Part 5: Life in Erie, Pennsylvania
Professional sports in the city: Do any notable teams play here?
Erie Otters and an NHL Superstar
Erie is currently home to four professional sports teams. I’m not talking about sports teams from any major sports league but a couple of them are associated with well-known teams. The first and biggest sports team that people talk about here in Erie is probably the Erie Otters. They play in the Ontario Hockey League. They were established in 1996 and have two OHL championships (2002, 2017). The most significant recent news from the Erie Otters was the fact that they drafted NHL superstar, Connor McDavid in the first round.
Then, of course, he was selected with the first pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He’s obviously made a name for himself in the NHL but long before that, he was also setting records in the OHL. It was recorded on live television on the local news one time when he broke a hockey puck with a powerful shot. With Erie’s proximity to Canada, it’s unsurprising that hockey would be a big sport this far north in the United States.
Erie, by location, is also relatively close to two major NHL teams, the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. If you widen the circle just a little bit more to about a 4–5 hour drive, you could also include three more NHL teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Detroit Red Wings. There are sports fans scattered throughout the city of Erie of many of these teams.
Erie SeaWolves
The next notable team to talk about is the Erie SeaWolves. They’re currently the oldest team out of the four as they were established in 1995. They haven’t won a Double-A baseball championship yet but they are a very talented team. They are currently the Double-A affiliate for the Detroit Tigers since 2001. As of this year, the league they are affiliated with is called the Eastern League with the realignment of the minor leagues.
Their colors are black, red, gold, gray, and white. Casey Mize, the most recent SeaWolves player to throw a no-hitter in 2019 is now in his third season with the Detroit Tigers. He’s currently a middling MLB pitcher/potential rising star after being the number 1 prospect in the Tigers’ organization at one point. Erie fans love their SeaWolves. It is notable to mention that UPMC Park was closed to fans for all of 2020. The 2021 attendance number for 57 home games was 145,445. That’s not too bad for a city with a population hovering just under 100,000 people.
The Erie Express
The Erie Express is the third notable team mentioned when talking about the professional sports scene in Erie. They are a developmental football team. Obviously, the NFL is the number one sport in the United States. Any team with ties to the NFL will certainly be popular. The tie here is that the Erie Express had Glen Conner, Jr. on the team. If the name doesn’t sound familiar, he’s the older brother of current NFL running back, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers and currently with the Arizona Cardinals, James Conner. James Conner is quite the story for Erie.
He and his brother both played at McDowell High School and the more famous Conner brother overcame a battle with cancer and made it to the NFL and has become a Pro Bowl-caliber player. The team is the two-time defending GDFL (Gridiron Developmental Football League) champions (2021, 2022). Having a winning club in the local area, even at a lower level of competition is a big deal for local football fans.
On January 15, 2022, the second championship was won against a team from Inglewood, CA called the Inglewood Blackhawks, 25–24. Coincidentally, the NFL champions in the Super Bowl this year also was a team from Inglewood who played at So-Fi stadium, the Los Angeles Rams. It’s a loose connection but it works in terms of the coincidence.
Erie Commodores FC
The Commodores are the fourth and final major sports team that plays in the area. They are a soccer team. Their official name is Erie Commodores FC. They are essentially on the fourth tier of American soccer. The team fields players from all over the world, just like the other three tiers above them. They haven’t won a championship in Erie since being established in 2009.
Their two biggest rivals are Cleveland FC and FC Buffalo, as they are all in close proximity in the Rust Belt. In 2021, the club fielded a women’s pro-am team to play in United Women’s Soccer. In 2022, the Ohio Valley Premier League now has a men’s and women’s team from the Commodores FC. The sport is growing in the area which is promising for the future.
Unaffiliated Major League city
One more thing to talk about when talking about sports in the Erie area is that there is a wide variety of major league affiliations due to the city not having a major league club. The diversity of fans for multiple clubs in Erie is evident by driving through neighborhoods and seeing different banners and bumper stickers throughout.
For the NFL, this should officially be Steelers country because of the fact that Erie is also in Western Pennsylvania. There are certainly a lot of Steelers fans in Erie, but there are also a lot of Browns and Bills fans for the same regional reason. Those two cities are closer than Pittsburgh but are in two different states. For that reason, you’ll see large swaths of Bills and Browns fans throughout the city as well. There are also Eagles fans here because we are in Pennsylvania. Those are the major teams I’ve seen out here the most.
For baseball, it’s mostly Pirates and Guardians fans. You’ll occasionally see a Jays fan, like myself, because of how close to Canada this city is. In hockey, I mainly see Sabres, Leafs, and Penguins fans. The Penguins are the most successful club so they have the most fans in the area, naturally. Soccer isn’t really big out here besides the college and high school events.
No more basketball and the void that needs filling
Basketball is really big out here and it’s worth noting that Erie had the Bayhawks until 2021. The team has been resurrected three different times, now only two current teams as the Erie Bayhawks is no longer an NBA G-League affiliate. They had previously been affiliated with the Hawks and the Pelicans. Surely, you can see that there’s a hole now that the Bayhawks are gone.
Basketball is also a huge part of the sports scene here in Erie. Most of the fans I see here are Cleveland Cavaliers fans as they are the only major NBA squad close to the area. There is also a decent following for the Toronto Raptors up here too. I’ve also seen a scattering of Philadelphia 76ers fans, too.
Erie needs another professional sports team affiliated with the NBA. Basketball is a popular sport in the country in general but the Bayhawks were just a popular team for the city since they had been established here back in 2008. The city had basketball for 13 years and now there is a void to fill.
The point is, even without Erie having a major sports team from any of the major sports leagues, sports is still very popular here and tied to the area in many ways. There is some world-class talent that comes through here and it is another positive aspect of this Rust Belt City. The people of this city are struggling already. Sports provide them a bit of a diversion in a struggling economy.
For more of my wildly popular Life in Erie, Pennsylvania series, check out parts 1–4 here.
