Pathetic

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 12:40 AM EDT Comment 45 comments

From the defense to the offense it was an awful night all around.

Taking the cake for most pathetic though was the crowd. This is a team in the midst of a pennant race for the first time in its history and there were empty seats everywhere! I don't care what the announced attendance was since that number is always manipulated; there is no way more than 13K fans were in the trop.

I'm sick of hearing the excuses for miserable attendance. It is simply embarrassing to see that many open seats.

In conclusion, the Bay Area should be ashamed of itself.

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what happened to the attendance lately?

in july and part of august it seemed like they were averaging about 25k+ and now why this 13k i dont understand, if i was in florida i would go

Longo=ROY. Friedman=Executive of the year. Maddon=Manager of the year. Gabe Gross= clutch.

by RaysOfHope on Aug 27, 2008 12:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

official attendance figure

So the official attendance figure was 13,478.

Man, that’s bad. The official figure is ALWAYS inflated. This means my estimate was too high. There were probably less than 12K fans.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 12:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You man see only 13K in the seats,

But let’s compare that to last years numbers:

On July 30, 2007 the Rays vs. Blue Jays attracted just a little more then 8k. That was a Monday game. is the attendance raising exponentially? Not exactly but there are still more fans then last years. But the Toronto series has never really grabbed people in the first place.

I know your argument, the Rays are in first place and should sell out every night. They will, especially down the stretch. Quite frankly to have 13k to Tuesday night Blue Jays game is pretty damn good. Come next season you will see the same two teams attract 20k in attendance. The fans are showing up, not in droves mind you but the numbers are out there that the fans are showing up.

The line it is drawn/The curse it is cast/The slow one now/Will later be fast/ As the present now/Will later be past/The order is/Rapidly fadin'./And the first one now/Will later be last/For the times they are a-changin'..- Bob Dylan

by thebaddancingraysfan on Aug 27, 2008 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

“Quite frankly to have 13k to Tuesday night Blue Jays game is pretty damn good. Come next season you will see the same two teams attract 20k in attendance.”

I have to disagree here. 13K is not acceptable on any night against any team. That kind of attendance is can not sustain a franchise.

Every other game on the schedule outdrew this match-up of two teams over .500, one of which is battling for a playoff spot. Games that outdrew the Rays tonight included; Fla@Atl, Cle@Det, and yes, yes wait for it…..Texas@KC.

Let me repeat. Texas at Kansas City outdrew us. Your expectations are too low.

I won’t even go into games that featured contending teams at home because its not pretty. ….

Second, why are you so confident that attendance will be up to 20K for games like this next year? It seems to me like the big jump should have been from one year ago to today. There is no guarantee the Rays will even be in a playoff hunt at this point next year. Your sentiment seems overly optimistic.

How I understand why sternberg says that stadium situation is not sustainable for many more years.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 1:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

“Second, why are you so confident that attendance will be up to 20K for games like this next year?”

Because several thousand people will have committed to buying full-season, 40 game, and 20 game plans, which guarantee there will be a lot more tickets sold to games like these. Nobody that hadn’t already committed to seeing a boatload of games is going to say “Hey honey, did you hear the BLUE JAYS are in town!!!” and rush out to the stadium (even though they are a better team than most casual fans realize).

by GomesSweetGomes on Aug 27, 2008 6:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Respect your points

However, do you know how many ticket packages have been sold for next year? I would be interested in seeing the number.

Second, why wouldn’t someone want to come see Halladay pitch? To me, the Blue Jays are an interesting team. What AL teams would necessarily be bigger draws than Blue Jays outside of the Yankees and red Sox?

Third, I don’t really care what the announced attendance will be next year. All season/game plan ticket holders are announced as part of the official attendance. It is embarrassing to see that many open seats. This team seems to feed off the energy of a big crowd and they deserve the support of the team. Can you imagine what the players thought when they saw he crowd last night?

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They aren't a big draw to caual fans

Who are the bulk of walk-up sales.

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sorry

about a million typos in that response. Hope you got the gist of it.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think this area can support a team

by matthan on Aug 27, 2008 8:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm starting to agree

I understand that school is starting back up, so there are less families during the weekday games, but there is no excuse for a first place team at the end of August to draw only 13,000 for a game when there is such a large regional population surrounding the the Trop. I live 45 miles away, so I can’t make every game, but by regular season’s end, I will have attended about 30 games or more. I plan on taking advantage of my offer for postseason tickets, and I will definitely go to all of those games. I remember last year when the D-Backs didn’t sell out their playoff games. I’m worried the same will happen if the Rays make it in this year.

by rayweaver on Aug 27, 2008 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reserve your judgement until next year

See GSG’s comment above. As of now, the season ticket base is very low (around 10,000 if I had to guess). It is very difficult to get 10,000 MORE people to rush out to a Tuesday night game against the Blue Jays. Next year, the base will grow to somewhere between 15,000 to 20,000…that’s where the 20K every night will come from.

by steve-o1285 on Aug 27, 2008 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Winning teams don't see a real bump in their attendance until the next season.

The Rays are profitable, therefore they can support a team. I know you guys are all hard core fans who make it to every game, but you should probably give people a freaking break. There are plenty of reasons people don’t go to games. Baseball isn’t the most important thing. TV ratings are up. Merchandise sales are WAY up. People are talking about the team all the time. Attendance will catch up. Calm down with the “I don’t think this area deserves a team” shit. You guys aren’t the arbiters of that, balance sheets are.

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Aug 27, 2008 9:29 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

If its so difficult to go to a baseball game, how come every other game in MLB outdrew us?

To me, this is shocking. Also, do you have any stats to to back up the assertion that ticket sales go up the year after a team gets good?

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Check the White Sox attendance after '05

I believe I’ve heard that as an example. I listen to XM a lot, and earlier this year the Rays attendance was discussed thoroughly. I constantly was hearing what TG #1 posted.

by rayweaver on Aug 27, 2008 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

white sox attendance

08 — 30,802
07 — 33,140
06 — 36,511
05 — 28, 923
04 — 24,437

So you are correct, the attendance jumped the most following the 05 season when the white sox won the world series. Although I would say the jump is not dramatic — not sure how comparable this is to the rays since the sox were already averaging 24K a game the season before they won the world series.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The casual fans will go if the club is winning

Since they don’t pay attention on a daily or weekly basis, they aren’t neccessarily aware of how good of a product is out on the field right now. They may know the team is winning, but that’s it. It’s going to take continued winning and publicity before it starts to sink in with them. A lot of people are so used to not paying attention to the (Devil) Rays, and they probably think this is all a dream and not reality. It’s going to take time for casual fans to get used to the Rays being a top option when deciding how they want to spend their free time and entertainment dollars. Once the casual fans start going and enjoying the games and getting to know the players, they will more than likely turn into more serious fans.

by rayweaver on Aug 27, 2008 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rays are only profitable because of profit sharing. If this attendance is sustainable, how come Sternberg said we would need to move out of the trop in the next decade? I’d tend to think he knows a little about the economics of baseball.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How come the owner of the club wants to make MORE revenue?

Jesus christ, is that really what you’re asking?

by Top Gun Numba 1 on Aug 27, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Rec'd

Crying poor has played a major part in the rapid growth of the revenues of all major sports. It’s good business strategy, and it absolutely blows my mind that people would take what Sternberg has to say about a new stadium at face value.

by GomesSweetGomes on Aug 27, 2008 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look

We have a very small percentage of the area’s population that go to TONS of games. We have nearly everyone in this area that goes to zero games. There is NO EXCUSE to go to NO GAMES. Period. Very few (an insignificant number) are either too busy or too poor to make it to at least a couple games. That is just the cold hard truth.

by matthan on Aug 27, 2008 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some people can always find something to bitch about

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 9:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

so you don’t think the fact that a first place team that drew 13K is “something too bitch about”? You think I am making a mountain of a molehill? I am just disappointed in the fans. Trust me, everyday I am ecstatic about the position the Rays are in. However, this doesn’t make me oblivious to pessimistic thoughts. It goes makes me all the more sad to see than few people in a stadium.

by RaysTheRoof on Aug 27, 2008 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They'll come around, have faith

The team is going no where, and we are poised to compete for the foreseeable future. The worst thing about it is the national media, but who cares what they say. The players can sense the difference between this year and last year. So, relax and enjoy the ride. Look on the bright side- you can go watch the best team in baseball with 12,000 of your closest friends.

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Move the team!

I seriously hope people dont confuse the fact that people not going to the game in St. Pete means the Bay area wont support the team. Truth is people wont support the team as long as it is in St. Pete. . Once the team is moved to Tampa (And it will move to Tampa) you will see far 25K + at every game. Hillsborough county is considered the baseball capital of the world. This is because of the tremendous talent derived from the area and the amount of competitive baseball played here. People wont drive to the games over there because it is a drab stadium in a drab town, with Old cowbell ringing fans that use the old lame TAAAAMMMMMPPPAAAAA>>>>><<<<<<BBBAAAAYYYY Chant. I will go to the games once the final curse of the Naimoli ownership group has been lifted and the team is where it belongs. St. Pete is failing miserably!

by bucpimpin on Aug 27, 2008 11:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

b/c Tampa supported the Bucs/Lightning so well when they were terrible

Instead of just not going to the games. How about you just stop being a fan of the Rays all together until they move to Tampa.

by Sveet on Aug 27, 2008 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tampa<St. Pete

Trust me I lived in both. St. Pete is heads and shoulders a better area.

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are positives and negatives to both Tampa and St. Pete...

for me living in Tampa is better because there are more centrally located social activities going on in Tampa (South Tampa, if you are young and single and out of college and live in north Tampa, you are an idiot).

Boom. Outta Here.

by WillisDaddy on Aug 27, 2008 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also

There seems to be a fair amount of night-life in St. Pete as well. Not to mention the greatest social activity in the Bay Area: the Rays!

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is some...

not as much of a casual scene. More clubs, than bars.

Some would say that the Rays are the second greatest social activity.

Boom. Outta Here.

by WillisDaddy on Aug 27, 2008 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

St. Pete has it's fair share of bars too.

It’s amazing to me how much the nightlife in St. Pete has changed so dramatically just over a couple of years. 5 years ago their was nothing to do at night there. For those of you who still view as a sleepy retirement community. Head downtown sometime you will be shocked

by Sveet on Aug 27, 2008 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

South Tampa is far better than St Pete in terms of bars

Trust me I live on 4th street and I drive over to SoHo all the time compared to staying in St Pete.

by matthan on Aug 27, 2008 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am well familiar with area over there...

lot of good times at the Bishop and Push.

Boom. Outta Here.

by WillisDaddy on Aug 27, 2008 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if you are young and single and out of college and live in north Tampa, you are an idiot).

I never understood my HS friends that did this after college. North Tampa is aruably the worst place in thw orld to be young. They all have DUIs.

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 1:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

reply fail

by rglass44 on Aug 27, 2008 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Knock on wood that I don't...

Pasco county is the worst place to live though. If you have your teeth.

Boom. Outta Here.

by WillisDaddy on Aug 27, 2008 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Pasco?

There is nothing wrong with Pasco County moron. Actually, as a matter of fact, look up the value of properties in Pasco County vs Hillsborough identical. To add on, we have a group of 30 or more people in one group that go to Rays games all year long. Check yourself!

by RayGuy3 on Aug 27, 2008 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We were talking about...

places to live if you are in your mid-to-late twenties and single. Not much social activitiy up here. You can only go to Bare Assets so many times.

Boom. Outta Here.

by WillisDaddy on Aug 28, 2008 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

attendance kicks up the year after a successful season

it does not kick up much during the current year.

my blog // calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy // past results do not guarantee future performance

by Sky Kalkman on Aug 27, 2008 2:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

traditionally

but this is a very unique situation. the rays have never ever ever even sniffed anything close to winning.

by matthan on Aug 27, 2008 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

the team's only ten years old

there have been many other teams throughout history who don’t see daylight for ten years and then succeed. hell, FIFTY years.

my blog // calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy // past results do not guarantee future performance

by Sky Kalkman on Aug 27, 2008 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How is the situation unique?

It’s actually probably worse. The team is ten years old and ten years of terrible play. Season ticket sales were probably approaching an all-time low (probably better than Namoli’s last year) and corporate ticket sales were probably pretty close.

The team drew 13K, who cares. They aren’t going anywhere and nor should they. Merchandise sales and ratings (both TV and radio) have increased by an extremely large margin. Ticket sales to individual games at this point in the season are up about 60 – 70%. I’m not sure why this is constantly glossed over.

If you measure success of a fanbase by attendance than you’re missing the point. The Rays are in the process of grabbing hold of this market and it’ll take a little more time to see that in the stands. The constant negativity and “they should leave” comments are doing nothing but hurting the situation.

by tallyray on Aug 27, 2008 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

+1

I agree with everything stated above.

I just want to clarify that everything I said in the other thread just related to why there might be attendance issues, not whether things are going well or the team will move. This team is going nowhere.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Aug 27, 2008 5:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs