Team Glazer Had “Campaign” For London?
April 12th, 2011
Not citing a source, so Joe is dubious, St. Pete Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud paints a picture of Team Glazer asking the NFL to snatch a home game from their local fans and move it to England.
Stroud explained in an updated blog entry on TampaBay.com, whose time stamp has apparently been adjusted.
While season ticket sales were crisp in January and February, the NFL labor situation and the lackluster economy in Tampa Bay prompted the Glazers to campaign for moving another game to London.
If this is true, this is very troubling to Joe.
Surely, playing in England is not an on-field advantage for the Bucs as compared to a home game in Tampa. That’s not debatable.
Isn’t winning more important?
Joe has no confirmation, but it seems obvious that playing as the “home team” before 80,000 in England has a strong financial upside for the Bucs, especially when your team is struggling to sell 50,000 tickets in Tampa.
Joe doesn’t want to believe that Team Glazer would sell out an on-field edge for its Super Bowl contender Bucs for a profit.
Say it ain’t so, Joel.
UPDATE 7:47 p.m.: The staff at TampaBay.com removed the Rick Stroud quote above from their published story. Odd without any explanation. Though Joe, sadly, has seen this tactic before from the MSM without a published correction. Joe can only hope Team Glazer did not “campaign” for the London game as Stroud wrote originally.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Perhaps they will move them to England for good?
April 12th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Ain’t happening.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
If the connection is made and the Glazers indeed lobbied for this, then they officially have NO EXCUSES for not spending money on AT LEAST TWO FA DIFFERENCE MAKERS.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
If they can sell 80,000 tickets eight times a year, they might as well stay over there. At least we’ll be able to watch them on TV.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
I’ve disliked the Glazers for some time now, but if this is true, they are automatically in contention for the worst owners in sports. Do they understand the physical and mental toll that a flight to London takes? Do they realize that they are sacrificing our competitive advantage for a few extra bucks? No knowledgable player would want to do this. Why would the Glazers not reason with the league and say since we had a home game in London in 2009, we should be away this time? Even if the game would not be sold out in Tampa, this team is on the verge of the playoffs and you would think the owners would be after every on field advantage they could get. This is what happens when you have people who know absolutely nothing about football running an organization. What I would do for football savvy owners…
April 12th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Guys, let’s stop this before it gets silly.
Think about it. Do the math. Why in the world would the Glazers move the Bucs to London? Seriously, they are not dumb.
For every reason people want to think the Glazers will move the Bucs to London, the team with the best shot is the Rams.
You know, the Glazers aren’t the only NFL owners who own an English kickball team.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
KD:
Can Joe introduce to you the legend of that jackass Vince Naimoli?
April 12th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Glazers aren’t even close to “worst owners in sports”. That’s being completely ignorant…
April 12th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This!
April 12th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Lol I will not easily forget him. He was one of the main reasons I included the words “in contention”. The Glazers are pretty bad, but as us Tampa folk (or as Ron Burgundy would say “I believe it’s Tamp-ons”) know, there are worse.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Haven’t the Buccaneers already done that? Aren’t ALL the NFL teams in line for it until we go over again? And were we not the “home” team last time?
This makes absolutely no sense to me, none. And BTW, I’ve already PAID for 10 games this coming season, including those rip-off pre-season “games.”
April 12th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
The Glazers should be part of an expansion conference over in Europe. They should be appointed to head up the European Football Conference as part of the 3rd NFL Confernce. The can start by taking the Bucs over from Tampa’s weak, weak market. The numbers show that the Tampa Bay area just can’t support a baseball or football team. This market not only is all downside but doesn’t even show promise for growth in fan interest.
I would vote for the Glazers to take this team elsewhere. Its the only fair thing to do for them after all the have done for Tampa.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
whats puzzling to me is how people are suprised by this. having a half empty stadium cant look real good in the books at the end of the year, this is a way for them to recoup some of the loss.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Boy how fast you guys forget the Hugh ‘cheapskate’ Culverhouse era!
April 12th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Just do the math guys 80K vs. 40K here in Tampa
Throw in those expensive crappy British brews and the Glazers almost doubled their revenue for this game.
Really it’s a no brainer on their part
April 12th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
I believe that if you are an owner who gives your team less of a chance to win, than you have no business owning a team. Does anyone thinks this helps Tampa’s chances of winning?
Notice I said IF this is true then they are in contention for the worst. If the Glazers lobby to give up a home game to play across the Atlantic Ocean then I think they definitely belong in the lower tier of sports owners.
This is a big hypothetical situation here, but say we lose in London. That loss may cost us a home playoff game (if all goes well). That certainly would generate a hell of a lot of income.
It would be different if we haven’t been to London. But we have been. And we sacrificed a home game. Which it looks like we will be doing again. I really don’t care too much about how many people are in the stands. Do you really think the players want to go to London to play a football game over staying home going over their normal routine before a game?
It’s all about wins and losses and above all I wish my owners would realize that.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
WeNeedDefense:
See seasons 1999 – 2008. What do you mean the numbers don’t support it. I don’t know if you’ve ever read a newspaper, but there’s a recession going on (not technically anymore, but locally it is still very apparent). This town can support a football team.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Joe, certainly puts the Bucs at a competitive disadvantage IN THE SHORT TERM, but the Glazers are not short term thinkers and they have a huge head start in England. I will be at the game and loving it!
April 12th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
@KD
Playing in London could play in to the Bucs’ hands. They’ve recently played there and will have that experience to draw from. I understand if you think that’s a little far fetched, but hey this site is the home of people who think Cadillac will be re-signed to “teach” Blount how to pick up the blitz. All-in-all, London should be less of a challenge to the Bucs than the Bears.
I don’t blame the Glazers for wanting to expand their brand. They’re businessmen; that’s what they do.
If you take an honest look at the situation, Tampa fans are a far bigger disappointment as a fan base than the Glazers are as owners.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
HIRE GREG OLSON!:
Joe just finds it absolutely amazing that with more houses in this market underwater than on time with their mortgage payments, with many people in foreclosure, with unemployment still horrible and see if you can name anyone (outside of a lawyer) who is making more than three years ago, with the area’s largest employer (schools) cutting salaries, that people need to throw away their houses, get behind on their car payments, start bouncing checks all over creation in order to “support” the Bucs.
That’s just friggin’ rich to Joe.
For those people who think this way, put your money where your mouth is: Call a foreclosure lawyer and offer to buy season tickets for one of his/her clients.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
@Hire Greg Olson
No doubt Tampa fans are a huge disappointment. It furiates me. By the way, for anyone reading this, the Lightning made the playoffs, time to pretend you like hockey again.
I understand the economic problems Tampa faces right now, but there are still financially capable people in the bay area who claim to be Buc fans and don’t go to the game.
With my Tampa fan rant over, I agree that the Bucs might have a slight advantage over Chicago. I don’t know if it’s more of an advantage than playing at home, but at least some of the players were there in 09. Some, not many that matter though. The starting roster next year will be almost entirely different than in 09. The positive thing is that Raheem and some staff has been there before, so they will have a little bit of a better idea than Tomlin and company. That being said, I’d still much rather have the game at home in Tampa.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Joe you are right.
What really needs to happen is the Glazers need to lower ticket prices until there are sellouts. They need to always create demand by way of sellouts. Then they need to raise revenues by other means. They need to start getting extremely creative and re-invent newer streams of revenue.
Perhaps turing off the water fountains and selling water for $10 a bottle? Or charging a dollar in order to take a leak.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Joe, for all your rantig and raving about the local economy being bad please explain why the detroit lions sell out?
April 12th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
My beef (go figure, I have a beef, hard to believe) is this is a SLAP in the face to the loyal season ticket holders, that have continued to scrape together funds to hang onto tickets to see their team play LIVE!!! I freakin LIVE for these home games.
Look you Arrogant K___ Suckers, we are the people supporting you, and you are going to kick us in the teeth by taking away one of our games, again.
Please tell me this is a Bogus rumor and the Bucs will not be hosting another game in England.
I have done my best to not bad mouth the Golden Sperm Club, although it is very hard at times.
I guess they are rewarding all the fans that stay home and have missed the Home games, but at the expense of the Season Ticket Holders.
Whatever.
April 12th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Joe, I defended Tampa fans:
HIRE GREG OLSON! Says:
April 12th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
WeNeedDefense:
See seasons 1999 – 2008. What do you mean the numbers don’t support it. I don’t know if you’ve ever read a newspaper, but there’s a recession going on (not technically anymore, but locally it is still very apparent). This town can support a football team.
==============================================
But in general, as sports fans, Tampa is pretty weak. We couldn’t get people to the Trop last year when we had the best team in baseball. Rays tix are $10 ea. No excuse not to go see 10 games a season, which I would bet is far above what the actual average is for even MLB’s prime demographic (Men 18-35?) in the greater Tampa Bay area.
I went to 25+ Rays games last year and have had Bucs season tix since 1993.
I also worked as an usher for the Rays when I was a teenager (their first three years). I’m almost 30 now and trust me, when I say Tampa fans are weak. I see kids I went to middle school and high school with wearing Yanks and Sox gear at Rays games and Steelers and Packers gear at Bucs games.
I know a lot of true Tampa fans have been priced out of Bucs games because of escalating NFL ticket prices and the economy, which is very unfortunate, but that doesn’t explain away the poor level of pride people have in our home.
-H.G.O.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:13 am
Hire Greg Olson!:
Joe knows you did. Joe was just concurring with you.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:23 am
Mr. Lucky:
There are tons of variables too detailed to get into, but specifically, Detroit has struggled — not as bad as this area — to sell out, though they have.
Joe just doesn’t think there is an 11th commandment that thou shalt buy season tickets. It’s very arrogant for people to tell others how they should spend their cash.
It’s one thing for a fan base (Rays) to whine that driving across a bridge 20 minutes is too far; it’s quite another for people unable to scrape up the cash. When the economy started going south in 2006 or 2007, so did the Bucs season ticket base. It’s not that difficult to connect the dots.
(Rays “fans” who claim they can’t drive 20 minutes should just admit they are not baseball fans and Joe would respect them.)
Is the Bucs front office partially to blame the way they treated fans (Joe has described his experience more than a few times), sure.
Also, the majority of the people it seems are whining about no sellouts because they can’t watch the games at home.
It’s just a pet peeve of Joe’s when people try to tell others how they should spend their money or they are some lower form of life.
April 13th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Hey Thomas:
“It’s very arrogant for people to tell others how they should spend their cash.” – Joe
April 13th, 2011 at 1:15 am
Someone should have seeked Sam Fuld’s counsel on this prior to making a decision.
April 13th, 2011 at 2:21 am
As a UK Buc fan I’m happy that I don’t have to payout so much to travel to the USA to watch them again but making them the “HOME” again just isn’t fair on the bulk of the fanbase, those that have season tickets and lost a game already.
But as some already said, how do you turn down 80k for a crowd of 40k?
These international series games are a touchy subject and walk a fine line between being unfair to the main fanbases and a great tool to grow the global fanbase.
April 13th, 2011 at 7:08 am
There are just too many choices for fans in Tampa to spend their $:
Tampa Bay Bucs
Tampa Bay Storm
Tampa Bay Lightening
Tampa Bay Rays
USF Football
UF Football
Not to mention the great fishing/boating and beaches as well. Just be glad the Glazers only requested 1 home game in London nto two!
PS Derrick Brooks was named President of the Tampa Storm and NOT the Bucs…makes you wonder doesnt t
April 13th, 2011 at 7:42 am
Mr. Lucky:
Joe has heard that but no idea is that is true. The Lightning have drawn OK if not well this year. The past two years is when the Lightning’s attendance dropped like a rock. Three years ago when they were the worst team in the NFL, they were top-five in attendance in the NHL.
That’s one of many reasons why Joe has stated comparing the Tampa Bay area to a Rust Belt city is apples and oranges.
April 13th, 2011 at 7:45 am
Goooooooooo UK Bucs!!!
April 13th, 2011 at 8:25 am
Not sure where I posted my comment yesterday. But I do hope the Bucs reduce my season ticket price by one game this year.
It is likely that the Bucs receive other financial incentives for making the journey and transfering a home game to London. Considering last year’s fan turn-out, I would lobby for the game as well.
Can’t really hate the Glazers for this move. They are business men. It is possible that playing one game overseas this year is enough to rattle more fans into buying tickets to future games in hopes of avoiding this in the future.
Bucs ain’t leaving Tampa, so y’all can stop now. The Rays might be a different story.
April 13th, 2011 at 8:30 am
Oh, good lord, lol.
It’s really not that big of a deal, people. It doesn’t make the Glazers bad owners. It’s only one game. Get over it, lol.
April 13th, 2011 at 8:30 am
(that comment was not directed toward season ticket owners)
April 13th, 2011 at 9:06 am
As an accountant who has prepared a whole lot of tax returns here in the Detroit area, I can say that I’ve never seen so many folks who have lost so much in just a few years. Unemployment is high, possible higher than Tampa Bay – the foreclosure rates are climbing (a problem shared with TB) and folks just don’t have any money. Yet the Lion’s continue to sell out? I don’t buy that there couldn’t be 65,000 fans in Tampa Bay that could afford season tickets. I might add – Detroit’s casino’s are full as well – is Tampa’s?
April 13th, 2011 at 9:33 am
Tampa’s casino is always packed, but it doesn’t offer full gaming. The mall parking lots are alwayus full. However, many cars belong to geriatrics simply walking in the air conditioned halls.
Needless to say, Tampons have been reluctant to attend outdoor, ball-dripping Bucs games with high ticket prices. But that is no excuse when your team put up so many wins. I have no excuse for my Tampon brethren. I have season tickets, but will admit that in the beginning of the season, I skipped games I fiugured we would lsoe.
April 13th, 2011 at 11:54 am
I can clarify some of this. Detroit is not a tourist twon to the extent that Tampa is (and Florida overall). We have people from all over move down here. Some only spend the winters here. Others retired here.
And of those, a lot of them have been life-long fans of other teams. Contrary to what the Big Dog on WDAE might say, I don’t think that because they live here they should change their favorite teams.
I know if I were to move to Detroit, for example, I would possibly watch Lions games, but I would still be a life-long Bucs fan (and will be till the day I die).
But that’s the situation we have here. Florida is a state full of retirees in fixed incomes. In Sarasota they have a saying…”They are the home of the newly wed and the nearly dead.”
Keeping that in mind, let’s appraoch the income issue. Let’s pick a job…waitress for example. If you have ever been a waiter or waitress, you know that the overwhelming majority of older persons are horrible tippers (not all, but most). And since retirees is the dominant population here, that means a lower income to waiters and waitresses.
There are plenty of younger people here as well, but many are struggling to make ends meet. In Detroit, you have a better economy. In fact, when car manufacturers, for example, were in dire need, the government gave them assistance in the form of bailouts.
Here, our dominant trades are tourism and fishing. The BP Oil Spill severely damaged the Fishing Trade here (to this day) and there are no bailouts for tourist attractions.
We have huge unemployment numbers as well.
All of that said…you are right, we should be able to sell out Buccaneers games…and we will. I know that we are pointed to by the media as having horrible and unsupportive fans, but that just is not the case. There are other teams not selling out their games, and the ONLY ones you hear about are in Florida (Jags and Tampa).
We are rebuilding and it’s only natural for fans to become discouraged during this time.
And you can say Detroit has soldout all its games, but that just isn’t true. Sure..NOW it is…but they have been rebuilding for close to 2 decades. Fans there got discouraged as well at one point.
April 13th, 2011 at 11:57 am
In fact…in 2008, five of the Lions’ final six home games of the season did not sell out.
The second home game of 2009, when the Lions broke their losing streak, did not sell out…it was blacked out locally.
In fact, you seem to have forgotten the Redskins game just last season…not sold out.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Does Detroit have beaches on the Gulf of Mexico? Does Detroit have some of the best boating and fishing outlets in the USA? NO.
You see, the people who actually have the money to spend on games, go out in there boat instead, go to the beach instead, go on vacation instead, go out to the many nice restuarants or bars the Tampa Bay area provides instead. They watch the football games on their 50+ inch HDTV’s instead. They use the HD-DVRs to record the games they want to watch instead, and golf as well, all in the same day.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Good points WeNeedDefense.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Its the only way this team will ever have a sold out game. They can’t sell out in Tampa anymore.
Dont be shocked when the Rays and Bucs both want to move out.
The fans in this city are horrible. And fans come up with one sorry excuse after another. I mean people wouldnt even sell out Rays games because they have to “drive across a bridge.” Are you f-ing serious? Tampa has the worst fans in the sports world!
April 13th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Joe has been hoping for almost a day that some conspiracy theorist could provide a solid reason why the Bucs would move (to London.
And, not attendance is not a reason.
April 13th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
You guys keep crying about national coverage, well now you have both national and international. Maybe this is the best way the owners can get a national game on the books. Oh, and Mr Lucky, the Britts brew same of the finest ales in the world.
April 13th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Oh, and from a marketing stand point you want it to be a home game, they pimp the stadium up with Bucs colors and logos, and we get to see our home team cheerleaders. There is no way I would agree to being the away team if I owned the team.
April 13th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
The Glazer Boys are just so beloved over there they just can’t resist.
Given the horrific home record of Rah, probably a good move.
I doubt they would move the team to London. However, I think they would move the team to LA if they could manipulate it somehow. I think they tried to buy the Dodgers once and the Glazer Boys love LA. Hugely bigger market.
April 14th, 2011 at 5:59 am
And now the story is removed without explaination! I have one! Stroud got a threatening call for prefabricating a story!
The NFL has decided to showcase Josh Freeman. The guy is gonna get a lot if exposure playing in London. They, like us, realize he is the new NFL QB of the Future. Expect some nationally televised games this year!
April 14th, 2011 at 7:35 am
Am I the only one, or does that still sound strange to hear? I never thought we would have a big name featured franchise QB. I never dared dream.
Heck, part of me is STILL waiting for the other shoe to drop!
Sorry, sir, you are wrong. I could see the Rays leaving, yes, but not the Bucs. LA will never take our team.
And you are also wrong in saying that the Bucs will never sell out a game. You seem to forget that they have a season ticket waiting list of over 100,000 at one point. Or maybe you did not forget. Maybe you are an uneducated fan of another team.
The reason games are not selling out yet are many fold, but one of them is the fans view other luxuries or needs as more important.
When the Bucs are finished rebuilding and looking solid again, people will start sacrificing to go to games again.
Besides, even without soldout games, the Bucs have outsold other blacked out teams. Just because BSPN has a grudge against the Glazers and Tampa and they always point to us instead of the other towns, it doesn’t mean they are right…or that you are.