The morale of the Pittsburgh Steelers' fan base is arguably as low as it's ever been in the Mike Tomlin era. For the first time ever, fans came together at Acrisure Stadium to demand that he gets fired. There is no doubt that Steeler Nation is tired of the mediocre seasons, and changes have to be made. If this stretch continues, the chants and demands will only get louder. The organization has been very resistant to change, but that might be the only way to appease the fans at this point.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin greets fans after a win against the Browns in Week 14.
Tim Benz of TribLive spoke about one man who did not get the memo and instead blames everything on people outside the organization, including the ones that pay for tickets to Acrisure Stadium every week. That man is Team President and Owner Art Rooney II.
"Unless Rooney somehow feels that ticket sales, merchandising, corporate sponsorships or organizational investment are being marginalized by Tomlin’s presence, he is less likely to respond to his customers’ outrage than the gas company is when you complain about rates being too high," Benz said. "Rooney sees you and me as the problem, not Tomlin. He sees complaining media members and grumbling fans as pampered, demanding consumers and critics who have no idea how good we’ve got it at 6-6 with the NFL’s most overpaid defense and most confounding offense."
Rooney's reputation has started to take a downturn in recent years. He is no longer seen as the face of stability and greatness; fans see him as the face of complacency and cheapness. His brother, Jim Rooney, practically confirmed that with his comments back in January. It makes perfect sense why a team with expectations of greatness have angry fans that demand more.
Steelers.com
Jim Rooney addresses the media.
There have been numerous reports to come out that say Rooney's top priority is making money. Being a legitimate Super Bowl contender is a hope, but allegedly not a goal that he strives for anymore. From what Benz said, it doesn't matter if fans are coming to the games and collectively chanting "Fire Tomlin." They're still helping to put money in his pocket with sales.
There has been a narrative around the league for a long time that Steelers fans are spoiled for demanding a higher standard than non-losing seasons. It could always be worse: they could be the Cleveland Browns or New York Jets. That should be enough to be happy with >.500 seasons every year. Why rock the boat and chance falling down to their level?
Steelers May End Up Like Another Professional Pittsburgh Team
The reason to rock the boat is because if they don't make an attempt to make changes and be better, attendance will start to dwindle away like it has with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have poor attendance every year because of how arguably cheap and uncaring ownership is, despite having a generational talent in Paul Skenes and a high-end prospect system.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes throws a pitch during an MLB game.
Glimpses of that future have already been shown, as a nationally televised Steelers game at Acrisure Stadium was taken over with "Go Pack Go" chants from fans of the Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh has been one of the hardest places for opposing fans to infiltrate, but that is starting to change. The question for Rooney is if he is okay with making money if it's from opposing fan bases, as opposed to his own.
Angry fans are still better than no fans. If fans are upset, they will come out, demand change, and do what little bit they can to still support the team and win games. Once fans become apathetic, all of that stops. All sales drop drastically, seats are either empty or full of opposing fans, and that home-field advantage is suddenly gone. They may not be Browns-level bad, but the stadium will look like they are.
What do you think about Rooney allegedly only caring about money and even blaming the fans? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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