It's okay to post at work, warnotes! Even Tim does it. Heh. I have a funny visual of Tim furtively scanning the site, constantly looking over his shoulder, and then Alt-Tabbing to Powerpoint as soon as Les walks by. Anyways. Interesting theory, and I'm sure to some extent it's true. My only counterargument, though, is that the economy was even worse in places like San Francisco and Oakland. I lived in the Bay Area in 2000-2001, used to work in silicon valley. If Houston's economy is bad, San Francisco's was flat-out Bill Walton hoooorrrrriiibbleee----the worst economy in the history of humanity. But somehow even the Warriors managed more than 11,000 fans a game . . .
IMHO - the Rockets have priced out the working man. I'm loyal to the Rockets, but I'm more loyal to my family. If I must choose between spending my money on my family, or a basketball game, I'll choose my family without hesitation. -- droxford
Bull****. Like the original poster said, the Rockets were better than at least 15 teams that season and had the <b>worst</b> attendance. Perennial losers like the Cavs, Clippers, Warriors, Wizards, and Hawks had better attendance. So the "Rockets suck" excuse doesn't fly. Plus, the Rockets were only <b>one year</b> removed from not making the playoffs. Now, for the real reason the Rockets have such a hard time selling tickets all you have to do is reread the above quote.
I'm damn loyal towards the rockets but some of the player's attitudes gotta be fixed. Players like Yao Steve and Cat are players who love the game and are playing it for the game. Yeah some of y'all might bash Cat but I know during his free agency run he could have made more money elsewhere but decided his love for the team meant more. That's the type of player I'm proud to spend cash to see.... but the rest of guys like moochie, mo tay, and a few others just really get on my nerves. they are there for the "Bling". They are also not making the play offs which is really sad especially with all the "potential" that is supposedly on the court. There are 4 guys i'm willing to keep and they are Steve Cat Cato and Yao. Yes I said Cato cause at least Cato banged hard when he came off the bench. If he spent time training at a bigman camp too that shows even more heart. The rest of the fella's really don't give me a reason to want to spend cash to watch them....
That pretty much says it all. I remember hearing something about the Rockets having the 4th highest ticket prices in the league. I could be wrong. Anyone have the stats?
I can't blame anybody for not paying a ridicolus amount for a seat for a product that most of us have a tough time watching on TV
I don't have a tough time watching them on TV, I just have a tough time coming up with the cash to get into the Summit. I will probably make more games this year (assuming the lowest priced tix don't go up too much) because of the convenience of the new arena for me. I live in Clear Lake and Greenway Plaza sucks to get to at 7, but I am 25 minutes from the new arena. Personally, the part that bothers me is all the empty seats in lower prom. I hate watching the game on TV and seeing dozens of seats empty in the lower bowl and I know that at least some of it is season ticket holders that don't show up. I know most of it is that people don't want to pay a C note to sit in lower prom, but if you have season tix, I think it is your responsibility to make sure that there is an a$$ in that seat for 41 games.
Considering traffic, expense, many people who are here from other cities and still have allegiance to former cities' teams....
Yhis is so sad, because any time you watch a Comets game, their crowd makes the place sound like Arco Arena.
No its not, not even by helicopter. When pro sports went corporate the real sports fan got knocked out of the games. Who wants to watch a BB game from 10 stories high when I can watch the game on tv. The tickets are cheaper there and I can buy a 12 pack for what they sell you one beer there for. By the way I do go to a couple of games a year and I always sit up high although 1/2 the seats below me are freaking empty. For the Lakers and teams of such ilk you get a decent crowd at the high price seats but when there isn't a star to see you get every tom, dick and mary who could care less about the team and they are there just for something to do if they're there at all. Its like date night down there and nobody cares if there's a game going on or not in the expensive seats.
Don't give me that loyalty crap. Business is business. If Les doesn't make his money, and get what what he wants, then he moves the team. Period. We almost lost 'em before the new stadium was built. It's not personal. It's business. Don't be a fool: he and the Rockets sell a product, and we buy it (Tim markets it!). If you have a loyalty issue, then you need to be a fan of some not-for-profit sport. And there's nothing wrong with complaining about a product you spend a lot of money on (tickets) if the product disappoints you. So go piss up a flagpole -- droxford
Another reason the rockets attendance went down after the champioship years, is that the prices are too dam expensive. Thats the problem
Is this really true? I thought all of the lower level tickets were still pretty much sold out every season the past couple of years...but I could be wrong. And yes, it's true that the lower level tickets at the Compaq Center were more expensive than most arenas, but those weren't the seats that they were having trouble filling. The problems were in the upper level, where the ticket prices were pretty much in line with the rest of the league...not to mention that the upper level seats were actually closer to the court than most other upper levels around the league. This is due to there being no second level for luxury suites and club seats in the Compaq Center. Trying to rationalize why the attendance was the <b>worst in the league</b> you have about four options. a. ticket prices b. bad team c. bad location d. the fans in Houston Sorry, but I would have to go with D.
I'll take A. Maybe alot of fans in Houston like me can't afford to go to 41 games a year. Does that make us bad fans?
I agree with most of the stuff posted... Some Houston fans are not "Die Hard" fans...It's more like a social event (e.g. Any Rox game last year)... I suspect, even with the high ticket prices, Toyota will sell out a lot more this year, not due to VG or the Rox, but just because it's new and the place to be seen... I am only able to go when a contractor or someone give me tickets as I can't take my family as it's a couple of hundred bucks...
The worst is even with a half filled building at Compaq, they do that dumb cheer before the starting line-ups: "Hou-ston,!" Two people from one side of the arena. "Rock-ets!" The other 4 people in the building. It just made you realize how empty the arena was... hope they ditch the drummer boys as well.
