Arena Football League: Pittsburgh Power’s Demise Not Surprising, But Still Disappointing

Pittsburgh Power quarterback Tommy Grady threw for 4,717 yards and 115 touchdowns last season. Currently, the Power are without a team for the 2015 season. Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Power.

Having covered the Pittsburgh Power for the better portion of three seasons, I can say I am disappointed but not surprised that the team has folded, at least for the short term.

Despite the team succeeding this past season, at the end of the day fans did not attend whether it was because of lack of marketing, Pittsburgh Pirates games, or other reasons.

I personally thought the city itself and a venue as nice as Consol Energy Center would have made this a success but it just did not happen. The idea has floated online that Pittsburgh only supports its ‘A’ teams – the Pirates, Penguins and Steelers with potentially the Pitt Panthers included – and I can see their point.

It was great covering their games but now new ownership will be needed and that may mean all of their players are gone and a new roster would need to be built. While some are optimistic for a 2015 season, I think it’s just too late in the game.

The news itself was supposedly learned by players and fans at the same time which is not fair by any means. Many people gave up on the Power early in the franchise’s history when the entire team was fired in an Olive Garden during a road trip.

I can only hope fans don’t give up on the Power when or if they return. I personally hold out hope that a return will happen but I’m not sure that it will.