It looks like the Steelers fans are at it again. Visiting Pittsburgh Steeler fans are expected to take over Mercedes-Benz Stadium for this Sunday’s season opener between the Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, just as the Pittsburgh partisans have done many times before.
According to Vivid Seats’ Fan Forecast, fans of the Black and Gold are predicted to be 53% of the crowd for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff between the Steelers and Falcons in Atlanta.
Visiting Steelers fans are traveling an average of 270 miles, far less than the 675 miles between the cities. That’s because of the Steelers’ nationwide fanbase, with deep distribution of the team’s fans all over the country, but especially in Sun Belt areas like Georgia, which accepted many Pittsburgh transplants during the fall of heavy industry in the 1970s and 1980s.
Pittsburgh fans made a noticeable impact during the game in Atlanta between the teams in 2022.
“It was crazy,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “If there were no Steelers fans in there, there would be no one in the stadium. It was a cool atmosphere. Steelers nation always comes out.”
The traveling horde of Terrible Towel-twirling fans often has a propensity for increasing the ticket prices at road venues thanks to driving up demand, and that seems to be the case in Atlanta this year, as well. The get-in price for two tickets for Sunday is currently $178 plus fees.
That’s more than tickets for Atlanta’s Week 3 home game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.