I don't even know where to start. I have been to 1/2 a zillion games in 1/2 a zillion arenas...ok maybe like 8 different arenas....and I have never been more dissapointed in a home crowd in my life. I won't compare it to the Knicks games because, as we know, Madison Square Garden can be as electric for a mid-January game vs the Clippers as it can be for a finals game vs the Rockets or Spurs. I think a VERY fair comparison is to put it up against a Nets home game (which are equally pathetic). First off...to calm the masses...I am as big of a Rocket fan as anyone here and when I moved here 4 mnonths ago, the first thing I did was make sure I had season tickets...lest you think I harbor any ill will towards the team or the city To put this bluntly, the arena is a morgue. Is it beautiful? yes. Is the food as good as any arena I have been to? Especially on the Club level? Abso-friggin-lutely! I can't say a single bad thing about the Toyota Center itself. The crowd is worse...and I didnt think it was possible.....WORSE than watching a Nets game. I have been to tee ball games in which the fans showed more emotion. You would have thought that the game was an exhibition and no one in Houston had ever heard of the sport...or the players. The game last night was a National TV game...hopefully for our sake, they didn't pan the crowd...or lack thereof...and it wasn't just the lower level center court crowd that was either sleeping or absent..it was the supposed nosebleed-diehard sections up top as well. The most excitement the crowd displayed all night was when Clutch the Bear decided to throw some potato chips down on our heads from the upper level. Hey Mr Bear...how about getting the crowd into the game instead of pissing them off by throwing food at them? What a novel idea. When you have an 11 point lead in the 4th quarter (or a deficit)...believe ot or not...the crowd can carry you those last few minutes...I have seen it happen. Unfortunately, there is no cut and dry way to cure this...but I am certainly not looking forward to 35 or so more games of this apathy.
yea i haven't ever been to a game at the new arena but just looking at the pictures on the tv you can see the lower bowls being virutally empty. Its probably taken up by high executives who just don't decide to the game. but then again you ask yourself, "is this type of basketball entertaining?" I mean the product on display to me is really ugly. I wouldn't pay 40 bucks to watch this type of basketball. Which is really sad cause when i was a kid, i would go to any game to watch dream and kenny and max play.
wow..i had a completely different experience last week vs. the T-Wolves. i thought the crowd was pretty loud and the atmosphere was fun. i commented that i thought the game presentation was much better, as well.
even if i lived in houston, i probably wouldn't pay to see this crap. when i did live in houston (80's), i went to a TON of games and enjoyed all of them (even some of the losses.) this stuff is just plain difficult to watch. i purchase the nba league pass every year because it's the only way i get to see rockets games (non-national tv.) man, i just can't take too much more of this.
It may be the style of play just isn’t very exciting. even if i lived in houston, i probably wouldn't pay to see this crap. when i did live in houston (80's), i went to a TON of games and enjoyed all of them (even some of the losses.) this stuff is just plain difficult to watch. i purchase the nba league pass every year because it's the only way i get to see rockets games (non-national tv.) man, i just can't take too much more of this. Bingo!! This isn't NY or LA. There just isn't the population, demographic, culture or density to support large, racous crowds every night. I've been to every game this year except for the T-Wolves. Man, it's really really hard to get excited in there. At last night's game, I think there were very few exciting plays - two TMac dunks and Tyronne Lue finally hitting a three. On the other hand, there were things that continually get you down, despite the lead they developed going into the fourth - 1/8 3 pointers on wide open shots to start the game. They were 6/11 on free throws at one point. I knew it would come back to haunt them and it did. If the Rockets play like the Mavs or Suns and lose, then there will be more people. If they play lke the Rockets currently do but win, there will be even more people. If they play like the Mavs, Suns, Kings, etc., with defense and win, there will be a crapload of people there excited all the time. Considering the economics of professional sports, you'd have to think that these fans are actually the smarter ones.
Ultimately, this will be Jeff Van Gundy's downfall. Football is, and always will be king here. The Texans are playing well enough to keep the crowds coming and excited. Garner, Beltran, and the comeback has put the Astros in second place in the battle for the sports dollar. That leaves the Rockets. People liked the McGrady acquisition, but the "buzz" didn't extend much beyond the folks who were already basketball fans. The average sports guy/gal, perhaps with fond memories of the championship, tunes in and sees Van Gundy-ball, and tunes right back out again. Winning helps *a lot*, but to put fannies in seats, the team needs to win, AND be entertaining in the process. It is a feedback loop (team --> fans --> team), and the "excitement threshold" to start it hasn't happened.
Well, it just really really sucks when the mascot is more entertaining then the game - and I'm a diehard Rockets fan.
Boy..was T Mac ever sold a bill of goods when he came to the press conf and saw all those raucous fans
I was at the Lakers game too and all the exiting plays came for the Lakers (mainly Kobe's Nasty dunk and one). I bought tockets for two of my buddies, and it ended up pissing me off because all they b****ed about was how the game was so boring. They said "man, I would have rather watched this on TV." It made me feel like I wasted my money. Thanks JVG for causing me to waste my money.
Houston has been, and always will be, a bandwagon town. This team has done nothing to "spark" the bandwagon since 1998... making the playoffs last year in a league where more than half the teams do-so is NOT enough of an accomplishment to do that. The same thing happened in the early 90's... the team was consistently making the playoffs, losing in the 1st round, and the fan support was less than 10,000 on most nights. Meanwhile, the Texans bandwagon will always be full because yes, this is a football town... and there's enough income in this town to support only 8 home games, even if the team is a disaster. The Astros have had decent fan support since moving downtown... but it just exploded this year. If they regress next year, it will go back to normal... but drawing around 2.8-2.9 million fans each year is nothing to complain about. Bottom line, the Rockets have to do SOMETHING in order to win the fan support back. Either win a division, or advance past the first round of the playoffs. Nobody is going to hand them anything at this point...
This was my first game at the Toyota Center. The place looked half capacity and the only time the crowd got excited was when t-shirts were shot into the stands. Nice clean stadium, though. And, no lines in the bathroom
My season ticket rep emailed me (along with the rest of his accounts) and asked for comments/suggestions etc to make the games better. Maybe this is part of the problem....we are fans...not marketing experts. Would more giveaways make the game better? No...it would not be more exciting to leave a game with a lifesize poster of yao scrolled up under my arm or a throwback Billy Paultz bobblehead doll. Would more theme nights be better? No Maybe JayZ is right...this town can really only support one sport...and that's football. I thought we had gotten to the point where it was different after the THREE NEW STADIUMS were built but apparently not. If the demographics are so bad here, perhaps the team should have relocated. Question for those who were Oiler fans - When the OIlers moved, was it a financial thing for the owner or was it because of poor attendance and fan apathy?
Being a season ticket holder I have to say I agree that the crowd is usually sub-par. I've only been to a couple of other places, but I can say that they were definitely louder than the Toyota Center. Personally, I can't stand the Toyota Center (see my sig). Just go upstairs and look at the floor your walking on to see how cheap they can be. I don't think the food is half as good as it was at the Compaq Center, and I hate how depending on where your sitting you might have to walk around almost half of the building to get to a place that sells food. Next time your there, notice how many different places there are that just aren't open. I'm a die hard fan, but this combined with the slow, non exciting style that Van Gundy has brought to this team has really "quieted" me. I used to be the type up screaming after every play, but now more often than not I find myself just sitting there watching our guys run to the other end of the court after a basket. BOTTOM LINE: You have to somehow get the fans involved and because MOST fans only get excited by scoring, or the occasional blocked fast break, blocked dunk, or 2-3 consecutive blocks on 1 posession, you shouldn't expect things to change much unless Van Gundy is gone. 2nd BOTTOM LINE: I'm not saying I want Van Gundy gone because I do believe it's too early, but I also believe that one thing will lead to another and with a faster/higher scoring offense it will generate more and louder fans, but not necesarily more wins. Pugs
Hard to get pumped up when they walk the ball up the court each time. Not many really exciting plays. Plus we are losing to lousy teams right now. DD
It was all about the money. That is not the case. There are fans, and the building can be full. The Astros proved that. The Rockets need to do something on-court to generate that excitement. Winning is a first step, but not the only one...
I usually buy one of the mini plan ticket packages. This year I just wasn't very excited about the team, so I decided to hold off on buying tickets. I bought the NBA Leauge Pass instead.
Who in their right mind would spend their hard earned money to watch this? Its not entertaining. We're not winning.
