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MDA "Our crowd doesn't usually get their till 8 and we didn't start playing till 8"

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by RocketsTerps, Feb 15, 2017.

  1. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    I assume no matter what anyone says, you have a preconceived notion that fans regret their vote. That's a theory. Without it, you're just arguing against the majority, like I did, and not understanding their arguments...like I didn't.

    btw: I think the stadium design itself is as equally at fault as any theory we can come up with

    Do you think the demographics have changed such that Houston is now a town that likes to stay out late at night? Or do they still like to get home earlier vs later, to get to work early the next day....to enjoy the game with their kids, without having to leave early to take them home. All your arguments also strengthen these arguments. Do you see how that discussion went with fans? This could just be a Houston Culture thing.

    I'll tell you with absolute certainty ... if I still lived in Houston and worked anywhere within the loop, and I voted purely based on selfish reasons ... I vote 7pm and leave straight from work each game to eat somewhere in Montrose/Midtown/Downtown and go to the game, and get home before 10pm. As I always do, I'd make sure my work know I was a STH, and that I was gone no later than 5:30 on game day.

    But, I would really vote 7:30, for altruistic reason, because I'm with y'all thinking that the fan votes are wrong, and we will have better attendance with a 7:30.

    All that said: We will NEVER be as loud as the Summit, because Les built a crappy designed stadium with two useless rows of Luxury Boxes that will never be filled, but push everyone up higher and higher. Cuban built a much better stadium. And Les building it to support NHL hockey (that he'll never get) will forever infuriate me. The lower bowl should be as tight as possible.

    And then making the choice not to limit accounts to a maximum of 4 seats in the Lower Bowl (like the Texans did) is arguably also a cause of corporate suits ruining the lower bowl experience.
     
    #81 heypartner, Feb 16, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2017
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  2. mfastx

    mfastx Member
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    The team just has to keep winning, the fans will come. And stop having no-show games at home.
     
  3. Nick

    Nick Contributing Member

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    Well, fine... it takes either coming off 2 championships... OR one of the longest winning streaks in NBA history... to get the fans to come out in earnest consistently.

    But even then, the 22 win streak fandom was fleeting. The 2 championships + Barkley's 2 years + 1 Pippen years were the height of this city's NBA fandom in terms of regular season attendance and fans actually being vocal during the game.

    Hell, that represents one of the most passionate stretches for ANY Houston sports team... Luv ya Blue was only 2-3 years, the Astros have had only one back-to-back 3 million fan seasons, and the Texans have neither been around long enough... nor had significant consistent success... to be even in consideration.
     
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  4. Nick

    Nick Contributing Member

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    Regular season wins won't mean much... and short of a championship, an isolated deep playoff run won't mean much.

    They need multiple consecutive deep playoff runs mixed in with real contending expectations to captivate this city.
     
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  5. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    I have to agree with heypartner about something he put in small type in his post in response to Fyreball - the flaws of the Toyota Center's design. It's clearly oriented towards the expensive lower bowl seats, and even putting that aside, the design, in my opinion, has most of the seats too far from the court.
     
  6. joeson332

    joeson332 Member

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  7. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    Welcome to Toyota Center, Mike D!
     
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  8. xtruroyaltyx

    xtruroyaltyx Member

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    D'umbtoni needs to shut his circle face and fix his **** ass rotations.
     
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  9. Nick

    Nick Contributing Member

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    People can whine about the design and the corporate seats all they want.

    In the midst of the Rockets 15 game winning streak to start 93-94, a few months removed from Hakeem's MVP resurgence, a deep playoff run against the Sonics, and the best regular season in franchise history.... they were drawing 9,000 fans per game at the Summit.

    The Rockets have always had to over-achieve to earn this city's true passionate fandom (the type we saw in the Luv Ya Blue days, the 86 Astros, the 94-99 Rockets, and the 04-05 Astros)... and that won't be any different with the current regime.
     
  10. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    So complaining about the TC's design is "whining?" Golly, I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads-up. As a fan of the Rockets since they drafted Elvin Hayes, and certainly since they moved to Houston, I had no clue that the Rockets have had attendance problems over the years. My goodness! The things I learn every day. Thanks for enlightening me.
     
  11. mkahanek

    mkahanek Member

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    Is it possible the guys, including MDA, know there is no catching the Spurs for the 2nd seed / division title being 5 games back while also thinking they are in a comfortable lead for the 3rd seed that they are losing focus? Is it possible they think they are playing just to maintain the 3rd seed and that that won't require a full effort every night? Just a thought.
     
  12. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    This early? No, I don't think so. If it were close to the end of the season and we were jockeying for a particular playoff spot, maybe.
     
  13. mkahanek

    mkahanek Member

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    I would agree. Little early to feel locked in. But, it seems like lately they just kind of ho hum if we win we win if we lose we lose. No drive. No competitive fire. Maybe no FUN
     
  14. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    Completely agree that the stadium design (and lighting for that matter) creates an atmosphere where it's hard to feel crowd impact unless it's absolutely bouncing. In general, our fans are very lackadaisical when it comes to being loud and cheering. Most can't even be bothered to yell for defense, let alone stand and cheer.

    However, I'd also argue for a 7:30 tip-off time simply because fans are leaving early NOW as it is. A fan is just as likely to leave at 8:45 as they are at 9:15 if it's not a close game. And if it IS a close game, I'd guess that they're just as likely to stay.
     
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  15. RocketsTerps

    RocketsTerps Member

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    Lol. True. However, MDA is still right about the crowd.
     
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  16. Swapshop

    Swapshop Member

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    A coach should demand victory, not give excuses for loss. A winning mentality should never give a reason for losing.
     
  17. douglasreedy1

    douglasreedy1 Member

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    Why would you drive to Katy during rush hour if the game is DT? If you live in Katy and expect to go to a game during the week, you may want to drive straight to the game after work- just wouldn't work, probably even if the game was at 730. Either way, the guy on the Rockets fan council made the point that people would rather rush to the game than to stay 30 minutes later, which I totally agree with.
     
  18. sugrlndkid

    sugrlndkid Member

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    Blame Les Alexander for making money from corporations that give tickets to people that give zero ish for Rockets game. Combine that with the fact that Houston has always been a terrible sports fan city...combined with multiple transplants to the city...combined with 3 professional sports teams that blow and lack continued success...but that fans continue to cheer on the useless Texans. The games are too long...too many damn timeouts, and the arena is not even close to the Summit/Compaq Center

    Perhaps Les can open up lower level seating for lower fares and to ordinary fans...but who are we kidding. Les isn't stupid and someone is buying up those "empty" seats...
     
  19. Buck Turgidson

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    I can have it any which way but loose.. I don't give a **** what the Knicks or Mets or Patriots or whoever does. It's worth money to me to not be around most of those people.
     
  20. OldYelllowDog

    OldYelllowDog Contributing Member

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    If you live in the endless suburbs you are one of those that want the game to end sooner rather than later to get on the road home. That late night ride home is in the dark already. If the game goes to OT, then it's a tough morning for work.
     

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