A Jubilee For Bucs Couch Potatoes
June 3rd, 2015
Bucs fans who enjoy air conditioning will be geeked with this news.
Joe never really understood all the whining and kvetching about Bucs home TV games being blacked out locally.
Wanna watch the game? Go to the game. Real simple.
And with a modicum of common sense and effort, one can attend for a fraction of the face value.
Well, for the crowd who just could not get off their couches on a Sunday afternoons during the NFL season, Taylor Swift-listening, pickpocket-thwarting, Bucs-uniform-frowning, Allie-LaForce-smitten, Big-Ten-Network-hating, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball-box-score-reading, NPR-listening, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports fame, reports the Bucs and all NFL teams will broadcast all home games on free TV for the next eight years!
• Every NFL game for the next eight seasons will be shown free in the home markets on the local network affiliates. However, a Broncos fan in Delaware, as an example, will still have to pay to see Denver’s games through 2022. After that, the NFL is keeping its options open.
This is a stunning revelation and underscores not just the rapidly changing business world we live in, but what Joe has been banging the keyboard about for years: while fans continue to be stuck in a 1970s mentality, the value of selling a seats decreases with every passing season. The NFL now has rivers of flowing revenue, billions of dollars, that did not exist a few years ago or even 10 years ago much less 20 years ago.
So Bucs couch potatoes, rejoice! Go order a pizza, put that laptop next to you on the couch, and fill up that cooler you keep at arm’s reach on gamedays.
For the next eight years, you will not have to worry about breaking a sweat or breaking out your wallet in order to watch the Bucs, not just this season in which the NFL previously announced no blackouts*.
*Yes, the FCC did away with the blackout rule but that does not prevent the NFL from negotiating deals with broadcast partners to implement blackouts.
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:16 pm
FUK! Too bad I’m on the West Coast.
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:29 pm
I only wish that they blacked out all of the Mark Dominik era!!! dark times indeed!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:33 pm
LOL
Realist needs to be a lesson for the folks so freaked out by Jameis. Realist knows how to get in his digs without getting personal or potentially libelous. It’s why Realist has been such a quality commenter for years. 🙂
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Thanks Obama.
Btw joe that is a pretty cold opening statement especially when tampa had huge unemployment numbers and everyone was losing their houses a few years ago. Not to mention the bucs couldn’t win more than 4-5 games.
But yea they should really stop whining or better idea maybe the guys who get paid millions to win games could do their jobs and actually win some fckn games but what do I know.
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:37 pm
That’s why Joe stated with a bit of effort, anyone can go to a game for a fraction of face value. If people really want to watch a game, there are ways to do so.
Joe was once a broke college student but always found a few extra bucks somehow to go to a game on the cheap.
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Yeah Joe, I really don’t get this:
“Joe never really understood all the whining and kvetching about Bucs home TV games being blacked out locally. Wanna watch the game? Go to the game. Real simple.”
You act like it’s so simple for a couple, let alone a family of 4 to go out and pay for tickets, pay for parking, pay for expensive drinks and concessions. Tampa’s economy has been in the pits and many residents can’t’ afford it.
And you really question fans who complained about the blackouts? So, either a fan should be able to attend every home game, or else they’re SOL? You want to know how to alienate a fan base and make a team less relevant? Blackout their local games. Geez, I love your site and the work you do Joe, but this was one of the dumbest things you’ve ever written.
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Does that mean Directv also has their monopoly on Sunday ticket until 2022?
I hope not. I would love nothing more than to sh!t can those arse holes. The Bucs are thee sole reason I have put up with their crap for years. They effin suck!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:45 pm
The only way to see all the games from my wifi enabled cocoon of refrigerated adult beverages and unmentionable smokable herbal relaxants….
DTV Sunday Ticket….
June 3rd, 2015 at 1:51 pm
I would just like to see the NFL teams drastically reduce ticket prices to include premium and club level seating. Let’s face it, it is a more enjoyable experience to have a get together with friends and watch the game on HD TV with lots of cold store bought beer and food, clean toilets with no waits and no sweltering heat or traffic jams. Now that being said, I still value the importance of having crowd noise and a large in stadium fan representation but since it will be tempting for many fans, who used to by virtue of black outs, who had to attend the games in order to see them, to enjoy them now in the comfort of their own private in home luxury suite. There are many people who due to financial constraints, have not had the experience of attending a home game who may like to if the tickets were more affordable. I just think that the at home experience is going to overtake the stadium experience for people who can and have gone to many games. Personally, I like to go to the game and record the broadcast so that I can watch it on TV as well. I do have to admit that in my opinion the TV is a more informative and entertaining way to view the games. I am not a fan of being packed in like a sardine since I am built like a lineman, my knees are jammed up against the seat back in front of me and I feel squished on the sides as well. For me, that is not fun on a hot afternoon. Then, you are constantly getting up to let people in and out and then having to stare down the drunk person a few rows behind you who keeps tell you to sit down while you are allowing others to pass by. I am just getting too old and impatient with people to continue dealing with that for too many more seasons but that is just my experiences.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:02 pm
Good. I’ll have more elbow room at the game.
The problem is that ppl don’t know how to go to the games for cheap. There is nothing wrong with cheap seats. You can see the action just fine from 300s, sometimes better. If you can’t enjoy a sporting event without drinking, you live a sad existence. Or learn to just drink while tailgating. It’s cheaper and your drunk ass with have a safer ride after the game.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:13 pm
I live in Montana so Direct TV is the Ticket. Literally.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:20 pm
In this day & age of taped television programs and providers other than the major networks like Netflix, HBO, Amazon & Cable…..the live NFL broadcasts are a very, very valuable commodity indeed. They will continue to increase in value disproportionately to all others because of fan loyalty. It is truly “appointment television”. Teams are & will rely less on ticket sales and merchandise because they can profit from TV rights alone.
I agree that ticked prices should be lowered like any other supply & demand item.
As a Buc fan who has lived in NC since 1982….I have had to travel to Tampa and other cities to see my Bucs…..for me…..absolutely nothing beats being there…
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Joe I was one of the whiners, but let me explain why. Sports franchises enjoy PLENTY of government tax breaks and favors, INCLUDING REFERENDUMS TO FUND STADIUMS WITH TAX PAYER MONIES! So, we pay for the stadium but if we can’t afford to actually go to the game, we can’t see it at all? Even though we, as citizens who pay for portions of the stadiums, are effectively business partners of the franchise? It is another example of corporations having different rules than you and I. We also pay, through our taxes, for the broadcast spectrum we dont get to use if we can’t afford to go to game. I’m a season ticket holder and I STILL thought the blackout rule was draconian and inappropriate.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:43 pm
Living in Orlando (still the market so we still get blacked out) a 3 hour round trip for a losing team when there are commitments the next day….no thanks…I make it to 1 or 2 a year, but if rather go to a local sports bar with some friends and watch 5 games at a time and see how my spread bets are doing
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:43 pm
For those asking, Joe grew up in a time no home games of any sort were televised. Want to watch a game? No choice but to go or not watch. No other option. And Joe wonders why the NFL is ripped apart for blackouts, but no one ever whines why (pick a band) dosnt televise theur concerts locally which use sports arenas paid by taxpayers? Why do they get a free pass but NFL is so evil? Not like popular bands arent raking in millions.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:47 pm
It is exciting to watch the games in person. Been there, done that. Watching at home in the comfort of your own dwelling is fine by me. It doesn’t diminish the fandom of fans to choose not to attend the games. If the NFL is so awash in cash, who cares what the actual attendance is? They can play in front of an empty stadium and pipe in crowd noise or put microphones on all players for some interesting dialogue to spice it up. Money, it’s a hit, don’t give me that do goody good BS. All games on TV is a win win situation for most fans in the viewing market.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:51 pm
If the games weren’t televised, I would be content to listen on the radio, I’m not that spoiled.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:55 pm
Bands? They only play once every few years. If your lucky. Good point, geezer.
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:56 pm
…you’re..duh
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Some of the reason home games weren’t televised until 1979 was because…well….0-26 will do that!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:05 pm
I’m north of Orlando by about an hour….we were still getting blacked out because we part of the Orlando network. 5 hour round trip, $60 in gas easily, then parking and ticket prices. More then one meal because of the time being gone. I wish I was close to the stadium. Honestly can’t say I’d be at every game but certainly would go to a bunch.
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Anyways, I guess this ole geezer will have to go and buy that color TV now.
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:30 pm
The unemployed should take a lesson from the over 300 Katrina victims who used FEMA ebt cards for saints tickets.
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:45 pm
Blackouts? What’s that?
Pirate feeds aren’t just Buccaneer lunches.
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:45 pm
Joe, you have got to be kidding us with your “Bands do it to” take.The next time Green Day passes a referendum to have a city pay for its next tour please let us know. Also, when was the last time band’s concerts were broadcast over the air? Lastly, where is the facepalm on this thing?
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Oh and nobody said the NFL is “Evil”, just that the blackout policy employed was draconian and inappropriate.
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:57 pm
“Wanna watch the game? Go to the game. Real simple.” – Joe
And what if people are too poor to go? Should they do without?
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:01 pm
Joe Says
That’s why Joe stated with a bit of effort, anyone can go to a game for a fraction of face value. If people really want to watch a game, there are ways to do so.
Joe was once a broke college student but always found a few extra bucks somehow to go to a game on the cheap.
Clearly, you don’t know what it’s like to be poor with a family. Buying scalped tickets means possibly being separated from each other. Not to mention, buying them does NOTHING to ease the blackout rules…because those tickets are already purchased.
Secondary seating does NOT do any good in regard to blackouts.
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Joe
Slamming the fans is a lose lose scenario. Remember last years “real fans” comment?
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Personally, I’ve bought plenty of tickets before…PLENTY…and always the proper way. But there are plenty who can’t.
ON THE TOPIC OF ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
I wonder if things are heading toward no attendance at all? In 20-30 years, will teams play in an empty arena in front of plenty of cameras?
Will players pander to the cameras at that point?
Pay per view will not work. Not with streaming out there. Best bang is free and send advertising. Period. Same way tv shows make money.
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Bonzai – Joe without a doubt should stick to the sports/football takes as their social takes tend to skew towards elitism. That said, this is still the best Bucs blog on the planet, no doubt there either.
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:20 pm
I vote for either reducing ticket prices to fill the stadium or even better, modernize the amenities and remove up to half of the current seating so that people can watch the game at the stadium and have a little room to breathe, then the stadium would probably easily sell out. I think about 40 to 45 thousand seats would be just fine. IMO.
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Win some games and the stadium will sell out, simple as that. I don’t remember seeing empty seats in 97-2002. Looks like the Lightning have a packed house. I think it’s so fckd up to critize fans when you can’t even win a game. Legends field is always sold out. Only the Rays and the bucs, I wonder why?
I think “Frozen On Ice” has more ticket sales that the bucs.
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:39 pm
Joe,
Jus saw a clip of JW throwing to mike Evans, the throw was on point, but I have notice that his long release is back..personally I think he is way more acccurate when he does, simply because thats how he has been throwing for a few years now .when he keeps it short he is not as accurate..see day one of ota. Keep an I on that,would love your feedback
June 3rd, 2015 at 4:42 pm
Eye*
June 3rd, 2015 at 5:07 pm
Sorry Joe, but I agree with WS99.
It wasn’t cheap.
I had season tickets and gave them up when I had to switch jobs. The NFL everywhere kept raising ticket prices over and over and ignored the average fan trying to take a kid to the game.
Being a broke college kid and scraping up cash for entertainment is one thing, but doing it as a responsible dad is a lot more difficult.
Sports has massive revenues from TV. Plus the revenue cut from food and beverages. They could have eased the ticket price increases over the last 20 years but they didn’t. They were overly greedy and now just about every stadium in every sport can’t sell out.
Large HD TVs played a part but they brought a lot of it on themselves.
June 3rd, 2015 at 5:07 pm
Buccfan37 Says:
June 3rd, 2015 at 2:51 pm
“If the games weren’t televised, I would be content to listen on the radio, I’m not that spoiled.”
Deckerhoff baby. Many, many , many of Sundays I spent glued to the radio listening to Gene Deckerhoff.
However I do remember the days when my mom was too cheap to get cable TV and I had to rig up rabbit ears just to get in channel 13 to watch the away games. Most of the time the away games had LOTS of snowy pictures to have to fight through. I’m telling ya I used to wrap wires around the roof of my house and into trees all connected to the those little screws on the back of my TV. Just to get in away games. Just to watch them lose again.
Dedication.
As far as the tickets being too high. Are they not the cheapest tickets in the NFL? I’m pretty sure they’re right up there with the cheapest ones in the league.
Nothing beats going to the game, but you have to question your sanity when your face is fried like a french fry and you’re covered in sweat the entire time. Just to watch your team lose another game and go to 0-6. Come back 2 weeks later and do it all over again to watch them go 0-8. At some point you have to question whether spending all that money is worth it all.
June 3rd, 2015 at 5:20 pm
People bust their as$es off all week and just want to be able to relax on the weekend. Some of us aren’t privileged enough to have a job that allows you to sit in front of a computer all day or a job that isnt very taxing. Watching a football game shouldn’t be a chore like it would be if you go to the stadium, that’s why having the game televised suits most people. And on top of all of that, to sacrifice what little free time you have to go out of your way to the stadium to watch what’s been displayed for the past decade isn’t worth it to most people either. The more options you have the more people you’ll reach, so having the option to go to the stadium OR watch the game on TV isn’t a bad thing. Either by tickets sale or tv ratings, the bucs and the nfl are still making their money.
June 3rd, 2015 at 5:34 pm
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
June 3rd, 2015 at 3:57 pm
“Wanna watch the game? Go to the game. Real simple.” – Joe
“And what if people are too poor to go? Should they do without?”
I can answer that. YES they should do without.
If they can’t afford to see the new Jurrasic movie. What do they do?
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Buc1987 – So the poor people who can watch it on TV when the game sells out are what? Moochers? And what, now that the FCC dropped the blackout rule, are they Bolsheviks too? I think Bonzai was making the point that not everyone can afford a game day ticket but they shouldn’t be shut out of supporting their home team entirely. Again with the simplistic analogies. The Jurassic Movie wasn’t partially funded by citizens taxes and the Movie studio producing the film doesn’t enjoy non-profit status while raking in literally BILLIONS in profit. I don’t begrudge the NFL’s right to make money but the blackout policy was overly draconian ESPECIALLY considering the NFL itself has put NFL Sunday ticket out there.
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:07 pm
FYI cuz I’m sure someone cares I couldn’t pay for tickets so I got a job at the stadium from 99-02 and came back in 11-13. Made $200 bucks a game cash + paycheck and got to see all the games cuz I’m cool like that. I’ve been on the field, in the lockerroom, in the cheerleaders lockerroom (almost got a date) I’ve met virtually every player, even been in the coaches office with schiano. Keyshawn and warren are picks. The Barbers are cool. And lynch the coolest of them all. Also worked across the hall from Brooks when he is/was with the storm. I guess drooling over him in the bathroom was not a good look for me, at least I waited till he was washing his hands to introduce myself. Lmao
#realfan
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:20 pm
The way the rule should have been rewritten, was when city and states were putting up huge money and building stadiums for teams. Like Jerry Jones should be able to black out games if he desires as it was his and private companies that paid for the stadium!!
If the team takes more than 50% from the city to build a stadium they should not be allowed to black out the games, now that they take the major money from TV that come from us paying for TV to begin with!!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:36 pm
I love the bucs but until RayJ upgrades I ain’t stepping foot in there… Y’all gotta see the giants and jets stadium… Still ain’t in ny but bro it’s a win
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:36 pm
ChanEpic Says:
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:03 pm
“Buc1987 – So the poor people who can watch it on TV when the game sells out are what? Moochers?”
Nobody said they were moochers. I’m saying nothing is for free. Is it the NFL or the Bucs fault that have some fans that are poor and can’t attend games?
I get a kick out of some people that I run into that tell me they are too poor and never have any money for anything. Then I look at the car they drive, I-diot-phone they use, the house they live in, the $100 sneakers they have on, and how they go out to eat once a week and wonder why they don’t just cut back on their goodies like I did during the recession. Quit smoking pot, and quit smoking cigs. That was my OWN stimulus check. Saved me about $700 a month by doing that. My point is people can afford more than they realize they can afford if they make sacrifices. Stop eating NY strip and buy some cube steak. Do you need to HAVE super fast expensive internet or cheaper slower speed? People CAN cutback like americans did in the past, but they won’t do it. Or they don’t think they should HAVE to. This is the America we live in today. Entitlement America. Thanks Obama. (that was for you WS)
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:38 pm
The Buc Realist…that makes perfectly good sense as usual.
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:38 pm
@realist and joe… I’m a mark dominik era bucs fan am I unworthy?! Lol
June 3rd, 2015 at 6:49 pm
@87,
$700.00 a month on weed and cigarettes?
Dude…you were really smoking it up Bro.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:05 pm
Money does not define a person’s worth in my book. My annual household income is 6 figure but I do not esteem myself any greater than a homeless person nor any less than a millionaire. The fact of the matter is though, that the price for a family to attend an NFL game, even for a lower priced ticket, is still a little steep for many people. This is what a Capitalistic system guarantees us, some have very much and some have very little and most fall somewhere in between. To everyone out there who is struggling to pay your bills and feed your families, keep your heads up and do not let the clueless people who hold themselves in high esteem due to how much they make or what they can boast as having make you feel like they are any better than you! For me, choosing to go to a game or watch from home, is more of a matter of entertainment value for the dollar and enjoyment factor in my chosen activities during my free time. The Bucs have not been an exciting product for many years yet it is very expensive for many people to attend. If they want my financial support, then they need to modernize the stadium, make the in stadium experience a lot more comfortable and deliver an exciting product. It is no mystery as to why the Lightning have had such good attendance and support. The Bucs need to follow this blueprint. On that note, GO BOLTS!!!!!!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:05 pm
ChanEpic Says:
“I think Bonzai was making the point that not everyone can afford a game day ticket but they shouldn’t be shut out of supporting their home team entirely.”
Are they actually shut off entirely? I don’t think so. Unless they can’t afford a cheap radio. I get just as excited hearing Deckerhoff screaming touchdown Tampa Bay as I do watching it on TV.
Hell guys used to huddle around radios to listen to games in the past before every house in America had a TV. Those poor bastards. They should have been allowed to see the game for free back then. It’s wasn’t their fault they were poor.
Today we have NFL Red Zone as well. That doesn’t get blacked out locally. When the Bucs are in the Red Zone. NFL Network switches to the Bucs game, even with the black out. NFL Red Zone was my loophole for seeing any kind of Bucs on TV when the blackouts were in place.
I really don’t think it comes down to just “the poor” who can’t afford tickets. You can include the middle class as well or what’s left of them. I also think that there is MORE than enough Buc fans in the bay area that CAN afford tickets. The blackouts have nothing to do with the lack of funds and fans not going to games in my opinion.
If they start winning and the stadium fills up again. Does that mean fans are all of a sudden not poor anymore? NOT in my mind.
I’m kind of happy they are lifted and kind of not happy. That stadium needs as much fans as possible these days or any days for that matter.
Sorry if I don’t side with the little guy. I was one of them too once. Until I got fed up with being poor and did something about it.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:11 pm
@87,
Didn’t you say you make about 30 K a year doing some companies payroll from home?
Just saying.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Dave Pear…people that do both would be surprised at how much they spend a month on both if they put it down on paper.
About $120.00 week in pot for my wife and I. That’s $480 a month
Easily $50-60 a week in cigs. That’s $200 or more a month saved.
If the wife quit smoking cigs, the total would be higher.
What I’m getting at is this. My friends that were cigs and pot smokers were always poor during the recession. They never knew why I always had money. I just told them why. I cut back on a lot of things. Lowered my cable bill, got a cheaper phone, yes ate cube steak instead of sirloin and went to Walmart for shoes instead of Foot Locker.
Last I checked $700 gets you 2 season tickets in the 300’s.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:17 pm
@Realist,
How did you get Joe’s name on top of a post giving you compliments?!? Holy sh!t!! “…Realist needs to be a lesson…” And “…Realist knows how…”. I laughed so hard I pissed myself!! You go Realist! Lmao
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:20 pm
@1987
You are probably right about attendance going up if they start winning games. Some people really can not afford to attend, but that is most likely a minority. Most of us who value or dollars should discriminate in how we spend them. For instance, I had satellite television back in the day but since I could only enjoy watching the programming during fair weather, I cancelled my service and switched to cable. It was not acceptable to me to spend money on an inferior product or in that case service. I reserve the right to spend my cash on what I deem worthy of my spending but that does not make me less of a fan. Well maybe it does in some people’s opinions, but that is all good. I do not live to be agreed with by everyone nor liked by everyone though many people do agree and or like me. I am just awesome like that!!! LOL Obviously that last part was in jest.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:21 pm
LOL Dave. Close to 30K but not quite. To me that IS poor. My wife makes a little under me. So I guess you could say we’re middle class.
BTW…I’ve only had this job for about 3 years now. Before this I hung duct work in shopping centers for $10 per hour or about $300 a week after taxes.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:22 pm
@Harry…I almost pissed myself too.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:26 pm
87,
You are a true fan!
Love me some 87.
Go Bucs!
And win the home opener!
It’s been a while since we’ve had a home win!
The time is soon approaching.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:26 pm
rayjay1122 Says:
“It is no mystery as to why the Lightning have had such good attendance and support.”
Exactly and when they start losing again. Attendance WILL drop…
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:30 pm
@1987
That is true but I sure hope they (Bolts) stay competitive for years to come. I think they will since the management is top notch and they have many young up and coming stars. It will be all about retaining them here in Tampa. I think the Bucs will come around too. At least we have Winston, so at least there is some hope.
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Dave Pear Says:
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:26 pm
87,
You are a true fan!
Love me some 87.
Go Bucs!
And win the home opener!
It’s been a while since we’ve had a home win!
The time is soon approaching.
—————————————–
I agree totally!!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:35 pm
OK. I am switching to Lightning mode. GO BOLTS!!!!! Lets take advantage of the home ice and start fast!!! Peace out fellow Tampa sports fans!!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 7:48 pm
rayjay…when I lived in N.C. and the Hurricanes went to the Stanley Cup the city of Raleigh was all of a sudden hockey fans. Even I got into all of it and watched them during the playoffs and the cup. After that no one cared or even knew they had a team in the city. It was the same thing prior to playoffs, no one cared about them.
I think that’s just how hockey goes in the U.S. it ‘s just a hair more popular than soccer here. If the local team is doing well then people come out of the woodwork and get all excited for something they never cared about before. If the team is even playing well the next season yet the playoffs are far down the line, ask anyone in Tampa what their record is at the time. No one will know it.
Hell today you could randomly stop people on the street of St Pete and Tampa and ask them to name some Lightning players. I bet they only say Stamkos 9 out of 10 times and are clueless about anyone else. I honestly think they only know his namebecause it reminds them of John Stamos. lol
I like hockey whenever I can get myself into it. Once I’m into it though I really enjoy the game and keep watching the next game and the game after that. I don’t know. I guess I get into a hockey playoffs every 10 years or so, but as far as a regular season goes, I couldn’t even tell you when the season starts, like the majority of people in the bay area.
June 3rd, 2015 at 8:14 pm
You can find tickets for $35.00 (I have), drink your beer at your car and have Chix Wings and park a few blocks away for $20.00. It’s a choice if you’re a Bucs fan (which I have been since 1979) if you want to go. People always make excuses like they want something for free. The Bucs are my only team and there are only 8 home games.
June 3rd, 2015 at 8:25 pm
I remember during the heyday of the Orlando Magic, when Shaq, Penny, and Horace were with us. I gave up my season tickets when i came to the realization that all I had to do to get in cheap was to be willing to miss half of the first quarter. The Scalpers were desperate to get any return on their investment at that point. I gained entry, even during the playoffs, at a fraction of the gate cost. One of my favorite memories was selling a Scalper the tickets i had bought from him for a 50% profit 5 minutes after buying the tickets. He must have had one desperate dude needing those tickets.
June 3rd, 2015 at 8:29 pm
See I go to the game because I know exactly how it used to feel when I could not afford to go, yet I could not watch my favorite team due to blackouts. So now that I am in a position to afford it I do it to not only support my team but to allow others to be able to watch the games at home too. You never know what young fan might be just like you and I. Go Bucs. Never forget where you came from.
June 3rd, 2015 at 8:40 pm
who cares go jags.
June 3rd, 2015 at 9:28 pm
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 3rd, 2015 at 9:59 pm
Only primetime games in the fridged north
June 3rd, 2015 at 11:03 pm
With all of the tv money these days, it makes no sense to have a blackout policy.
I beleive that attendance is an outdated meter of fan support. Ticket prices in all four sports are higher than ever and most tickets are bought in masses by corporate entities, especially in baseball. So all that spit about how great red sux fans are…shove it!
Hopefully now that tv is where tje money and conveinence lie, ticket prices will drop. Hopefully.
June 3rd, 2015 at 11:40 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more, Joe.
Such a coincidence that those who complain the most and the loudest about the Bucs are the ones who have no money invested in the team and have never set foot in R.J. Stadium.
Always the same excuses, to. Bad economy, unemployment, family of four, no winning seasons, blah blah blah.
Just fat lazy trolls who can’t get off the couch because their mommies don’t want to take them to the game.
June 4th, 2015 at 12:41 am
Sorry 87, you are wrong…on many levels.
Games sell out when a team is winning…not because the poor shift their bills around and sacrifice to go, but because well off band wagon fans decide there is value for their money.
It’s that simple.
And let me tell you something…when you have two kids, have to go to churches and food banks for the last week of every month for groceries, and don’t smoke, drink or eat out…and you’ve already trimmed back expenses to the absolute necessities…then you know what it’s like to be poor.
It’s easy for someone like you to say “shift some stuff around, cut back”, but when “cutting back” means skipping meals, don’t sit high and mighty and tell those people Bucs games are more important than feeding their kids.
What really makes your silly choice of words so wrong is that it isn’t the ticket buyers that make the Bucs money. It’s THE PEOPLE WATCHING AT HOME. That’s who the advertisers cater to.
You alienate the fans watching at home, you alienate advertisers. Do that, and you ruin the NFL business. Go back to Culverhouse years that way.
June 4th, 2015 at 12:44 am
Sorry if Joe got under people’s skin. Not trying to; didn’t mean to insult. Just don’t understand why people complained so much. Hey, Joe would like to travel the world to see all it has to offer. Can’t afford to do that. It’s life. It’s priorities. There’s a lot of things Joe would love to do and a lifestyle he would love to live. Don’t have that kind of budget. #shrugs
Just thought that the people that whined about blackouts, well, it came across to Joe that people were essentially saying they wanted others to spend money (buy tickets to sell out a game) so they could stay at home and watch the game for free. That just didn’t square with Joe. 🙁
The NFL always has been a business; not a charity.
June 4th, 2015 at 1:07 am
@Bonzai
Hilarious Bonzai hilarious. So that’s your case. Your looking at the REALLY poor, the downtrodden of America. Hilarious. I think you need to go back and re-read my posts. Like all of them. Like the one where I said it’s not about people’s incomes it’s about wins and losses that fill the seats. I guessed you missed that one.
Look I’ve been in many of DCF offices in the past. The place where the porr people go for government assistance. In fact I was just in one last week. EVERY SINGLE PERSON in that room had a smart phone. You look around at what they wear for shoes and such. It’s not some cheapo Walmart clothing.
Could they afford food or services for their children if they cut back on some of those things? Of course they could. Just like the lady in front of me at the grocery store buying $400 worth of food with food stamps, and then proceeds to walk out of the store light up a smoke, get on her i-phone and push her cart over to her brand new 2014 vehicle. YES those are the “poor” I was talking about. Open your eyes and look around it’s happening everywhere. There are many people that make themselves poor by the decisions they make in their lives.
Sorry to put all the poor under one blanket, but to me if you have a roof over your head, a TV, electricity and furniture for comfort, sure you maybe poor in America, but your rich compared to many in other countries. That to me makes you NOT poor at all. Poor to me means not knowing where your next meal is going to come from. That’s poor.
June 4th, 2015 at 1:11 am
Joe Says:
June 4th, 2015 at 12:44 am
“Sorry if Joe got under people’s skin.”
Ha ha ha ha ha Joe it’s too late right now for comedy.
You really are a funny guy!
June 4th, 2015 at 1:18 am
Bonzai…and also I’m NOT advocating for the poor to shift their money around to buy Bucs tickets. How silly. I’m saying it’s not the NFL’s problem that they are poor and get buy tickets. Like I said above I’m also saying many, many, MANY people that call themselves poor would simply not be if they spent their money wisely.
Am I for drug testing for food stamps? Your GD right I am and testing to get many other services as well. You can include those $6.00 per pack cigs in the mix too. Quit those, then come back and talk to DCF needing financial assistance.
June 4th, 2015 at 1:35 am
All this talk reminds me of pawning my stereo in the 80’s before every home game because I couldn’t bare not watching my team. I’ve been taping games since ’79, and the home games I would have someone in that city tape the game and mail it to me (for trade of course). I’ve amassed over 300 game tapes (from ’77 to present) and of those 300, I’d say 80% of them are losses.(I’m not your average Buc fan), but being able to watch on tv now is so appreciated by the long time Buc fans that remember all those damn blackouts!
June 4th, 2015 at 1:47 am
Buc1987, I totally know where you are coming from, I’ve seen what those EBT cards buy people($$groceries, cigs & beer), I’ve seen brand new Cadillac’s in section 8 housing, Ive heard people brag about beating the system by giving up their children to mom, then mom applies to “foster” them, which brings thousands per each child. Many people are poor by choice and because the govt enables them.
I know this is a Buc forum, but 87’s post struck a nerve, my apologies.
June 4th, 2015 at 2:19 am
What I learned in this thread is that 87 spend $1200 a week on weed. #Ballin
June 4th, 2015 at 7:43 am
Seahawks tickets start at 100$ each
June 4th, 2015 at 11:05 am
“What I learned in this thread is that 87 spend $1200 a week on weed.”
What I learned is I’m in the wrong business.
June 4th, 2015 at 5:24 pm
Bucfever40….YW that’s what I’m here for.
June 5th, 2015 at 12:37 am
Bucs haven’t raised their season ticket prices in 5 years.
And for you dim bulbs out there who. think you can by cigarettes and beer on EBT cards it is not possible. Any system kicks them out.
Geeesh, if you are going to lie, know what your are lying about.
Also, I have heard all of those stories about the lady buying $400 worth of groceries and getting into her Escalade from every city I have been in.
All I can say is that woman must drive around the country just to pi$$ people off.
You Scott Republicans are a real laugh.
Judging by the post over 90 percent of you morons have never even been to a game.
BTW, the stadium was built on a referendum that was approved by the majority of the voters. It wasn’t even close.