Attendance

by Terrapin13 on Apr 30, 2011 3:01 AM EDT

Im a student at the university of maryland, but ive been a die hard indian fan since i was young, and i am at a loss as to where our fans are this season. attendance since the first game has been embarrassingly bad. the Nationals are putting more fans in their seats than the indians. no one can argue that this season has had a great start and is clearly better than any weve had in years, so why arent the fans following suit? i dont agree with poor attendance in the down years, but at least its understandable; not getting more than 20,000 people to come see one of the hottest teams in MLB play, OUR TEAM, confounds me. if i still lived in OH i would be at all these games, so i ask whats going on Cleveland? we are supposed to have the most passionate fans regardless of how our teams do so lets get it together.

i dont want to come down on anybody i just think our city can show alot more support for this team and that they should.

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Attendance

Cleveland, in case you haven’t heard, has lost roughly 17% of it’s population since 2000. Going to baseball games in this economy has become a luxury for many, many people. Cable TV is 100 bucks a month, which is a significant investment for many families, and it allows them to follow the Tribe on TV. I think many fans have to choose carefully how their dollars are spent, when the cost of just driving to the game has risen 25% since last season. Tribe fans will save their nickels and dimes to go to a game if the team is still in it when the weather warms up. I suggest to the Indians that there are many children’s charities in Greater Cleveland where young lives could be changed just by attending a game. If Management is concerned about how the stadium looks on TV, then send a few buses to pick up some kids and take them to the game. These are kids who might otherwise never get to a game, and who knows, the Tribe might even make some new fans.

by Stiv M on Apr 30, 2011 9:33 AM EDT reply actions

I doubt very much that gas prices have much to do with it, but otherwise, I basically agree.

by Jay on Apr 30, 2011 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I know gas money from Canton to Cleveland was always a point of contention in my family. It’s prohibitive.

by ameliorate on May 1, 2011 6:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Okay, from Canton, I can see that.

by Jay on May 1, 2011 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Yup, I share you’re frustration with the lack of fans so far, especially because the team has played so well at home and Sizemore is back and playing well. Why? April weather? Bad economy? Fans still don’t believe the team is good? Too many losses and disappointing games in the past couple of years? I’m betting it’s the economy.

I live just outside DC. The two cities are not comparable. DC has a larger population, with more disposable income per capita. As the nation’s capitol It also has more transient residents who go to games when their team is in town, and DC hasn’t been hit nearly as hard by the recession.

If you believe it's just a game, you're also probably wondering why Santa keeps skipping your house every year.

by LeftyCatcher on Apr 30, 2011 9:35 AM EDT reply actions

DC has weathered the recession better than any metro area in the country.

I just want to believe.

by mjmarble on Apr 30, 2011 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Coincidence?

by 9James on Apr 30, 2011 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions

A lot of big cities in the U.S. are basically company towns, but only in D.C. can the company just print more money when revenues are down.

by Jay on May 1, 2011 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions

hahahahaha

thats funny, ever heard of deflation?

Lets gooo Maryland

by Terrapin13 on May 1, 2011 8:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t buy the “it’s the economy” argument. The city of Cleveland is losing population, but the metro area seems just fine. I’d venture a guess that most people that have gone to the Jake historically drive in from the burbs. Don’t feel like looking it up since I’m on my phone on a bus, but I doubt Detroit’s attendance is as bad as ours, and the recession has certainly hit them worse. I don’t buy that it’s financial. I think baseball fans in Cleveland are fair-weather. Dunno how we win them back. Kinda don’t care anymore. This will always be my team.

My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw

by Turkmenbashi on Apr 30, 2011 4:52 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Nice sig.

by Jay on May 1, 2011 1:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Grazie

My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw

by Turkmenbashi on May 1, 2011 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s also pretty cold in April in Cleveland.

"I’ll happily embrace elevated hopes if that is the price to pay." - APV

On Twitter at @grantgw - sports and Cleveland and Columbus stuff

by woodsmeister on Apr 30, 2011 7:36 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, pretty much every series so far has been affected by bad weather or bad weather forecasts.

by clefan on May 1, 2011 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Colder than what it usually seems. I’ve heard from the Indians, WTAM, STO that ratings are way up, though I haven’t actually seen those numbers. People are following the Tribe, and when it warms up, I’m expecting to see people. Last night seemed like one of the best weather nights all season, and they saw a huge bump in attendance. Hopefully it gets warm soon.

by 7foot3 on May 1, 2011 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions

Am I the only one who doesn’t really care of if the Indians play in front of 40,000 or 4,000? People will show up over time. It’s their fault for missing some pretty outstanding baseball games early in the season.

Case of the beet bandit. Missing beets from all over the farm, no footprints. Inside job. Mose in socks. Boom. Case closed. -Dwight Schrute

by mjschaefer on May 1, 2011 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

Fans in the seats are an important source of revenue. It’s going to be tougher to build off any success they do have if only 10k show up every night.

by 7foot3 on May 1, 2011 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions

exactly

indians are working with one of the lowest incomes trying to return to prominence which makes everything alot harder. if the fanbase returned to what it was 10 years ago it would take alot of pressure off the managers and make building and keeping a team alot easier

Lets gooo Maryland

by Terrapin13 on May 1, 2011 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions