Maybe i'm biased but rudy stepping down and coachinig carosel has over shadowed LeBron [Maye we'll call him L'Brown if he goes to cleveland] This is the second year in a row all eyes on the Rockets Rocket River Asses are fallin into the seats
Actually, Les doesn't get any more from national tv coverage than any other team in the leage. ALL television revenues from the national media are divided equally among all teams no matter who is being broadcast.
no what i mean is, more tv coverage means more poepl will watch the rocs in the downtown arena.. means, income! cha-ching! $$$
One can obviously feel the buzz in Houston again! Just check the CCNet post counts. Since last Friday, CCNet saw a huge threads/posts spike, like in the days of poast Yao Ming draft and before Playoff elimination...
Buzz? People are talking Rox, but not necessarily in a positive light. I don't see Larry Brown or Jeff Van Gundy selling tickets downtown. Indeed, the poor way the last week has been handled may well cause a DECREASE in sales from some of the longer-term fan base. The arrival of Yao Ming did not fill the Compaq Center nightly this year (although, perhaps it should have). Houstonians reward winning - particularly consistent winning. That won't be seen until the last third of next season at the earliest.
I think LB or JVG would have a larger impact on ticket sales than Rudy T. People are tired of Rudy's "Protecting his players at all costs" attitude. They see that the team has not progressed, and that players in their late 20s now still make the same mistakes as they did as rookies. People want to see a winner and want to see professionals representing their team. Drugs, arrests, immaturity etc..etc.. do not make for a good team image. Rudy was great with a self policing veteran squad, but his "nice guy" style was abused by the young players on the Rocks. We have 2 of the best players in the league in Yao and Steve, the team needs to be held accountable. Glad to see that Les agrees. DD
I'm telling you, it was those damn uniforms! I had a long post in mind but DaDakota pretty much stole my thunder. Ditto what he said!
"Drugs, arrests, and immaturity" like that bunch Brown is leaving behind in Philadelphia? All I'm saying here is that if Les expects the "buzz" around this change to translate into ticket sales, he will be sorely disappointed. The head coach plays a minor role in ticket sales, particularly in this town. A winning Cougar program would've gone much further in putting fannies in seats than the "stunt hire" of Drexler. Other than the hard core fan base, Houstonians put their money down for one thing -- winning. Even then, it is usually *afterwards* as a "reward" rather than "during."
I will go out on a limb and say that: 1) New coach brings renewed enthusiam that will sell more tickets. 2) Larry Brown will sell more tickets by virtue of his name alone. 3) In the end, it will be the Rocket's improvement that carry us thru and we will get that too under Larry.
Bob Knight generated created lots of excitement when he first came to Texas Tech...but, then again, it is Lubbock.
1) New coach brings renewed enthusiam that will sell more tickets. I think that's true. I think the move will augment the enthusiasm for the new arena and whatnot. Fans won't think of it as the same old team in a new arena. It'll be a new team in new uniforms in a new arena. 2) Larry Brown will sell more tickets by virtue of his name alone. I doubt this though. In fame, Brown and Rudy T are about equal, if Rudy isn't actually ahead. Plus, Rudy is Mr. Rocket while Brown is more of a hired mercenary. 3) In the end, it will be the Rocket's improvement that carry us thru and we will get that too under Larry. I think it's true that ultimately it will be success in the standings that will bring people to the arena. And Larry Brown will likely bring that. Of course, I think Rudy would have too, but now he won't get to prove it.
so much buzzzzzzzzz....but it doesn't sell tickets. it just doesn't. larry brown will not sell tickets...and in fact, more people are likely to not renew their season tickets because of Rudy stepping down than they are to acquire new seats because of any new coach we could hire. wins sell tickets. start winning and people will be interested. otherwise that buzz is just noise.
totally agreed..the new arena will sell tickets a new coach will not sell tickets. people aren't going to buy more tickets to watch a coach. not in the NBA.
Unless he goes to Pensacola to a strip club and in turn gets fi -- oh wait, that's Alabama. It seems familiar though.
I think hiring Brown would help get current season ticket holders, uncertain about renewing because of the Rockets recent performance and/or Rudy's firing, enthused about the future. Many of those people and others thinking about getting seats in the new arena, but worried about the direction of the team, are exactly the type of knowledgeable fan who will be excited about Larry Brown. I'm excited about the possibility and I live out of town. I wouldn't underestimate his impact... but the offseason player moves will be huge for ticket sales. Man, I'm getting over my postseason depression... this is fun.
In the Rockets case a coach will have an impact on attendance. He won't be the only factor, obvioulsy, but a coaching change for one considered to be superior to Rudy will bring people who want to see how the team will change. A new coach increases the curiousity of the fans, thus bringing more them out to the game. Look what the speculation has done for these boards. The new arena has the same effect. Combined the house should be packed for the start of the season, and if the coach does his job and turns the Rockets into an instant winner maybe it will stay packed when people get bored of the novelty of the new digs. Winning will bring people more than anything else, which is what we are hoping the new coach will do for us. If we make a change and become the denver nuggets then no arena in the world will help us sell out.
Yao Ming was all the buzz around the NBA at this time last year, and look at how few sellouts Compaq Center had last year!! I would rather see Mike Dunleavy as our new coach than Larry Brown. From what I've been hearing in "The Chronicle," Brown's a raving maniac on the court.
The Rockets improved their ticket sales by 1k+ and they were happy with that until the end of the season when the team regressed. You expect too much if you want to jump from 10k to 16k, especially when we played the way we did and missed the play-off. I believe we also ranked 4th in road attendance and that is pretty darn good.
