U mad, bro?: Steelers fans lash out about loss to 49ers and other fans who sell tickets and boo Pittsburgh players
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Did you ever come home from vacation, open the door, and utter those four words every homeowner hates to hear come out of their own mouth?
“What is that smell??!!”
Then you realize the microwave clock is blinking.
Oh no! How long was the power out?
That’s when you see the puddle on the kitchen floor near the refrigerator. That’s where the smell is the strongest.
Milk? That frozen fish from the market? Leftovers so old you dare not recall when they were first made.
You brace yourself and shield your face from the horror that is about to be revealed when you open the door.
That smell is about to punch you in the nose and make your eyes water. I can feel the gurgling in my stomach and …
That was me going to my inbox and social media interactions after a 30-7 Steelers loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. I knew what was coming.
Woof! Stings the nostrils.
Here’s “U mad, bro?” for this week. And, yes, my freezer is running fine now. I put plenty of leftovers on ice if we need them again next week.
Welp, let’s start right at the beginning of the game. Rich says the Steelers blew it from the very first decision they had to make: the coin toss.
This is why you defer if you win the toss.
— Rich N (@rxn128) September 10, 2023
I’m a “defer guy” myself, Rich. I’m big on the “keep good momentum coming out of halftime or reverse bad momentum coming out of halftime” theory.
But, let’s be clear. The 49ers could’ve given the ball to Pittsburgh at the start of both halves and deferred pretty much every offensive possession they had in the second half, and they still would’ve won by at least two touchdowns.
Frank emailed regarding Mark Madden’s “Bubby Pickett” nickname for the Steelers starting QB during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast.
“Please don’t disrespect Bubby Brister like that.”
Fair point. After last week, the better comp might be Kenny Stoudt.
This guy is down on Kenny Pickett too.
It's not clear that Pickett even belongs in the league.
He's that bad.
A lot of denial in Yinzburgh.
— xoundmind (@xoundmind) September 11, 2023
C’mon. Let’s be fair.
Bubb… uh, I mean Kenny belongs in the league. If he didn’t belong at all he wouldn’t have won those six games in the second half of last year.
Josh Dobbs is an NFL starter now. So are Sam Howell and Zach Wilson. Dobbs’ backup is someone named Clayton Tune.
Pickett belongs in the league. But you don’t draft a QB in the first round just because he should be on a roster. You draft a QB in the first round to consistently win you playoff games. Eventually that’s what he has to become.
I’m not ready to proclaim he can’t do that. But, after what we saw Sunday, I’m also not willing to guarantee that he can.
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Brendan checks in about Phil Jurkovec lashing out at Pitt fans who were booing at Acrisure Stadium during Saturday’s loss to Cincinnati.
“Home fans booing players is dumb. It’s not about rights in general, a specific right to criticize, or players being shielded from criticism. You should want your players to do well. Is booing the most helpful thing you can do in a moment when they’re not playing well?”
No. But it sure makes you feel better, doesn’t it!?
Look, I get it. It’s the Barry Bonds thing from 1992 in the NLCS against the Braves.
He was choking for the third straight postseason, and we all knew he was leaving after the year was over, so everyone booed when he’d make an out.
Did it make things any better? No. It probably made it worse. You are right.
But if any fan sat through four quarters of that Steelers game Sunday without booing the offense at least once, then you deserve a humanitarian award of some sort.
John advanced a similar argument to one I made in Sunday’s “Airing of Grievances” after the Steelers lost to San Francisco.
As badly as numerous Steelers played today, you have to put significant blame on the coaching staff. They had 17 days to prepare for this game, and the team clearly wasn’t ready for the Niners. There’s no excuse for that.
— john (@ERISAdude) September 11, 2023
Agreed, John. I spent all week crediting the Steelers for how they made such good use of the two weeks off in advance of the openers in Buffalo and Cincinnati each of the past two years, and how I expected them to do the same against San Francisco.
Forget that theory.
The Steelers players and coaches seemed to nail everything that the Niners did well during their comments in the week leading up to the game. The scouting information was spot on. Hey, Patrick Peterson even figured out all their “tells.”
So, in other words, the Steelers knew exactly what was going to happen, and they got smoked anyway.
That’s what is really alarming about Sunday.
Vince is mad at people who sold their tickets to all those 49ers fans who were in Pittsburgh for the game.
Of all the ugly things that went down today, the 49er fans taking over the stadium is the ugliest. Never thought I would see that in my lifetime. The people who sold those tickets should be publicly shamed.
— Vince Sonson (@VinceSonson) September 10, 2023
Well, what is supposed to be done? A retinal scan and fingerprint test at the gate to make sure the actual ticket purchaser is the one holding the ticket?
There is no law requiring that people who originally purchased the ticket attend the game. If they want to resell their tickets, they are allowed. If selling two or three of the season tickets offsets the expensive price of being a full-season ticket holder, I get it.
Plus, since everything is bought and sold online these days, what do you want people to do? Prescreen potential buyers to make sure they’ll have a T.J. Watt jersey on when they walk through the gates?
The Steelers fan base is aging. The TV experience of watching a game has become more palatable to many fans than going to the games nine times per season. One beer doesn’t cost the equivalent of a six-pack at home. One slice of pizza doesn’t cost the equivalent of a large pepperoni from the shop down the street.
This trend of selling tickets has been increasing for a while now at Acrisure Stadium. It was just more pronounced this week because the Niners have a good team, they only come to town once every eight years, the San Francisco fans all stayed until the end, and all the Steelers fans left.
So Sunday was a perfect storm in that regard, and it appeared as if there were even more San Francisco fans in attendance than they were.
But I will admit, it was an eye-catching amount. Those red jerseys sure clashed with all those empty yellow seats after halftime.
That said, I’m less worried about why the fans didn’t show up, and I’m more concerned about why the whole team didn’t show up.
Finally, “Dahn South Yinzer” was dismayed by the Steelers home loss as well.
I wonder where this game ranks on the list of home openers? It was awful
— DahnSouthYinzer (@DahnSouthYinzer) September 10, 2023
It’s up there, no doubt. But I’m pretty sure 51-0 against Cleveland in 1989 (with the actual Bubby Brister at QB) will always take the cake in that category.
If there is one that’s worse someday, I hope I’m still not writing “U mad, bro?” after it happens.