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Penguins Fans Named Best in the NHL


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Penguins fans have earned the distinction of the being the best local fan base in the NHL according to Nielsen’s annual “Year in Sports Media Report” for the 2013 calendar year.

 

Researched compiled by Nielsen showed that 54% of the Pittsburgh market either attended a Penguins game in person at CONSOL Energy Center or watched or listened to a broadcast on television, radio or a mobile device in 2013.

 


TOP 5 LOCAL 

FAN BASES 

 

• Pittsburgh Penguins 54%

• Buffalo Sabres 48%

• Detroit Red Wings 45%

• Boston Bruins 41%

• St. Louis Blues 33%

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Actually, I'm okay with that based on that criteria.   I'm sure there's a lot of brothers and sisters from the Pittsburgh area out on a date night watching the Pens. Or staying home and watching together while sister plays with brother's Crosby.

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@ruxpin  Are these the same "die hard" fans that almost let the team leave due to lack of support? Perhaps enough time has passed that it's the next generation of fans, the kids of the people that didn't care if they moved to Anchorage, Alaska or Kansas City.

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I'm actually impressed by the Buffalo number, imagine if that mess was your team , and you were watching that train wreck in person a couple of times a week or choosing between them on MSG2 and Duck Dynasty.

That is a fan base.

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@mojo1917  I'm impressed also, in all fairness, it is a two sport town, they have no MLB or NBA....but *still*, very loyal group, the Sabres have stunk for a long time and they still go to games and buy merchandise. I have a feeling Philly would be the same way, although they have never been crappy for an extended period of time for us to find out (the 5 years before Lindros arrived were the darkest times....and that was not brutal, just no playoffs 4 out 5 years). They were still semi competitive back then, not bottom feeders for the entire league. I just don't think Philly fans would leave in droves. There would be a sickening amount of bitching and whining, but NO CHANCE the franchise would be moving or something extreme like that. Perhaps that's the one positive about Snider's presence, we will never find out....ALTHOUGH, sometimes you gotta really stink to get the true superstars, so a double edged sword there for sure.

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Philly fans could never survive the harsh seasons we endured here... The lot of them would turn into a gaggle of whiners about officiating, the NHL favoring their rivals, rigged drafts.... Oh wait...

I meant ... If the Flyers got as bad as we once were, the arena would be pillaged and burned to the ground. The Snider family beheaded and strung up in town square by their toes... And then they'd blame it all on Leon Stickle. ;)

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Philly fans could never survive the harsh seasons we endured here... The lot of them would turn into a gaggle of whiners about officiating, the NHL favoring their rivals, rigged drafts.... Oh wait...

I meant ... If the Flyers got as bad as we once were, the arena would be pillaged and burned to the ground. The Snider family beheaded and strung up in town square by their toes... And then they'd blame it all on Leon Stickle. ;)

 

Right. I've been on the Pens forum (and many others) on the HF boards...you get booted off if you disagree with anything a Pens fan says, while they bitch and moan about the loss of the glow puck.

 

 Theres 3 good Pens fans on this forum. You guys know your hockey and have stuck by your team through thick and thin. But don't pretend all Pens fans are like that. Most Pens fans wouldn't come here because they're ascared :D 

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I'm actually impressed by the Buffalo number, imagine if that mess was your team , and you were watching that train wreck in person a couple of times a week or choosing between them on MSG2 and Duck Dynasty.

That is a fan base.

 

Buffalo is a small northeast city that high supports their sports teams.  Heck what else can you do in the winter time.

 

They also have a lot of Canadians that come over the border to  watch games as they can't get tickets to the Toronto games.  Toronto games usually have a 35-40% attendence by leafs fans.

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Right. I've been on the Pens forum (and many others) on the HF boards...you get booted off if you disagree with anything a Pens fan says, while they bitch and moan about the loss of the glow puck.

 

 Theres 3 good Pens fans on this forum. You guys know your hockey and have stuck by your team through thick and thin. But don't pretend all Pens fans are like that. Most Pens fans wouldn't come here because they're ascared :D 

FC, good to see you've kept up on your Pittsburgheese lessons.

 

@ruxpin  Are these the same "die hard" fans that almost let the team leave due to lack of support? Perhaps enough time has passed that it's the next generation of fans, the kids of the people that didn't care if they moved to Anchorage, Alaska or Kansas City.

Jammer, the bankruptcy had little to nothing to do with fan support as it did with the management basically selling out the team with hugh deferred(at the time allowed) contracts in order to win their first two cups. One of the reasons that Lemieux helped to buy the team was because they owed him so much deferred money.

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Philly fans could never survive the harsh seasons we endured here... The lot of them would turn into a gaggle of whiners about officiating, the NHL favoring their rivals, rigged drafts.... Oh wait...

I meant ... If the Flyers got as bad as we once were, the arena would be pillaged and burned to the ground. The Snider family beheaded and strung up in town square by their toes... And then they'd blame it all on Leon Stickle. ;)

 

All true.

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@ruxpin  Are these the same "die hard" fans that almost let the team leave due to lack of support? Perhaps enough time has passed that it's the next generation of fans, the kids of the people that didn't care if they moved to Anchorage, Alaska or Kansas City.

 

I actually don't know that it was lack of support.   I mean, the team sucked for years so I imagine that would harm attendance/interest over time, but I really thought the leaving was pretty much due to mismanagement by the previous ownership and, really, an ancient building.

 

But the numbers reflect current figures and I believe it.  From going down there to visit my daughter (or take her there or whatever) I have to tell you, there's Penguins regalia everywhere.  You'd think in a city where the Steelers are perennially good you'd see Steelers everywhere.  There is, but there is a hell of a lot of Penguins.   Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of Flyers hats, jerseys, etc., in Philly, but even if it's exactly the same hard numbers, when you figure in the smaller population in Pittsburgh it comes to a much higher percentage (which is what the list appears to be based on).

 

Plus, you've had a team that has been at or near the top for 8-9 years now, so that's gotta help.

 

No doubt to me that the list is fairly accurate based on the criteria it's focusing on. 

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I actually don't know that it was lack of support.   I mean, the team sucked for years so I imagine that would harm attendance/interest over time, but I really thought the leaving was pretty much due to mismanagement by the previous ownership and, really, an ancient building.

 

But the numbers reflect current figures and I believe it.  From going down there to visit my daughter (or take her there or whatever) I have to tell you, there's Penguins regalia everywhere.  You'd think in a city where the Steelers are perennially good you'd see Steelers everywhere.  There is, but there is a hell of a lot of Penguins.   Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of Flyers hats, jerseys, etc., in Philly, but even if it's exactly the same hard numbers, when you figure in the smaller population in Pittsburgh it comes to a much higher percentage (which is what the list appears to be based on).

 

Plus, you've had a team that has been at or near the top for 8-9 years now, so that's gotta help.

 

No doubt to me that the list is fairly accurate based on the criteria it's focusing on. 

 

 

 Sure. Until you come to Toronto, a city that hasn't had a team in the cup since the 60s...a team that had their first playoff appearance in a decade last year, and still sold out every game. And their jerseys, hats etc are worn all over the country. Habs stuff is a close second.

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Philly fans could never survive the harsh seasons we endured here... The lot of them would turn into a gaggle of whiners about officiating, the NHL favoring their rivals, rigged drafts.... Oh wait...

I meant ... If the Flyers got as bad as we once were, the arena would be pillaged and burned to the ground. The Snider family beheaded and strung up in town square by their toes... And then they'd blame it all on Leon Stickle. ;)

 

This.  It hasn't happened...yet.  Maybe they would. Maybe not.  

 

The ironic part of all this is that it's not outlandish to say that moves made by Holmgren (and clearly influenced by Ed Snider) are at least "somewhat" driven by a fear of what will happen if the Flyers reach the same suckage levels that the Pens did in the early part of the 2000's. 

 

Let's face it, it's been very easy to be a Flyers fan.  With one exception (06-07) they've been in contention for at least a playoff spot (and usually more) for 40 years.  That's to their credit....but it's a fan base that hasn't been tested.

 

When the Pens are good, they sell out. People watch.  Highest local ratings for several years now. Sure that's easy.  But there are a lot of teams that cannot even say that.

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Penguins fans have earned the distinction of the being the best local fan base in the NHL according to Nielsen’s annual “Year in Sports Media Report” for the 2013 calendar year.
 
Researched compiled by Nielsen showed that 54% of the Pittsburgh market either attended a Penguins game in person at CONSOL Energy Center or watched or listened to a broadcast on television, radio or a mobile device in 2013.
 
TOP 5 LOCAL 
FAN BASES 
 
• Pittsburgh Penguins 54%
• Buffalo Sabres 48%
• Detroit Red Wings 45%
• Boston Bruins 41%
• St. Louis Blues 33%

 

 

Your thread title is very misleading.

 

All the report shows is that the Pens had the highest percentage of local population attend or watch a game in 2013.  It's a Nielsen report.  It's what they do.

 

The Pens fan base wasn't "named" anything.

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 Sure. Until you come to Toronto, a city that hasn't had a team in the cup since the 60s...a team that had their first playoff appearance in a decade last year, and still sold out every game. And their jerseys, hats etc are worn all over the country. Habs stuff is a close second.

 

I don't think anyone would argue Toronto and Montreal but it is telling that neither made the top 5. 

 

This isn't some Bleacher Report scrub making a list.  It's a Nielsen report.  Just facts.  Nothing more.

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Buffalo is a small northeast city that high supports their sports teams.  Heck what else can you do in the winter time.

 

They also have a lot of Canadians that come over the border to  watch games as they can't get tickets to the Toronto games.  Toronto games usually have a 35-40% attendence by leafs fans.

I've spent some winter time in Rochester NY so "i get it" when it comes to small northeast city supporting their team.  The American's Buffalo's farm team has a pretty nice fanbase too. the weather sucks the rink is new and downtown,  it get it.

 

I still marvel at the loyalty because the last 5-8 years of the Darcy Reiger era have been pretty tough.

I am an Orioles fan (in case you're not real observant) have been for 30+ years... That team was terrible for 15 years, after year 8 or so i quit showing up at the stadium, and I love that team, but I couldn't take watching double A players and 3 washed up guys making 10 million a year anymore.. So i tip my cap to the fans of the Sabres.

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 Sure. Until you come to Toronto, a city that hasn't had a team in the cup since the 60s...a team that had their first playoff appearance in a decade last year, and still sold out every game. And their jerseys, hats etc are worn all over the country. Habs stuff is a close second.

 

You're going to cite me the sports habits in a country that actually watches and participates in Curling and thinks this is a perfectly acceptable way to spend time?

 

Seriously, Toronto fans continue to pay attention because even when their team can realistically expect to win only 10 games, their delusional fans are already putting up lawn chairs on the parade route.

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When the Pens are good, they sell out. People watch.  Highest local ratings for several years now. Sure that's easy.  But there are a lot of teams that cannot even say that.

 

I think back to my college years when the Bucos were ******* great; Doug Drabek, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla , Chico Lind, Mike Levallier... they were good and fun to watch and never sold out 3 rivers, even for the playoffs, it worked out for me because we'd show up in the 1st inning buy 30 dollar box seats for 15 from some poor bastard looking to dump his tickets and watch great baseball in the only "nice" multi-purpose stadium i've ever been in. 

 

So clearly the Penguins have some other things going for them, it's not just the quality of the product , because Pgh has shown it sometimes won't support a great product.

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You're going to cite me the sports habits in a country that actually watches and participates in Curling and thinks this is a perfectly acceptable way to spend time?

 

Seriously, Toronto fans continue to pay attention because even when their team can realistically expect to win only 10 games, their delusional fans are already putting up lawn chairs on the parade route.

 

For your first comment may I bring up Nascar, bowling and Jerry Springer.

 

As for the 2nd....no comment!

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For your first comment may I bring up Nascar, bowling and Jerry Springer.

 

Quite fair.  Don't forget Duck Dynasty, the Kardashians,  Professional Wrestling (is this a Canadian thing, too?).  Family change the tires on the house day.  

 

My second comment was actually more to the point.  

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I think back to my college years when the Bucos were ****** great; Doug Drabek, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla , Chico Lind, Mike Levallier... they were good and fun to watch and never sold out 3 rivers, even for the playoffs, it worked out for me because we'd show up in the 1st inning buy 30 dollar box seats for 15 from some poor bastard looking to dump his tickets and watch great baseball in the only "nice" multi-purpose stadium i've ever been in. 

 

So clearly the Penguins have some other things going for them, it's not just the quality of the product , because Pgh has shown it sometimes won't support a great product.

 

They never sold out because Three Rivers held almost 50,000 for baseball.  Their attendance those seasons was just about the same as what they drew these last 3 seasons.   But since PNC holds around 38,000 they sell out most weekends and big weekday games.

 

Not sellouts but still good crowds.  I'll look some more but they drew 56K, 57K and 52K for the 3 home games in the 1992 NLCS.

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