Lions sell out their MNF game in less than an hour

[Blaze688]

Really? Blount hurdling muthaf**k*s and Mike Will making circus catches didn't do anything for you?

I never said it wasn't exciting.  Last year, we bore witness to the best passing season, the most dominant rushing season, and the most statistically lucrative receiving season in Buccaneer history.  My beef with the offense is the man behind the curtain.  I think, with our players, we could have a top five squad.  Think about it: Winslow is a top five receiving tight end.  Blount's an elusive runner who led the league in broken tackles.  Freeman's Daunte Culpepper with better decision making.  Mike Williams scores a touchdown every six times he touches the ball.

The players were young, and I understand that, but Olson's track record makes me think that we've peaked offensively.  And it's upsetting.

[bucDsystem]

with half the "fans" buying into the glazers are cheap and bucs are a mirage mentality its no wonder its hard to get behind them and spend money... add to it personal uncertainty financial and both local and out o state fans are hard pressed to spend money on the team

that said its all about promotion, we win we get promoted by all the media fags and all the fairweathers and naysayers will come back in droves

[Morgan]

The TB LIghtning CEO Todd Leiweke said it best when he said blaming the economy for ticket sales is “the first exit on the highway of excuses.”

He's 100% correct...

And yes I know Detroit-Chicago have a higher population area. But the Tampa Bay region is ranked 12th largest market in the nation. And the Bucs are the ONLY TEAM IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE THAT COULDN'T SELL OUT A SINGLE GAME! How do you explain that??

Easy, too many people going to Rays games instead

I think I see a trend in all the areas sports.......I wonder why.

[JavaRay]

The Rays have NEVER had good attendance.   Putting that stadium in St. Pete was a mistake.

[JDouble]

Who are the Rays?

[John Galt?]

It is many things. Like for one this is a beach town, not a football town. Most people would just rather go to the beach or go fishing than go to a game...but the economy is the biggest factor. It's not just an excuse. It's a real problem.

I just think it's sad we can't sell out the home opener and the Monday night game. I'm about as broke as can be right now but I scraped up enough to get some nose bleed seats to those two games as well as the Thursday night Cowboys game. It's pretty sad we can't at least sell those games out. Especially our home opener. If our fan base didn't suck, we would sell out the home opener.  That is just pathetic.

Think it's a coincidence that 4 of our 6 losses last year were at home?

Economy is part of it, but demographics are a bigger part. MOST of Tampa area is folks that have only lived here <10 yrs, they are from somewhere else and have loyalties else where. There are tons of people that are X (GB, Pitt, Chi, etc.) fans first, and then Bucs fans. In GB, Chicago, Pitt, and many other northern cities you have multi-generation fans, grandpa had season tkts and passed em down to dad then to son, don't have that here. Most of the wealthier residents are fairly new to the area, they came here for weather and opportunity, not for sports. Football is something else to do NOT the "only thing to do" as it is in GB, Pitt, etc.

3rd generation Tampan is rarer than a 4-leaf clover. Ergo not much loyalty

[JDouble]

I agree with all of that. Being located directly outside a huge base doesn't help either. The military make up a large part of the population and maybe 5% of them are Buc fans.

[JavaRay]

Demographics didn't seem to stop the team from selling out from 1998 through 2008.

[JavaRay]

The military make up a large part of the population

Bull crap.   There are over 3 million people in the Tampa Bay area.   The military are a very small % of the people in this area.   

[AKA T.Calvin]

Demographics didn't seem to stop the team from selling out from 1998 through 2008.

what about from '76to '98 ....oh yea thought so

[JDouble]

The military make up a large part of the population

Bull crap.   There are over 3 million people in the Tampa Bay area.   The military are a very small % of the people in this area.   

There are over 250k military folks and family based out of MacDill. That is 1/12 of the population that comes from all over America (or from other countries) that don't care about the Buccaneers. I think that certainly has an effect.

[MUSCLE_HAMSTER]

Lol, what else are they going to do in Detroit in the fall?

Go to the park?

[John Galt?]

Demographics didn't seem to stop the team from selling out from 1998 through 2008.

Well winning trumps all. But when GB had an abysmal team (before Favre) they still sold out. Bears had sell-outs thru all their dark years. Jets and Giants sold out when they stunk. That is demographics. OTOH Miami had Playoff games blacked out during the Marino era. Florida is transient which isn't good for Pro-sports. How many other NFL cities have 2 golf courses for every player on the roster? Tampa is just not a "football first" town. It is a golf, beach, fishing, sailing, and football if the team is good kinda town.

[John Galt?]

Lol, what else are they going to do in Detroit in the fall?

Go to the park?

Heck the stadium is probably the safest, cleanest place in the city, better than any park.

[JavaRay]

The military make up a large part of the population

Bull crap.   There are over 3 million people in the Tampa Bay area.   The military are a very small % of the people in this area.   

There are over 250k military folks and family based out of MacDill. That is 1/12 of the population that comes from all over America (or from other countries) that don't care about the Buccaneers. I think that certainly has an effect.

It's not really 1/12th if it's 250k.   The census in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area in 2010 was 4,228,855 .    So that's 6% of the population if it's 250k.    Does it have an affect?   Sure.   But that base was there from 1998 through 2008 as well - and the team sold the games out.