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I never said that nobody attends the games, my point was that you're going to meet more than not who know nothing about the sport . I am aware they had good attendance last year , and it's been improving. But if they go the way the Titans did, I wonder how sustainable that is . I guess only time will tell.
My point in the argument is to counter that Memphis is "Not very good" for pro sports. I'd rather have one team that the entire city loves than a couple that most are indifferent to or see as a novelty. Plus, NBA games are a blast, games are plentiful and star-studded, and anyone can follow what's happening. Most (myself included) are too stubborn to pick up a new sport which is virtually non-existent outside of the professional ranks in its respective region.
I never said that nobody attends the games, my point was that you're going to meet more than not who know nothing about the sport . I am aware they had good attendance last year , and it's been improving. But if they go the way the Titans did, I wonder how sustainable that is . I guess only time will tell.
My point in the argument is to counter that Memphis is "Not very good" for pro sports. I'd rather have one team that the entire city loves than a couple that most are indifferent to or see as a novelty. Plus, NBA games are a blast, games are plentiful and star-studded, and anyone can follow what's happening. Most (myself included) are too stubborn to pick up a new sport which is virtually non-existent outside of the professional ranks in its respective region.
Oh I agree that it's silly to say that Memphis is "not very good" with its NBA team. Memphis is definitely a basketball town and is a perfect match for the NBA. Its AAA baseball team, however, is in last place in attendance in the Pacific Coast League, and its minor league hockey team is in 64th place out of 67 teams for attencance. But the notion that Nashvillians are "indifferent" towards their teams is absolutely absurd. There are a heck of a lot more sports options in Nashville than in Memphis, and attendance at Nashville's athletic events, both college and professional, blows Memphis out of the water.
Oh I agree that it's silly to say that Memphis is "not very good" with its NBA team. Memphis is definitely a basketball town and is a perfect match for the NBA. Its AAA baseball team, however, is in last place in attendance in the Pacific Coast League, and its minor league hockey team is in 64th place out of 67 teams for attencance. But the notion that Nashvillians are "indifferent" towards their teams is absolutely absurd. There are a heck of a lot more sports options in Nashville than in Memphis, and attendance at Nashville's athletic events, both college and professional, blows Memphis out of the water.
I agree other sports go to waste there. The city needs to be in better economic position before it can support them.
But even in its declining state due to horrible coaching, Tigers basketball still have better attendance than the Commodores, and completely blew them out of water in years prior to that with 7 years of averaging over 16k. And Vandy's football team averaged 32k in attendance in 2015, Memphis averaged 44k despite being in a much smaller division and not being a destination city. Sounds like a sports town to me.
Oh I agree that it's silly to say that Memphis is "not very good" with its NBA team. Memphis is definitely a basketball town and is a perfect match for the NBA. Its AAA baseball team, however, is in last place in attendance in the Pacific Coast League, and its minor league hockey team is in 64th place out of 67 teams for attencance. But the notion that Nashvillians are "indifferent" towards their teams is absolutely absurd. There are a heck of a lot more sports options in Nashville than in Memphis, and attendance at Nashville's athletic events, both college and professional, blows Memphis out of the water.
Having one pro sports team is not a very good reason to choose Memphis over Richmond. I made no reference to the performance of the team, its attendance, or how the city supports the team. Sorry for the confusion.
I agree other sports go to waste there. The city needs to be in better economic position before it can support them.
But even in its declining state due to horrible coaching, Tigers basketball still have better attendance than the Commodores, and completely blew them out of water in years prior to that with 7 years of averaging over 16k. And Vandy's football team averaged 32k in attendance in 2015, Memphis averaged 44k despite being in a much smaller division and not being a destination city. Sounds like a sports town to me.
Memphis has one other NCAA school, Division III Rhodes College which averages 1,800 at its football games. Its basketball attendance is so low that it's not even listed on the NCAA attendance report even though 30 other Division III schools are.
Meanwhile, Nashville has two other NCAA football programs, TSU (15,000 avg attendance) and MTSU (17,000 avg attendance). This means that Memphis averages 46,000 at its NCAA football games, and Nashville averages 63,000.
For basketball, Memphis has four NCAA programs: Memphis (Division I), Lemoyne-Owen (Division II), Christian Brothers (Division II), and Rhodes (Division III). Nashville has six NCAA programs: Vanderbilt (Division I), TSU (Division I), Belmont (Division I), Lipscomb (Division I), MTSU (Division I), and Trevecca (Division II). None of the Division II and III schools are listed in the NCAA report, but the Division I schools are. While the lone Division I program in Memphis averages 12,000 in attendance, the five Division I schools in Nashville average 23,000.
And we haven't gotten into other sports like baseball and women's basketball. For baseball, Vanderbilt's average home crowds of 2,800 are ranked 21st in the NCAA, while Memphis's aren't even listed in the top 50.
So, let's review.
Memphis sports average attendance
NBA Memphis Grizzlies - 16,160 (89% capacity)
AAA Memphis Redbirds - 4,000 (40% capacity)
minor league hockey Riverkings - 2,400 (29% capacity)
NCAA football - 46,000
NCAA Division I men's basketball - 12,000
NCAA Division I women's basketball - 900
Nashville sports average attendance
NFL Tennessee Titans - 64,659 (94% capacity)
NHL Nashville Predators - 17,000 (100% capacity)
AAA Nashville Sounds - 8,000 (80% capacity)
NCAA football - 63,000
NCAA Division I men's basketball - 23,000
NCAA Division I women's basketball - 10,100
Clearly, the larger sports town is Nashville. And it's not even close.
Memphis has one other NCAA school, Division III Rhodes College which averages 1,800 at its football games. Its basketball attendance is so low that it's not even listed on the NCAA attendance report even though 30 other Division III schools are.
Meanwhile, Nashville has two other NCAA football programs, TSU (15,000 avg attendance) and MTSU (17,000 avg attendance). This means that Memphis averages 46,000 at its NCAA football games, and Nashville averages 63,000.
For basketball, Memphis has four NCAA programs: Memphis (Division I), Lemoyne-Owen (Division II), Christian Brothers (Division II), and Rhodes (Division III). Nashville has six NCAA programs: Vanderbilt (Division I), TSU (Division I), Belmont (Division I), Lipscomb (Division I), MTSU (Division I), and Trevecca (Division II). None of the Division II and III schools are listed in the NCAA report, but the Division I schools are. While the lone Division I program in Memphis averages 12,000 in attendance, the five Division I schools in Nashville average 23,000.
And we haven't gotten into other sports like baseball and women's basketball. For baseball, Vanderbilt's average home crowds of 2,800 are ranked 21st in the NCAA, while Memphis's aren't even listed in the top 50.
So, let's review.
Memphis sports average attendance
NBA Memphis Grizzlies - 16,160 (89% capacity)
AAA Memphis Redbirds - 4,000 (40% capacity)
minor league hockey Riverkings - 2,400 (29% capacity)
NCAA football - 46,000
NCAA Division I men's basketball - 12,000
NCAA Division I women's basketball - 900
Nashville sports average attendance
NFL Tennessee Titans - 64,659 (94% capacity)
NHL Nashville Predators - 17,000 (100% capacity)
AAA Nashville Sounds - 8,000 (80% capacity)
NCAA football - 63,000
NCAA Division I men's basketball - 23,000
NCAA Division I women's basketball - 10,100
Clearly, the larger sports town is Nashville. And it's not even close.
The truth is, the attendance for the Nashville team in the marquee conference in the marquee sport in country, whose fans travel like crazy, is getting smoked by an American conference team in Memphis with few visiting fans to boost the numbers. "It's not even close", as you like to say. I'm sure if you gathered all of these people into one stadium, it would be exciting, but a bunch of separate low occupancy stadiums doesn't exactly scream a great sports atmosphere.
You've convinced me that Nashville is a hockey town, but what would the attendance look like for the Titans if so many opposing fans didn't fill the stadiums? And just looking at 2015, Grizzlies beat the Titans in occupancy percentage. You're looking at the current season, in which NBA attendance will increase substantially in the coming months. The difference in attendance between the two franchises is basically nothing, except for the lack of opposing fans to bump the numbers up in Memphis.
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