Ultimate Standings 2009: No. 8
Pittsburgh Penguins
Last Year's Rank: 24
Title Track: 21
Ownership: 4
Coaching: 42
Players: 9
Fan Relations: 3
Affordability: 32
Stadium Experience: 103
Bang for the Buck: 8
If the tanking economy has affected the good people of Pittsburgh, it certainly isn't evident at Penguins home games. The club enjoyed its 118th straight season sellout on June 9, Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, despite hiking the average price of admission 10% this season to $51.45. Indeed, western Pennsylvanians appreciate free programs and $2.50, 16-ounce sodas almost as much as they enjoy the slick stick work of young superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. And it doesn't hurt that the team's official website is one of the most comprehensive and fan-friendly team sites in all of sports, complete with an online fan scrapbook, links to Penguins social networking services and a forum where folks can sign up to compete against each other in fantasy hockey leagues. When coach Michel Therrien was fired February 15 and replaced with Dan Bylsma, Pens fans held their breath. But temporary oxygen deprivation proved unwarranted, as Bylsma deftly maneuvered the club into the Stanley Cup Finals to hockey's summit. The season ticket waiting list for next year already tops 6,000; the team's first Cup since 1992 will only make that figure runneth over.
