Exactly my opinion too- Biggio by announcing his retirement today actually will help attendance as the season dwindles down. The Astros really have nothing to play for and the only reason one would want to go out to MMP is to see Biggio play for one last time. Personally, I know that I'll have to get some tickets to see him one more time in an Astros uniform.
What's funny is that the city's only other comparable situation... Hakeem's last year in 2000... will end up being dwarfed by Biggio's sendoff, despite Hakeem delivering two titles, and a for-sure HOF/dominant career stretching back to UH. While many felt 2000 would be Hakeem's last year as a Rocket... and even featured a mini-resurgence of the dream has he finally got over some lingering injuries and became pretty productive again... the Rockets only sold out the last game of the year (Hakeem bobble-head doll night), as his preverbial "sendoff".
I went to that Hakeem game. That bobblehead doll is on my desk. It was a great sendoff but a brutal team. Nice grand slam by the old guy btw
Way to go Qualls. I think the attendance will be good for the rest of the year. There is still some of that goodwill left from getting to the World Series in 2005. We forget but there were a lot of "new" Astros fans. If they have a couple more bad seasons like this and the stadium will be empty. The Astros are virtual lock for a sellout on the weekends.
Pretty decent game by Jason Lane. Didn't get any hits, but drew two important walks and made a really nice sliding catch in center.
dont want to say it but i think brad lidge is *gasp* comfortable again. an era under 2 is either magic brewing again, or god's ironic omen, menacing foreshadowing to what we're all afraid of. we love you brad but you scare the **** outta me sometimes. great for biggio, the guy hasnt had to fish for compliments lately but he does deserve all the hoopla and the parade that surely will follow as he tours his farewell bid. if the astros could make a run these series, it would all be for bidge. he deserves another shot. bright spots: jason lane lidge bidge, overall fun
immersed? I wouldn't call it that, I would call it a great moment on the day Biggio announced his retirement. I was at the game for two reasons #1 I love baseball so I will go to many games no matter how good or bad the team is (of course if they are bad like they are now I prefer to save my money and watch it on tv thanks for the ticket ryanwagner) #2 The Dodgers, I went to see a good baseball team play (one that might be in the world series) my team. Yes the standing O for Biggio was great and the curtain call after the slam was very nice but other than these "feel good" Biggio moments the crowd was not really in it and there were thousands of no-shows that grow more and more each game. This is the golden era for baseball in this city with the highlight being the 2004-2005 playoff runs but with little hope for the near future I see many folks not renewing their tickets or not getting a mini plan next season. Nick, we both agree things will never go back to the early 90s dome days but I think attendance will be around 30,000-32,000 per game next season with no Biggio story, the "feel good" world series run is a thing of the past and other than Roy no big time pitchers to come out and watch. I think this last 10 years of Astro baseball has forever changed the baseball landscape but if the Texans start to win and the Rockets go through a 4-5 year run in which they are title contenders year in and year out (both very possible imo) and the Astros struggle folks just are not going to keep coming in such large numbers and won't really be talking about it. Hell nobody is talking Astros baseball to me in my circle and I have tons of friends who like baseball, it's all Rockets off season/football starting soon/Texans/Texas/UH/Barry Bonds/NBA refs etc. etc. My dream is to have all of our teams hold titles at the same time and for everyone to be good for a long period of time while our stadiums and arena's are full but the reality is it's hard for everyone to be on top so things cycle and I really think Drayton by raising prices on us every year is gonna dig himself a huge hole that will be hard to get out of.
do you understand how significant what you just said was?? you're saying (and i agree with you) that even in a down year, the 'stros will still draw roughly 32,000/game. THAT'S IN EXCESS OF 2.5 MILLION FANS AT THE GATE.....IN AN OFF YEAR!!!!!! that's freaking huge. a lot of that is the continued, steady success of this franchise over the past 10 years. i think a lot more than we know is the fact that they've created an atmosphere that's great...mmp is a great place to spend a summer evening and is so accessible to those who work downtown just getting off work. it's a draw for baseball fans from louisiana and throughout texas who want to see an MLB game over a weekend. it speaks volumes about the health of this franchise and the state of baseball in Houston that we're talking about lowering attendance expectations to around 2.5 million in an off year.
I agree 100% with you but that is a significant drop and it will only get worse as the years go by. As a baseball fan I am very happy that we have a baseball only park and a team that has done well over the past ten years and I know that with the improved atmosphere things will never be like they were before I just don't think things are close to how they were during the peak of this run and I see things falling off like crazy the next few years.
that's fair. you can't stay on top forever. it's just a lot different than it used to be. when making a dollar on owning a baseball team in houston was a much more difficult task. this franchise was in freaking receivership at one point. and that wasn't that long ago.
That game was awesome. Almost made me as emotional as the 3000 game. Man, I love this team. Going to miss Biggio.
eveyone renewed based on a late season push that made folks belive the team was better than it was and based on the Biggio 3000 hit chase.
Less people going to Astros game because they're not doing as well is a fine argument... but I have a problem when people start arguing the above point as a reason why people won't go. A.) Houston has sold out every Texans game... and will continue to do so. Additionally, they only play ONCE a week... neither of these facets have affected Astros attendance one bit (including 2002-03 which was a down year for the Astros, but an inaugral year for the Teans). B.) The Rockets and Astros seasons don't have much overlap... if they do, its because one of the teams is in the playoffs. In either case, the city is large enough to support enough baseball only fans, basketball only fans, and fans which have to choose. I certainly have noticed a marked difference in attendance in Astros' down years vs. Rockets down years... maybe its because MMP is a MUCH better place to watch a baseball game (and more affordable) than Toyota Center is to watch a basketball game. Attendance at Astros games is directly related to the performance of the team and the team alone... as is the case with all Houston teams (with the exception of the 8 Texan home games in the domiminant NFL). And attendance is assured of being better than tha 16,000-20,000 they'd see at the dome because of the inherent quality of MMP/day baseball/downtown stadium/summer past time activity.
