PNC Park The Best In Baseball, But What Does It Count For?

July 21, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Post game fireworks explode behind PNC Park following the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins game at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Recently, TripAdvisor named PNC Park the best ballpark in America. Citing the beautiful views of the city, with great beer and food selections. Honestly, I think I agree with the review, the ballpark rankings seem pretty fair, and I’ve loved every one of my experiences with PNC Park, especially back in 2006, when the All-Star game came to town(my first pilgrimage to PNC, actually), it was all wonderful. While I love PNC Park, the atmosphere, the food, the fans there, I wonder what it would be like to have a winning team there. I have been to a few sold out games at PNC Park, and I tell you, it was raucous and just a stellar experience. What could it be like if the Pirates won on a regular basis? Just imagine how great it would be to have the atmosphere like the Penguins or Steelers have at every game. This is the great dream for the Pirates, and in a way for the fans as well. Sure, it’s great to be able to get some insanely cheap tickets because of the relative lack of demand, but is that worth it?

July 21, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) prepares in the on-deck circle against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The future is bright, and the future is close. With the pitching and prospects the Pirates have in the system right now, there are a lot of things to look forward to, a lot of winning, a lot of Pedro Bombs, raising the Jolly Roger, and picking our jaws up off the floor nearly every night over something Andrew McCutchen does. Right now, we have to encourage patience, which a lot of us are running short on, 20 years is an exceedingly long time without winning. So for the time being, we have to keep enjoying winning arbitrary power rankings of baseball stadiums. Just remember that we’re getting close, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting progressively brighter,  maybe soon we can get a winning team for more than half a year, and a sellout streak started at PNC, like the Penguins have at Consol Energy Center, or the Steelers have over at Heinz Field. It’s going to be awesome, but for now, we might just have to enjoy the view, and wait for Gerrit Cole to come and save us from the sorrow of 20 straight years of losing, and a little over a decade of our only wins being in ballpark rankings.