I want to add that basketball also needs to have a certain entertainment value. I feel like I'm as pure of a hoops fan as you will find, but this team is average and boring. Let's rewind for a moment. After the strike yr of 98 and the barkley/pippen fued, the rockets pulled a big deal off and got francis. We watched him in college and were amazed at a guard with that kind of athleticism. Now myself personally, I never thought they could win a ring or go far with that team. They lost a lot of close games because of late game excution. That team won 39 or 40 games, but they were fun to watch. The next year, people had expectations from the self proclaimed best backcourt in basketball. Even with the iso ball that was soon to come, the emotion,athleticism, and dumb ass mistakes late in games made those teams exciting. Whether it was francis dribbling the spaulding off the ball, then making a move and dunking on someone or it was cat doing the same. Again, I never thought they were going anywhere, but they entertained me. This team as constructed isn't entertaining and they're not going anywhere either. In houston, that's a bad combination. I'm the demographic they want to buy tickets. I have a lot of disposable income,but its hard to pay to see a team going nowhere that's not entertaining. During the week its almost impossible because I have a wife and kids. So most times I choose to stay at home, get the kids ready for school, deal with the wife, and watch them tv. A lot of times, I don't even watch them live. I record and watch teams like ok city,chicago, miami, and recently minny,clippers, lakers. Really, just what I think will be the best game of the night. Does this mean I'm a bandwagoner or fairweather fan? Maybe, but I've seen a lot of rocket games at both the summit/compaq center and toyota center. I've watched up close and personal some bad rocke teams since 78. The one thing we always had was hope. Whether it was moses, ralph and dream, dream and the scrubs, dream and the championship squad, francis era, yao and tracy era. We always had something vs now we have nothing. I'm suppose to believe the team is all in when chuck hayes is playing center? Am I suppose to believe you're doing everything to win? What about the stud young player? It is what it is, but that doesn't mean I have to drop $300 to prove my fan hood does it?
A whaatt? You just go to the table and and ask for upgraded seats? How do you start that conversation cause I might have to try that saturday. I've been to a couple where they start passing out upgrades to fill seats but have never asked. Is it the season ticket holder table or the one by the kids area? My memory is fuzzy from not being there in like 11 months.
not really, The rockets organization and management are just awful. You gotta give the fans a reason to be cheerful. U gotta earn it. They have been parading the same average squad/underdog team for years and getting the same results year after year. The fans are not awful, they are getting smart. What true fan wants to show up game after game and watch ur favorite team lose horribly game after game, year after year. Only the average fans show up now or go on family nights/date nights to the toyota center. The true fans stay home where they can cry or throw b**** fits and temper tantrums when we lose without getting arrested in public
When you go up the escalator, its right there in front of you before you go left or right. There's usually one of Yao's shoes on the table and ticket reps standing there. I just go up there and ask if I can have some upgraded tickets. 1 time I acted like I was interested in season tickets, even though I already had a partial plan, and sometimes I'll give them someones name and number and say they're interested in tickets. After a minute or two of talking, they usually ask me how many I need, and they're always in the lower bowl. For the OKC game we were in 112, and yesterday in 102. I've gotten tickets from them in pretty much every section except the club.
Personally, I've been to 2 games this year. I'd go to more but cost and the drive time keep me from attending as often as I'd like. Last year I made 4 games. Prior to that, in the 20 years of living in Houston I had attended maybe 5 total games although I've been a Rocket fan the whole time. I go more often now because I can afford to. Even so, most games I would rather stay home and watch because if I can't get decent seats, I'm actually paying money for a "worse" seat than I would watching it on my HDTV. That makes no sense. So I only go when I can afford lower bowl seats...usually on the baselines where I have found ticket prices are in the $80-$100 range per seat. Add in parking, food, beer and gas to get to the game and we are talking approximately $140 for 2-3 hours of entertainment. I just can't afford that too often. Sorry if that makes me a bad fan. I would LOVE to hear from some fans about ways to get good seats for cheaper prices. I've tried using Flashseats but haven't been too lucky there. Anecdote: I have a friend in Dallas who is a big Mavericks fan (ugh). Anyways, in Dallas they have a deal for most regular season games. At 5:30pm (I think) all upper bowl remaining seats for that nights game are $10 and lower bowl seats are $20 while supplies last. I think they still do this (they did it in past seasons) but am not sure now that they won the NBA title. There was always a line of folks waiting for 5:30pm there. Was pretty neat. He saw maybe 10 games 2 years ago this way.
I disagree about management and the organization being terrible. Many Houston fans attending games are not die-hard fans like most on this site. There is not a superstar to draw the casual fan and a mediocre start doesn't help either. But, winning cures all.
People want to spend money on a team that is going to win or has a star they are interested in watching. I live in NYC now and go to the games when they play the knicks or nets. This year I might not even go. ticket prices aren't great and we don't exactly have s new,up amd coming star I excited to watch grow. Hakeem is gone. Francis, McGrady, and yao are all gone. I am not really interested in watching kmart.... if they want to fill seats they need to produce. This is year 1 in post yao. the attendence numbers are going to be low.
I GUARANTEE YOU that the more people in this city care about the Rockets than the Stro's. The Astros have been one of the more disappointing franchises the last couple years. I mean seriously, the pinnacle was when we got swept by the White Sox, I think that's the team. At least the Rockets have a couple titles. But yes, this is Texas. Football has, is, and always will be...number one.
Well that guarantee doesn't go far. There are many that do not even care about basketball. I think this is reflected in the attendance. Even when the Astros suck, it is a cheap trip to go and watch them lose. The same can not be said about going to a Rocket's game.
on it's own level, entirely. it's not enough to call it america's number one sports option...it's arguably america's number one entertainment option. check out the most watched shows for the year -- the top 10 generally includes at least 5 NFL games. nothing else even comes close.
You must spread rep around, etc, etc, etc..... This is exactly how I feel. I LOVE the Houston Rockets. As much as I loved them 35 years ago when I first became a fan and my dad used to take me to see Calvin, Rudy and Moses play at The Summit. This current crop of players? How many of them are even going to be on this team 5 years from now? It's like the entire roster is waiting to be traded. How are we supposed to get behind these guys?
