how easy we forget and for the upteenth time....there is not major professional team that has high attendance during consistent losing seasons. You can argue that the Cubbies do not have this problem, because Wrigley is a landmark and near Mecca for fans and nonfans alike. So throw Chicago Cubs out, but aside from that every team has attendance issues when losing. Show me any team that is different: -Sac Town was not selling out prior to mid 1990s -NY has had its issues this and last year -LA Lakers had attedance issues in the early 90s So, lets not equate poor fans with poor attendance. Each city has its owns issues and sports culture. I would say that fervor is bigger in NY and Chicago, but the cities are set up differently from an urban planning standpoint. For example, I have friends that roll up on games nightly in NY because they live nearly right next to the arena... So, saying we suck is a very very very subjective view...how quickly we forget 4 years of sellouts from 1994-1999....How quickly we forget how this town responded after winning championships...we do not burn cars and creat mayhem..... How quickly we forget that we have the greatest stadium venues in the US--all paid for with fan and nonfan tax dollars. Come one guys...yes, we are not as emotional as some teams, but we do support our teams...but in this economic climate: you better freakin win more consistently and make it to the playoffs to get the money in the door....
heydude.. Personally I paid to park when I went to a game.... although I'm sure somewhere you may find a place free to park
again going to a game is not the sole criteria for being a fan. Caring about the success of the team is. I am not a Blazer fan and I could care less about them. period I grew up in Texas but I was a Packer fan, because of Lombardi. I think most fans would love to have a good seat at a Rocket game. I think most fans watch them on tv or listen on the radio if possible. But to go to the game and not be "into it" is worth criticizing because that is a fan by definition. You don't have to yell or scream or clap, but you got to like it when we do good and hate it when we do bad before you can call yourself a fan. It bothers me that people bash the Rockets just because they lose. If you're mad because you love the team and they have disappointed- fine. Vent criticize whatever. But if it is only your team when they win you are a bandwagon(er) not a fan. Bandwagon(er)- Someone who supports a winner for ego's sake. Fan- Someone who supports a team because of emotional attachments. Spectator- Someone who shows up.
First of all, those guys in the media who are "ripping" the Rockets' fans for not showing up, themselves get into the games for free. And yes, DCBaller, $13 a pop is a lot of money to people who are struggling to put food on the table. In case you haven't noticed, the past 3 years have been a disaster economically for many people who have been out of work or struggling to find work. I think a great amount of the apathy at these games lies in the nature of the product and the presentation of that product. Let's face it: the Rockets play an ugly mistake-filled brand of basketball where they struggle to reach 80 points on a nightly basis. I have to force myself to stick with their games on Directv where I expressly purchased the NBA League Pass so I could follow them. They have been virtually unwatchable on many nights and I can only imagine what it was like seeing them stink up the Toyota Center in person. Now before I get ripped for what I'm about to say next, let me state for the record that I have not yet attended a game at the TC so my impressions may be somewhat off base but from what I've seen on Directv, the presentation of the home games badly needs improvement. The sound effects are somewhat lame (Dayo???). The music they play is simply awful - I want to blow up that organ recording of Have Nagila with my own dynamite. The dancers are hot, Clutch is cute but the music blows major chunks. The players are supposed to get the party started on the court and the music is there to keep things rocking - at least it's supposed to happen. Contrast with Maverick games where the music has a booming urban contemporary hip-hop rock and roll flava: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Digital Underground, Nelly, 50-Cent, the Who - just to name a few of the artists you'll hear at Mavs games. The Mavs play a high energy rocking style of ball (read: no defense) and Mark Cuban has the entire AAC staff putting on a real show during their games. I see folks dancing in the aisles at Maverick games. Not so at Rockets games. Cuban's position is that these games are entertainment first and sport second. People now come to games to be entertained and not out of a sense of obligation. Sports are now looked at as entertainment and need to be treated as such especially in cities like Houston that cannot boast a storied athletic history on the level of Boston, New York, Chicago or LA. Make the games fun to attend and more fans will come.
The Mavs have also consistently gone deep into the playoffs. Your theory that more fans will come if the music is better is just flat our ridiculous. Sorry. Fans come when teams win. Everything's more fun when you win. It's not a hard equation: Rockets + Playoffs = TC Fans with playoff atmosphere. Why should they go nuts over a team that has been in the lottery four seasons in a row?
It's not only the music, it's the total experience you receive while attending games at the TC. Music is just a small part of the package. Of course folks will turn out in droves if the team wins - that's a given. But no team wins all the time and no organization can depend solely upon true fans of the sport for it's primary customer base. For this franchise to be successful in the long run, they must attract more than the hardcore basketball or "true blue" fan - they have got to get casual fan to come to the game, those folks who are looking for an evening's entertainment. This is the approach that Mark Cuban has taken up here in Dallas. Before he came, Maverick games were dead events that only sold out when your marquee teams came to visit. Yes, the Mavericks were a long running joke and all which contributed heavily to the dead atmosphere at their games but you could still count on a solid core of fans to turn out for the games - it's just that this group was too few in number to make the franchise a success. Cuban recognized this and completely revamped the marketing and presentation of the game itself. He started promoting Maverick games as entertainment and not sport - which started to attract the casual fan. Now you have folks attending Mav games because of their entertainment value and not because of their sporting content or importance. It's nice that they are winning but folks attend because the games are so much fun. The point I'm making here is that from the outside where I am, the Rockets still appear to be approaching the marketing and presentation of the games as sport and not as entertainment. They are selling the team in much the same way that it has always been sold which is simply not going to cut it in the MTV age. Uncle Les got his new arena with his luxury boxes, lounges & restaurants but he's still selling you basketball and not entertainment. And, the way they are playing basketball is not very entertaining these days - hence the dead atmosphere at the TC.
Every NBA presentation is virtually the same...I go to games around the NBA all the time and it is not different. Cuban really does not do anything different these days except win! Win, playoffs = sellouts....bottomline... Guys it is really not to bright to look at it any other way. I mean game presentation is nice to have and adds to the game, but it sucks without winning...Let's face it...Winning is almost everything.!!!!!!..Now, this is not to say that you are not a fan if you do not attend games, because i know plenty of hardcore fans who do not go to many, if any gamews...but getting fans to pack the car and drop the flicker and head to the arena requires lots of winning and playoffs........especially in this day..... Just win baby, plain and simple and the rest will come....
farhan: easy, take a deep breath and step away from the keyboard.... this board was around long before attendance was an issue
any board like this invokes fair weather fanish at times because we all want a better than what we have...that is what fuels this and every board in America.....you go to any city and you get this same banter: some good and informative and some bad and not informative..... in reality, many of the opinions expressed in sports, politics, religion...etc. are fairweathered.....just look at politics, more people vote for american idols than the presidential election...my point here is that I believe a majority of people, despite being passionate about any one issue, are uninformed, do not get the facts and are fairweathered about everything.....a majority of the population are sheep! Rockets basketball is no different: I will say that it is pretty cool that so many differing opinions do exist, fair weathered or not....everyone on this board believes in the idea of the team, but not necessarily the realities. We also have to take into account how the game has changed over the past 10-15 years in terms of salaries, ticket prices, arena politics...etc. People want more if they are paying more and have to pony up for stadiums--there is more accountability in sports from the general fanbase...People vote with their dollars more than ever. I challenge you to check out other sports boards across america and you will get the same sense of this.....Houston is no different than any other city
...maybe the Rockets would get better fan support if they could jsut not suck for two consecutive games....
well the problem is that right now, they would suck for 2 and win 3,. then suck for 3 and lose 3....it is very frustrating at this point because potential is there...just wins are not falling like they should
I disagree and this is what really sets Cuban apart from the other owners who are presenting their product in much the same way as does Houston. If all you sell is basketball then your fortunes will be tied to those of the team. Winning is very nice but no team can stay on top forever, no team wins all the time. The trick is to get people to attend when you are NOT winning - to get folks coming to games when you are rebuilding (like now). To get people to WANT to attend the games, you have to make the games fun to attend, sell excitement and this is where I believe the Rockets fall a little short. I remember posting here at the beginning of the season that they were moving into a brand new arena with no excitement or bounce because they have been a lottery team for the past 4 years. A basketball organization can no longer rely solely on "sports" fans to sustain them - they must find ways to broaden the appeal of their "product" if they want to continue to be successful in the long run.
Then you have no case with Cuban. He didn't have a good attendance until Dallas started winning. Next.
Actually, I'm always struck by how poorly this BBS reflects the greater Rockets fanbase. Remember when the Chron published the results of a survey in which Francis ran away as the most popular athlete in the city, over even Yao? What kind of showing would he get if the same survey was done of BBS members?
I've been to a couple of games and its just horrible how low key the crowd is...However, I can't blame it all on the fans as they're a product of the show on the floor...
