The following is the Pensblog letter to Bob Smizik and his editor, Jerry Micco, in regards to this
horrifying column in Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Maybe he wrote it just to continue engaging in his media feud with Mark Madden.
Or maybe he wrote it just to get Pens fans worked up.
Personally, we think he wrote it just to get one last jab in at Mark Madden before the Arena deal goes through.
(Note: If you want people to gradually start hating you, start every one of your sentences with "I/we think...")
But just remember that Bob Smizik is nothing.
He's worked long and hard to get where he is. Good job on his part.
But another writer who has worked just as hard and is in the same position as him could easily have a different opinion on this matter.
Four guys that run some website will have a different opinion.
An anonymous commenter will have a different opinion.
A sports radio talk-show host will have a different opinion.
Smizik's not delivering news to us. He's giving us his opinion.
Just 'cause it's in a paper doesn't mean it's important or deserves any attention.
We're just wondering why he felt the need to write this column and deliberately put it in the Sunday edition of the Post-Gazette.
The column is contradicting, and there really is no validation as to why it was written.
We suggest buying up a few copies of the January 28th Post-Gazette and using all the copies of his column to assist you the next time you have to house-break a dog.
........................................................................
Dear Bob,
We hope this e-mail finds you and finds you well.
Now, Bob, obviously you know what this e-mail is about.
We aren't going to attack you with sarcastic barbs and insults because it would serve no purpose.
We want you to read this.
Beginning with your opening statement, we must say that you
do show knowledge of the subject at hand.
It appears that even during Steeler season and the Pirates off-season, you still found time to check on the Pens.
"Leverage is with the Penguins, and, although they're not likely to make Gov. Ed Rendell, who is brokering the deal, buckle, they'll get more concessions than first believed."
A lot of people will wholeheartedly agree that the Pens have the upper hand in this situation.
"By most indications, the Penguins soon will come to an agreement with the various governmental bodies with which they are negotiating for a new arena, and that will keep them in Pittsburgh for some 30 years, if not longer."
What's the point of taking the time to write a column about how Pittsburgh would be without the Penguins, while making numerous allusions in said column to the fact that the Pens' arena deal is pretty much imminent?
It's kind of contradicting.
This column is two months late, at the least.
:
"...this is a point about which the MFOM (Media Friends of Mario) never fail to remind us. Their wail is this: "He's been waiting since 1999.''
No one has really warmed up to your home-made moniker "Media Friends of Mario".
Isn't that a little bit childish? (And that's coming from guys who try to work flatulence jokes into their daily writings.)
Are you aware that Steeler season ended about a month ago (well, realistically, like two and a half months ago), and there's an article appearing today in the paper you write for titled "Dan Rooney: Born to be a Steeler"?
Where's the Media Friends of Dan Rooney facebook group?
The point is that the MFOM thing makes no sense.
You shouldn't alienate yourself from your media cohorts.
You continue on about MFOM:
"They say this almost as though 9/11 never happened and the world did not radically change on that day. There was a long period after Sept. 11, 2001, when building any kind of sports facility was out of the question."
I fell out of my chair when I read that.
Forgive us, Mr. Smizik, but that first sentence houses some childish sentence structure.
We understand that you are trying to make a point.
But teetering with the notion that people are denying 9/11? That's crazy.
Moving on...
"Incredibly, the MFOM continued to say the fix was in. If that is the case, please name which public officials were bribed and who bribed them so we can get on with prosecutions. Otherwise, shut up!"
See? Your entire article wasn't mud. Everyone who has a pulse could easily agree with you.
However, the rest of your column, Bob, is bizarre.
"As stated, the Penguins likely will not leave Pittsburgh. If they do, it will be a sad day. But Pittsburgh would not become a Green Bay or a Syracuse. It would remain Pittsburgh, a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. Anyone who judges a region by the number of its professional sports franchises has a distinctly warped view of life."
Bob, you are a sports writer, not Dear Abby.
Pittsburgh is a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Hey, we agree.
If we didn't, we'd be operating BlueJacketBlog in Columbus, Ohio.
But if there is any city anywhere that identifies itself (and is identified) by its sports franchises, it would be Pittsburgh.
Hell, our football team is the Steelers. Steel Town. Blue Collar. Take your lunch pail to work and talk about coal-mining and beer and chewin' tobacco and women.
We live in the only sports city that has a uniform color scheme among its sports franchises.
Outsiders see Pittsburgh as The Little City That Could.
But mention Pittsburgh to anyone, and the first thing they think about is the Steelers and maybe Mario Lemieux and/or Sidney Crosby.
We have no idea what your intentions were with this column, but come on, Bob.
You know that sports has a huge effect on this region. Don't get preachy.
The stats would also indicate that people in Pittsburgh are leaving; especially young people.
Losing the Penguins may not be crippling for old jobbers who don't care.
But for young people who are contemplating staying put or leaving town, Pittsburgh not managing to keep this franchise here will show how disinterested the city is.
Does the increasing number of Pittsburgh fans showing up at away games in hockey and football suggest that people that have had to leave Pittsburgh to find work are scattered across the United States?
In case you haven't noticed, the atmosphere at Pens games this year is better than any year in recent memory.
Does it have anything to do with young superstars and the droves of young fans coming out to support this team on even
weekday evenings?
The young fan base has turned Pittsburgh hockey into, essentially, a college sport.
Oh, what a segue...
"Two [franchises] is good, but three is better. And Pittsburgh will have three major sports franchises if the Penguins leave. The University of Pittsburgh might not fall under the category of professional, but it is a major sports franchise. The Pitt football and basketball teams are every bit as important to this town as the Penguins. They attract as much attention and drive similar revenue."
Are you serious?
Pitt is a great draw, but please.
Let's not think it has the same effect.
Drawing comparisons between collegiate basketball and football teams and a professional hockey team is flawed and unsubstantiated.
We have no loyalties to Penn State or Pitt, but people usually root for their favorite respective college because they went to school there or a member of their family went there.
People also root for them just because they want to, which is fine.
But please do not compare fan bases.
Pitt basketball tickets for students are, what, $5?
And don't even talk about Pitt football. Football is slowly becoming a religion in the United States. It's ridiculous and nauseating.
"It's hard to figure the exact amount of revenue that would be lost if the Penguins left town, but it's not nearly as much as the MFOM would have us believe. If the Penguins sold out every game, their attendance would be close to 700,000. At roughly $50 a ticket, that's a lot of money -- about $35 million. But if the Penguins leave, it's not like the people spending that money are going to bury it in their back yard. They're going to spend it somewhere else."
Simply put, there is no way people will come to the city on a cold winter night just to walk around.
Restaurant and bar profits in the surrounding area would fall.
The only place people will be putting their money is into moving vans.
We don't have a sweet rebuttal for that paragraph simply because you pounded us with figures.
People see numbers and don't want to do math and probably skipped that paragraph anyway.
"There would be a shortfall in terms of revenue from the parking tax and the amusement tax, and that would hurt. But, if the Penguins leave, the NHL would not let the new arena remain vacant for long. Pittsburgh would be a prime candidate for an expansion team or as the new home for some of the league's struggling franchises."
All of a sudden, the suffering NHL will be looking at expansion options?
Instead of telling us that the arena would be filled by a struggling, re-located franchise, why not lift some hearts by saying that it would be stupid to lose the storied Penguin franchise because we were three months late in finalizing a deal?
In closing, Bob, we hope you become a little more positive.
Do you think people like to be depressed?
We got tired of reading the negative spin put on Penguins hockey by Pittsburgh sports writers, and that's why we started our own little internet newspaper to lift some spirits.
Saturday night, the Pens won 7-2. They are looking great.
And then we have to turn to your column.
What is the point of bringing everyone down?
Why make Pens fans miserable?
It is not right, Bob.
We hope you respond to this email with some insight on our opinions.
Hopefully, you've actually read this far.
Sincerely,
The Pensblog staff and perhaps Pens fans everywhere.
www.thepensblog.com
P.S.
Remember, Bob, hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
: 1G, 1A
