Pirates fans should be ashamed of 2026 attendance after strides team has made

Pittsburgh isn't a baseball tahn. Yes, that is the correct spelling and no, I'm not breaking any news here.

The Steelers and Penguins take precedent in Pittsburgh, and it's been that way for decades. It doesn't help that the on-field product hasn't lived up to expectations in 40 years, minus brief stretches in the early 1990s and early 2010s.

Like most seasons, Pirates fans are split into two camps, and it started back in spring training. The first group abhors Bob Nutting and refuses to commit their hard-earned money to what they deem overpriced games of a team bound to disappoint them. The other is probably a lot like most of our readers — consistently hopeful, if not beaten down by years of mistrust.

The Pirates attendance of just a shade over 17,000 fans per game — which ranks 26th in all of baseball — reflects just that. And, unfortunately for both camps of the Pirates fanbase, it's not good enough.

Why Pirates fans should give Bob Nutting their money and attend games

I am here to tell Pirates fans that this season is different. Whether they make the postseason or not, these Buccos have real young talent that is worth the price of admission, and are surrounded by veterans who can help them grow. For once, the conversation around these Pirates has descended from the ownership group to what actually matters. Is Konnor Griffin still progressing? Can the Pirates overcome early injuries to Ryan O'Hearn and the like? Can Paul Skenes win his second-straight NL Cy Young award?

Those are all fair questions, along with whether Marcell Ozuna was worth the money. Yet, that's a normal discussion a winning baseball fanbase should be having. Ozuna signed for $12 million. The Pirates are in a small market. Please, debate away!

What Pirates fans can't (and shouldn't) stand for are the all-too-familiar discussions we've grown accustomed to. The doom and gloom of a team still awaiting its first playoff series win since the early 90's can wear on all of us like a parking chair in a Yinzer winter. But it's that same desperation (and dare I say hope) that ought to fuel a baseball revival Pittsburgh hasn't seen since Andrew McCutchen was an NL MVP candidate.

It's time for Pirates fans to put up or shut up

As the saying goes, it's time for Pirates fans to put their money where their mouth is. No MLB fanbase likes their ownership, minus maybe the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nutting is among the worst owners in American professional sports. He's also driven by revenue, much like the rest. If Pirates fans want a sustainable winner, rather than suffering through decades of misfortune for a brief 2-to-3-year respite every now and then, they need to pour money into this team.

It's not fair. I realize this. Nutting is worth over $1 billion and got most of that money through a dying industry in newspapers. The 'sell the team' chants were cute, but they unsurprisingly didn't accomplish much. All Nutting cares about is his bottom line. It's why he's fighting so hard for a salary cap in the next CBA. It's also why nothing but more cash in his wallet will persuade him to keep, say, a Skenes around. The same can be said for investing in free-agent candidates and trade acquisitions.

If attendance stays the same regardless, then Nutting has little reason to invest in a once-proud franchise he's helped degrade year after year.

The Pirates have made strides. They're younger, deeper and more talented than they've been since I was a college intern at (this'll age me) Root Sports Pittsburgh. The time is now to make it worth Nutting's while. It's the only way out of a troubling cycle.

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