Stop With The Idiotic Attendance Talk!
January 12th, 2013
Joe has lived in the greater Tampa Bay area spanning three decades now, will not leave and will have his ashes spread locally at a yet to be determined Tampa Bay location when it’s time to go to the football stadium in the sky.
But for the life of Joe, he cannot understand the full erection local sports fans have with attendance. It is mind-boggling.
Moreso, the two-bit, research-depraved talking heads on radio that throw gasoline on these bonfires, Joe just wants to rip the radio out of his truck and throw it at some random cat walking down the street. It’s one reason why Joe has SiriusXM.
Attendance, when it comes to the modern day NFL, is a drop in the bucket compared to all the billions of dollars the NFL rakes in through various TV gigs, commercials, sponsorships, Internet revenue … the list goes on.
Yet for some reason, locals believe the NFL is the NHL, where gate receipts will either make or break a franchise. And sadly, one of our country’s bravest is of this mindset, which sent Joe into orbit on an otherwise calm, even-sober, early Friday evening after reading the weekly BSPN NFC South chat.
Ben (Ft Bliss)
Have not heard much on the LA stadium, if TB struggles selling out next year are they a viable candidate?
Pat Yasinskas
I don’t think it’s to that point yet for Bucs. Could be if attendance lags for a few more years, but not yet. Jags are well ahead are well ahead of them in the LA line anyway.
Good Lord! For those stuck in the 1970s, please, rather than being willfully ignorant, obtain a copy of the Bucs lease with the Tampa Sports Authority — it’s public record — and read it to understand exactly why this notion of the Bucs moving is about as intelligent as suggesting the Dallas Cowboys are bankrupt.
Aside from the sweetheart lease Team Glazer has, the Tampa Sports Authority, bound by its voter-approved referendum, is set to have a fan-friendly, revenue-enhanced upgrade of the stadium in the near future.
So the Bucs are going to break a sweetheart lease and leave a stadium about to be upgraded for very likely a less-than-favorable lease in Los Angeles where they will get sandbagged by business-hostile California state taxes that are absolutely choking the economy of the Golden State?
Right, and Joe just finished his morning shower with Rachel Watson.
If the above information isn’t enough to move you, does anyone really believe some deep-pocket business man in Los Angeles is going to build a $1 billion football stadium and not want to own at least 40 percent of the the team? Are there people out there that drunk to believe someone is going to build such a stadium for charity? Really?
How many times has Team Glazer said they are not selling any part of the Bucs?
Bucs fans, please do a modicum of research before talking about such a nonsensical subject, and by all means, knock off the insipid attendance talk.
Contrary to the belief of far too many sports fans in the Tampa Bay area, the most important line of a box score is not the bottom line (attendance) but the top line (final score).
January 12th, 2013 at 9:09 am
Well said Joe, all the relocation talk is downright hilarious. Just uninformed fans and media running their mouth.
January 12th, 2013 at 9:38 am
I have to echo Tbuc. Well said sir… You have echoed my feelings to a tee. There are many things you can toss legitimate concern or passion into as a fan, attendance or the fear of a possibility of the LA Bucs ever playing even a down of football are not among them.
So on to more important things… Joe, when do the Cheerleader tryouts start?
January 12th, 2013 at 9:49 am
Your right joe.
However, reassuring talk from the Glazers ain’t a good selling point.
I recall their helicopter ride to Osceola county.
More folks will come with legit football, whenever they get around to any….
January 12th, 2013 at 9:49 am
“Full Erection” Hmmmm…….. Anywho, a friend of mine who is a season ticket holder said that The Bucs are putting Tarps in certain areas next season to get more sell outs. He said that the Bucs relocated his seats due to that fact
January 12th, 2013 at 10:26 am
Don’t disagree with the relocation argument… The Bucs aren’t going anywhere. HOWEVER, attendance and a lack of support from the community are a complete disappointment for a once strong fan base! I was over in the Bay area at an unnamed sports bar for the Falcon game and there was almost no interest in the game… Killed me!!
January 12th, 2013 at 10:27 am
Yasinskas is notoriously ill-informed on matters Bucs-related, so I would take anything he says with a gigantic grain of salt. I don’t hate the guy I just don’t rate him very highly among Bucs media types. He’s very vanilla and doesn’t offer any original insights whatsoever. His comment on attendance shows he just doesn’t understand. I’d much rather read what Joe or what Scott Reynolds has to say. I never read Yasinskas any more.
January 12th, 2013 at 10:50 am
The Bucs aren’t going anywhere and we aren’t going to sellout every home game either. Technology, society, demographics, and consumer habits change. The NFL recognizes this and allows teams to change the blackout/attendance rules and they may change yet again. Those rules are not exclusive of Tampa Bay. Expect more of the same! Oh, the NFL and the owners are going to get their money. It will simply come in different ways.
January 12th, 2013 at 11:05 am
Whatever increases in attendance are certainly a bonus, this is shared revenue and not a priority for the Glazers. Fielding a perennial winner would certainly fill the stadium.
January 12th, 2013 at 12:16 pm
A couple of playoff consecutive playoff appearances and all of the attendance issues will go away. This team a been mediocre for a decade, its going to take some serious investment by the Glazers to win the fans back. Last year was a good start.
January 12th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Someday the Glazers will sell the Bucs. Did anyone think they were going to keep the team indefinitely? It is, afterall, you’ve got to think they’re buying sports franchises for the investment.
So when they do sell, who is to say the new owner won’t move the franchise to a more lucrative market?
January 12th, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Last time I checked, the Glazers are very, very rich. Manchester United is sooooo big and makes soooo much money, we are a practically a hobby, and there is no evidence that they don’t want the Bucs to win, first and foremost. Also,they live in the area, and have actually run the team better than most owners around the league for the last 20 years. Yes the Raheem/low payroll experiment was a debacle, but their was logic in it at the time. The labor situation and lack of good free agents that cycle forced their hand anyway. The NFL works in long cycles, teams go up and down, only half of teams can have a winning record each year by definition. Only 1 of 32 can win the Superbowl. Unfortunately, a lot of “FANS” don’t get that.
January 12th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
@Morgan – Why the Glazers possibly want to sell a cash cow like an NFL team. That’s ludicrious.
January 12th, 2013 at 4:19 pm
Tbuc:
Joe believes next week.
January 12th, 2013 at 10:27 pm
Great article Joe! The Bucs will not be leaving anytime in the next 15 odd years…if ever. And the Glazers have no need to sell off any of the team. Manchester United is in 1st place by double digits and also into the 2nd round of the Champions League. They have a surplus of money right now!
January 13th, 2013 at 2:03 am
Morgan:
Joe will play along. So the Glazers sell. That doesn’t mean the contract with the Tampa Sports Authority vanishes. Whoever the new owner is has the same sweetheart deal.
Therefore, there is no “more lucrative market.”
People need to get it out of their heads that attendance = success. It simply doesn’t. We are in the 21st century, not the 1970s.
January 13th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
As it may be true, that with all the new technologies and revenue generators, teams are making exorbitant amounts of money without having to relying on attendance, you still can’t manufacture the advantage of having the 12th man.