch of winning ten games over a couple years, but the people that think Pitt should be a perennial 9+ win team
Are crazy.
No, I don't think we are. There is a big difference between being an average to sometimes above average team to being one that struggles to get out of the basement once every 10 years. You can compare our 90s teams to those schools but not where we are today and have been in recent years. I think most on here obviously want and expect to see improvement but lets not exaggerate where the program is today.
That is a crappy attitude to have and that is part of the problem by some of you on here. Just settling for mediocrity.
There is a huge difference between finishing in the top 25 and comparing us to wake forest.
This is why I would get so irritated when Pitt finished 6-6, and posters would go off the deep end, calling Pitt a dumpster fire, and calling Pitt one of the worst power 5 football programs in the country.
Some in the fanbase have absurd expectations. They basically expect Pitt to be a consistent 9 win team and a consistent top 15 team. That isn't going to happen, and really you only have yourself to blame of Pitt doesn't meet those goals.
Some in the fanbase have absurd expectations. They basically expect Pitt to be a consistent 9 win team and a consistent top 15 team. That isn't going to happen, and really you only have yourself to blame of Pitt doesn't meet those goals.
We should hope to be in the situation were there are more willing ticket buyers than seats available.
I believe most fans want a Top 15 season more than once every 35 or so years. Not an unreasonable request. Right now we are on par with Rutgers using that as a metric. The teams some want to compare Pitt to have done that feat more often in that same period of time (GT 4x) (NW 2x) (UCLA 10x).
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We agree on something. We won 8 games last year, and 5 so far this year. Reasonable people should be happy.
Reasonable people are frustrated because it's reasonable to want a really good season once in a while. Even UCF finished in the Top 10 a few years back. Nevada. Cincinnati. Kansas. Missouri. Utah, Boise State. Louisville. Rutgers. Kansas State. And many others. These teams have all reached heights Pitt has been unable to obtain these past 30+ years.
The number one reason for the lack of success has been the continued bumbling of things by the administration. From deemphasing athletics, to letting great coaches walk away, to hiring Johnny Majors again, to playing in three different home stadium, multiple uniform and log changes, coaching debacles, and whatever else I'm not thinking of.
Was talking to a recent Pitt grad at the gym, Pittsburgh native. Doesn't have season tickets but goes to some games. Asked about going to the Marshall game and his response was "Nah, it's only Marshall"
That's an attitude the cow pasture schools don't have to deal with. Every game is an event. In Pittsburgh, something needs to be considered an event in order to get more than the die-hard fans.
Since you do nothing to aid in the visual perception, I would think you would be in favor of tarping.
But actually, PSU has the exact problem you mentioned for basketball. There was an investigative story about the problems in booking the Jordan center in one of the center county papers but naturally it was ignored in the Pittsburgh media.
I go to 1-2 games per year, I'm not one of the people that don't attend games.
true, mis-phrased it. should have said done minimum rather than done nothing. I apologize.
Agree that tarping the stadium is a stupid idea. Will not improve atmosphere or "right size" the stadium as some suggest. The stadium will always be the same size. These are also probably guys that think by putting on a toupe they are fooling people into thinking they have hair and look good. Be sure, you are not fooling anyone. Hail to Pitt!
So you don't think globs of yellow seats impacts the perception of potential recruits when they turn on the TV? You tarp the upper deck away from the camera.
No. Tarping seats will not make it louder or improve the atmosphere a speck. I've been to plenty of places that tarp for basketball and football...and it just reinforces how lame the crowd really is. If a recruit is going to choose a school for his scholarship based upon game attendance or atmosphere, Pitt simply is not going to get many of those guys to sign. Do you honestly believe a tarp is fooling anyone? Hail to Pitt!
Also, does anyone else remember "more Pitt branding at Heinz Field" as an initiative this year from SB? I know I drink a bit before I go in, but uh, has anyone seen anything different from previous years? Blue and gold skirt around the field, Pitt script in a white circle at the 50...
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