PITTSBURGH - In a season when avid Pittsburgh sports fans wince at being ranked among the worst cities for major American sports, the community has found its saving grace in the oft-overshadowed Pitt Panthers men's basketball team.

"How can you not follow them?" said Ed Novak, a Washington County resident. "It's a point of pride really. The way the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers have played, it gives us something to boast about."

Chomping on a hot dog at the Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland, the neighborhood that's home to the University of Pittsburgh, Novak predicted Monday that the team will at least make it as far as the Final Four.

The Panthers (27-3, 13-3) garnered their third consecutive regular-season Big East conference championship with a 59-45 victory over Villanova Saturday. Heading into the NCAA tournament, Pittsburgh boasts talented players such as senior Jaron Brown, sophomore Carl Krauser, freshman Chris Taft and senior Julius Page.

Team store sales have increased 28 percent between December and February compared to the same period last year, online sales are up more than 50 percent, and licensing royalties have doubled from the previous year, said Jim Earle, Pitt associate athletic director.

"When you look at the excitement, it's really pervaded the whole city," Earle said. "We're appealing to the Pittsburgh fans and not just the University of Pittsburgh fans."

All the Big East Conference games were sold out and the waiting list to buy season tickets is now 2,800 long, said Jason Heggemeyer, Pitt director of marketing.

"It's a very tough ticket to get," Heggemeyer said.

The average attendance this season in the new Petersen Events Center was 9,655. Last year, when the team reached Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, the average attendance was 10,526. The facility holds 12,508.

In the 2001-02 season, when the Panthers were still playing in a smaller venue, the average attendance was 5,054.

Some argue that Pittsburgh - once crowned the City of Champions - has become one of the worst major American sports cities.

The Penguins have become the NHL's worst team this season with a 15-44-6-4 record as of Sunday, and attendance has plummeted. The Pirates finished fourth in the NL Central last year, a club-record 11th consecutive losing season. And the Steelers completed a 6-10 season - tying for their second-worst record in 34 years.

It's a long fall from the Steel City's glory days in the 1970s. In 1979, the Steelers won the Super Bowl, the Pirates won the World Series and the Penguins advanced two rounds into the playoffs.

Now, many Pittsburgh fans are just anxious to see any of the city's teams succeed.

Sitting at the Hi-Tops sports bar facing the ballpark and football stadium, Chris Beaver, 24, of Pittsburgh, and Randy Wolfe, 25, of Oakdale, said they preferred the Steelers and freestyle motocross over college basketball.

But they'll take the Panthers' success over nothing.

"I'll support anything that goes on in Pittsburgh, it's hometown pride," Beaver said. "If Pitt does well, it helps out the community."

Hoping to ride the team's coattails, Hi-Tops is giving away 27-inch televisions during the tournament, co-owner Marc Snider said.

"Five, six years ago, we didn't even have a basketball design T-shirt," said Chas Bonasorte, owner of The Pittsburgh Stop Inc., an outside vendor. "Usually you had your football and Christmas hype but then it settled down. Now we're working night and day."

Bonasorte said he's moved thousands of T-shirts that say "Oakland Zoo," a student-coined name for rowdy Panther fans. Those shirts have are now even being sold in regional grocery stores, Bonasorte said.

Philadelphia native Jeff Tatem, 38, said he remains loyal to the Eagles, but that even he can't resist the Panther frenzy.

"It's nice to see Pittsburgh doing well. I can't help but back them up," Tatem said.