Heinz Field was rocking about 4:05pm Sunday afternoon.
The Steelers were 10-point winners over the Lions, a team that ran up a lot of points and a lot of yards during the second quarter Sunday, taking a 14-0 and a 17-3 Steelers lead at one point to a Lions 27-20 advantage.
Before that though, something strange, actually kind of alarming, happened.
Fans turned.
Sensing another Patriots-like debacle in which New England a few weeks back ran up a Steelers all-time allowed 55 points on defense and over 600 yards, fans started tweeting like mad about having enough and not even wanting to watch the second half of the game.
Think I am kidding? Here’s a tweet from Dejan Kovacevic from the Tribune-Review, who had VIDEO of the fans leaving:
VIDEO of fans filing out of stadium at halftime, with Steelers down one TD. No re-entry allowed. @… http://t.co/7RPwTZ6Mea
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) November 17, 2013
I also asked this question at the half of a 7-point game yesterday (despite the awful second quarter) – why buy a ticket in the first place?
If your going to leave the game at half down 7, why did ANYONE stay at Heinz Field in week two when the Bears jumped out to a 24-3 lead with about 8 minutes left in the first half?
Do the Steelers have flaws, and are they a LONG way from being a true contender for a 7th Lombardi Trophy?
Yes.
But there’s only one champion every year, and while this team isn’t going to the Super Bowl this year (then again…) why would you pay probably at LEAST $40-$50 dollars of your hard earned money for a ticket and then leave the game at the half?
I am guilty of doing this very thing, that being leave a game well before it was over.
The 2001 AFC Title Game vs the Patriots at home. The Steelers were heavy favorites, yet when I walked to my car in disgust, they were down 21-3, and while they rallied to make it a game, they still lost 24-17.
I would have been flat out pissed if I would have left at halftime yesterday.
Then again, I am not sure a true fan would.
In the world of the NFL, with a QB like Ben Roethlisberger, you can’t possibly have believed that the Steelers were out of this game.
Sure I am as surprised as anyone that they played lights out on D in the second half, holding Calvin Johnson to no catches and Matthew Stafford to just three completions.
But at the same time, if you’re a fan – BE A FAN.
Stay at the game, you never know what can happen.
More so, you just may create a memory that you can relive for years to come.
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mark
November 18, 2013 at 2:40 pm
i was at the game, the rain along with the customary halftime run to the concessions and bathrooms made the stadium look empty. a few minutes after halftime started a lot of the people filed back to their seats, im sure a bunch left due to weather, even though it wasnt very cold the rain was making it pretty miserable, and im sure there were plenty that left because of how the game appeared to be heading. I did not and would not do that ever, I am just commenting that if you looked at how it cleared out at halftime for people to dry off get beer/food and go to the bathroom i think it looked a lot worse than it was.
Dave
November 18, 2013 at 3:02 pm
“But at the same time, if your a fan – BE A FAN.”
If YOU’RE a writer, be a writer.
It was a rainy, nasty day.
And only down seven at the half….
Benny and the Bees had them right where they wanted them.
Now on to Cleveland.
Matt Loede
November 18, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Thanks for the comment Dave, I am a writer, you can check out the book I wrote on the Steelers here – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/100-things-steelers-fans-should-know-do-before-they-die-matt-loede/1100409538
In the meantime, it’s a typo and I will fix it.
Thanks
Eric
November 19, 2013 at 12:01 am
Like Mark, I was at the game. There were over 7000 no shows. Lots of Honolulu Blue in the stands as well. I was disappointed in Steeler Nation yesterday. The weather wasn’t great, but the players were playing in it. At one point in the third quarter, you could see a group of Detroit fans in the southeast corner of the field standing together and cheering “Let’s Go Lions!”
I recall a similar situation back in ’96 at then-Ericsson Stadium when the Steelers’ fans could be heard cheering “Here we go, Steelers, Here we go!” before the Carolina fans drowned us out. That should NEVER happen at Heinz Field. We claim to be the best fans in the NFL, if not all sports, but have displays like I saw yesterday. I’ll give the fans a pass, but we need to show our support the rest of the season.
I stayed until the clock read 0:00 and stayed a bit later to savor the win. It was my fifth game this season, counting the two preseason games. This was by far, the worst support that I saw. Too bad, too. It was a GREAT game.
GO STEELERS!!!!!!!
P.S. I have your book. Good stuff!
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