Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pirates fans cheer as they are projected on the JumboTron at PNC Park during yesterday's opener.

How cold was it for a baseball game?

When fans were asked to cheer ysterday for their selection in the jukebox contest, they passed on "The Boys are Back In Town" and "Let's Get It Started" to choose a video display of a virtual fireplace. There was no music with it and no warmth, but the flames looked comforting on the scoreboard's new video screen.

		Listen In Despite the weather and the score, Pirates' fans party on and share their thoughts on the opener with the PG's Dan Gigler: Ron Dixon, Braddock: A Pittsburgh tradition Ashley Andoga, Baden: Should be at work Charles & Cory Bandurski, Polish Hill: Same ol' Bucs John Supp, West Mifflin: Tailgating maestro

And one of the few cheers that went up after the pre-game festivities occurred midway through the seventh inning. The sun broke through the overcast for a cameo appearance. At least it was something to applaud for the 38,429 huddled inside the park.

On this day, absolute zero was not the coldest of states during which all molecular activity stops. And it wasn't the game-time temperature, although it may have felt like it at times. Absolute zero was the offensive production for the Pirates, who managed just three hits in being shut out, 3-0, by the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in the Pirates home opener.

It was 37 degrees when Ian Snell delivered the first pitch, but gusting winds made it feel like 27.

"Steeler weather. A great day for a football game," said a bundled up Jack "Mad Dog" Morgan, attending the game on a group trip organized by the River City Inn. "It's a heck of an opening day when you have to wear your Steelers gear and thermal underwear."

Insulated jackets adorned with the Steelers logo and a few winter coats carrying the Penguins crest were common sights. In the walk across the Clemente Bridge from Downtown, motorcycle cops could be seen wearing ski masks to protect their faces from the cold. One fan wore a Santa Claus cap. Others walked to the turnstiles wearing heavy scarves, mittens, fur coats and cold weather gear more suited for a duck blind or a deer stand.

In short, on the day after Easter, the North Side looked like the North Pole.

Still, spirits ran high for the annual rite of spring that welcomes back baseball.

"Cold weather on opening day isn't that unusual. We're in first place. That's what's unusual," beamed Ross Morgan of Shaler, founder of the colorfully attired fan group known as the Left Field Loonies.

The Pirates did enter the game tied for first place with Cincinnati after starting off 4-2 on a road trip, a positively hot streak compared to their 0-6 start of last season.

The Loonies celebrated with a tailgate party in a parking lot off General Robinson Street. A pre-game spread of burgers, hot dogs and breaded chicken graced rows of folding tables. As a magician and a juggler entertained some of the 663 Loonies who attended yesterday's game, a disc jockey pumped everybody up with Sister Sledge's rendition of "We Are Family," the disco anthem of the 1979 Pirates.

There was, however, the obligatory question about the sanity of paying money to sit out in the chill to watch the shivering boys of summer.

"There's a certain element involved there," laughed Mr. Morgan, attending his 43rd straight opener and attending his 29th consecutive tailgate party on opening day. "We're not called Loonies for nothing."

Actually, there was a bit of an upside for the group, which this year has been officially recognized by the team and is raising money for Pirates Charities. Sales were especially brisk on a hooded sweat shirt emblazoned with the Loonies logo.

"The cold weather's nice for merchandise," said Kurt Weitzel, also of Shaler.

Inside the ballpark, a rousing cheer welcomed two Pennsylvania Air National Guard veterans who received Purple Hearts after being wounded in Iraq. Accompanied by Tech Sgt. Jeff Myers, Senior Master Sgt. Don Koch threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Members of the 193rd Special Operations Wing near Harrisburg, they are the first members of the state's Air National Guard to receive Purple Hearts.

"They endured some 125-degree days in Iraq, so they're used to extreme weather," said Lt. Jay Ostrich, the wing's public affairs officer. "It was a heart-warming ceremony on a cold day. They wanted to thank the people back home who kept the cards and letters coming."

Both men, who were pulling convoy duty, were wounded when their truck was blown up by an explosive device in the Sunni Triangle.

During the game, it was so cold that first baseman Adam LaRoche wore a ski cap atop his baseball cap while playing in the field.

There weren't any water skiers on the rippling waters of the Allegheny River. And there weren't any hardy souls in kayaks waiting on the water to fish out any home runs. A prudent decision in that no homers were smote on a winter-like afternoon. In fact, throughout baseball, home runs in a frigid first week this year were at their lowest level since 1993.

The loss, the fifth one in seven openers at PNC Park, didn't make the walk back across the Clemente Bridge any easier. But the mood wasn't any brighter following last season's 8-3 loss to the Dodgers in a game played in brilliant sunshine on a 61-degree day.

Although cold temperatures may be hanging around for a while, the wintry hangover isn't as bad as it is in Cleveland. After snow wiped out play for the fourth straight day yesterday at Jacobs Field, the Indians moved their next series against the Los Angeles Angels to Milwaukee's Miller Park.

"At least we're not Cleveland," said Jack Morgan. "There are lots of reasons to be thankful we're not Cleveland."