Former Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jerome Bettis was one of many team legends in attendance for the team’s Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Despite it being a de facto playoff game, with the winner taking the AFC North and advancing to the playoffs and the loser going home, Bettis thought the Acrisure Stadium crowd wasn’t what it needed to be. On Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, Bettis talked about his disappointment in a crowd he thought lacked energy.
“I thought the crowd was a bit iffy in Pittsburgh. I say that in a little bit of a disappointment because our crowd has been phenomenal for decades,” Bettis said. “And this was of those games where I truly felt like a lot of the crowd didn’t feel good about us winning the game. A lot of people went into that game like, ‘I’m here, but I’m here to see us to go down.’ And you could feel the energy wasn’t a true Pittsburgh Steeler-Ravens end-of-the-season, winner-take-all game. The energy should’ve been at a fever pitch, and it wasn’t that.”
It certainly appeared on the broadcast that the crowd had a lot of life, but it’s different not being in stadium. There were some boos early in the game as the Steelers’ defense allowed an opening-drive touchdown and the offense was slow to get going, and maybe that’s what Bettis is referring to in his comments. But unlike earlier this season, there were no “Fire Tomlin” chants and late in the game, after the Steelers’ offense picked up the pace, it seemed as if the crowd was engaged.
With the Steelers hosting a playoff game though, Bettis thinks the fan base will be more engaged and “not gonna doubt these boys again.” With another primetime game in Pittsburgh — the team’s Wild Card Round game is on Monday Night Football — it should be a raucous atmosphere.
Personally, I wouldn’t call a crowd booing a team that, at the time, was failing to do much of anything right one that went into the game expecting a loss. It’s a sign of a fan base that cares, wants to see its team succeed, and is frustrated when that doesn’t happen. So if that’s what Bettis is referring to, then I would disagree with his opinion. But maybe the crowd noise or engagement just wasn’t there, even though it seemed to be while watching on TV.
It’s different being in the stadium, and Bettis has been in the crowd and played in front of the home fans a whole bunch. If he sensed something was off, it likely was, but that shouldn’t happen again on Monday.