Steelers having attendance issues...

[Big Turk]

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

[Southern_Bills]

13 minutes 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

 

CFB is down something crazy like 9% average over the last 5 or 6 years. I think some people just prefer to watch on TV with rising costs of attendance and having to deal with some of the "Personalities" you find at a game.

[Don Otreply]

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. 

[Big Turk]

4 minutes 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. 

 

Good luck with that one. There will never be the "next Josh Allen".

Edited March 7, 2022 by Big Turk

[wppete]

Steelers have been average to bad the last few years. 

[Don Otreply]

4 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Good luck with that one. There will never be the "next Josh Allen".

Oh, I’m not saying I believe that he is, I’m just sayin how he will likely be promoted. 

[Mango]

14 minutes ago, Southern_Bills said:

 

CFB is down something crazy like 9% average over the last 5 or 6 years. I think some people just prefer to watch on TV with rising costs of attendance and having to deal with some of the "Personalities" you find at a game.

 

I LOVE going to games. The Ralph is my

church, but….

 

At this point the product is better on TV. I see much more football. I have been getting really annoyed networks are showing less and less replays of penalties. But our AV team at home games sucks at that too.

[Buffalo Junction]

13 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

I LOVE going to games. The Ralph is my

church, but….

 

At this point the product is better on TV. I see much more football. I have been getting really annoyed networks are showing less and less replays of penalties. But our AV team at home games sucks at that too.

I’ve gone to more games as the broadcasts have changed…. You never see the whole play on tv anymore, even on kickoffs. 

[Doc Brown]

Should've built a dome instead of their current mud pit.

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Those yellow seats are an eyesore.

[Malazan]

1 hour 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

 

watching the animated corpse of Big Ben hamstring their offense isn't the draw you'd think it would be..

[GETTOTHE50]

steeler nation is as fair weather as you get.

 

do you remember where they went when they had tommy maddox and kordell stewart? neither do i

 

i hope they descend into the abyss for a long time to come.

[cle23]

11 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

steeler nation is as fair weather as you get.

 

do you remember where they went when they had tommy maddox and kordell stewart? neither do i

 

i hope they descend into the abyss for a long time to come.

 

This is 100% true.  I grew up closer to Pittsburgh than Cleveland, and 95% of the people I grew up with were "diehard" Steelers fans.......until they had a down year.  Suddenly, its was like a ghost town when it came to football.  No gear, no flags, no trash talk, nothing.  They're all huge fans until it's tough.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

12 minutes ago, cle23 said:

 

This is 100% true.  I grew up closer to Pittsburgh than Cleveland, and 95% of the people I grew up with were "diehard" Steelers fans.......until they had a down year.  Suddenly, its was like a ghost town when it came to football.  No gear, no flags, no trash talk, nothing.  They're all huge fans until it's tough.

To be fair, when you have a consistently winning team, standards are higher and so is disappointment. Fans get fat and happy. 

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Good luck with that one. There will never be the "next Josh Allen".

Just like how Josh Allen didn't want to be the next JIm Kelly, but wanted to be Josh Allen.

[1ManRaid]

Ben sticking around kept the fans away, who were wanting a new QB.  He fooled himself into thinking he "still had it" with that winning streak the previous season.

[Big Turk]

36 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Just like how Josh Allen didn't want to be the next JIm Kelly, but wanted to be Josh Allen.

 

I'm talking about the perfect storm that allowed Josh Allen to go from raw prospect to never before seen in the NFL player. 

 

That's near impossible to duplicate.

 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I know what I’m about to say is pretty random and probably barely relevant but in 2013 when the Bills played in Pittsburgh, it was maybe the quietest crowd I can ever remember hearing. It was when EJ was the QB and him being the biggest bust in Bills recent draft history made the game borderline unwatchable but the crowd was atrocious. It was like they were asleep. I never forgot that. This teams fan base is widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL because of how well they travel. I feel like they are completely overrated tbh. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I know what I’m about to say is pretty random and probably barely relevant but in 2013 when the Bills played in Pittsburgh, it was maybe the quietest crowd I can ever remember hearing. It was when EJ was the QB and him being the biggest bust in Bills recent draft history made the game borderline unwatchable but the crowd was atrocious. It was like they were asleep. I never forgot that. This teams fan base is widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL because of how well they travel. I feel like they are completely overrated tbh. 

EJ had that somnolent effect on opposing fans in away games.  Bills fans (home and away) were just grabbing for the digitalis. 😁

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I know what I’m about to say is pretty random and probably barely relevant but in 2013 when the Bills played in Pittsburgh, it was maybe the quietest crowd I can ever remember hearing. It was when EJ was the QB and him being the biggest bust in Bills recent draft history made the game borderline unwatchable but the crowd was atrocious. It was like they were asleep. I never forgot that. This teams fan base is widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL because of how well they travel. I feel like they are completely overrated tbh. 

When it comes to the Steelers and their fans, they will treat the Bills like a NFC game especially when it is not a AFC North showdown against Baltimore or a beat up of the Bengals or Browns

[HOUSE]

They need another sticker on their helmets, looks dumb

[ProcessTruster]

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

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

27 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

They need another sticker on their helmets, looks dumb

And we thought Ralph was cheap!

[stuvian]

they've been spoiled with good football for decades. That plus Covid can make a dent

[Greg S]

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.

[Mr. WEO]

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?

[Low Positive]

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. 

[Greg S]

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

[Captain Hindsight]

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

[CountDorkula]

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. 

[SoTier]

 

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

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Steelers having attendance issues...
 

Coach: "Where's the RG?!"

LT:  "Called in last night, taking a 'mental health' day."

[WotAGuy]

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

[Matt_In_NH]

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.  

[dpberr]

1. Changing Steeler fan demographics (younger, far, far, far less disposable income than previous generations, older fans like retirees start restricting spending)
2. Gambling.  The sportsbook experience offers something new for the die hard fan that enjoys FF and gambling.
3. 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.  

 

 

[ProcessAccepted]

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

[T master]

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 .

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

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. 😁

[Santana]

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. 

[Big Turk]

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