Why Pittsburgh Penguins fans are the best in the nation

On June 12^th, Pittsburgh Penguins fans, San Jose Shark fans and hockey fans alike, gathered around household TV’s, busy streets, bars and arenas, all to watch game six of the Stanley Cup Finals. As the seconds ticked to a close, Pittsburgh fans rose in triumphant victory, as the score beamed 3-1 on every scoreboard across every TV. The Stanley Cup would be returning for it’s fourth time to Pittsburgh, a hockey community that stands as one of the biggest and closest of the hockey families. If our team wasn’t reason enough for why we’re the best fans, here’s some more.

Penguins have a franchise built from the beginnings of hockey

The Pittsburgh Penguins are an American professional ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference in the NHL. The franchise was founded in 1967 and many years later the team has made it to five Stanley Cup Playoffs and won four out of the five. It all started out with two Pittsburgese townies, Jack McGregor and Peter Block. Many years and nine owners later, the legend continues with the all famous Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle. Mario played and led the penguins for years and stands as a figurehead for building the franchise and the community up together.

They have the most influential captains

The team has had many influential captains who led them to be champions, Mario Lemieux era being one, from 1989-97, and then, Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, coming into the game in 2006 until the current cup win this year. The Penguins team played in the civic arena, well known to all the fans as “The Igloo” until a new stadium, the Consol Energy Center began in the 2010-11 season.

These captains and their determination and leadership helped make their teams great and helped the community grow right along with it. They came from the heart of Pittsburgh and gave everyone something they could cheer for together.

The Penguins franchise emphasizes community through scholarships

The Pittsburgh Penguins team isn’t just one that stays high up on the pedestal their fans so proudly put them on. The franchise firmly and graciously loves to spread their mission statement throughout many actions to those around them. “The Pittsburgh Penguins are dedicated to serving the community through a variety of interactive charity and community service programs. The Penguins emphasize education and compassion with programs that are designed to improve the quality of life of the people of Pittsburgh, to educate our youth and to support the underprivileged.”

The franchise and alumni gift several scholarships every year, among them being academic and athletic scholarships to high school students.

Pens specific programs

Throughout the year, all the players will participate in community projects and programs. They have the Pen Pals Program, which benefits individuals battling serious illness or to those who have suffered a catastrophic loss. The Penguins grant special visits for a practice session or game and provides an evening on the town at a nice restaurant for dinner. Other community projects include holiday toy drives, score against hunger food drive, Pens at your service dinner, blood drives and public service announcements to raise awareness for a variety of issues.

Team visits

The team has events for specific visits to get involved with the hockey family as well. For the past 23 years the Penguins have been visiting Children’s Hospital to meet the kids and families on every patient floor, emergency room and intensive care units. Mario Lemieux in particular spends time in the cancer unit and has been a long time supporter of pediatric cancer research.

These players all get involved in the community because the community is what has helped them grow as a team. The fans are the heart and soul of the team – they are who they play for!

The hockey family is the biggest of all

During the game six in San Jose, Pittsburgh fans had gathered in the Penguins arena, in all the bars and up and down the streets outside the arena, coming all together to watch their heroes secure the cup. The Pittsburgh fans didn’t even need seats to watch their boys play, they were willing to stand together outside all around the arena. They stood all together everywhere to watch and cheer as loud as they could for their heroes.

The parade involved everyone, even those not in Pittsburgh

So after the great win on June 12^th 2016, Penguins fans gathered all over downtown Pittsburgh, like joyous families welcoming home their conquering heroes, for the grand Stanley Cup Parade. Everyone began lining up along the parade route at 4am. People perched all over, from window ledges to rooftops to three long miles of roads 30-40 people deep. The craziest part was that even though the estimated fans in the city were around 300,00, there were an estimated 350,000 fans spanning the entire route. People were decked head to toe in jerseys, trademark black and gold, and flashy gold necklaces. They carried inflatable and tinfoil Stanley cups and not one person wasn’t yelling or cheering. I even saw little kids dressed in penguins suits, flapping their arms to their sides and screeching as trucks with players drove past.

Pittsburgh fans put everything else aside

The atmosphere at the parade was unreal, but it only mimicked what it’s like to watch a game in or around the Penguins stadium. There were kids that had ditched school, both high school and elementary alike. There were adults taking a “long lunch break” from work. It didn’t matter age or activities you were supposed to be involved in, there was one big event going on that brought everyone everywhere together.

Everyone comes together with smiles and positivity

Seeing so many joyful people, people so vibrant and prideful of their city and team, all in one place to celebrate during that parade, there wasn’t anything like it. Every person came together because it was their family they were supporting and the greatest accomplishment came from such strong support. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just an every day game during the season, an event in every day life, or a Stanley Cup Championship, Pittsburgh fans come all, come loud and come strong. They give all other hockey communities a run for their money and this year, they stand above all others. Congratulations to the Champions and the well deserving Penguins hockey family. You did it!

“It’s fun, that’s what you hope for. You want to be a big part of it and that’s the loudest crowd I’ve heard in a long time,” said Matt Cullen.

“You grow up thinking about this stuff. What a moment. I’ll never forget this day for the rest of my life,” said Matt Murray.

“To the greatest fans in hockey – thank you for all the support this season. Let’s do it again next year!” From the great Captain, Sydney Crosby.