Mark Madden, Tim Benz: Limited fans should be allowed at Heinz Field games
Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Pitt fans. I know you enjoy doing that. But I’m not here to offend.
I’m not here to make the all-too-easy jokes about attendance at Heinz Field for Panthers football games.
“How would Pitt players know the difference if fans were in the stands or not because of covid-19? They never have any fans in the seats in the first place!”
Accurate or not, that’s not the point. And I think I side with a lot of Pitt fans anyway. I wish they were allowed to root on their team in person if they so choose.
I was at the Pitt-Syracuse game Saturday. With zero fans in the stands because of coronavirus restrictions.
I took a long look around. And, yes, I quickly recalled how sparse the crowd could look at such events. It hit me that if this is what it looks like when it’s 100% empty. Would it look dramatically different at 75% or 80% empty?
It drove home what I felt the entire offseason. You can get somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people socially distanced with masks into that stadium on a game day.
Easily. You can. Period.
The point was underscored further on Sunday, being forced to watch the Steelers on television instead of in person.
As a media member, I hated missing a chance to cover a game at Heinz Field. It’s the first time since the stadium was built that I was in Pittsburgh on a Steelers game day and I wasn’t there to work.
Living less than two miles from the stadium made it sting more. And I imagine every season ticket holder felt the same way.
Bathroom lines. Lines into the stadium. Minimized concession stands. Yeah. I get it. There’s a worry there.
So what?! Work it out. It’s a virus. Not radiation poisoning. You have a line into the stadium. Then three-and-a-half hours in open space while wearing a mask.
They did it in Cleveland. So why can’t we do it here, too?
I also stood line at the Marshalls in Green Tree for eight minutes Friday. Is Gov. Tom Wolf going to shut that down next?
Indoor restaurants are unmasked at 50% capacity. Kansas City and South Bend haven’t been overrun by covid since they opened up their stadiums.
And don’t get me started on the hypocritical duality of our local political leaders assuming masked protesters didn’t contribute to the coronavirus spread. But their assumption that a masked game day crowd — more socially distanced — in an outdoor stadium will.
Gimme a break. Open the gates in a limited capacity.
That’s my stance. On our weekly “Madden Monday” podcast, I asked Mark Madden of 105.9 The X if he agreed.
“They should be there now,” Madden said of Pittsburgh football fans. “With that vast expanse of seats available, there’s no reason why you couldn’t have 15-20% right away and gradually build up to 30% or 40%. This is just diabolical. The way this is being slowed down for the sake of optics on TV. Frankly, trying to play a political game.”
Amen.
Mark and I dive into that debate. We also give our thoughts on the Steelers 26-21 win over the Denver Broncos. We analyze the Penguins decision to sign Jared McCann to a contract. And we talk about whether it was smart for Pirates manager Derek Shelton to pull Mitch Keller in the middle of a no-hitter.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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