Since it is clear that we will never rid Pitt fans of their obsession over attendance I thought, as someone who has attended 99% of all Pitt games at Heinz Field since 2001, I could offer a handy guide to accurately guessing the attendance at the venue.
Rule 1 - Timing Matters:
Wait until near the end of the 1st quarter to make your estimate. If you estimate at kickoff, you will be wrong. A good 15-20% of Pitt fans aren't in their seats at kickoff.
Rule 2 - the Lower Bowl:
The lower bowl yellow seats hold 33,000 fans. Example: For Clemson, the lower bowl yellow seats were about 95% full. So that's 31-32k.
Rule 3 - the Club Seats:
The gray club seats hold 8,000 fans. Whatever your guess at how full the club seats are, multiply by 1.5. At any given moment, at least 1/3 of the people with club seats are in the club and NOT in their seats. Example: For Clemson, the club seats looked about 70% full... which means they were 100% full. So that's 8k.
Rule 4 - The Private Boxes:
The Private boxes seat about 1,400 fans. For just about any game, you can assume 1,000+, even though you can't see them. Example: For Clemson, that's the full 1,400.
Rule 5 - The Upper Deck North Endzone:
The Upper Deck Endzone bleachers hold 5,000 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 60% full. That's 3k.
Rule 6 - The Upper Deck Visitor Side:
The Upper Deck visitor side holds 10,500 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 30% full. That's 3k.
Rule 7 - The Upper Deck Home Side:
The Upper Deck home side holds 10,500 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 75% full. That's 8k.
Addendum to Rule 6 & 7:
Fans who can only see the visitor side, incorrectly assume the home side is as sparsely filled. Fans who can only see the home side, incorrectly assume the visitor side is as robustly filled. Rule of thumb if you can only see one side: The home side upper deck will have double the fans as the visitor side upper deck in almost all circumstances.
The Glass Half-Full/Empty Auxiliary:
If you are a Glass Half-Full Pitt Apologist, subtract 10% from your final estimate. If you are a Glass Half-Empty Self-Loathing Yinzer, add 10% to your estimate.
Example: So let's take the Clemson game. Given the above rules, one can confidently estimate that about 55,000 people were in the stadium. The optimist would say 58,000, the pessimist would say 52,000. Anybody who says more than 58,000, or less than 52,000, is unequivocally wrong.
Print this out, laminate it, stick it in your pocket, and take it to the games with you.
Rule 1 - Timing Matters:
Wait until near the end of the 1st quarter to make your estimate. If you estimate at kickoff, you will be wrong. A good 15-20% of Pitt fans aren't in their seats at kickoff.
Rule 2 - the Lower Bowl:
The lower bowl yellow seats hold 33,000 fans. Example: For Clemson, the lower bowl yellow seats were about 95% full. So that's 31-32k.
Rule 3 - the Club Seats:
The gray club seats hold 8,000 fans. Whatever your guess at how full the club seats are, multiply by 1.5. At any given moment, at least 1/3 of the people with club seats are in the club and NOT in their seats. Example: For Clemson, the club seats looked about 70% full... which means they were 100% full. So that's 8k.
Rule 4 - The Private Boxes:
The Private boxes seat about 1,400 fans. For just about any game, you can assume 1,000+, even though you can't see them. Example: For Clemson, that's the full 1,400.
Rule 5 - The Upper Deck North Endzone:
The Upper Deck Endzone bleachers hold 5,000 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 60% full. That's 3k.
Rule 6 - The Upper Deck Visitor Side:
The Upper Deck visitor side holds 10,500 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 30% full. That's 3k.
Rule 7 - The Upper Deck Home Side:
The Upper Deck home side holds 10,500 fans. Example: For Clemson, this was about 75% full. That's 8k.
Addendum to Rule 6 & 7:
Fans who can only see the visitor side, incorrectly assume the home side is as sparsely filled. Fans who can only see the home side, incorrectly assume the visitor side is as robustly filled. Rule of thumb if you can only see one side: The home side upper deck will have double the fans as the visitor side upper deck in almost all circumstances.
The Glass Half-Full/Empty Auxiliary:
If you are a Glass Half-Full Pitt Apologist, subtract 10% from your final estimate. If you are a Glass Half-Empty Self-Loathing Yinzer, add 10% to your estimate.
Example: So let's take the Clemson game. Given the above rules, one can confidently estimate that about 55,000 people were in the stadium. The optimist would say 58,000, the pessimist would say 52,000. Anybody who says more than 58,000, or less than 52,000, is unequivocally wrong.
Print this out, laminate it, stick it in your pocket, and take it to the games with you.
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