Soaked Pittsburgh Penguins fans clamored at the doors of PPG Paints Arena on Saturday, waiting to be let in to the Stanley Cup playoff opening game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Stormy weather in the evening broke up a sunny and warm afternoon and left Jackson Butler and his friends standing in the rain for almost an hour before the arena doors opened.
“It felt like an eternity,” said Butler, 22, of Charleroi.
The Penguins might know how he feels. They took to playoff ice for the first time in four years, led by veteran trio Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Butler was joined by his friends, Nolan Walters and Ashton Chiplaskey. After driving in for the game, they began waiting outside PPG Paints Arena at 5:30 p.m. Doors opened just before 6:30 p.m., and the puck dropped about two hours later. They were some of the first fans in line. Butler said playing against the Flyers is the “perfect way to come back in” to the playoffs.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the cross-state rivalry took a negative turn — off the ice. Penguins and Flyers fans continuously booed and yelled at each other while walking around inside the arena.
John Swearhart of Bloomfield witnessed a Penguins fan and Flyers fan yelling at each other in one of the concourses. The altercation started to turn physical when they were escorted away.
“You saw those guys fighting,” he said. “Who’s going to punch each other in the mouth first? … (I’ve) seen a lot of interactions.”
Pittsburgh police told TribLive on Saturday night at the end of the first period that “there haven’t been any serious incidents reported there tonight as (of) yet.”
Walters, 22, of Charleroi, says he’s been a die-hard Penguins fan his whole life. He and his friends try to go to three or four games each season.
East-West rivalry
Originally from Philadelphia, Swearhart, 23, said he supports all other Philly teams aside from hockey. He became a hockey fan six years ago after coming to Pittsburgh for college, he said.
“This being the first round is immaculate,” he said. “This is the ideal matchup.”
Though Swearhart wants the Penguins to take home the Cup, he believes the journey will be tough. He attended a game this season with his little brothers, who decided to wear Flyers jerseys.
“They’re getting screamed at the entire time,” he said.
Another Philadelphia native, Cindi Rarig, is rooting for the Penguins — and has been since the mid-1970s.
Rarig, 65, of Wexford, has gone to “as many games as we could possibly get tickets to.” She said she is thrilled to be back for another postseason after a disappointing last few seasons.
“The East-West rivalry is just totally awesome. We still have family that lives in Eastern Pennsylvania, and we love to do the back and forth, teasing about which is the better team,” she said. “Clearly, the Pens are and will win this year.
“When you live in Pittsburgh, you think your team is going to win every year.”
After going to Duquesne University, Rarig decided to stay in the Steel City.
“I’m surprised how few Flyers fans are in the area tonight, and I feel sorry for the one poor woman who walked by in a Flyers jersey,” she said. “They were giving her some grief.”
Despite attending iconic sporting events like the Super Bowl in the past, Swearhart said he’s “never been in an environment like this.”
“It’s electric,” he said.