Spurlock Wants More Home Games On TV
September 14th, 2010
Frustrated Bucs fans who were upset the Bucs were not on TV this past Sunday — that is those who didn’t take advantage of The Blackout Tour — have a kindred spirit in Micheal Spurlock.
It seems “run Micheal run” and others on the Bucs are determined to get home games on TV, and not with the help of Steelers fans. They have silently taken the blackouts as a personal affront, that people believe rebuilding means losing, and their goal is to treat Bucs fans to more games on TV, so writes Tom Balog of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
”We kind of got a thing of our own, ’ The Bottom to the Top,’ ” Spurlock said. “Everybody thinks we’re at the bottom of this league, ‘yeah, it’s going to take them three or four years to really rebuild.’
”Everybody (on the team) is kind of holding that on their shoulder, (we) kind of keep saying to ourselves, so when we go out there, we have to show people,” Spurlock said. “We have to help fill these stands and you know, get Bucs fans back into the stadium. We want TV games and we are going to be the reason that we help get that back.”
That’s great that the Bucs have this kind of mentality, this kind of drive, this kind of fire. It warms Joe’s heart to read that.
But, of course, talk is cheap. If the Bucs are able to win at Carolina and somehow upend the Steelers a week from Sunday, Joe suspects ticket sales will be on the rise.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:38 am
If we win at CAR and still can’t avoid blackouts in next home game, it shows how pathetic our fans really are. Sad to say I suspect the blackouts will continue. It will take some time for the bandwagon to start filling up.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:49 am
god i hope we sell out just so we dont have to read ”The Blackout Tour ” your like a broken record…
September 14th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Joe here,
goodfellajay – Yes. It’ll be there. Considering you probably read JoeBucsFan.com silently, this probably cost you one second of your time. Joe apologizes for sucking up all that time.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:56 am
no i dont read silently..when at the game i put this site up on some fans at the game..i just hate the blackout tour and hope to never need it again
September 14th, 2010 at 11:00 am
We won! Lets talk about the bucs going to the playoffs!
September 14th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Winning will help put some people in the stands but the economy is still an issue.
Look at the Rays game last night. The top product in baseball and against the other top product in Baseball and the stands were not filled at all.
From what I have been reading not many scalpers with tickets and the $20 specials were not to be had. Wasn’t there so I don’t know for sure but that is the buzz on other boards.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Pete…Baseball on a Sunday night is why the Rays looked so empty. The Bucs were the only team with a blackout last week. Tampa is not having more of an economic crisis as other cities in the US. Wins will sell out the stadium, but I think they have to beat the Panthers and the Steelers for the fans to come back. That is just how Tampa is.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:35 am
If the bucs beat panthers, there will be a much bigger crowd to host the Steelers.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Winning at Carolina won’t change 15% unemployment.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Riddle me this?? What’s the difference between the 3-13 Bucs & every other team that stunk last year?? The Chiefs, the Raiders, the Lions, the Rams??? Think each of those teams have had consecutive bad seasons & still their fans come to the games!!! Look at the Chiefs game last night! When’s the last time they were good at all?? Fans still show up though. We’ve had some rough years, but what the Bucs have done & none of those teams have done is win a super bowl more recent then us, except the maybe the Rams. What’s so different about those teams & their fans showing week end & week out and our fans??? Support your team! Chiefs fans show up, Raiders fans show up, Rams fans show up!!! Why can’t we???
Signed,
A shamed,but die hard BUC fan always, from NJ
P.S. I have Sunday ticket, so I saw the game & have had it since 2003. No cost is to great to see my BUCS! I’m A FAN, ARE YOU??
September 14th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I watched on Sunday Ticket as well….from Detroit. I hate the look of no fans in the stands. My son-in-law commented about it and frankly it sucks. You guys should appreciate Joe’s efforts in arranging a bus tour. Do you really think he makes a lot of $$$ on those tickets? He does it for his blog readers and Buc’s fans attack him for advertising it much like they attack Raheem and Dominik. Pitiful.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
The fake boobs, and metrosexuals with polished fingernails will show back up to be seen when the bucs start winning again. What you see now in the stands are the diehards who will always support the bucs. God bless them, and wish I could be there with them.
The NFL is playing to those others with the ticket prices, and concession/parking costs, but I know from living there almost 30 years ago that there are plenty of bucs fans who are diehards but cannot afford the costs. Just the way it is in that city.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Larry:
Joe’s not making a red cent off of this. For those b!tching about it, man up and buy a ticket for the lady who rode along on The Blackout Tour who can barely afford the $25 to go to Fort Myers. Or maybe some should put their houses into foreclosure just to satisfy some Bucs fans and go to the game instead? Pathetic.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
You know, one of the guys inducted into the hall of fame (I forget which) gave a speech where he told of how he and his fellow teammates went door to door in the community to invite people to the games.
It ended up getting people to go.
Now I know there is no way the team can hit that many doors, but if they went out and did some, it would make the news, right? That might be enough.
I thought it was a cool story.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Mike Williams is nominated for the NFL’s Rookie of the Week award. Bucs fans can vote for Williams at: NFL.com/rookies. Voting ends on Friday.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
@McBuc the baseball game was Monday night and Tampa has higher unemployment than the national average. We are one of the states hit hardest by the housing bubble burst.
SO yes Tampa is suffering a worse economic situation than most NFL cities.
San Diego is another struggling team at the box office coming of 4 straight divison titles.
As I say winning will help but it may not = a sell out especially for games like the Rams, Seahawks and Lions. If the steelers get rolled by Tenn and TB loses in Carolina then the sellout buzz may very well grow quite again. We shall see.
I intend to try to go to the Pitt game…still lots of tickets avaialble on all the sites.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Joe, can you email me your address so I can send you $25 dollars for the ladys next trip if needed, she is exactly the type of diehard who exists out there, who could probably never make a game at the stadium without taking food off the table.
Thanks for the site btw, and keep up the great work.
Tom
September 14th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Pete…sorry I meant Monday. I travel for a living and go all over the United States and Canada. I will say the St Loius is a good example of selling seats in a bad economy. If you go there you can see the stress on the city. Things seem to be around the same everywhere I go, maybe not Texas though. I beleive Detroit has been hit pretty hard as well, but their fans still make it out. Winning is what will bring them back, the economy dopes not help, and of course you choose bills over going to a game. By your logic, Tampa has it worse than the entire country, since Tampa was the only game blacked out. Or at least half of the NFL cities. I do not buy it, Jacksonville is in Florida as well.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Pete, I will agree we are at the high end of unemployment…11.5% (almost 2% above the average), not 15% like someone above quoted. MI, CA, and SC are worse and most of the NE market is right there with us as well. We also have more people than all but California on, so we still should be able to sell out the stadium. Wins will do that. This area has been through this before. I am not trying to down play people’s financial issues, the certainly are real, but if Jacksonville can sell out so can the Bucs.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Oops, meant to give you this link, it is by City instead of state. We are close to the worst in the country, but so are several other Football towns.
http://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm
September 14th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Yes we were the only team not to sell out on opening day, but watch how many teams don’t sell out from here. The Raiders, Rams, Jaguars, Chargers, Lions, and many other teams will not sell out this year. Whether they purchase those extra tickets or not is another story. The Bucs are unique because Florida is made up of people from all over the country. The Chargers are in a very similar situation only they’ve been playoff contenders for years. What’s the excuse for them? NO ONE is origionally from Tampa! Yes there are a few people born and raised here, but most aren’t. They support their home teams like the Giants, Bears, Steelers, Packers etc….. When things are going well of course they want to be a part of the action and would be willing to drop a $100 to go see their second favorite team. When things aren’t going well it’s just a matter of where else that money needs to go first. Right now it’s a huge sacrafice for most people to go out and drop that kind of money without giving up something else.
September 14th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Just for arguements sake; I’d like one of our marketing guys on here to tell me who the NFL is targeting now as their fan base? It’s not your construction guys or builders anymore. It’s not the middle class family either because they would require multiple tickets to each game and there are very few who can afford the $400 it takes for 3 or 4 people to go. So who exactly are they targeting. The professional single guy who makes 6 figures is the only person I know who can (consistantly) afford to keep their season tickets. Now I’m sure there are people who make less than that who can afford to go, but for how much longer.
September 14th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Buchjim…You are right. I am a native of the area, and it has always been the way you describe above. I think that will change with my son’s generation…I am 39 and he is 5. My Dad was a Bears fan, but switched to the Bucs when they became a team. He still rooted for the Bears, but the Bucs came first…and they were in the same devision. The fans will come back when the Bucs start winning.
I am not sure who they really are targeting, but I know several upper middle class guys with season tickets. I agree that it is expensive.
September 14th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
McBuc,
Thank you! It just drives me nuts when the local and national media jump all over the fans in this area. I had Bucs season tickets for 19 years up until this year and it was only because of a combination of kids and work that kept me from continuing. I’ve also been to over 10 Rays games! I’m just surprised that more people don’t get it.