After nine years, one would think you would know how to pronounce my last name. It is Leonsis, LEE-ON-SIS. I have had several friends calling me today to poke fun at my last name which you mispronounced while taking a pot shot at the Washington Capitals on national TV.
Pittsburgh has a great fan base. Fans will travel from the city to DC-based games or they actually live here and break out the terrible towels and go to games here. They are Skins fans except when the Skins play the Steelers. We experienced that phenomenon with the Capitals too and same with the Orioles when they play the Yankees or Red Sox or the Nationals when they play the Mets.
But I am proud of our city and our fan base and our franchise. We are growing like crazy. We have a loud and proud building. We rock the red and I believe if we give our fans a reason to cheer, they will come in droves.
Caps Nut, pretty sure you made that up. Your memory is either serving you incorrectly or you are basing your statement on false assumptions. Steelers tickets in general, especially playoff tickets, are in extremely high demand in Pittsburgh. As with any NFL game, there were probably a small number of no-shows, which is prone to happen in the era of internet scalpers who price their tickets so high that they don’t get rid of them by game day. But all pictures and TV shots from that game show a full stadium, minus the usual fans who are out of their seats for concessions and what not. Sorry to break it to you, but your statement about not being able to give tickets away is quite naive.
Yet there is lots of tickets to be had for the Pen’s Saturday Night game vs the Sabres on all the ticket sites. Gee guess Pens fans DO give up their tickets very easily!
Mr. Tony was always funnier and a better writer in the Style Section than the Sports Section. We know it and he knows it.
Perhaps he should stick to talking about things he knows about, like Paris Hilton?
Everybody of course is aware that Pittsburgh had quite a few NO-SHOWS for their first home playoff game in three years back in January???
There were even reports that some people couldn’t even give away their tickets to that playoff game.
Really, really, great, passionate, rabid fans…
Both the Penguins and Steelers sell out every game. The Steelers for a lot longer than the Penguins of course.
So if you want to attend a game for either team you have to go to another city. It is very difficult to get tickets for both teams and the fans do not give them up very easily. Apparently skins fans readily gave up their tickets.
@Mark Russo
Hee hee, who said he gets a press credential when the Caps get to the Stanley Cup? There’s only so much room in the press box and the Post will have Tarik and a couple of other real writers there…
Also, sell out your own stadiums if you don’t want other fans, its that simple.
Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the downfall of the steel mills in the 50s-60s lets a lot of people jobless. This is why Pittsburghers have spread throughout the nation, not because its a crappy town. If we would look back on USA today’s top views in the country, I think 2005, the view of Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington is number 2. Granted all of the fans that have been invading your stadium, and numerous others, may live in your cities, but they will always be Pittsburgher’s at heart. If you disagree, search Steeler Bars in google and see how many there are.
What? He actually even knows there’s a hockey team in
DC? That is amazing! Talk about a sportswriter who doesn’t know about sports… he’s a perfect example.
Anyone wanna bet he covers the Caps big time and acts like he is from Caps Country when we win the Cup? Stick this in his face then, Mr. Ted!
I didn’t think it was possible, but Tony really makes me miss Dennis Miller on MNF.
The Caps are going to kick some butt in the next few weeks…maybe even Tony’s!
Maybe introduce Matt Bradley and Donald Brashear to Tony…
I went to college at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and too many people don’t realize that Pittsburgh is less than 4 hours from DC, it’s actually closer or about same distance as Virgnia Tech. With the great job market in the DC area, tons of people from Pittsburgh come to work here. Just the way it is. The closest big cities are Cleveland and DC, touch choice.
A lot of that stems from you have fans of some local teams that aren’t fans of other local teams – For example, I’m a Caps fan first, a Kaiserslautern Soccer Club fan second, a St. Louis Cardinals fan, a Tennessee Titans fan fourth, Skins fan fifth, and Denver Nuggets fan sixth. I don’t like the Wizards at all, and not so much a football or basketball fan at all. So, if the Cardinals ever come to DC, and I get tickets, I go in a Cardinals hat. Washington has a benefit and a negative of there are people from everywhere here, and it’s easy to get to, so there’s ALWAYS a few fans of the other teams.
The first Caps game I attended was against the Nordiques, and I recall there being a huge Canadian flag a guy would wave after each Nords goal. It was different. I remember seeing Whalers fans, Bruins fans, Pens fans, Rangers, Lightning, and it always just felt great as I’ve seen those pockets become smaller and smaller each time I go. It seems that the Capitals base is getting bigger and bigger, and it’s wonderful to see. Hopefully that continues.
According to an article in today’s New York Times, Pittsburgh hit its population zenith of 676,000 residents in 1950. Today it has a population of 312,000, down 20,000 in the last decade. My folks are from Pittsburgh, and I like the town, but before long, there will be no more Pittsburghers in Pittsburgh, and probably no sports teams either. LIke everything else in this country, they’ve been moving south and/or west. The article in the Times? It’s about private citizens in the ‘Burgh taking care of vacant lots that used to be houses.
@natman
In addition to job market or lack of, would anybody in DC, PHI, or NYC even CONSIDER making a weekend out of going to PIT to watch their team? It’s a one-way street. Crappy city with no jobs and nothing else to do equals rabid fans with too much time on their hands
YOU TELL HIM TED LEE – ON – SIS!!!!!
I have no idea how that guy gets on TV at all…he’s just a narrow-minded jerk.
I would love to see the stats of how many of those Pens fans at Caps games actually live in the area. Too bad Pittsburgh has a bad job market or we wouldn’t have to see most of them I bet. All we need to do to get rid of them is win because despite the general sense of superiority they feel as a Pittsburgh fan, they’re no less fair-weather fans than any other city has.
Anyway, 7 Caps games before the next Redskins game! Loving it!! LET’S GO CAPS!!