Penguins have the best fans - Forbes

[Ogrezilla]

You missed the point of my post. We both live in Pittsburgh and are part of the diehard fanbase that exists in Pittsburgh. However, we are only about 50% of the fans in Pittsburgh, maybe less. The other half is what gives us the bad name and buys the majority of the tickets (for their company) because they can afford 'em. There is nothing wrong with being a bandwagon fan, but it does affect the environment at Pens games. A lot of the great tickets go to people who sometimes don't show up, who walk around most of the game, etc. They are entitled to it as they can afford it. But in a perfect world, they watch it from home and a fan moves in.

What separates us from every other city, is our global fan base. People who move away from here stay Pittsburghers in a different location. It's truly amazing.

A better example is "Steeler Nation" - How many people do you see downtown who wear the jersey, scream how good big ben is, and just get so trashed that they don't even remember the game? It's quite ubiquitous. But the other 50% are diehards who watch every play. And then our global fan base is just ridiculous and they have bars all over the earth, attend any game even close to their new home, etc.

fair enough. I still think volume at games is being made out to be more important than it is when measuring fandom.

Funny thing...The people in the upper seats are usually the real fans. I was at the Nashville game last year and they were shooting t-shirts or something. Random guy yells, "They can afford to buy that stuff down there!"

Something like that at least. If NHL games were affordable, I'd go to more. I go to minor league and junior games, and I have a better time. They play hard on every shift and it's affordable.

I'm always in the upper bowl, so maybe that's why I don't have the same thoughts on Consol as some others. Also, I love going to Erie Otters games. So much fun and dirt cheap.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Funny thing...The people in the upper seats are usually the real fans. I was at the Nashville game last year and they were shooting t-shirts or something. Random guy yells, "They can afford to buy that stuff down there!"

Something like that at least. If NHL games were affordable, I'd go to more. I go to minor league and junior games, and I have a better time. They play hard on every shift and it's affordable.

Yeah I'll be going to another Kitchener Rangers OHL game tomorrow night. The first time I went I had gold level seats (where the season ticketholders are) and it was pretty darn quiet in my section.

However, tomorrow night I'll have seats in the newly added blue level way way up high. Hopefully the view isn't too bad but I'm curious to see if the fans in that section are alot more animated.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Or during a lockout this could be interpreted "the fans most likely not to put their money where there mouth is, instead putting it in the NHL's pockets, further reinforcing the idea among owners and players that there are no consequences for this BS".

 

[Ogrezilla]

Or during a lockout this could be interpreted "the fans most likely not to put their money where there mouth is, instead putting it in the NHL's pockets, further reinforcing the idea among owners and players that there are no consequences for this BS".

please convince people to boycott games so I can afford tickets

 

[Jaded-Fan]

yeah i dont think the pens have particularly amazing fans.

as mentioned, attendance was mediocre when the team was bad and the crowds at the new arena have been borderline embarrassingly quiet.

I am not sure that is entirely fair. Except for cities so large that you could get 20,000 people to pay to come see leaves blow across a parking lot, or a couple of cities in Canada both much larger than Pittsburgh and nuts about hockey, how many cities sell out when the team is sucking? I am not saying that Pens' fans are all that and a slice of bread, but just that the statement goes a bit far. A lot of teams with a much larger population than Pittsburgh, including some original teams, have had mediocre attendence during periods when their team was down.

As an aside, consider this my minor break from ennui. Honestly I have not thought overly much about hockey in a while, like the thread I started said, and have not even looked in for quite a while, but I wander back now and then, and when hockey starts up again I am sure I will make my way back as something interesting will be going on again with the sport.

 

[#66]

I'm a fan from NJ and have been going to games since '88. While I love the city and the sports crazed vibe, I think that the Pens fans that go to the games are pretty lame. Quiet is one thing but getting up and walking out with 5 mins to go in a 1 goal game is really annoying. Its been overly noticable since about 1996.

Going to a game before 1996 was pretty awesome. Maybe the crowd didn't have that hockey knowledge but you really got that band of brothers feeling.

I'll agree with Cole and say that its the Pens fans sitting outside the CEC that get us that ranking.

 

[JTG]

Most of our fans are bandwagon.

When are the "new" fans not considered "bandwagon?"


I know a ton of people who started watching hockey religiously around 2005, but a lot of them now are educated fans. Are they now fans or are they still bandwagoners?


I can see why people think the arena is quiet, but I still contend that Root turns down crowd volume and turns up the on ice volume. As a matter of fact, I have been to a game where my friend sent me a text that said, "I didn't know they played hockey in libraries," and I actually thought it was quite loud sitting in the game.

I will say though, the vibe of the games has changed drastically. In Mellon you had a bunch of working class fans smashed together. Now there's way more space, and the fans that show up are much more corporate.

I also don't completely buy that this is a complete football town anymore. With the older population, yeah, it's all football. With the younger portion of the population, I'd say hockey is number 1 with a majority of them.

 

[PensFan6687]

Correction! Pittsburgh has the best bandwagon fans.. all I am saying is I wore my Lemieux Pens jersey from 2001-05 and heard nothing but boos and sneers. People poking fun at me for wearing the Pens colours with pride. I was the only Pens fan in the building most nights those days, and then post lockout (the one before this craptacular year), and Cup contender-ship and all later, everyone and the mother is wearing No. 87 and No. 71 jerseys in attendance! This of course was when I would go to Manitoba Moose games or take the trip out to see the Minnesota Wild play. I been a Pens fan for over 20 years. I just have seen this fandom yo-yo... hehe Then again, Winnipeg fans are pretty much the same with the Jets. hehe

 

[PensFan6687]

I realize I need to get over the past, but they made fun of me for being a Penguins fan.

lol

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Correction! Pittsburgh has the best bandwagon fans.. all I am saying is I wore my Lemieux Pens jersey from 2001-05 and heard nothing but boos and sneers. People poking fun at me for wearing the Pens colours with pride. I was the only Pens fan in the building most nights those days, and then post lockout (the one before this craptacular year), and Cup contender-ship and all later, everyone and the mother is wearing No. 87 and No. 71 jerseys in attendance! This of course was when I would go to Manitoba Moose games or take the trip out to see the Minnesota Wild play. I been a Pens fan for over 20 years. I just have seen this fandom yo-yo... hehe Then again, Winnipeg fans are pretty much the same with the Jets. hehe

Where was this at?

That's the time frame I was in high school, and I'd say the Penguins were just as popular as the Steelers where I went.

Mind you Bethel Park was winning state titles annually when I went there, and were well ahead of the curve when it comes to accepting hockey...but still. I can't imagine anywhere in Pittsburgh actually jeering a Lemieux anything in 2001. I certainly never got any ill will sent my way for wearing a jersey to school.


We're definitely not #1, and I don't think anyone who takes a realistic approach (instead of statistical) would argue as much...but we're definitely right near the top amongst American fan bases. Seeing us placed ahead of the Leafs and Canadiens is just laughable.

 

[Darth Vitale]

please convince people to boycott games so I can afford tickets

Some people just refuse to see the light. I will do all I can to make tickets affordable for you. Because that's the kind of mod I am.

 

[MonsterSurge]

Some people just refuse to see the light. I will do all I can to make tickets affordable for you. Because that's the kind of mod I am.

I'd love if the tickets were $30 for upper deck. I'd probably got to a game or two every other week.

 

[mrzeigler]

When I spend 100-200 dollars for tickets I like to sit and watch them play hockey. I'm not going to scream all game. I will get excited and cheer when appropriate, but I don't feel like any less of a fan because I don't "go ballistic" for the sake of making noise.

Amen. I have been to about 200-220 regular season games and 30-35 playoff games, and I've found that the people who might seem like "serious fans" on TV are, in reality, the worst people to sit around because they are ****ing morons.

Excitedly jumping out of a seat everytime the home team enters the offensive zone might sound like a real superfan ... until that ******* is sitting in front of you.

I'll let you in on another secret: Those people who eat 8 pounds of Uncle Charlies sausage in the parking lot before Steelers games and who drunkenly soil themselves in the stands aren't great football fans, either.

There is a difference between being a spectator and a spectacle. In my book, a good fan isn't as aloof as the former nor as obtrusive as the latter.

I'm always in the upper bowl, so maybe that's why I don't have the same thoughts on Consol as some others. Also, I love going to Erie Otters games. So much fun and dirt cheap.

I'm a man of the people. Mrszeigler and I would rather eat our dinner at the bar than merely pass the time there until our pager goes of for dining-area seating. But I like watching the game from mid-arena perspective (C-level in Mellon, final few rows at Consol) too much to do the smart thing and save money by moving upstairs. And the people who have seats around me are not millionaires. Many split full-season packages among two or more groups to be able to afford the seats. Me, I'm not that smart — or perhaps I like hockey too much. Instead, I just forsake vacations and anything else that costs money. I've been a scrooge when it comes to everything else so I could afford good hockey seats. After this lockout, I'm not so sure that's that case.

 

[HuskerTornado]

I bought 2 pens tees, a long sleeve tee, hoodie, and a hat over the past week. Still contributing during the lockout.

 

[SomeDude]

With the younger portion of the population, I'd say hockey is number 1 with a majority of them.

Don't worry, the NHL and players are trying their darndest to stop that from happening.

 

[Super Sniper Cele]

Oh I know, I'm the same way when I've gone to OHL games. IMO there's a fine line when it comes to fan excitement. People are either overly loud for the sake of being loud (i.e. drunken idiots), or are too quiet (the crowd at CEC).

I wish the CEC crowd could find that happy medium. The fact that it always sounds like a morgue in our barn annoys me.

This is sad to read right now, only because at game five against the Flyers, I actually, even if for one split second, felt as if our fans from the Igloo were back and as loud as they've been since the '09 Finals. Each game up until that one I usually felt as if nobody in the building gave a damn if we won, lost, or simply weren't even there playing at all.

For anybody who was at that game five against Philly, you should know exactly what I'm talking about. There were two separate TV timeouts during the game and without encouragement from any video or raging mascot, the building just got loud. And still with nothing playing on the scoreboard or no noise level meters trying to pump the crowd up, it just kept getting louder and louder to the point where I just stood there and tried to take it all in while I had the chance.

Throughout the summer, once I got over the fact that I sat there with 20k Flyer fans several days later only to watch us lose, I started wondering which of those crowds would show up at Consol come October; the ones who simply just don't care, or the ones who tried blowing the roof off of Consol the same way we would make sections E and F wobble a little at the Igloo.

Needless to say, I'm still wondering.

 

[Ogrezilla]

This is sad to read right now, only because at game five against the Flyers, I actually, even if for one split second, felt as if our fans from the Igloo were back and as loud as they've been since the '09 Finals. Each game up until that one I usually felt as if nobody in the building gave a damn if we won, lost, or simply weren't even there playing at all.

For anybody who was at that game five against Philly, you should know exactly what I'm talking about. There were two separate TV timeouts during the game and without encouragement from any video or raging mascot, the building just got loud. And still with nothing playing on the scoreboard or no noise level meters trying to pump the crowd up, it just kept getting louder and louder to the point where I just stood there and tried to take it all in while I had the chance.

Throughout the summer, once I got over the fact that I sat there with 20k Flyer fans several days later only to watch us lose, I started wondering which of those crowds would show up at Consol come October; the ones who simply just don't care, or the ones who tried blowing the roof off of Consol the same way we would make sections E and F wobble a little at the Igloo.

Needless to say, I'm still wondering.

I have no interest in blowing the roof off of the building. I am not much of a noise maker. I'll clap and join in for a few rounds of a lets go pens chant. But I'm not going to do it all game. I'm not going to stand up and make noise for the hell of it. I am going to intently watch the hockey game. In no way, shape or form does that mean I care less about the team than the drunk guy next to me shouting all night long. I'm probably in the bottom 20% for noise level. I guarantee I follow the team more closely and care more about the team than 90% of the people at games.

 

[Til the End of Time]

I have no interest in blowing the roof off of the building. I am not much of a noise maker. I'll clap and join in for a few rounds of a lets go pens chant. But I'm not going to do it all game. I'm not going to stand up and make noise for the hell of it. I am going to intently watch the hockey game. In no way, shape or form does that mean I care less about the team than the drunk guy next to me shouting all night long. I'm probably in the bottom 20% for noise level. I guarantee I follow the team more closely and care more about the team than 90% of the people at games.

i'm generally the same way (ie want to "study" the game), which is why i don't normally go to games (plus i'm poor).

but dont you think fans have some responsibility in making the arena a loud, hostile place for the opposition? last year it almost seemed like the pens were scared to go play in philadelphia (where the crowds are notoriously mean/rowdy) while the flyers just waltzed right through pittsburgh. and there were times last season where the pens were flat, and the announcers commented on the team needing a possible boost from the crowd, and the place was just silent. teams feeding off the crowd might be total BS, but i'd rather it be too loud than too quiet.

 

[Ogrezilla]

i'm generally the same way (ie want to "study" the game), which is why i don't normally go to games (plus i'm poor).

but dont you think fans have some responsibility in making the arena a loud, hostile place for the opposition? last year it almost seemed like the pens were scared to go play in philadelphia (where the crowds are notoriously mean/rowdy) while the flyers just waltzed right through pittsburgh. and there were times last season where the pens were flat, and the announcers commented on the team needing a possible boost from the crowd, and the place was just silent. teams feeding off the crowd might be total BS, but i'd rather it be too loud than too quiet.

I do not.

I've been to games in Philly. Their crowds were no louder than the CEC crowds I've been a part of.

 

[Dylonus]

Better than Detroit... lolololololno

We have some of the WORST fans actually..

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I have no interest in blowing the roof off of the building. I am not much of a noise maker. I'll clap and join in for a few rounds of a lets go pens chant. But I'm not going to do it all game. I'm not going to stand up and make noise for the hell of it. I am going to intently watch the hockey game. In no way, shape or form does that mean I care less about the team than the drunk guy next to me shouting all night long. I'm probably in the bottom 20% for noise level. I guarantee I follow the team more closely and care more about the team than 90% of the people at games.

I'm the same way.

When I've gone to games in Europe I've tried to keep up...but it's just tiring and takes away from the enjoyment of watching a game. Also, from my experience, even in the loudest European arena...the loudest fans are often the dumbest. I think I knew more about KalPa than a lot of the fans in the chanting sections (which was also just one corner of the arena...the rest of the arena was more typical of an American crowd) there. In Prague everyone seemed too drunk to know where they were, never mind pay attention to the game. That place was loud, but nobody could walk in a straight line. At ~$1.50 for a big-ass beer it's not surprising (cheap even by Prague standards). The fact you can't bring beer to your seat just compounds the issue since people are just chugging 500 mL beers between stoppages.

I'm sure there's a lot of fans in those groups who are the definition of super-fans, but I refuse to buy into the notion that louder fans = better fans.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I do have one pet peeve. The wave. It began at an Oakland baseball game (though there is some disagreement of course as always is the case with these things) but was popularized by broadcasts in seattle of football games. And it served a purpose. They only did it when the other team had the ball, and it was a way to create a huge amount of noise and distraction for the team on offense. They parked it when their team was on offense.

Now we get the silliness with no purpose other than to . . .well God I have no clue why they do it. It is the equivilent of the whole 'whooo' thing which also is like fingernails on a chalk board to me.

 

[mrzeigler]

I do have one pet peeve. The wave. It began at an Oakland baseball game (though there is some disagreement of course as always is the case with these things) but was popularized by broadcasts in seattle of football games. And it served a purpose. They only did it when the other team had the ball, and it was a way to create a huge amount of noise and distraction for the team on offense. They parked it when their team was on offense.

Now we get the silliness with no purpose other than to . . .well God I have no clue why they do it. It is the equivilent of the whole 'whooo' thing which also is like fingernails on a chalk board to me.

The wave at CEC is always -- ALWAYS -- started by the moron who wears a black/gold wig and a Slegr jersey, who screams at players through the hole in the glass ... He's the super fan who has been photographed by both the PG and Trib because he goes to Steelers games shirtless yet wears a Steelers tie and whoops like a maniac. He's a staple of MNF broadcasts because he's "passionate," and I regularly thank god he does not sit in front of me at Pens games.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I do have one pet peeve. The wave. It began at an Oakland baseball game (though there is some disagreement of course as always is the case with these things) but was popularized by broadcasts in seattle of football games. And it served a purpose. They only did it when the other team had the ball, and it was a way to create a huge amount of noise and distraction for the team on offense. They parked it when their team was on offense.

Now we get the silliness with no purpose other than to . . .well God I have no clue why they do it. It is the equivilent of the whole 'whooo' thing which also is like fingernails on a chalk board to me.

the only time I have ever enjoyed the wave was at a PSU football game. As soon as the wave reached the visitors section the entire crowd booed. It was pretty hilarious.

 

[Super Sniper Cele]

I do not.

Trust me, I'm not yelling and screaming during the entire game either, however there is a time and a place for everything. The atmosphere in Consol being as dry and uncaring as it was for the first couple of playoff games against Philly was just plain embarrassing. Nobody is saying you have to drink five beers and start cheering obnoxiously, but you're making it seem like you refuse to clap a single time when a "Let's go Pens" chant starts or something.

Maybe you don't have to blow the roof off of the building, but at the very least let somebody know you're in it.

I've been to games in Philly. Their crowds were no louder than the CEC crowds I've been a part of.

No offense, but you must not have been paying much attention. In either arena. I've been to enough games in Philly (against the Pens, obviously) to tell you that their fans are always loud and into the game. Sure they're a bunch of idiots rooting for a bunch of pansies, but at least they let those pansies know that they're rooting for them. Also, a lot of players and even coaches will tell you how intimidating it can be to play in a building like that and that can go a long way believe it or not.

Ask Claude Giroux how "intimidating" the crowds at Consol were in the playoffs last season. That little ***** would laugh in your face, and that needs to change.