Steeler world

[siskostemper]

I just want to know how many of us fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers are out there on this BBS. Haters are welcome to check in but must realize the Steelersw have one of the largest if not largest fan base of any american sports team. So say it loud say it proud. HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!

 

[Kolrad]

I'm proud to be a Steelers fan, born in Pittsburgh!

 

[Scout101]

but must realize the Steelersw have one of the largest if not largest fan base of any american sports team.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'm fairly confident that you can't even say that the Steelers have the largest fan base of any NFL team, much less any American sports team...

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I'm a Steelers fan in that I love Pittsburgh. The Pens are more my thing, though.

 

[siskostemper]

but must realize the Steelers have one of the largest if not largest fan base of any american sports team.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'm fairly confident that you can't even say that the Steelers have the largest fan base of any NFL team, much less any American sports team...

Give examples please? The steelers sell out other teams stadiums for them. So much so that teams ask their fair weather fans not to sell their tickets to steeler fans. Wait your in new cheatland you prob love the astrix dynasty.

 

[Tom Servo]

but must realize the Steelers have one of the largest if not largest fan base of any american sports team.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I'm fairly confident that you can't even say that the Steelers have the largest fan base of any NFL team, much less any American sports team...

Give examples please? The steelers sell out other teams stadiums for them. So much so that teams ask their fair weather fans not to sell their tickets to steeler fans. Wait your in new cheatland you prob love the astrix dynasty.

Yes we do. Big Ben can't even hold Tom Brady's jock strap.

And yeah, there is no way to say that the steelers (ooo, the big bad steelers) have the largest fanbase in the US. Please.

 

[Scout101]

Ah, thought we were going to have a discussion instead of a fanwank. My mistake. The Red Sox and Yankees are two obvious examples of sports franchises with larger fan bases, BY FAR, than the Steelers, though.

As for NFL franchises, yes, the Patriots have a larger fan base than the Steelers, regardless of your opinions of how they do business. That they cover a larger geographic area already makes it an easy call. Add in the larger number of transplanted New Englanders living around the country (same thing that helps the Red Sox travel so well, New Englanders retire to warmer climates), and they've got Pittsburgh dominated. Your argument about tickets is silly as well. Do you not remember the big blowup with the Chargers because they limited the sale of tickets for the Chargers/Patriots game to residents of SoCal? They were afraid of too many Patriots fans coming and killing the home field advantage. Except instead of asking fans not to do it, they only sold to people whose credit card matched the SoCal area.

Suppose you could open the net wider, as well, and say that the Cowboys are one of those teams with a large fan base (America's Team, and all that). Still have large groups of Dolphins fans from back in the 80s (you generally pick your team as a kid and stick with it), although they've sucked long and hard enough that the numbers have dropped off a bit. The Giants are still riding their post-SuperBowl bandwagon fan phase, so they'll have huge numbers at the moment (more than their normal NYC market, and let's face it, the J-E-T-S suck). Colts and Chargers have probably arguably larger fan bases as well.

So, were you trying to actually have a discussion, or was this a thread just to toss crap around? And if you wanna make it personal with the Pats crap (without any apparent understanding of the issue), the Pats beat the Steelers 34-13 last year, with nary a video camera in sight. And in the 2nd round of the playoffs, the Pats beat the Jags 31-20, who had just finished eliminating the Steelers 31-29 the week before.

 

[Kolrad]

Yeah; I was hoping that wasn't the purpose of this thread. I don't know how the numbers for the various fanbases compare; there was one year not long ago that the Steelers led the league in the amount of merchandise sold, but that was probably due to people buying Roethlisberger and Polamalu jerseys (now more are probably buying Adrian Peterson and Eli Manning jerseys or something).

I don't find such arguments particularly useful, since having a big fanbase can be cast in either a good (devoted fans!) or bad (bandwagoners!) light, same as any other characteristic of a team-- it just depends on which team you're a fan of. They're among the more popular teams; why not leave it at that?

I'm a Steelers fan because I'm from Pittsburgh; I'm perfectly fine with people from other places cheering for the other teams. (Just not in my house!)

 

[siskostemper]

Yeah; I was hoping that wasn't the purpose of this thread. I don't know how the numbers for the various fanbases compare; there was one year not long ago that the Steelers led the league in the amount of merchandise sold, but that was probably due to people buying Roethlisberger and Polamalu jerseys (now more are probably buying Adrian Peterson and Eli Manning jerseys or something).

I don't find such arguments particularly useful, since having a big fanbase can be cast in either a good (devoted fans!) or bad (bandwagoners!) light, same as any other characteristic of a team-- it just depends on which team you're a fan of. They're among the more popular teams; why not leave it at that?

I'm a Steelers fan because I'm from Pittsburgh; I'm perfectly fine with people from other places cheering for the other teams. (Just not in my house!)

Please forgive I am very sensitive about my fandom. All I am going to ask the doubters to do is to watch any away steeler game. When the steelers score or get a stop the places get almost as loud as hienz field. I am life long. I respect those who have always been fans of their particular teams but lets be real. Most current fans of the pats are bandwagoners just like greenbay and dallas in the 90's. san fran in the 80's and yes even some steeler fans back in the 70's. If superbowl 40 had been on the moon the fan percentage would have been the same. I will up the anti with this as my other point of evidence. You can find a Steeler/Pittsburgh bar in almost every state in the union. You just don't get that with other sports teams.

 

[Tom Servo]

Any factual evidence to back that up? Cause I can say the same thing about the Red Sox and the Patriots. Its not like the Steelers are some all high team that is higher then others. They are just like all the other teams around the league, including your hated Pats.

 

[Scout101]

Please forgive I am very sensitive about my fandom.

odd, then, to be taking shots at other teams' fans in your posts, if you're so sensitive about it...

All I am going to ask the doubters to do is to watch any away steeler game. When the steelers score or get a stop the places get almost as loud as hienz field.

just like several other teams, in several other sports. For example, watch a Red Sox game when they play Baltimore IN Baltimore, or in Tampa. Hell, the Sox in Seattle last night was pretty embarassing for Seattle fans. And sticking just with football examples, like I said before, the Chargers had to make an actual rule to keep their playoff game from being sold out by Pats fans. This isn't unique to Pittsburgh. You guys should consider going to a Pirates game, though. Supporting the team that's doing alright is one thing, but bailing on them when they go low is poor.

I am life long.

How old are you? Old enough to be one of the bandwagon fans from the 70's you're about to bash? Or young enough to have just been paying attention the past few seasons, and thinking you have always been good? (Although, you could argue that 18-14 over the past two seasons isn't all that special).

I respect those who have always been fans of their particular teams

judging by your previous posts in this thread, that isn't true. You noticed that I am from New England and instantly attacked the Patriots...

but lets be real.

Finally! Thought you'd keep the charade up for the whole thread!

Most current fans of the pats are bandwagoners just like greenbay and dallas in the 90's. san fran in the 80's and yes even some steeler fans back in the 70's.

Oh, I thought we were being real now? MOST fans of those franchises are bandwagon fans? What percentage of your fan base would you say are 'fake' fans? Having won a Superbowl in the past few years, between that and the Steel Curtain bit, there's gotta be a pretty high percentage, right?

If superbowl 40 had been on the moon the fan percentage would have been the same.

May have been more interesting to watch than the dreadful game we got. Real QB slugfest, Big Ben set a record for lowest QB percentage by the winning QB in Superbowl history, 22.6. Either way, Superbowl attendance is a POOR measure of any fanbase, as the tickets are just about impossible for people to get, so mostly go to celebrities and companies. the TRUE fans you're talking about can't actually afford to go. A few will go anyway, but at least half the people in the stadium just don't care, and that's true just about every year, regardless of teams playing.

I will up the anti with this as my other point of evidence. You can find a Steeler/Pittsburgh bar in almost every state in the union. You just don't get that with other sports teams.

Rather than even bother typing this one out, a 2 second google search shows that this claim is patently false. Here's a quick, partial list of Red Sox bars around the country...

http://www.redsoxconnection.com/fans/hangouts.html

Thanks for playing

 

[Kolrad]

I have a quibble with one of the things you said:

You guys should consider going to a Pirates game, though. Supporting the team that's doing alright is one thing, but bailing on them when they go low is poor.

In some cases that's true, but in the case of the Pirates, I don't think that argument holds. Many argue that going to Pirates games just continues to line the pockets of owners who have become financially quite successful at operating a losing team.

There was a list published of the profits each MLB team turned over the past year, and the Pirates were the second most profitable, behind only the Marlins. The only team that showed a loss was the New York Yankees.

 

[nevermore]

 

[siskostemper]

Please forgive I am very sensitive about my fandom.

odd, then, to be taking shots at other teams' fans in your posts, if you're so sensitive about it...

All I am going to ask the doubters to do is to watch any away steeler game. When the steelers score or get a stop the places get almost as loud as hienz field.

just like several other teams, in several other sports. For example, watch a Red Sox game when they play Baltimore IN Baltimore, or in Tampa. Hell, the Sox in Seattle last night was pretty embarassing for Seattle fans. And sticking just with football examples, like I said before, the Chargers had to make an actual rule to keep their playoff game from being sold out by Pats fans. This isn't unique to Pittsburgh. You guys should consider going to a Pirates game, though. Supporting the team that's doing alright is one thing, but bailing on them when they go low is poor.

How old are you? Old enough to be one of the bandwagon fans from the 70's you're about to bash? Or young enough to have just been paying attention the past few seasons, and thinking you have always been good? (Although, you could argue that 18-14 over the past two seasons isn't all that special).

judging by your previous posts in this thread, that isn't true. You noticed that I am from New England and instantly attacked the Patriots...

Finally! Thought you'd keep the charade up for the whole thread!

Oh, I thought we were being real now? MOST fans of those franchises are bandwagon fans? What percentage of your fan base would you say are 'fake' fans? Having won a Superbowl in the past few years, between that and the Steel Curtain bit, there's gotta be a pretty high percentage, right?

If superbowl 40 had been on the moon the fan percentage would have been the same.

May have been more interesting to watch than the dreadful game we got. Real QB slugfest, Big Ben set a record for lowest QB percentage by the winning QB in Superbowl history, 22.6. Either way, Superbowl attendance is a POOR measure of any fanbase, as the tickets are just about impossible for people to get, so mostly go to celebrities and companies. the TRUE fans you're talking about can't actually afford to go. A few will go anyway, but at least half the people in the stadium just don't care, and that's true just about every year, regardless of teams playing.

I will up the anti with this as my other point of evidence. You can find a Steeler/Pittsburgh bar in almost every state in the union. You just don't get that with other sports teams.

Rather than even bother typing this one out, a 2 second google search shows that this claim is patently false. Here's a quick, partial list of Red Sox bars around the country...

http://www.redsoxconnection.com/fans/hangouts.html

Thanks for playing

Look under steeler bars. There is at least one in maine one in HA, oklahoma and at least three in metro phx.Probably one in ak too. Google does not know everything. Try harder you lose again. I just wanted to do this for fans of my fav squad. But if you want to play dirty that can be fun too.
http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/steelerbars_list.asp#Arizona

 

[siskostemper]

Hey scout the list of steeler bars in new england is damn near as long as your whole list. By the way I was born in 72. I have bled black and gold from the first day i have drawn breath. Oh yhea and the steelers sold out others stadiums when they where not that good of a team.

 

[Tom Servo]

Ah how did he loose? He disproved your point that somehow the Steelers have the largest US fanbase cause they have bars around the country. He showed you that other teams do as well. Sorry bud, but the Steelers right now, are just a another NFL team, not the HUGE fanbase that you speak of.

 

[siskostemper]

Ah how did he loose? He disproved your point that somehow the Steelers have the largest US fanbase cause they have bars around the country. He showed you that other teams do as well. Sorry bud, but the Steelers right now, are just a another NFL team, not the HUGE fanbase that you speak of.

Dude did you go to the link? You do not have that number of hang outs dedicated to your team without the fandom to fill them. Im sure some of these bars are not there anymore but the sheer number speaks volumes to my point. I just shut down his argument thats all.

 

[JonathonWally]

(more than their normal NYC market, and let's face it, the J-E-T-S suck).

You just had to go for that kidney punch

 

[Tom Servo]

Ah how did he loose? He disproved your point that somehow the Steelers have the largest US fanbase cause they have bars around the country. He showed you that other teams do as well. Sorry bud, but the Steelers right now, are just a another NFL team, not the HUGE fanbase that you speak of.

Dude did you go to the link? You do not have that number of hang outs dedicated to your team without the fandom to fill them. Im sure some of these bars are not there anymore but the sheer number speaks volumes to my point. I just shut down his argument thats all.

Yep I did, and guess what...I don't care. There is no way to quantify the number of fans that a team has...so its dumb to make a statement like "we have the largest fanbase". Its your observation, but it does not make it fact just cause you have a large number of bars....whoop di do.

Reading this thread will be so much sweeter during the NFL season when Tom Brady and the Pats kick the crap out of "Big Ben" and the rest of the Steelers.

 

[Scout101]

I have a quibble with one of the things you said:

You guys should consider going to a Pirates game, though. Supporting the team that's doing alright is one thing, but bailing on them when they go low is poor.

In some cases that's true, but in the case of the Pirates, I don't think that argument holds. Many argue that going to Pirates games just continues to line the pockets of owners who have become financially quite successful at operating a losing team.

There was a list published of the profits each MLB team turned over the past year, and the Pirates were the second most profitable, behind only the Marlins. The only team that showed a loss was the New York Yankees.

Sure it does. According to the PNC website, the park holds 38,496 people as at full capacity. Last year, according to Baseball Almanac, they averaged 22,141 per game, about 57% full. That's down from 23,269 the year before. For the year, PNC totaled 1,749,142 people. The N.L. average attendance was 2,527,968.

Profitability has NOTHING to do with it. That's easy math. If you're spending way less than other teams (say, approximately half as much), and you're still getting 70% of the attendance that other teams are getting, you're obviously going to be more profitable. Slightly less revenue, but drastically less expense. The Marlins are the most profitable because they can still sell tickets and concessions, but only spent like $15 million on the players, so if you're spending 15 million and the guy next to you spends 100 million or more, you've got a nice 85 million cushion before things are even...

And it's a tough argument to say you're not going because you don't want to encourage the owners to keep making money with losing teams. You're trying to make that argument to someone who has grown up watching a team that hadn't won in GENERATIONS. Sox fans stuck with it, though. Sure, they're clearly more popular now that they are winners, but even as losers, they were supported (and sworn at, etc.) Hell, to bring it back to the football argument, take a glance at the Patriots before Bob Kraft bought the team. Yikes. And there were still Pats fans. Fewer of them (there IS a bandwagon effect, as there is with any consistently good franchise), but still a loyal fanbase. Granted, mostly full of the same masochists that are Sox fans, but still

And as for the argument about the numbers of bars? I didn't have to prove that the Steelers had a small following, I simply had to show that OTHER teams, both in the NFL and other sports, had similar followings, and the Steelers weren't alone, as was claimed. And posting a bigger list doesn't prove jack, as I obviously just posted a link to a quick website, it wasn't an exhaustive list of every Red Sox bar in the country...