Why Coming Back to PNC is a Big Deal for Me

1-29-24 – Ethan Smith / @mvp_EtHaN 01/28/24

Yea, this is a little different than what you’ve seen from me on this site, but I wanted an outlet to express just how much returning to PNC Park this April is for me.

If you don’t know, my name is Ethan and I have hosted Locked On Pirates for almost four years at this point, but I do not reside in Pittsburgh.

I was born in Carnegie, PA, but I grew up in Augusta, GA and have lived in Savannah for the past seven years, but that never stopped me from being a true, diehard Pittsburgh sports fan. Also, yes, I am a LA Clippers and University of Georgia fan, mainly due to proximity and the lack of an NBA franchise in Pittsburgh, sue me.

If you’ve watched my podcast at all, you’d notice I have a Pittsburgh forearm sleeve that features the Roberto Clemente Bridge, a Steelers outline logo, the Pirates road “Pittsburgh” script lettering and a No. 5 in honor of my late grandfather who played professional soccer and got me into baseball along with my father at a young age.

I also have the “412” area code tattooed on the left part of my chest, so yea, Pittsburgh is as what my friends would describe “my personality”.

So why does returning to PNC Park this April mean so much to me?

Well lets start with the last time I was at PNC.

June, 19th, 2021. Yea, that long ago. For context, here was the Pirates starting pitcher and lineup that day:

SP: Wil Crowe / C: Michael Perez /1B: Colin Moran / 2B: Adam Frazier / 3B: Ke’Bryan Hayes / SS: Kevin Newman / LF: Ben Gamel / CF: Bryan Reynolds / RF: Gregory Polanco

Phillip Evans, Eric Gonzales and Ka’i Tom were pinch hitters in that matchup as well, so yea, its been awhile.

The Pirates won 6-3 that day, propelled by a huge seventh inning that featured two three-run home runs from Michael Perez and Reynolds. The seventh inning also featured six walks.

I was at the game with my mom, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin, so yea, it was fun and I even recorded a postgame reaction video for a Pirates team that was 25-44 at the time (it was so long ago that I no longer have the video).

Moving on from a game recap from almost three years ago, one feeling overtook me while I was at a game that many would just consider another day at the ballpark in the middle of the summer, I felt like I was at home.

Home technically was, and still is, over 600 miles from PNC Park, 699 to be exact from where I am sitting writing this piece, but again, I felt like I was at home, a feeling that anyone can enjoy.

I was relatively new on the Pirates scene, with 2021 being my first full season as host of Locked On Pirates, with no “real” audience as of yet.

Hell, Gary Morgan even took a stab at being on my show a few months before to help a early-20s, youthful, new podcaster get his footing, and he’s still on my show to this day every Monday during the season and I thank him eternally for what he’s done for me in that time.

Now, Locked On Pirates sits at 2500+ Twitter followers and nearly 1400 Youtube subscribers, something many of you reading this piece are a part of, a strong community for a daily show.

I tweeted about making the trip official and man, I did not expect the response it would get:

Some exciting news:

Your favorite host Ethan Smith, that’s me, will be at PNC Park for Pirates Opening Day v Baltimore in April!

Hope to meet all of you who love the show, and I’m also planning on being at all three games and out and about before and after. pic.twitter.com/JKeRFVAj4z

— Locked On Pirates (@LockedOnPirates) January 27, 2024

Coming to PNC is different this time, but why?

I know I will still feel at home at PNC in April, that will never change, but I also get to fulfill a lifelong dream of being in attendance to a Pirates home opener, which is very high on my sports bucket list.

Ultimately though, one of the biggest feelings I cannot wait to have is nervousness, anxiety and all the other jitters, but in a good way, because I get to watch baseball, in-person, along some people I have never met before but would consider best friends.

Just to name a few, Pirates Queen Banshee, Gary Morgan, every contributor on this site, maybe even my fellow Pittsburgh hosts at Locked On, Hunter Hodies, Christopher Carter and Nick Farbaugh, even though I don’t know who will all be there.

I consider every person who takes 30 minutes out of their daily lives to listen to my show family, you’re all family to me, because I never thought I would have a massive outlet to talk about sports with the way my writing and podcasting “career” was going.

Now, I get to walk into PNC Park on April 5 to watch the Pirates face Baltimore, and people are genuinely excited to meet me, chat baseball and probably knock back some booze.

Folks, and this is a bit personal, I deal with anxiety and depression daily, sometimes to the point where I force myself to be productive to not think about the first-world problems I deal with on a daily basis, and many of you who read these articles and listen to my show need to hear this, you genuinely make me happy when you interact with my content, even if some of the “SIGN TREVOR BAUER” comments get annoying.

I am also a massive over thinker, thinking I can always do more, but for me to be able to go to what I truly call home, Pittsburgh, in April and celebrate the return of the best sport on the planet alongside people I have never met who I consider family, folks, thats music to my ears.

In reality, PNC Park is a structure that houses a baseball team that hasn’t seen the postseason in nearly a decade. Grass, sand, beer, seats, yea you get the point.

To me, PNC is a meeting place for Pirates fans to watch their favorite team, alongside their favorite people watching their favorite past time. The fact that I get to do that again for the first time in nearly three years, especially as what I would consider myself an important part of the Pirates community, puts butterflies in my stomach.

I am so excited to get to meet all of you, and Gary, who I know will look at this before its posted, I think you deserve a beer, or two, on me for everything you’ve done for me so far and will continue to do.

And to all of you who listen to my show and read my pieces, don’t worry, the next one is on me.

So to answer the question in a straightforward manner, what does returning to PNC Park mean to me?

In a straightforward manner, it means I get to have three hours of baseball, beer, great people, family, Oneil Cruz and a damn good time.

Thank you all for reading.

P.S. I teared up about three or four times writing this.