Kaitlyn Hughes | news editor

As fans clad in Pittsburgh Pirates jerseys and baseball caps made their way off packed T cars and up the steep staircases of North Side Station, they were greeted by a familiar face — Jim Anderson, who has been selling merchandise, peanuts and water bottles outside the T station for 20 years.

He said the fans keep him coming back every year. But when the Pirates begin to lose, the number of fans begins to dwindle, so he is hopeful for the season and the young team the Pirates have curated.

“If they suck, nobody comes,” Anderson said.

North Shore was buzzing on Friday for an annual Pittsburgh tradition — Pirates Opening Day.

But for some, getting to PNC Park was no easy feat.

Brendan Cebula, who has been going to the home opener for four years, waited in Steel Plaza Station in Downtown for about 15 minutes. After watching two T light rail cars pass by filled wall-to-wall with Pirates fans and no hope for oncoming riders to board, he decided to walk over to the North Shore.

Going into the game, he was excited.

“You always have hope as a Pittsburgh fan … hope for a winning season,” he said.

Crossing over the Roberto Clemente Bridge, music blared as fans shared laughs and cold drinks, children draped in their favorite Pirates players’ jerseys participated in Spike Ball and Corn Hole and vendors shouted, their voices piercing through the all-consuming music: “Peanuts!” “Water!”

The smell of smoke, beer and sunscreen filled the eager fans’ nostrils.

Federal Street was a swarm of people head to toe in the iconic Pittsburgh colors.

But not everyone was wearing black, white or gold.

Marianne and Stephanie Kaczynski weaved in and out a crowd of people garbed in matching shirts covered in Paul Skenes’ face from neckline to hem. For this mother-daughter duo, opening day is an annual family outing.

“We come to opening day every year,” said Stephanie Kaczynski, sporting her aunt’s Pirates earrings from the ’70s. “It’s like the kick off for spring and summer and … We have hope still.”

Marianne Kaczynski, the mother of the Pirates-loving family, is a season-ticket holder, so opening day is just the beginning of many hours spent in PNC Park.

“It’s a special time I have with me and my daughters,” she said.

The pair were optimistic for the Pirates 2026 season.

“I think if we stay healthy, and we have our bullpen all ready to rock we can at least contend,” the younger Kaczynski said.

Marianne Kaczynski was excited for new additions to the team, deeming 19-year-old rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin as a “rising star.”

Griffin, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, made his major league debut in the home-opener after the Pirates promoted him from the minor league. Originally, Griffin was not on the opening day roster after spring training camp.

To young fans, such as Max and Grayson Smoller, 13 and 14, respectively, seeing a professional player in his teens was surreal.

“It’s kind of crazy how we can still be in school, and they are playing in the MLB already,” Grayson Smoller said.

Emily Smoller, the mother of the two, said this was the family’s third year in a row attending opening day. She said Friday was much nicer than past years. In 2024, it was snowing.

Emily Smoller was cautiously confident about the season to come.

“I’m always optimistic, but I feel they can be good this year,” she said.

Other fans were not as hopeful.

An hour before the 4:12 p.m. first pitch, John Koval stood across the street from the stadium wielding a Pirate’s flag with the phrase “Sell the team” painted in large yellow lettering
on it.

“They are going to suck this year,” Koval said. “Have you been a fan for the last 20 years?”

He said that they probably brought Griffin up solely to sell tickets.On Wednesday, the Pirates signed him to a nine-year, $140-million contract through 2034.

Despite the Pirates’ performance, Koval said he will always be a fan.

Fans like Koval were pleasantly surprised on Friday.

With a sell-out crowd of 38,986 fans watching, the Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4. Griffin, Jared Triolo, Henry Davis, Oneil Cruz and Ryan O’hearn all had RBIs. Mitch Keller pitched six innings and gave up two earned runs.

As fans who have been attending opening day for 25 years, Mike Lemark, Ann Gilligan and Margaret Garrahy said Friday’s game was a good one to go to.

“It was a lot more fun than snow or rain or great big losses,” Gilligan said, sipping a celebratory drink. “A lot of people were engaged … even us.”

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu