That's no longer just the tag line from The Voice to Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams.

It's what the fan base has been saying to the cheapskate owners of the Pirates for years, every time there's a complaint about low attendance. People just got tired of broken promises... and I know quite a few who vowed to stop going to games until there was a winning team on the field, as has been promised since the State, City & County agreed to build PNC Park.

Today, for the first time in over a decade, the Pirates are 4 games above .500 at this point in the season, a game and a half out of first place.

We decided last night to get tickets for tonight's game, as we'll be out of town this weekend when we'd normally go (ironically, we'll be in DC to see the kids... and the Nationals. But since they're not playing the Pirates or the Yankees, I can root for them, and the many ex-Pirates on the Nats roster, with a clear conscience.). Spoke to our rep, ordered & paid for the tickets, went down to pick them up at Will Call at lunchtime.

There's a TV reporter doing a story on the walk-up ticket sales. The line is all the way down General Robinson Street, heading past the park and going into the parking area that used to surround 3 Rivers Stadium. That's about 5 - 6 blocks in length. They estimated that the wait in line was about 45 minutes.

Last year... 2 years ago... hell, as far back as recent memory serves, a weekday game against the worst team in the MLB, at this point in the season, and no special promotions going on, they'd be giving away tickets, just to put some fannies in the seats. Typical paid attendance might be 8000 - 10,000, and half those people didn't show up.

Last night? Walk-up ticket sales on game day of over 6000 tickets. Amazing what being a winning team in a pennant race will do for you.

My rep's busier than a 1 legged 1 armed paper hanger in a mule kicking contest. She's hasn't had time to come up for air all week.

You should see the look on Little Miss Field Day's face. She has NEVER seen this before; the last time the Pirates approached this good, she was about 2. All the kids who teased her about being a Pirate fan, and not deserting them for the Steelers and/or the Penguins? Now they're jealous; we have good seats, they can't get anywhere near us. Heh heh.

The Voice was right. And it may not last, but while it lasts, it's sure fun to see.

They built it.

The fans are coming back.