Famous Author Compares Steelers and Skins Fans

[irish]

Originally Posted by redsk1

I think DS wants Skins fans to represent but still wants the $ too.


I think the mediocrity of the Skins over the last almost 20 yrs is a biggie. I'm 36 now, and as a kid I don't remember seeing any Eagles fans for example. As a college student, I didn't know any Eagles fans. Over the last 10 years, there's more around mainly due to the fact they've had a pretty good team for a decade or so. That + more fans. The Steelers have always had alot of fans but more so now that they've been good for 15 years +. Just like the Cowboys fans. There's a lot of them, but they come crawling out of the woodwork when they are good. When they suck, it's hard to find em.

The Skins..haven't been relavent at all therefore their marketshare hasn't grown as much.

Of course there are other reasons...

price, stadium, transplanted fans and area, etc.

I totally agree about the Skins mediocrity, its hard to get excited and follow a team that almost never makes the playoffs. I dont think any young Washingtonian could remember the Skins being anything but a bottom tier team and thats not good for getting a young fan hooked on a team. If the Skins ever get good I'm sure a lot of people will get on the bandwagon and I doubt there will be many complaints.

The Steelers have been good since the 70s (closer to 30+ years) so they have had awhile to build their fan base around a good team. Another thing is that lots of Pgh-ers have left Pgh for all over the USA and still follow the Steelers. I dont think I've ever been to a city that didnt have a Steeler bar. They have had kids and those kids are Steeler fans too (and it doesnt hurt the Steelers win to make the team worth following). IMO, the Steelers are America's team.