Skip to main content

For 17 years, they've been a bunch of losers

We knew this day was coming.

It was guaranteed when general manager Neal Huntington began dismantling the team earlier this summer.

The Pirates' streak of consecutive losing seasons reached 17 on Monday, a record in all of sports. It was fitting that it happened on Labor Day, since it has been a labor to watch this team for most of that span.

The Pirates have had such a storied past, with World Series championships, great players like Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, and great moments.

This one, isn't worth remembering.

Many of the players weren't bothered by the streak. You can't blame them. They weren't there for all 17 years.

There's been plenty of mistakes through the years, including draft picks, trades and free-agent signings. My favorite was Derek "Operation Shutdown" Bell. But there were others. Too many others.

Perhaps the most disturbing problem is a generation of fans in the area have been lost. A high school senior today doesn't know what it is like to root for a team that had a winning record.

Do you think it's easier for someone to root for the Pirates over the Steelers or Penguins? Or how about the Pirates over the Pitt Panthers -- football or basketball?

That much losing can't win over a population. You need a moment to rally around a team to be hooked for life. For me, I've seen a World Series championship. For my sons, they're not hooked.

And I can't blame them.

Our only hope is that Huntington and his scouts know what they're doing.

It's the only thing we can cling to. And we can hope that the streak doesn't reach 20 years.

At least football season starts Thursday.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pirates opener: A lot to like

I'm a sucker for opening day. I've been going to Three Rivers/PNC Park many years now to kick off the start to Pirates' season in good times and bad. I enjoy the crowds, the ceremonies and all of trimmings that come with the opener. Monday at PNC Park was no different. Except if you're looking at the Pirates' record at PNC. Zach Duke looked like an all-star, the offense looked like the Lumber Company of old and the crowd had one heck of a time celebrating the Bucs' 7-0 win. It was just the Pirates third win at a PNC Park opener. The game was one to remember. Adam LaRoche (!) and Ryan Doumit hit home runs, Freddy Sanchez looked like a former batting champion and the fans actually had "the wave" going around the park. But it was Duke's day. It was his third career shutout and the first shutout in a home opener since 1978. Yeah, it was a good day. It all came together for the Pirates. Maybe there's more down the road this year.
2 comments
Read more

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid?

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid? That was the first question that popped into my mind when I heard he wanted a new deal from the Steelers. I remember the details: Mike Wallace wanted more money than the Steelers wanted to offer, so the Steelers turned around and signed Brown to a $43 million deal over six years. That was 2012. Today, we learned that Brown will skip offseason workouts in the hope of getting a new deal. Honor your contract. It's that simple. Brown signed a deal that caused some people to scratch their heads at the time. It looked like a great deal for Brown. And after two seasons, it looked like the Steelers made a terrific call with the long-term deal. Brown had almost 1,700 yards receiving last year to go with 13 TD catches. That's a heck of a season. However, in exchange for long-term security, Brown looks like a bargain today. That's how it works. Or, at least that's how it's supposed to work. Now Brown wanted paid e...
2 comments
Read more