The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their second game in a row, falling to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. The loss was bad enough, but to make matters worse, Acrisure Stadium sounded like an away game at times during the loss.
Packers fans were so loud that their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who now dons the black and yellow, admitted after the game that he had to go to a silent count. This isn't something Steelers fans are used to, considering how well-known they are for being a traveling fan base, but to say they got a taste of their own medicine would be an understatement.
Former NFL head coach Bruce Arians sounded off about this and slammed the Steelers' fan base for allowing Packers fans to waltz into their stadium and take over like that.
"There was one thing that upset me watching that game," Arians said on The Pat McAfee Show. "I've never seen the Steelers have to use a silent count at home. For the Steelers fans, that's embarrassing. When you've got that many Packers fans in - I still call it Heinz Field - that's unheard of. That was a bad sign for me."
Bruce Arians calls Packers takeover at Acrisure Stadium ‘embarrassing’
As unfortunate as this whole situation was (and as true as Arians' comments were), what could really be done here? Steelers fans know all too well what it's like to be a good traveling fan base and the advantages that can bring to their team. Packers fans are in the exact same boat, and of course, they were going to be loud because their team was winning the game.
This game was also unique because it was the first time that Rodgers played against the team that drafted him 20 years ago. He never got that opportunity during his two years with the Jets, so this was the first time Packers fans had the pleasure of getting to see him suit up against them. That added a whole other element to this situation.
If the Steelers don't want an opposing fan base to take over their stadium and be loud, the team needs to play better so that those fans don't have a reason to make noise. They can't stop them from entering the gates, but the team can make it so those fans have very little to cheer for, and that was not the case on Sunday.