A first Larry Foote wishes he hadn't seen

[SteelCrazy]

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers fans have long made their presence felt at away games because of their willingness to travel and the team's national following.

So imagine linebacker Larry Foote's surprise when the script was flipped last Sunday and Lions fans turned out in droves at Heinz Field.

"There was a lot of blue in there," Foote said on Friday. "The weather probably had something to do with it, but I've never seen that before from another team and they were loud."

Foote, a 12th-year veteran who is on injured reserve, said even when Pittsburgh went 6-10 in 2003 that Steelers fans still packed Heinz Field.

The announced crowd last Sunday was 57,905, and a noticeable number of fans left at halftime because of a steady rain and the barrage of scoring that the Lions unleashed in the second quarter.

The Lions scored 27 points in the quarter to take a seven-point lead into halftime, but the Steelers shut them out in the second half to win 37-27.

The Steelers, who are 4-6 and only one game out of the race for the second wild-card berth in the AFC, play back-to-back road games before returning to Heinz Field on Dec. 8.

They could well be 6-6 when they host the Dolphins for a 1 p.m. game.
Or they could be 4-8.

It will be interesting to see how Steelers fans respond as far as attending the Dolphins game if the team falters in Cleveland or Baltimore.

Foote said his issue isn't with all Steelers fans over the turnout for the Lions game, "but the people who got rid of those tickets."

His hope for Steelers fans who don't want to go to the remaining home games?
"Don't sell your tickets," Foote said. "Give them away (to Steelers fans)."

[url]http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/2826/a-first-larry-foote-wishes-he-hadnt-seen[/url]

[The Man of Steel]

Yes, please give me your tickets if you're not gonna show up at Heinz Field just because the Steelers are playing substandard football. Unlike the many fair weather Steelers fans, I have no problem whatsoever watching bad football in bad weather conditions.

[pfelix73]

Heinz is always empty at the start of the 3rd Q. Because everyone is still trying to go to the bathroom or are in line for beverages.... Most came back for the remainder of the game, cause it was rocking, esp by the time they did double renegade.

had a conversation with a Steelers employee about the attendance #. We were guessing that there were around 8000 no shows. He told me that would come off of the total attendance #, thus roughly a total of 49000 or so were present. Not sure if I believed him on that statement but wasn't going to argue.. Anyway, the Cincy ame last year was similar to the Lions game- regarding #'s of visitors fans present...

[Shoe]

I did notice the same thing (about all the yellow seats I saw on TV shots). But I also think it is a phenomena that hasn't been completely foreign, to anyone paying attention. Whenever people ask me to go to a Laker/Clipper/Dodger game here in LA, all that runs through my thinking is the inconvenience (traffic, parking, uncomfortable seats, pricey beers). I think it is largely a product of intelligent and somewhat upwardly mobile fandom. I'm not trying to dog "hard-core" fans, but let's be realistic and acknowledge that the at-home experience has surpassed the stadium experience in every way (except just saying you were there). At home, you get a better view (HDTV). You have better amenities (better food, better drinks, cheaper). You get more comfortable surrounding (couch vs. stadium seat/bathroom whenever you feel like it/70 degree controlled temperature).

[DBR96A]

Heinz is always empty at the start of the 3rd Q. Because everyone is still trying to go to the bathroom or are in line for beverages.... Most came back for the remainder of the game, cause it was rocking, esp by the time they did double renegade.

Normally there's a scattering of empty seats at the start of the third quarter. Last week there was a scattering of full seats at the beginning of the third quarter. That's not normal.

By the way, we can expect an increasing number of fans from other teams at Heinz Field now that more people are moving to Pittsburgh from elsewhere than before.

[Vader]

Normally there's a scattering of empty seats at the start of the third quarter. Last week there was a scattering of full seats at the beginning of the third quarter. That's not normal.

By the way, we can expect an increasing number of fans from other teams at Heinz Field now that more people are moving to Pittsburgh from elsewhere than before.

Yea, those extra 2000 county people increase from 2010 is really going to skew the fans of Heinz field. Or maybe the 152 extra people in Pittsburgh proper?

[DBR96A]

"Natural" population decrease (more deaths than births) is the reason the population in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County is flat, especially since nearly three quarters of all population growth/loss is accounted for by births and deaths.

By the way, migration data:

20052010comparison.jpg

[Vader]

"Natural" population decrease (more deaths than births) is the reason the population in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County is flat, especially since nearly three quarters of all population growth/loss is accounted for by births and deaths.

By the way, migration data:

20052010comparison.jpg

You'll have to explain your graph. I don't see a legend. If they represent where the net migration is coming from then how is it most of it is over Pittsburgh? How can you migration from Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh?

[DBR96A]

You'll have to explain your graph. I don't see a legend. If they represent where the net migration is coming from then how is it most of it is over Pittsburgh? How can you migration from Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh?

The big cluster over Pennsylvania is all the smaller cities and towns in the state that Pittsburgh has a net influx of residents with. Think Johnstown, Altoona, DuBois, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, etc. Any city or town that Pittsburgh had net migration of +1 or greater with is highlighted.

Notice also the large cluster over Ohio, Michigan and the Mid-Atlantic coast, and the emergence of spots over the "Sun Belt" as well. It's a good sign when a city begins to draw in people from far away. With that said, most people who move from one city to another move less than 500 miles away. Most long-distance migration is done either by retirees or highly-specialized employees whose employment opportunities cluster in only a small handful of cities.