It’s funny that the Nationals saw a 66% increase, but only had their actual rating increase 0.6 points. That’s a team with a city that isn’t interested.

The increased ratings could be related to the increase in the games broadcast in HD. People may want to follow Pirates no more or less than last yaer, but are more likely to tune in or stay tuned in than last year because they’re in as good of picture quality as anything else on their tv. (If Nats were in HD last year, that would help explain only modest improvement their in ratings this year, and indicate what to expect in Pittsburgh next.)

PNC Park is such a great place to see a game that people simply want to go there in many cases and enjoy the atmosphere, IMO.

All of the waterfront development of recent years helps, for that matter.

If the product on the field were improved, yeah, more people would go to the ballpark.

How would it have been the past several years if they were still playing in Three Rivers?

If I could hazard a guess about the increase in TV ratings, I would say the terrible economy helped to keep more people home and looking for things to watch on TV in the evenings.

Yesterday was Oct. 13. Did the diehards assemble again at the remnant of the Forbes Field wall yesterday to listen to the replay of 1960 Game Seven? I keep promising myself I’m going to make it out for that some year.

follow them every day, but I hate going to the games. I only go when people have free tickets. Luckily, I’ve gone to a couple great ones the past couple years: 1.the 18(i think it was that many) inning game against Houston 2. Cutch’s 3 hr game and 3. Giles Slam and 4. Cutch’s walk off against the Tribe.

 As good as those games were, I’ve been to 20 times more that were snorefest. I remember as a young child the home opener @ 3 Rivers when we threw the handout flags on the field.

There’s just too many games where it seems like the Bucs just don’t show up ready to play, as evidenced by the 18 times they were shut out this year. That’s why I’ll put almost every game on the TV, and usually by the 4th or 5th innings, I can tell whether it’s a better use of my time to watch the rest of the game, or peel wallpaper. But if you’re at the game, you’re stuck being miserable and all the nice things about the park become much less enjoyable and you learn to hate some of the consistancies:

1. the pierogi race becomes so annoying, yet you have to watch because it just might be more entertaining than watching Brandon Moss strand another baserunner for the 80th
2. the same stupid player “skits” on the jumbo tron
3. the wave, god i hate the wave!
4. the animal house skits that are played every time we’re losing in the 9th, which becomes so redundant
5. i think his name is Joe, the guy that does all the in between inning giveaways, is just too peppy which is so annoying when we’re losing 6-1 in the 6th inning.
6. the fire works, i’ve seen so many over the years i don’t even stay any more because i was too annoyed at everything else above, that I just want to go home

Not sure why I needed to vent about all that, but i feel great now that i did hah

*80th time