Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators beats Hillary v. Barry
The NHL is more popular than the Democrats in a Dem city
By Mark Kilmer Posted in 2008 | Democrats | NHL — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team almost left the city not too many years ago because of fan apathy and a bad arena. Granted, Crosby, Malkin, and the kids are in the playoffs and winning, and a new arena is on the way, but the Penguins don't yet have the fan support of the Steelers. Perhaps not even of the Pirates.
Listen to the voice of the Pittsburgh Tribune's Salena Zito:
About 57,000 more households in the Pittsburgh region tuned in to watch the Penguins beat up on the Ottawa Senators than tuned in to see two senators (Obama and Clinton) beat up on each other in the Democratic presidential debate, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The hockey game played in 175,000 – or 23 percent – of all households in the Pittsburgh metro market, while the blame game played in 118,000 households – or 14 percent of the market, according to Nielsen.
Pennsylvania is about to have its Presidential primary, the first one which has been meaningful since long before the Pens' last Stanley Cup, and the Democrats own Allegheny County (Pittsburgh). More people watched a first-round NHL playoff game than watched their candidates debate. Do you think the Dem voters might be more apathetic at this point that were the Pens' fans when the team was losing?
The NHL beat the Dems in an NFL city.
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Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators beats Hillary v. Barry 5 Comments (0 topical, 5 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
It is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Any team in the playoffs is going to put up big numbers against any debate, or Pres speech, etc.
Now also found at The Minority Report
In the pre-Sidney, post-Mario/Stanley Cup days, though they sold some seats in Mellon Arena, the greater potential fan base -- those who'd watch on TV or purchase t-Shirts -- was not where it was.
Personally, I attributed it to the fact that they seemingly never had a coach who could speak English. I could be wrong.
I think you understate fan support for the Penguins in Pittsburgh. I lived there in the early 90's, when the Penguins were also quite good. It is definitely true that the first love of Pittsburghers are and will be the Steelers for the rest of eternity; however the Penguins are second on the list. There was always a great deal of excitement about the Penguins. There's a reason why "Sudden Death" with Steven Seagal was filmed in Pittsburgh. But you are right about the Pirates. It's kinda sad really.
... no one is actually suggesting that politics (D's or R's) is more important then hockey, are they? Certainly not playoff hockey. Step back from that ledge!
Go Flyers!
The Penguins were consistently selling out their bad arena in which they had a very bad lease. Lack of fan interest was not the problem - the most untenable lease in all of sports was the problem. But, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if the Democrats are tired of seeing these two by now.
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The Red Sox Republican: Burkeanism, Baseball, and Sundries.