or is everybody just wearing red? i noticed this in the NJ series, again against the wizards. seems like there are an awful lot of empty seats. will they come out for the (likely) detroit series, or are they just too blase about basketball in dade county?
Nah, it's the shirts; the playoff theme is "The Red Zone" and everyone goes and wears red (or they even gave out shirts during the NJ series). The games are PACKED at AAA and the fans are good for the most part; the in-house DJ really gets them going as well.
It's not the shirts...The lower bowl was extremely empty, I am guessing because it's a weeknight and an early start. Also, basketball doesn't seem to be very important there. I used to be a DIE-hard heat fan (second to the Rox of course) when ZO was the dominant center/player, and the stadium would be about the same. I think college football and the NFL is what most people up there are passionate about. I am sure they will fill up once they play the pistons.
it looked particularly empty behind the heat bench, same during the nets series. in any case, the whole team, apart from Wade, looks like it's on auto-pilot. if the team can't get it up for the playoffs, which should the fans?
Not true about college football. I have been a Miami Hurricane fan for over 20 years and the only time the Orange Bowl ever sells out is when the Canes play a FSU or some other nationally ranked team. They don't come when they play the Dukes, Wake Forests, East Carolinas, Louisiana Techs of the world. As a matter of fact that has always been the big criticism of Miami - not a college town but a pro one instead. It is probably due more to the fact that the Dolphins have been around since 1966 and were very successful before the Heat were even dreamed about (which I think they entered the NBA around the 1991 time frame).
I've never lived in MIA but have been there many times. Lots of friends there. I'm not surprised there were empty seats because the Heat fan base is very weak. They have far less support than the Rox do here. The only team in MIA that has passionate support are the Dolphins, and the Dolfans are truly rabid. They are the most optimistic fans in the NFL, no matter what happens. The past year put a big dent in the optimism but as soon as Saban was hired they went back to normal. The Marlins "fans" are even worse. MIA doesn't deserve a baseball team. They don't appreciate what they have. Stros fans are rabid compared to them.
It depends on the game...I remember watching the first game of Miami and Washington. There were a lot of empty lower bowl seats.
