Pittsburgh Pirates fans packing downtown for playoff rally
By Cory Buck
The Pittsburgh Pirates are sending waves through their home town. After missing the playoffs for 20 straight years, becoming a punch line in all of major sports in the process, the team is now enjoying its second straight playoff berth. Historic love for the city’s firstchampionship team has swelled to the surface once more, leading to fans swarm downtown Pittsburgh in advance of the team’s wild card game against the San Francisco Giants.
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“Historically, before the 1970s, baseball reigned supreme,” said Anne Madarasz, who serves as director of Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That feeling, that rekindling happened last year, and it’s coming again. Yeah, baseball is back. Now it’s not that deep, dark secret we had to keep inside.”
The Pirates are no secret to anyone now. One could have shrugged off their 2013 playoff appearance as a fluke or an anomaly, but not after this season. The team made the playoffs thanks to a 17-4 run in September to not only nab a wild card spot, but to gain crucial home field advantage for the winner-take-all match against the Giants.
The Pirates were 51-30 at home this season, which is tied for the second-best mark in baseball. With their fans as jubilant as ever, the team is hoping to get a 52nd home win in 2014 for fans who have stuck around through thick and thin.
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