Musings

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– What in the world is with all of the empty seats at Heinz Field? We are used to seeing Steeler fans infiltrate road stadiums and make lots of noise, but where are they at home? Dating back to last year and the first few games this season, it is quite notable the amount of yellow plastic showing up on the TV screen. We all know that in terms of popularity, the Steelers are at the top of the league, so what is going on? If cost of tickets was a reason, that would be awesome, because I would hope it starts a movement by fans (in all of the major leagues) to lower prices. But given that most seats at that stadium are season ticket holders that have already paid for their seat earlier in the year, I doubt that’s it (though they can certainly try to make some of that money back in the secondary market). It can’t be that the team sucks either, because that was not an excuse in Week 1, where I would rank emptiness of stadiums as following: Dolphins, Buccaneers, Rams, Steelers. I have no idea what it is and would love for someone with more connections and resources to take a closer look.

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– On the subject of football…how much does Phil Simms suck? Words aren’t enough for his suckitude and I hate watching one of his games. How he has been on a #1 announce team for well over a decade is beyond me. Probably my biggest irk with Simms is how he constantly contradicts himself when trying to make a point. This happens so often when the replay comes up and he casually shifts sides as the evidence is clear he is an idiot. It drives me nuts there is not more video evidence of this on YouTube and I vow to make a compilation the rest of the season. 

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– Plenty has been written on the failures of the US Ryder Cup team and what needs to be corrected. As a passionate golfer and fan of the sport, the answer certainly is muddy. Better strategy? Better team spirit? Better players? I think all the guesses are useless if some of the best golfers and golfer minds in the country can’t figure it out yet. No matter his ineptitude and disconnect, I certainly did feel bad for Tom Watson during that incredibly awkward press conference. After each painful loss, two years seems so far away and I’m hoping once we get back to Hazeltine that we can make a turnaround. The more we lose, the more pressure builds and those that golf certainly know that pressure is not exactly a positive feeling when trying to hit a golf ball.

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– Coming full circle on empty stadiums, I’m sure many saw those pictures of the Florida Panthers game played in front of almost nobody at the Sunrise Center. To be fair, it was a Monday afternoon on Columbus Day, but there were plenty watching in Boston playing at the same time. Anyway, the Panthers troubles are well documented, along with the overall failure of Bettman’s southern expansion. I’ll apologize in advance if anyone indeed is a passionate Panthers fan because moving a team is nothing to joke about, but where would you like to see the Panthers play instead of Florida. There are certainly options, but my preference is Quebec and then Hartford. While I know the Whalers will never come back without a new arena, the remarkable interest of a team that left almost 20 years ago is undeniable. Quebec has the benefit of a new arena opening next year and everything seems in their favor to become a leading candidate. Man, seeing that classic logo on a sky blue jersey come alive again would be awesome.

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