This town SUCKS when it comes to supporting...

[YourPittDanceTeam]

the University of PITTSBURGH's football team.
Please save me all of the excuses as to why people weren't there today, but the attendance was embarrassing.
There couldn't have been much more then 25,000-30,000 (if that) at the game. The game day atmosphere inside the stadium was pretty much like the Pitt football team's first half performance...flat.
The small group (roughly 12-14 people) of Miami fans that were sitting around us were certainly louder and seemed to enjoy cheering on their Canes a lot more then the larger group of Pitt fans around us...
and then, the topic that we hear about all the time...the PITT STUDENTS.. .where were they?????
Please don't tell me about how they went home for the holidays, that is not an excuse to me. I am pretty sure that most students attending Pitt at the Oakland campus, live within a drivable distance of Heinz Field. Come and support your friends/classmates instead of walking around some shopping mall which you could be doing later in the day. I guarantee you if Pitt was offering a free tuition to a student attending the game, the so-called "difference maker", the Panther Pit would have had an overflow crowd.
If this was a steelers game, Heinz Field would have been full of people.
For those of you who will become Pitt fans on September 10, 2016, I encourage you stay home because the football team will not need your support to beat penn state that day either.
A disappointing day for Pittsburgh, in many ways.

 

[bmejnes]

the University of PITTSBURGH's football team.
Please save me all of the excuses as to why people weren't there today, but the attendance was embarrassing.
There couldn't have been much more then 25,000-30,000 (if that) at the game. The game day atmosphere inside the stadium was pretty much like the Pitt football team's first half performance...flat.
The small group (roughly 12-14 people) of Miami fans that were sitting around us were certainly louder and seemed to enjoy cheering on their Canes a lot more then the larger group of Pitt fans around us...
and then, the topic that we hear about all the time...the PITT STUDENTS.. .where were they?????
Please don't tell me about how they went home for the holidays, that is not an excuse to me. I am pretty sure that most students attending Pitt at the Oakland campus, live within a drivable distance of Heinz Field. Come and support your friends/classmates instead of walking around some shopping mall which you could be doing later in the day. I guarantee you if Pitt was offering a free tuition to a student attending the game, the so-called "difference maker", the Panther Pit would have had an overflow crowd.
If this was a steelers game, Heinz Field would have been full of people.
For those of you who will become Pitt fans on September 10, 2016, I encourage you stay home because the football team will not need your support to beat penn state that day either.
A disappointing day for Pittsburgh, in many ways.

It was embarrassing... Local kids might not care, but other studs will not come play for that environment

 

[UPitt '89]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

 

[CrazyPaco]

the University of PITTSBURGH's football team.
Please save me all of the excuses as to why people weren't there today, but the attendance was embarrassing.
There couldn't have been much more then 25,000-30,000 (if that) at the game. The game day atmosphere inside the stadium was pretty much like the Pitt football team's first half performance...flat.
The small group (roughly 12-14 people) of Miami fans that were sitting around us were certainly louder and seemed to enjoy cheering on their Canes a lot more then the larger group of Pitt fans around us...
and then, the topic that we hear about all the time...the PITT STUDENTS.. .where were they?????
Please don't tell me about how they went home for the holidays, that is not an excuse to me. I am pretty sure that most students attending Pitt at the Oakland campus, live within a drivable distance of Heinz Field. Come and support your friends/classmates instead of walking around some shopping mall which you could be doing later in the day. I guarantee you if Pitt was offering a free tuition to a student attending the game, the so-called "difference maker", the Panther Pit would have had an overflow crowd.
If this was a steelers game, Heinz Field would have been full of people.
For those of you who will become Pitt fans on September 10, 2016, I encourage you stay home because the football team will not need your support to beat penn state that day either.
A disappointing day for Pittsburgh, in many ways.

The crowd was much larger than I expected, to be honest. Other than the students being off it was hardly worse than Louisville. Thinned after half and got progressively worse. Don't know what the crowd counting savants are looking at. Anyone that thinks less than 30k was there is a f@$g moron.

 

[UPitt '89]

The crowd was much larger than I expected, to be honest. Other than the students being off it was hardly worse than Louisville. Thinned after half and got progressively worse. Don't know what the crowd counting savants are looking at. Anyone that thinks less than 30k was there is a f@$g moron.

I've been to that stadium probably 100 times now. Anyone who thinks it was less than half full (capacity is 70k), is blind or has an agenda.

It was clearly above half full..... and the only disappointing part was how completely empty the student sections were.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

The crowd was around what I was expecting and the reason for any flatness was the flat line performance the 1st 3 Qs by our team. My throat is horse from the 4th Q

 

[bmejnes]

I've been to that stadium probably 100 times now. Anyone who thinks it was less than half full (capacity is 70k), is blind or has an agenda.

It was clearly above half full..... and the only disappointing part was how completely empty the student sections were.

Wasn't at the stadium, so there might have been 40k, but it didn't look good at all for anyone watching it on tv (fan, recruit, etc).. Yellow seating makes it look empty

 

[mdpitt]

the University of PITTSBURGH's football team.
Please save me all of the excuses as to why people weren't there today, but the attendance was embarrassing.
There couldn't have been much more then 25,000-30,000 (if that) at the game. The game day atmosphere inside the stadium was pretty much like the Pitt football team's first half performance...flat.
The small group (roughly 12-14 people) of Miami fans that were sitting around us were certainly louder and seemed to enjoy cheering on their Canes a lot more then the larger group of Pitt fans around us...
and then, the topic that we hear about all the time...the PITT STUDENTS.. .where were they?????
Please don't tell me about how they went home for the holidays, that is not an excuse to me. I am pretty sure that most students attending Pitt at the Oakland campus, live within a drivable distance of Heinz Field. Come and support your friends/classmates instead of walking around some shopping mall which you could be doing later in the day. I guarantee you if Pitt was offering a free tuition to a student attending the game, the so-called "difference maker", the Panther Pit would have had an overflow crowd.
If this was a steelers game, Heinz Field would have been full of people.
For those of you who will become Pitt fans on September 10, 2016, I encourage you stay home because the football team will not need your support to beat penn state that day either.
A disappointing day for Pittsburgh, in many ways.

There were 42,000 by my estimates at noon on a Friday after Thanksgiving. I don't know about you but 35% of my friends are more than 100 miles away with Family.

Horrible start to game by team.

 

[UPitt '89]

There were 42,000 by my estimates at noon on a Friday after Thanksgiving. I don't know about you but 35% of my friends are more than 100 miles away with Family.

Horrible start to game by team.

That's about accurate.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

I could not disagree with you more. I was there, in the lower bowl and it was not completely full, not even close, there were empty seats everywhere around the stadium in the lower bowl...AND if you're telling me that's what 40k people look like in Heinz Field, then the attendance at tomorrow's WPIAL games is going to be announced at 30,000. The student turnout was so poor, that me and the guy that was sitting next to me counted roughly 264 students sitting in their seats near the end of the 1st quarter. Yes, we were that bored.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

I could not disagree with you more. I was there, in the lower bowl and it was not completely full, not even close, there were empty seats everywhere around the stadium in the lower bowl...AND if you're telling me that's what 40k people look like in Heinz Field, then the attendance at tomorrow's WPIAL games is going to be announced at 30,000. The student turnout was so poor, that me and the guy that was sitting next to me counted roughly 264 students sitting in their seats near the end of the 1st quarter. Yes, we were that bored.

 

[TD_istheman]

the University of PITTSBURGH's football team.
Please save me all of the excuses as to why people weren't there today, but the attendance was embarrassing.
There couldn't have been much more then 25,000-30,000 (if that) at the game. The game day atmosphere inside the stadium was pretty much like the Pitt football team's first half performance...flat.
The small group (roughly 12-14 people) of Miami fans that were sitting around us were certainly louder and seemed to enjoy cheering on their Canes a lot more then the larger group of Pitt fans around us...
and then, the topic that we hear about all the time...the PITT STUDENTS.. .where were they?????
Please don't tell me about how they went home for the holidays, that is not an excuse to me. I am pretty sure that most students attending Pitt at the Oakland campus, live within a drivable distance of Heinz Field. Come and support your friends/classmates instead of walking around some shopping mall which you could be doing later in the day. I guarantee you if Pitt was offering a free tuition to a student attending the game, the so-called "difference maker", the Panther Pit would have had an overflow crowd.
If this was a steelers game, Heinz Field would have been full of people.
For those of you who will become Pitt fans on September 10, 2016, I encourage you stay home because the football team will not need your support to beat penn state that day either.
A disappointing day for Pittsburgh, in many ways.

Lot of nerve here. Pitt is lucky it has any fans left, how bad they been treated for 30 years or better. Pitt has kicked the fan in the mouth for years and not one 8 -4 record with no chance at an ACC title, is enough to repair all damage. Pitt lost many fans these past 8 years trust me, takes time.

 

[bwh05]

Bb

I could not disagree with you more. I was there, in the lower bowl and it was not completely full, not even close, there were empty seats everywhere around the stadium in the lower bowl...AND if you're telling me that's what 40k people look like in Heinz Field, then the attendance at tomorrow's WPIAL games is going to be announced at 30,000. The student turnout was so poor, that me and the guy that was sitting next to me counted roughly 264 students sitting in their seats near the end of the 1st quarter. Yes, we were that bored.

ITS THANKSGIVING BREAK! Ok? Is that tough to understand? It happens at the Pete over xmas break. Most of Pitt isn't from Pittsburgh. They're at home with their families. I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout from the normal crowd.

 

[rpost3]

Previous administrations created the apathy that the new admins are stuck with.
Pittsburgh feels like it's the City of Champions whether it really is or not. You better compete for championships if you expect to draw crowds. The people there have low standards for pretty much everything except spectator sports.

 

[UPitt '89]

Sorry but on tv even the lower bowl had empties. It looks like they sell every other seat to scatter the crowd. For every seat occupied with a person a glaring yellow empty one is clearly visible.

Simply not accurate. Midway through the first quarter, the only empty seats in the lower bowl were the student sections in the northwest corner...and the Miami section in the southwest corner. The rest of the lower bowl was 95% full midway through the first half.

Yes... in the third and fourth quarter many people scattered and left. But as someone who was at every home game since 2001, I'm pretty good at esitmating the crowd. Today on the low end was about 38k and the high end was about 42k.

 

[pitt-girl]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

For the last time - why some still think the majority of Pitt students live close to campus is mind boggling. There is anywhere from 30-40% of all underclassmen are out-of-state. And the number of kids from Allegheny County is much, much lower than ever before. (I wish I had bookmarked the post from Crazy Paco that showed the counties of PA and # of students but I can't find it.) At this point, it is almost a detriment to live locally when applying. And so what if they're 40 miles away? You think they can just pick up and drive down to Oakland after being home for the break? For whatever reason, you have a real bone to pick with the students but yet the season ticket holders who never show up are given a pass. I don't get it. ADULTS who have complete control of their lives, as in they have their own cars, money, etc., should be held to a much higher standard IMHO, not kids who have traveled home for their break. And I know you don't want to acknowledge the number of posts that demonstrated the majority of students were already gone last weekend for the Louisville game. But sure let's all point to the students, not the general public. Makes a TON of sense.

 

[pierre93]

I really would of liked this game to be played tomorrow. These WPIAL games need to be played at Mt Lebo or USC. A 12 o'clock kickoff after Thanksgiving is horrible. And again Plz don't compare urban to rural campus attendance figures, it's stupid.

 

[UPitt '89]

For the last time - why some still think the majority of Pitt students live close to campus is mind boggling. There is anywhere from 30-40% of all underclassmen are out-of-state. And the number of kids from Allegheny County is much, much lower than ever before. (I wish I had bookmarked the post from Crazy Paco that showed the counties of PA and # of students but I can't find it.) At this point, it is almost a detriment to live locally when applying. And so what if they're 40 miles away? You think they can just pick up and drive down to Oakland after being home for the break? For whatever reason, you have a real bone to pick with the students but yet the season ticket holders who never show up are given a pass. I don't get it. ADULTS who have complete control of their lives, as in they have their own cars, money, etc., should be held to a much higher standard IMHO, not kids who have traveled home for their break. And I know you don't want to acknowledge the number of posts that demonstrated the majority of students were already gone last weekend for the Louisville game. But sure let's all point to the students, not the general public. Makes a TON of sense.

There were 15,000 students at the Notre Dame game. There were 500 students today. Are you telling me that not even 10% of the students that went to the ND game are close enough to go to the game today?

I was a Pitt student. My daughter is CURRENTLY a Pitt Student. She and her friends managed to make it today.

If half of the 15,000 that were at the ND game live within 40 miles of Pittsburgh (a fair assumption).... and half of those got their butts down to the stadium today.... that would've been 3500 to 4000 students at the game.... roughly what was at the Louisville game.

The NON-students were there today in roughly the same numbers as they were for Louisville, actually slightly more today. Those adults who purchased tickets were there today. The empty seats weren't ticket holders staying home, they were unsold seats. I would guess at least 80% of the purchased tickets were in use today.

The empty seats in the Student section were students WITH TICKETS who didn't come. There's no excuse for only 500 of them to go to the game today, when there are thousands of them that live within an hour of Pittsburgh.

The "Panther Pitt" and "the Zoo" are nowhere near the levels of enthusiasm that they were just 5 or 10 years ago. Nowhere near.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

Bb


ITS THANKSGIVING BREAK! Ok? Is that tough to understand? It happens at the Pete over xmas break. Most of Pitt isn't from Pittsburgh. They're at home with their families. I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout from the normal crowd.

Oh...I didn't know that it was Thanksgiving break and they all went home to spend time with their families. Thank you for pointing that out. By the way, what does that have to do with anything??? Tomorrow night, Michigan will play a home game against Ohio State and there will be over 107,000 fans in attendance. Aren't the Michigan and Ohio State students on Thanksgiving break as well, or do they not celebrate the holiday in Michigan and Ohio?
My original post wasn't directed solely at the Pitt student section, it was to point out how poorly the City of Pittsburgh supports the Pitt football team. The facts are right there in front of you if you have attended any Pitt games since the move to Heinz Field, large areas of ugly yellow seats, everywhere. Students and as you say "the normal crowd" both need to support the team by coming to the games and show potential recruits that the team matters to them.
We both know that if this was Pitt-ND or Pitt-psu today, Heinz Field would have been near capacity and that right there, tells me that it is not because of the Thanksgiving break or people spending time with their families.

 

[pbrad]

I can't defend the empty seats, my group was there along with the Greensburg group behind us. If a recruits decision is solely based on attendance PITT is not the school to attend. If it is based on good schooling, good coaching with a chance to start early and make it to the next level then PITT should be in the mix. Scouts don't care how many people are in the stands, only how good those on the field play. Having said that a full stadium looks much better than a half full stadium and hopefully over time we will see it filled.

 

[pitt-girl]

There were 15,000 students at the Notre Dame game. There were 500 students today. Are you telling me that not even 10% of the students that went to the ND game are close enough to go to the game today?

I was a Pitt student. My daughter is CURRENTLY a Pitt Student. She and her friends managed to make it today.

If half of the 15,000 that were at the ND game live within 40 miles of Pittsburgh (a fair assumption).... and half of those got their butts down to the stadium today.... that would've been 3500 to 4000 students at the game.... roughly what was at the Louisville game.

The NON-students were there today in roughly the same numbers as they were for Louisville, actually slightly more today. Those adults who purchased tickets were there today. The empty seats weren't ticket holders staying home, they were unsold seats. I would guess at least 80% of the purchased tickets were in use today.

The empty seats in the Student section were students WITH TICKETS who didn't come. There's no excuse for only 500 of them to go to the game today, when there are thousands of them that live within an hour of Pittsburgh.

The "Panther Pitt" and "the Zoo" are nowhere near the levels of enthusiasm that they were just 5 or 10 years ago. Nowhere near.

"If half of the 15,000 that were at the ND game live within 40 miles of Pittsburgh (a fair assumption)"

Really? And you base this on......? I am beyond flabbergasted that anyone here would defend season ticket holders who don't show up vs. students who are NOT (you get that, right?), NOT on campus. Congrats to your daughter. It's great she has parents who support her coming back to Oakland for a game on break. But you cannot point a finger at families who don't. Students are always such an easy target.

 

[UPitt '89]

"If half of the 15,000 that were at the ND game live within 40 miles of Pittsburgh (a fair assumption)"

Really? And you base this on......? I am beyond flabbergasted that anyone here would defend season ticket holders who don't show up vs. students who are NOT (you get that, right?), NOT on campus. Congrats to your daughter. It's great she has parents who support her coming back to Oakland for a game on break. But you cannot point a finger at families who don't. Students are always such an easy target.

Season ticket holders DID show up. There's only about 35,000 season ticket holders... and at least 80% of those WERE there today. At least.

And as another poster said.... if this were ND instead of Miami there today, I guarantee you that a helluva lot more than 500 students would've showed up.

It's not the students' fault, actually, that they are apathetic. It's the administration the past several years. But that's changing now, and hopefully the student enthusiasm for our two prime sports teams goes back up again.

I have a feeling that the Zoo is going to be much better this year than it was last year, thanks to a much better team (in my view). And hopefully this year's football success spills over into next year's enthusiasm by the students getting better.

 

[RocPanther11]

Oh...I didn't know that it was Thanksgiving break and they all went home to spend time with their families. Thank you for pointing that out. By the way, what does that have to do with anything??? Tomorrow night, Michigan will play a home game against Ohio State and there will be over 107,000 fans in attendance. Aren't the Michigan and Ohio State students on Thanksgiving break as well, or do they not celebrate the holiday in Michigan and Ohio?
My original post wasn't directed solely at the Pitt student section, it was to point out how poorly the City of Pittsburgh supports the Pitt football team. The facts are right there in front of you if you have attended any Pitt games since the move to Heinz Field, large areas of ugly yellow seats, everywhere. Students and as you say "the normal crowd" both need to support the team by coming to the games and show potential recruits that the team matters to them.
We both know that if this was Pitt-ND or Pitt-psu today, Heinz Field would have been near capacity and that right there, tells me that it is not because of the Thanksgiving break or people spending time with their families.

Give it s rest... That is your problem, comparing Pitt to Michigan state or Ohio state! Do me a favor look up what the average attendance is for the FBS this year, it's 45,000. Pitt is over that. Get over yourself. Granted we can do better and will do better with wins, but give it a rest.

 

[pitt-girl]

Season ticket holders DID show up. There's only about 35,000 season ticket holders... and at least 80% of those WERE there today. At least.

And as another poster said.... if this were ND instead of Miami there today, I guarantee you that a helluva lot more than 500 students would've showed up.

It's not the students' fault, actually, that they are apathetic. It's the administration the past several years. But that's changing now, and hopefully the student enthusiasm for our two prime sports teams goes back up again.

I have a feeling that the Zoo is going to be much better this year than it was last year, thanks to a much better team (in my view). And hopefully this year's football success spills over into next year's enthusiasm by the students getting better.

So...the 80% # you claim that attended, were they season ticket holders or were they those that purchased those tickets online or on the streets? You clearly have a much better handle on the "numbers" than me. And perhaps you're right. But really the student pointing, especially when it is break, is lame IMHO. The problem has been and always will be the general public. Period. You can't expect the students to do something their alumni haven't ever been willing to do. (And frankly that stretches back to the "golden years" too.)

 

[rpost3]

LOL this notion that Pitt football is somehow entitled to good football attendance is hysterical.
Almost as funny is you people implying that attending football games is a high priority responsibility.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I have a feeling that the Zoo is going to be much better this year than it was last year,

There weren't more than about 100 students at the game on Wednesday night. Just a guess, there won't be many more than that there tomorrow either.

 

[UPitt '89]

There weren't more than about 100 students at the game on Wednesday night. Just a guess, there won't be many more than that there tomorrow either.

True. Function of the opponent too. The Purdue game will have a rocking zoo.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

True. Function of the opponent too. The Purdue game will have a rocking zoo.

Yeah, it's definitely not an apples to apples comparison when you take the opponents into account.

 

[Pitt-fan-in-Charlotte]

I thought crowd was pretty good for students away - lower bowl was mostly full - shame the team gave them nothing to cheer about for 3 quarters which seems to be norm for big games

 

[vegasgreed]

Yourpittdanceteam starts a thread....awww, never mind.

 

[UPitt '89]

Ot: concerning Pitt dance team:

The quality of the dance team is way down this year, both with regards to talent and attractiveness. Might be time for Theresa to get on with her life's work. Need new blood.

 

[pitt-girl]

Ot: concerning Pitt dance team:

The quality of the dance team is way down this year, both with regards to talent and attractiveness. Might be time for Theresa to get on with her life's work. Need new blood.

I don't think the attractive comment holds, but I do think it is time for Theresa to move on. Shoot she's getting pretty close to 60 now and has been doing this for what? 30 years now?

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

Simply not accurate. Midway through the first quarter, the only empty seats in the lower bowl were the student sections in the northwest corner...and the Miami section in the southwest corner. The rest of the lower bowl was 95% full midway through the first half.

Yes... in the third and fourth quarter many people scattered and left. But as someone who was at every home game since 2001, I'm pretty good at esitmating the crowd. Today on the low end was about 38k and the high end was about 42k.

Please go to the ESPN3 website and watch a replay of todays game. When you do, you will see that your statement about the "only empty seats in the lower bowl were in the student section and the Miami section" and you will see that you are wrong. There are plenty of those EMPTY yellow seats when ever the camera shows the seats inside the stadium.

 

[NTOP]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

What % of current Pitt students are from out of state??

 

[Pittx9]

I vote no more Black Friday games. I guarantee if this game was on a Saturday the crowd would have been bigger. Not that attendance is all that great most Saturdays, but a Friday game just makes it even worse.

 

[cbpitt2]

First off... the crowd was clearly around 40K.... and would've been 45+ if the students were there.

Secondly.... you are right about the students. Most of them live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, and their turnout today was very poor.... less than 500 students, I'd say.

But the NON-students actually showed up in greater numbers than the last game against Louisville. The lower bowl was completely full in the first half (except the student section), which means about 30k in the lower bowl alone. The upper decks hold a total of 32000, and I would say it was 1/4 to 1/3 full up there from what I could see.

In any case.... disappointing by the students, but not bad by the "paying" customers.

UPitt, your estimate on the upper deck was EXTREMELY generous, more like 1/8th full IF THAT! If someone can tell me how to upload those pictures from my phone to here I'll be happy to show visual proof of that.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136488456@N08/23288864291/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136488456@N08/23003486629/in/dateposted-public/

 

[Delpanther]

Attendance is about "habits" as much as anything else. Habits are not formed or changed in a day-it takes time. It took years of garbage play but Pitt has driven away legions of fans with poor play and an administration that in the past implicitly delivered the message that "Pitt doesn't give a hoot about football." You won't win them back in a single season and you can't use a game like yesterday's as a litmus test for what the future attendance figures can be. The fact is that yesterday's game was, for the average Pitt fan and the students, meaningless played at a lousy time of the day(noon) on a day on which casual fans are preoccupied with things other than FB.. Pitt wasn't playing for championship yesterday and wasn't playing a rival. Add to that, while this Pitt team has had a nice season, they don't play an exciting brand of FB and have that star or stars who attract people-they are very nondescript. Relax about the attendance...it's explainable and not a static situation.

 

[SchmidtyNole]

I know Pittsburgh is a Professional sports city, but what is the reason Pitt fans would not be more excited about their team. Pitt was 8-3 going into this game playing for a very good Bowl slot. That is their best record in a long time. You'd think in a city with a Metropolitan area Population that high you could fill the stadium in a situation like that. I don't get it.

 

[htp123]

Let's not forget the importance of alum as they get older (and start making some money) on ticket sales and full stadiums with excitement. We have alienated at least 20 years of students who don't have "great" memories of winning football games while they were there, so no real reason to go back and "re-live" something you don't even remember as you get older and fatter! My neighbor's son graduated in 2013 and he told me he really wanted to be a "college football fan" but Pitt made it impossible. Sad. We now have the opportunity to create a new group of alums who remember winning and fun. Tarp the the damn top outer sections of the upper bowl, create a better atmosphere and win!

 

[wbrpanther]

There were 42,000 by my estimates at noon on a Friday after Thanksgiving. I don't know about you but 35% of my friends are more than 100 miles away with Family.

Horrible start to game by team.

Pretty accurate and what too many people don't and will never understand is that our core fan base [fans with whom Pitt is their number one team] is really in that 40,000 range. You can wish all you want that it was 60,000 or 70,000 but that will never make it true. Are you listening Ron Cook?