When you think about baseball, you may think about hot dogs, watching fireworks and singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch.
Those from Pittsburgh may also think about the Pirates losing.
It’s hard not to notice how cheap tickets for the average Pirates game are. One of the handful of reasons is the team is objectively that bad. Some may say that a person with limited sports knowledge, like myself, may not be suited to write this piece. I beg to differ.
To me, there’s nothing better than sitting in a stadium, eating a hot dog, yelling at people when they hit a ball, looking out across the Pittsburgh city skyline and watching personable pierogies race each other. That is what it’s all about.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending Chatham University’s student night at PNC park, where Chatham offered students $5 tickets to a Pirates game, along with a free item of merchandise and a $10 concessions voucher.
Closing the season with a 69-90 record and their 10th consecutive year missing playoffs, the Pirates are not on a winning streak of any kind. Despite this, Chatham night at PNC Park was one of the best games I went to, and not because we shockingly won.
Sure – going to a baseball game is about the perseverance of a team, the hard work, the history behind each player and each moment that got them to that point. But you can’t always make that case about the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I won’t get into the issues within the Pirate’s highly controversial ownership, selling the team or the poor financial figures in players’ paychecks. This story isn’t about choices made by the team owner. It is about us. What I do want to talk about is how to enjoy a game that will most likely be lost by the team you are cheering for.
After attending that recent game with all of my Chatham friends, I was back the next day for the last home game of the season. While I typically never find myself at PNC Park so frequently, a friend of the Communiqué editor-in-chief and mine was visiting Pittsburgh for a weekend, with the sole purpose of going to a Pirates game.
This friend is on a mission to visit every ballpark stadium in the U.S.; PNC Park is his ninth stop.
We explained to him how a beloved part of a Pirates game is the pierogi race, when people dress up in pierogi costumes to portray characters such as Jalapeño Hannah, Cheese Chester and Sauerkraut Saul. Each with their own distinct personalities, they run around the field during the middle of the fifth inning. Though our friend didn’t seem too interested at first, our enthusiasm for the pierogies was evidently contagious. We got a photo together with Cheese Chester after he won the pierogi race championship that game.
Beyond that, we danced during walkup songs. We chanted “Let’s go, Bucs” with the other fans present. We enjoyed snacks, and we had fun in good company.
And most importantly, we were not concerned about the score.
After, our friend shared that PNC Park is now a close second to his favorite, Fenway Park, primarily due to his Bostonian nature.
Don’t enter a Pirates game expecting the team to win as if they owe it to you for attending. It is about the experience of celebrating your city and, of course, the niche cuisine PNC Park offers. I will gladly spend my money’s worth on pickles, sauerkraut-topped hot dogs and soft serve in a Pirates helmet.
Sometimes we get too caught up in winning that we no longer appreciate the experience of going to a ball game. Spending time with friends in PNC Park and making memories is incredibly fun, and we should be grateful for that alone.
So to each person who has read this far, I urge you to go to a baseball game next season, even if it is the minor leagues or your 8-year-old cousin’s team and bask in a loss. It is worth it.
