Re: eh Well, the articles in the Post Gazette are getting larger and more indepth. I think 40,000 would be the absolute max. The problem is it's a Thursday night. If this were a weekend, it may be different. I'm still debating whether to go. I doubt I will, have to work and have just went on vacation. Sykotyk
Thats it? Wow, well I guess Roma is gonna get rocked like so many wicked AC/DC concerts. I dont see why they couldn't bring Ferrari cause he's practically a Roma player already.
Re: Roma/Chelsea musings Cool a lot of good idea's!!! KDKA seem to be adverting the game a lot I'm sure they will be out in force. After Thursday game I'm off to Toronto to Catch Liverpool and Porto and Celtic and Roma the next night. I'll be hitting the Elephant & Castle Pud on King St in Toronto in my Liverpool Jersey!! Summer Soccer Tours are awesome!!!! GO CHELSEA & LIVERPOOL
hey guys. does anybody know where chelsea will be staying in Pittsburgh? Which hotel? I wanna stop by and collect some signatures. Thanks in advance.
Quite a day in the 'burgh (at least for me) Ho...nutty day today...an the game is tomorrow. But briefly put...I met up with Mr. Totti on the streets of the Burgh and got his autograph. Was a silly moment...but aye...funny how such a big name is wanderin around the burgh seemingly unnoticed. But aye...answers to the questions....CHELSEA is staying at the Pittsburgh Hilton, AS Roma is staying at the Omni WIlliam Penn. ANywho...look for the large Roma/Italy flag tomorrow...Rock on. REPRESENT
Traffic was crazy getting into the parking lots. I have know idea how they pull off parking for 65,000 at Steeler games. The crowd was very subdued, maybe because only Chelsea really showed up to play. Roma was unimpressive and didn't really seem to care. Announced attendance was 25,000.
I could be wrong but I thought that I heard attendance announced at around 35,000. This was my first real big soccer game, I thought it was great although I was a little disapointed with the score (after watching the Manchester U.-A.C. Milan go into a double shoot out days later).
Took us a little more than 90 mins to make it within sight of Heinz Field from Akron... another 45 mins just to figure out how to get down to it off the expressway. Seems no one ever enters Pittsburgh & leaves it the same way twice. Chelsea really had Roma on their heels right from the start. The two newcomers for the Super Blues made all the difference. Amazed at how well they fit in literally overnight. Outside of the Chelsea faithful, most of the announced 25,000 (I really thought there were more than that in the seats, but...) didn't seem all that soccer-savvy... naive questions, inappropriate comments (calling direct kicks penalty kicks and such. Somewhat understandable, since this was the first major international played in Pittsburgh for as long as I can recall. And that 25,000 is with little doubt the largest crowd figure for a soccer match in that town since at least post-WW II. The advertising boards along the east sideline seemed a bit too close to the pitch... obstructed the view for those in the lower grandstand. Other than that, I believe everyone there except for a few diehard Roma faithful had some fun. Even they can take solace in knowing they went on to play a great game at Skydome two nights afterwards. Chelsea looked great.
I just return from my Championsworld tour of Pittsburgh and Toronto. I have to agree with the traffic unreal trying to get to the game. I live only 1 hour from Pittsburgh and traffic delayed me almost 45 minutes. This is why no one wants to go downtown to see a sporting event. If it's a Steeler game everyone comes 4 hours or more early to party and beat traffic. Toronto put on a great show over 90,000 fans for the 2 games. Cletic vs Roma was the better game. Liverpool had more fans but Porto played better.
I did the same two-town tour. Toronto is heaven in comparison to navigating Pittsburgh. We hiked about 12 blocks down to Skydome & back and never felt threatened. Try that in downtown Pitt or Cleveburg after dark. Only drawback to our trip was the long return Sunday. Bumper to bumper from the 401 north of the city all the way down to the Lewiston fork before the Falls. Even at Lewiston bridge, there was an hour wait... traffic backed up about a mile. Only imagine what the Falls or Ft. Erie were like. Man, (yawn) this old guy is still beat. But seeing Totti and the Roma boys at their best Sat night was worth it.
Well I live just an hour south of Pittsburgh and I visit Toronto often so thought I'd make a tour of it. I also was stuck in that same traffic on the QEW however I also then spent Sunday in Niagara Falls and the traffic followed me there also. I stay at Skydome for the games and evn though I had a field view room I went to the games with my wife and son. We had a blast in Toronto then again we always do such a great city. I think Pittsburgh lost any chance of a game next Year but hopefullt Toronto will have 2 again.
Re: Roma/Chelsea musings Don't know if you ever frequent www.piperspub.com often. They show live games. One saturday morning, I happened to be awake and said, "Oh what the hey I'll go to Piper's" Bar is nice, foods not bad, good selection of beers and the nice electric energy of seeing your team play live. I'm sure when the 'pool is playing - you'll see fans in red. When I went Chelsea was playing some team I don't remember. The Chelsea fans were in numbers with their blue jerseys. I had a great time. Even though they have a cover now, I have friends who are getting a place in South Side in a few weeks, so I think i'll be visiting the bar a few times next year.
Watched the game on TV tonight. Stadium looked far less than half full. Chelsea looked good. Premier League will be very tough this year.
2 things about Heinz Field. A positive-$5.75 Guinness!!! What's that a 16-20 oz. draft? Most Excellent. A negative-Troughs. C'mon. Who the heck wants to stand and do their business with 5 other guys splashing you from 3 sides? It's the new millennium, people... Thx, Jay!
The crowd was a bit disappointing to me, I don't think Championsworld will be returning here anytime soon. It was great seeing my Chelsea play in my hometown (and win at that!) but it was a very quiet, subdued atmosphere. I feel sorry for you guys who waited in the traffic. I rode right past them on the bridge and parked at a nice little place for $5 within 5 minute walking distance of Heinz Field. The parking prices for public venues here in Pittsburgh are absurd. And for the record Joe Stocker, Pittsburgh was rated in the top 25 safest cities to be out after dark (can't recall exact place), so no need to worry.
Yeah, most bars in the DC area charge $5.00 or so for Guinness. But at RFK we pay $5.75 for a 12oz can of Bud in the stands. Heinz Field really has it going on with regards to beer selection and service. Thx, Jay!
Guess it depends where you're walkin' and what you're packin'. Three of us went on an expedition in the Hill district a couple years ago to find the whereabouts of Gus Greenlee Stadium (where the Negro League Crawfords once played). I believe we nearly earned Purple Hearts moreso than John Kerry. Wouldn't recommend sighteeing there much beyond high noon. After dark... are you kidding? And as for the troughs, it reminded me of old Cleveland Stadium. When 80,000 attended a Browns game it would get interesting in the men's rooms. If there was no room at the troughs, the good ol' boys would start using the wash basins for their deposits. Or even the floor drains. No doubt added to that memorable aroma associated with the old lakefront ballpark.
Sorry to revive a very old thread. I went to this game and attendance was very poor. A few years before european soccer really took off in this country. Very little advertisement If I remember correctly. Possibly even eliminated Pittsburgh from any future games. If this game happened this summer, what do you think the attendance would be?
It wasn't very poor. There were multiple factors working against the game at the time. 25,000 on a weeknight in a town that doesn't regularly host soccer games. Two teams that had no American presence at the time. The Pirates were playing a home game, which actually outdrew the soccer game. MLS was at it's nadir in terms of number of teams. And, like you said, the advertising wasn't all that good. If it happened this summer, with the same two teams, in the same town, and the Pirates were away, I'd still say less than 35,000. Unless the tickets were packaged with Steelers season tix, the way the Redskins sell the summer friendlies at FedEx. Maybe you could "fake" a sellout. Chelsea's hardly the team they were from that time and Roma, despite American ownership, is essentially an unknown quantity in the USA. Unless Pittsburgh's become a hotbed of soccer we don't know about. Thx, Jay!