HOUSE Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 They need another sticker on their helmets, looks dumb 2 Quote
ProcessTruster Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 hard to argue with Steeler fan loyalty the way they show up at away games... amazing the in stadium experience seems to have gone downhill over the years. slobbering drunks standing the entire game ranting and raving is not exactly worth a couple hundred bucks per seat (unless you are one of the slobbering drunks)... looks like Heinz fields needs to find 5 or 10k more slobbering drunks to stand and curse for their stadium... shouldn't be that hard. one out of their mind standing-the-whole game drunk can wipe out the game for half a section behind them, driving the need for more slobbering drunks, maybe thats the problem -- one slobbering stand-the-whole-game drunk loses you 10 season ticket holders sitting behind him.. hmmm 1 1 Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 27 minutes ago, HOUSE said: They need another sticker on their helmets, looks dumb And we thought Ralph was cheap! Quote
stuvian Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 they've been spoiled with good football for decades. That plus Covid can make a dent 1 Quote
Greg S Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 Didn't the league do away with the blackout rule. So if the game isn't sold out its still shown in the local market. Add in Covid and more people prefer watching at home on TV especially if you have the Sunday Ticket and RZ package. I still love going to the games and tailgaiting as well but watching at home is more comfortable. Quote
Mr. WEO Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 10 hours ago, Don Otreply said: What might explain it is all the player drama over the last several years (that crap gets old quickly) and a QB who should have retired five or six years ago. When they bring in Malik as their new rookie QB, they will likely promote him as the next Josh Allen, that will likely spur attendance, jmo. Ben was the top passer in 3 seasons ago. #5 4 seasons ago. 10 hours ago, Don Otreply said: Oh, I’m not saying I believe that he is, I’m just sayin how he will likely be promoted. How will they promote that after week 1? Quote
Low Positive Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 We used to be like that too. In the mid 80’s, Rich Stadium was empty. Even during the SB years, some local company had to buy up extra tickets to lift blackouts so we could watch home games on TV. It’s only since about 2000 or so that the Bills fans started attending in large numbers in down years. 1 Quote
Greg S Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) 11 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said: We used to be like that too. In the mid 80’s, Rich Stadium was empty. Even during the SB years, some local company had to buy up extra tickets to lift blackouts so we could watch home games on TV. It’s only since about 2000 or so that the Bills fans started attending in large numbers in down years. I remember opening day in 1984 vs the Pats and the attendance was around 47,000 and that was for opening day. Bills Mafia wasn't much of a mafia in the 70's and mid 80's that is for sure. Edited March 7, 2022 by Greg S Quote
Captain Hindsight Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 I think lots of peoples priorities changed the last few years. I considered giving up my tickets after being home for a year because my couch is pretty comfortable and I wanted to watch games with my son. My wife talked me out it luckily as there is now a wait list. But I could see people just wanting to spend their time/money on other things Also, lots of Steelers hate Tomlin and feel like he should have been fired years ago Spoiled fans 1 Quote
CountDorkula Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 52 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said: We used to be like that too. In the mid 80’s, Rich Stadium was empty. Even during the SB years, some local company had to buy up extra tickets to lift blackouts so we could watch home games on TV. It’s only since about 2000 or so that the Bills fans started attending in large numbers in down years. Hell the division clinching game against the jets wasn't full this year. People were also flocking to the exits before the game was over as well. Quote
SoTier Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said: To be fair, when you have a consistently winning team, standards are higher and so is disappointment. Fans get fat and happy. My guess is that this is likely to happen to the Bills if they start losing again. 1 hour ago, FrenchConnection said: We used to be like that too. In the mid 80’s, Rich Stadium was empty. Even during the SB years, some local company had to buy up extra tickets to lift blackouts so we could watch home games on TV. It’s only since about 2000 or so that the Bills fans started attending in large numbers in down years. IIRC, by the late 1970s, there were regularly less than 30k fans in the then named Rich Stadium which had a capacity of 80k then. That's what finally drove Ralph Wilson to make an attempt to make the team competitive. He started by hiring Chuck Knox as HC. Edited March 7, 2022 by SoTier 1 Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 Steelers having attendance issues... Coach: "Where's the RG?!" LT: "Called in last night, taking a 'mental health' day." Quote
WotAGuy Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, ProcessTruster said: hard to argue with Steeler fan loyalty the way they show up at away games... amazing the in stadium experience seems to have gone downhill over the years. slobbering drunks standing the entire game ranting and raving is not exactly worth a couple hundred bucks per seat (unless you are one of the slobbering drunks)... looks like Heinz fields needs to find 5 or 10k more slobbering drunks to stand and curse for their stadium... shouldn't be that hard. one out of their mind standing-the-whole game drunk can wipe out the game for half a section behind them, driving the need for more slobbering drunks, maybe thats the problem -- one slobbering stand-the-whole-game drunk loses you 10 season ticket holders sitting behind him.. hmmm It’s posts like these that give slobbering drunks a bad name. Lay off until you’ve stumbled and puked a mile in their shoes. Edited March 7, 2022 by WotAGuy 1 Quote
Matt_In_NH Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 While the Steelers were relevant last year, everyone knew they were not going anywhere and noodle arm Ben was done. After a long run with Ben and SB aspirations year in and year out, it is not surprising there was a fall off in attention. Buffalo has experienced this also, the "Greatest comeback" playoff game was not even a sellout and not on local TV. 8000 tickets for 8 games assuming a ticket of $100 is 6.4 million. So paying a QB 50 million to make back 6.4 does not exactly make sense financially. It does make them competitive for a SB, that would be the point. Plus a lot of those tickets were sold but were no shows. And yeah each person might have bought an expensive hot dog and a couple beers too. Quote
dpberr Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 Changing Steeler fan demographics (younger, far, far, far less disposable income than previous generations, older fans like retirees start restricting spending) Gambling. The sportsbook experience offers something new for the die hard fan that enjoys FF and gambling. Steep increase in costs for parking, food, etc., which leads you back to #1. I personally don't think it has much to do with the product on the field and I don't' think the Steelers are alone with attendance issues. I know many of you spend a lot of your hard earned money on the Bills for seasons tickets, and the Bills should be thankful for every one of you, especially in these challenging economic times. 1 1 Quote
ProcessAccepted Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 13 hours ago, Big Turk said: Good luck with that one. There will never be the "next Josh Allen". It's funny how many "next Josh Allen" QBs there are out there these days 1 Quote
T master Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 Doesn't really surprise me at all given the covid theatrics and the fact that the Steelers weren't that good i would imagine most attendance was down slightly around the league maybe not so much in B/lo but i would think more so than not the league suffered a bit in that respect . Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 18 minutes ago, ProcessAccepted said: It's funny how many "next Josh Allen" QBs there are out there these days More Rosens than Allens it would seem. 😁 1 Quote
Santana Posted March 7, 2022 Posted March 7, 2022 13 hours ago, Big Turk said: Very surprised with this...last season they averaged 8,000 fans below capacity and had plenty of empty seats according to this article... Explains why they are trying to get Rodgers, to help fill empty seats. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/empty-seats-heinz-field-pursuit-140523542.html I think people are honestly just fed up with paying a premium price for a mediocre product. Quote
Big Turk Posted March 7, 2022 Author Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) Steelers ranked 29th in attendance as a percentage of capacity at 88.4%. Right behind the 28th place Jaguars and right in front of the bottom feeding Jets. Now THAT is embarrassing. Redskins were huge losers finishing last in this metric by a mile. Bills surprisingly finished 21st at 94.7%. 6 teams finished 100% or higher. Maybe the Bills are getting a little too much credit as a fan base overall? Post COVID where we could barely attend any games and even when we did at very very limited capacity, and with one of the best teams we ever had, we couldn't do better than that? That is actually kind of embarrassing for us. Edited March 7, 2022 by Big Turk Quote
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