Protestors at the Pirates/Nationals game in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In 1969, President Richard Nixon coined a phrase that gained immediate popularity and a permanent place in the American lexicon: The silent majority. Nixon was referring to the people who he believed supported the strategy of his presidency in the Vietnam War, not those who boisterously demonstrated against it in the streets.
A parallel situation exists in this region, although on a far less significant matter. The silent majority of Pirates ticket buyers has spoken: Down with protests; up with the status quo.
The outcries against the Pirates have been numerous and venomous. They come from newspaper columnists, talk-show hosts, talk-show callers, bloggers and just plain fans. They're tired of losing, tired of low payroll, tired of massive mismanagement. They want change and they want it now.
But when a well-organized protest, run by legitimate Pirates fans, was attempted Saturday night during the team's game against the Washington Nationals, the silent majority did what they're supposed to do. They shut up and stayed the course.
This column was a supporter of the protest, which asked fans to leave their seats at the end of the third inning and stay out of them for at least one inning. We supported the walkout not because we thought it would change the business strategy of owner Bob Nutting, but because we thought it was time for the fans to speak up and at least let ownership know how they felt.
Instead, they sat down and let ownership know how they felt.
By most estimates, somewhere between only 1,000 and 2,000 of the 26,959 fans left their seats after the third inning. The fact the Pirates led, 6-1, at the time might have had something to do with the lack of enthusiasm. But no matter how the walkout is viewed, it was a major flop. It appeared to have considerable support. It didn't. It had a vocal minority, not a silent majority.
In a silence that was quite eloquent, the fans spoke: They would love to have a winning team, but they just love having a team. They love their beautiful ballpark. They love bobbleheads and fireworks and having their kids run the bases after Sunday home games. They view coming to PNC Park as a nice day at the ballpark, not a "we-must-be-victorious" situation. They can handle the losing. There are far greater priorities in life than having a winning baseball team.
Nutting and CEO Kevin McClatchy should feel heartened by this show of support for their policies. But they should not get comfortable. The day of reckoning might not be at hand, but barring unforeseen developments, it's coming.
There is no reason to believe the Pirates are going to get significantly better in the immediate future despite the party line coming from general manager Dave Littlefield. As constituted, the Pirates are a moderately talented team. They are nowhere near ready to play with the good teams.
For example: After a 3-2 loss yesterday to the Nationals, the Pirates are 11 games under .500. How their 35-46 record breaks down tells an interesting story. The Pirates are 26-22 against teams with losing record. Against teams .500 or better, they're 9-24.
After the 2009 season, the contractual status of many of their key players will force the team to either significantly increase payroll or once again roll out the rebuilding plan. Some people will remain comfortable with that. But each losing season peels off another layer of fan support.
MLB threw Nutting and McClatchy a life preserver of sorts when in July 2004 it awarded the 2006 All-Star Game to the Pirates, just 12 years after the team had previously hosted the event. That spiked ticket sales in 2005 and 2006 and reversed what had been a steady decline in attendance since the club set a record by drawing 2.4 million fans in 2001, the first season of PNC Park.
That reversal ended this season. Attendance is down about 1,200 per game. That will continue to slide and the season-ticket base will continue to erode until the losing stops.
For now, though, the fizzled protest speaks more loudly than anything. Nutting and McClatchy have been validated by the silent majority.
What's important for critics of ownership to remember is this: The silent majority that Nixon embraced in 1969, slowly slid away. The vocal minority never was silenced.
That's as it should be with the Pirates. The criticism should continue until the vocal minority becomes the vocal majority. The only way that will happen is for the Pirates to keep losing. Don't bet against it.
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