Game VS Falcons Officially Blacked-Out

[TheAman]

Just saying, 55K is a big number, because that's what the team needs to avoid the blackout.  Still a complete disgrace that there's not 55K either way.

[olafberserker]

save it clown.   you claimed to live in baltimore and that you'd be lucky to go to 1 game this year earlier in the season.  now you go to the games?  which is it?

WTF are you talking about?

You're such a f'ing idiot...I'm done responding to your stupidity.  How dare I not supply other Bucs "fans" w/tickets!!!

I'm the idiot?  You claimed that you couldn't come to games because you lived in Baltimore.  Stated that you went to some games last year, but you would be lucky to go to more than 1 this year.  Now you claim to go to the games.  Which is it?

You also claimed to have season tickets at one time even though you were moving around.  Why did you give them up?

I never said I "couldn't" come down because I live in Bmore. I'm going to 4 games this year. I go to "some" games every year, not all of them.

I bought season tixs in 2000. I had 4 of them...one for me and 3 for my parents and brother. It started to get tough to get tickets around that time. About year 8, my parents/brother didn't wanna go anymore so I didn't pay for the tixs anymore as I started eating tixs that I couldn't sell and it was costing me a lot of money. I bought 2 again when they lowered the cost to $35/seat and didn't require a 10-yr commitment, but again, considering I can't go to every game and tixs are easy to get, it ended up being a waste of money.

lol, I know what you said  ......  so economics and choice is a good enough reason for you not to buy tickets, but not others ....... 

[olafberserker]

Just saying, 55K is a big number, because that's what the team needs to avoid the blackout.  Still a complete disgrace that there's not 55K either way.

not really.   the team has been dreadful for several years now and a disgrace itself at times.

attendance numbers are what they are.  We are averaging almost 54K.   Wouldn't surprise me if we are over 55k for this game when all is said and done.

[TheAman]

They are what they are, which is the worst in the league.   If you use percentage of stadium filled, the Bucs are second-worst, only better than Miami.  There are other teams that have been a lot worse than the Bucs over the past 5 years, and sell a lot more tickets.  It's a disgrace, there's no other way to put it.

[olafberserker]

They are what they are, which is the worst in the league.   If you use percentage of stadium filled, the Bucs are second-worst, only better than Miami.  There are other teams that have been a lot worse than the Bucs over the past 5 years, and sell a lot more tickets.  It's a disgrace, there's no other way to put it.

lol we sold out for 12 or 13 straight years .... so we were good and real fans then


there's other ways to put it, just a matter if someone actually wants to put it another way or just take the easy way out and say "fans suck" ....... choice is yours

[TheAman]

Ok, if there are other ways to put it, put it in another way.  I really want a logical explanation why the games aren't selling out, and why other teams that have been much worse than the Bucs are selling more tickets than the Bucs are.

[olafberserker]

Ok, if there are other ways to put it, put it in another way.  I really want a logical explanation why the games aren't selling out, and why other teams that have been much worse than the Bucs are selling more tickets than the Bucs are.

I already discussed it in an above post.   Now explain how our "disgraceful" fan base continued to sell out the stadium for 12-13 straight years?

[TheAman]

First off, at no point did I call the fan base disgraceful.  I said the fact that the attendance is DEAD LAST in the NFL is a disgrace.  Which it is, and it's embarrassing, and it should embarrass you as a fan of the Bucs.  Because it embarrasses me.

And it's really, really easy to sell out for a winner.  There are almost no teams in sports that could win the championship in their sport and not have good attendance for the next several seasons.  **CENSORED**, even the Washington Wizards had good attendance when they were playoff contenders.  I saw you say a few things, regarding the economy, and the record of the team.  But the economy is affecting most cities, and some far worse than the Tampa area, and some are having worse records.  So why is Tampa so different?

[olafberserker]

lol, now you're splitting hairs on the disgraceful thing, but whatever.     they had 3 out of 4 losing seasons during that streak and still sold out.  they've had 2 out of 3 losing seasons the past 3 years and we all know the winning season was a mirage.


and I couldn't care less how many people are sitting in the stands on sundays.  Never have really.

[TheAman]

So why is Detroit still selling tickets?  Worse economy than Tampa and worse record.  Why is St. Louis selling tickets?  Why are Oakland, Jacksonville, Miami, and all of these other teams that have been worse than the Bucs, longer, selling  more tickets?  I don't understand why Tampa is so different.  If there is an explanation, I want to hear it, because it would be nice to have a good response when I'm asked that question.

[olafberserker]

I already posted a response.   Detroit has been around for 80+ years.   And some of those attendance numbers are skewed for some teams.  There's no way Carolina was near a sell out last week going by butts in seats.   I posted somewhere about the picture I saw of the Georgia Dome at kickoff for the Falcons game.  Lower bowl was significantly empty.  May have filled up eventually.   Jax and Miami attendance isn't really better than ours.

[Bucs_Rule]

I think it is a little bit of everything as the reason the games are blacked out.

1. As pointed out in this thread there are a lot of transplant fans in Tampa and in Florida in general.

2. The economy is still on the down side in Tampa and it might be cost prohibitive for some fans to attend games.

3. Some fans might still be mad at the Glazers for whatever reason.

4. With the games being blacked out it is very hard for the team to gain any new fans.

Again, I think it is a combination of the things above as to why the games are not selling out.

[TheAman]

Jacksonville sells 10K more than the Bucs on average.  And nobody goes by butts in the seats.  The Bucs don't have near 52K for a lot of games either.  You go by selling numbers.  You say Detroit has been around for 80 years, which is fine, but it also means you are saying they have a more devoted fanbase.  But ok, ignoring Detroit, why is St. Louis selling better, even if it's by 3K more?  And Jacksonville, Oakland, etc.?  It doesn't matter if it's 200 more or 20000 more....why are bad teams selling more tickets than the Bucs, if it's not the fanbase? 

And going through Bucs_Rule's list....

1) That's fair.  But you can say that about Jacksonville, Miami and Washington as well, just to name a few of the NFL teams.
2) Economy is down everywhere.  Tampa is not near the worst of the NFL cities as far as the recession goes.
3) Ok.  That's fine.  I really don't think it's that big of the population, because if you knew enough to hate the Glazers, you're probably a pretty decent fan, and should be putting the team above that hatred.  But ok, I'll give you this one.
4) This is an interesting point.  I actually kind of like this point.  However, it goes against what olaf is saying, in that the team is bad, so fans don't come out.  If the team is bad, the fans would see that they are bad, and not come out.

[olafberserker]

well of course it comes back to the "fan base" not buying enough tickets.  thanks for stating the obvious.   and of course detroit's "fan base" is more loyal.   they have had 80+ years to build that loyalty and that "fan base" isn't filled with transplants from all over the country that still hold onto their sports allegiances back "home".


the bucs have been mediocre to bad for the better part of the past decade.  season ticket numbers are down.   i suspect that a strong finish to this season will improve that and a good start to next year will have us back to selling out soon.  if not, so be it.   doesn't effect me either way.

[olafberserker]

And going through Bucs_Rule's list....

1) That's fair.  But you can say that about Jacksonville, Miami and Washington as well, just to name a few of the NFL teams.
2) Economy is down everywhere.  Tampa is not near the worst of the NFL cities as far as the recession goes.
3) Ok.  That's fine.  I really don't think it's that big of the population, because if you knew enough to hate the Glazers, you're probably a pretty decent fan, and should be putting the team above that hatred.  But ok, I'll give you this one.
4) This is an interesting point.  I actually kind of like this point.  However, it goes against what olaf is saying, in that the team is bad, so fans don't come out.  If the team is bad, the fans would see that they are bad, and not come out.

it's a combo of the things listed.   Washington DC is not near the transplant area that Florida is.  They've also been around for awhile and tickets are passed down.   Miami and Jax fans have both been questioned.   Florida is among the hardest hit by the recession due to the economy's ties to housing and tourism.  Other areas were hit as hard, but I doubt many were hit much harder although some I'm sure.   Last two points can go together.  Over time the poor play and ownership alienated significant numbers of fans especially season ticket holders.   That takes time to rebuild, not half a season.   When you are in the process of building that loyal fan base, it is easy for casual fans or emerging fans to jump on and off the proverbial bandwagon.