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We would sell out games when the biggest named player was Ron Coomer and our home stadium was the crappiest ever, the Metordome
C'mon. I know you have a lot of hometown pride, but Twins fans are among the least loyal in MLB.
In Depth: America's Least Loyal Baseball Fans - Forbes.com
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Oakland A's
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. New York Yankees
7. Houston Astros
8. Cleveland Indians
9. New York Mets
10. Seattle Mariners
The Minnesota Twins have sold out this entire season. And it's May.
Anyway, I think it's weird to too see a lot of places not having fans. I watched a Braves game on TBS the other day and it looked like a ghost town. You're telling me in Atlanta, a Metro of 5+ Million can't put 30,000 into a baseball stadium?!? Even Yankee and Met games are empty half the time with the biggest metro and city in the USA right there. San Diego, Houston, Seattle, Oakland, Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Washington are always empty. I don't get it. I know they are all pretty lousy teams, and it's only May, but come on.. You're telling me 2-6 million people metros can't put more than 30,000 into a stadium?
People in "Hamton Roads" or Raleigh or Portland, or whichever city people beg for MLB, this is why you'll never see a team. Toronto, a ginormous city can't fill a stadium. That's BS, regardless of how bad the team is. MLB baseball is the best in the world and it should be seen, and out of that many people you'd think it wouldn't be a problem.
On the same hand, live sports are becoming a rich man's hobby, like golf. I remember being 16 yrs old. Driving to Twins games to the Dome, 20 minutes away. Parking and gas split among 4 dudes = $3, School ID night half off tickets so my $8 home run porch ticket became $4. And that was a wednesday, which was Dollar Dog night x 2 = $2. So for less than $20 you could enjoy yourself to a game, watching a team in the league's crappiest stadium win one of it's 5 al central titles in the 2000s.
Now, that's pretty much impossible to do. Actually, I'd be impressed if anyone can buy a ticket for less than $20.
Let's not get all high and mighty here. The only reason you guys have sold out your entire season already is because of your new outdoor stadium. I witnessed a similar thing happen when the Rockies went to the World Series in 2007. The following year, season tickets sold out in a single day. However, halfway through the season, when things weren't looking too good, the fans stopped showing up. So, don't be surprised if your stadium is sold out AND half-empty in a few months time.
C'mon. I know you have a lot of hometown pride, but Twins fans are among the least loyal in MLB.
In Depth: America's Least Loyal Baseball Fans - Forbes.com
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Oakland A's
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. New York Yankees
7. Houston Astros
8. Cleveland Indians
9. New York Mets
10. Seattle Mariners
That list is absurd. It is a Forbes list though
Yankees, least loyal? Philly? They lead the leagues in attendance. Angels? They lead the league too and have been very successful. Twins? They are tops in attendance, and it's not just because of the new stadium, like I said, the crappiest baseball stadium ever built would get packed to watch teams where our biggest star was Torii Hunter, and that's before he blew up and got Snatched by the Angels.
Let's not get all high and mighty here. The only reason you guys have sold out your entire season already is because of your new outdoor stadium. I witnessed a similar thing happen when the Rockies went to the World Series in 2007. The following year, season tickets sold out in a single day. However, halfway through the season, when things weren't looking too good, the fans stopped showing up. So, don't be surprised if your stadium is sold out AND half-empty in a few months time.
You're wrong.
The Dome was always packed
Plus the Twins are always successful... 5 Al Central Titles since 2002
Plus your linked talked about a 2001 season for the Twins. 2001. It's 2010. Get your garbage links, especially from Forbes, out of here.
The reason tickets were affordable is because the Dome wasn't owned by the Team and the team generated more revenue from Concessions, not ticket sales. The entity that owns the Dome could afford to sell tickets at that price. Since when is a low ticket price mean fans aren't loyal?
I went to a Phillies game in May, the season they would go on and win the world series. A thursday night game. A team with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jason Werth, and there was only 22,000 people there. In Philadelphia.
I understand that the Luster of Target Field will wear out, but it's not my bias or pride, I really do think that MN Twins fans are extremely loyal. Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek to this day are legends in Minnesota. Dan Gladden, Ron Coomer, Frank Viola and Tony Oliva are treated like royalty here. The Twins put on a winter caravan, where the team drives to small towns in every corner of the state in -10 degree weather to meet our LOYAL fans.
If you're a baseball enthusiast and have ever seen a game in the Dome, you'd see where the loyalty piece comes in.
Yankees, least loyal? Philly? They lead the leagues in attendance. Angels? They lead the league too and have been very successful. Twins? They are tops in attendance, and it's not just because of the new stadium, like I said, the crappiest baseball stadium ever built would get packed to watch teams where our biggest star was Torii Hunter, and that's before he blew up and got Snatched by the Angels.
6. New York Yankees
New Yorkers aren't used to losing, and they don't like it. This isn't to say Yankees fans are rowdy and passionate, but if the club loses, as it did in the early '90s, attendance drops. Back in 1991, it cost less to go to a Yankees game than to a game for the now-defunct Montreal Expos, and even so, only 23,009 people came to each Yankee home game. When they were winning in the early 2000s, attendance doubled.
5. Philadelphia Phillies When fans attended a Phillies game at the Vet in the late '90s and early 2000s, it’s understandable if they got the impression that the only reason anyone was there was to boo the team if, and when, they messed up. Indeed, even when you adjust for their beautiful new stadium, Phillies fans are happy to come to a game if the team is winning, as it did in 1993 or 2007. But except for the hardcore, most fans are content to wait for Eagles season. Fans fall off of the team when it's losing at the second-fastest rate in the league.
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim In the last few years the Angels have been drawing huge crowds. The team is good--it has a World Series ring to its credit, and its yard has undergone some significant improvements. Nonetheless, their fans are the most beholden to wins and losses of anyone in the league, based on our analysis. But you can't blame them too much; summertime in L.A. is too nice to be spent on anything but a real contender.
4. Minnesota Twins
Remember when Commissioner Bud Selig advocated for contraction and had his sights set firmly on the Twins? There was a reason for that. In 2001, when the average Red Sox fan was paying $36 for a ticket, Tigers fans--who had to watch one of the worst teams in recent history--paid $23.90. Meanwhile, Twins tickets cost $9.55, the club had a winning record, and only 22,011 came to each game--one of the lower marks in the league.
Loyalty has to do with supporting your team through thick and thin, over the course of many years and possibly even decades. It can't be measured by a particular year's attendance record.
MLB Attendance - Major League Baseball Attendance - ESPN 2009 Attendance
1. LA Dodgers
2. NY Yankees
3. Philadelphia
4. St. Louis
5. LA Angels
6. Chicago Cubs
7. NY Mets
8. Boston
9. Milwaukee
10. San Francisco
11. Colorado
12. Detroit
13. Houston
14. Minnesota
15. Atlanta
16. Chicago White Sox
17. Texas
18. Seattle
19. Arizona
20. San Diego
21. Baltimore
22. Toronto
23. Tampa Bay
24. Washington
25. Kansas City
26. Cleveland
27. Cincinnati
28. Pittsburgh
29. Florida
30. Oakland
The Minnesota Twins have sold out this entire season. And it's May.
Anyway, I think it's weird to too see a lot of places not having fans. I watched a Braves game on TBS the other day and it looked like a ghost town. You're telling me in Atlanta, a Metro of 5+ Million can't put 30,000 into a baseball stadium?!? Even Yankee and Met games are empty half the time with the biggest metro and city in the USA right there. San Diego, Houston, Seattle, Oakland, Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Washington are always empty. I don't get it. I know they are all pretty lousy teams, and it's only May, but come on.. You're telling me 2-6 million people metros can't put more than 30,000 into a stadium?
People in "Hamton Roads" or Raleigh or Portland, or whichever city people beg for MLB, this is why you'll never see a team. Toronto, a ginormous city can't fill a stadium. That's BS, regardless of how bad the team is. MLB baseball is the best in the world and it should be seen, and out of that many people you'd think it wouldn't be a problem.
On the same hand, live sports are becoming a rich man's hobby, like golf. I remember being 16 yrs old. Driving to Twins games to the Dome, 20 minutes away. Parking and gas split among 4 dudes = $3, School ID night half off tickets so my $8 home run porch ticket became $4. And that was a wednesday, which was Dollar Dog night x 2 = $2. So for less than $20 you could enjoy yourself to a game, watching a team in the league's crappiest stadium win one of it's 5 al central titles in the 2000s.
Now, that's pretty much impossible to do. Actually, I'd be impressed if anyone can buy a ticket for less than $20.
I think in Atlanta it has a lot to do with transplants keeping team loyalties from where they are from. There are more Yankees and Red Sox stickers on cars than Braves in Atlanta. Also college football is more important there as well. This seems to be similar in fan support of any place that has a large percentage of the population being transplants, which will impact where any expansion/relocation of teams.
Loyalty has to do with supporting your team through thick and thin, over the course of many years and possibly even decades. It can't be measured by a particular year's attendance record.
MLB Attendance - Major League Baseball Attendance - ESPN 2009 Attendance
1. LA Dodgers
2. NY Yankees
3. Philadelphia
4. St. Louis
5. LA Angels
6. Chicago Cubs
7. NY Mets
8. Boston
9. Milwaukee
10. San Francisco
11. Colorado
12. Detroit
13. Houston
14. Minnesota
15. Atlanta
16. Chicago White Sox
17. Texas
18. Seattle
19. Arizona
20. San Diego
21. Baltimore
22. Toronto
23. Tampa Bay
24. Washington
25. Kansas City
26. Cleveland
27. Cincinnati
28. Pittsburgh
29. Florida
30. Oakland
Yeah, I read all of them, why would you post them?
Like I said, the Twins didn't get any revenue from playing at the Dome. That's why tickets were so affordable, they only had to cover the yearly lease, while the owners of the Dome collected all revenues from concessions, merchandise and parking.
What you're failing to realize is that the Twins, even with a low payroll, and a garbage stadium still managed to be #14 in the MLB out of 30 teams.
I do see what you're saying because every year before that Twins were ranked about 20-24 in terms of total attendance. However, there were over 10 ballparks opened in the time period where teams are experiencing what the Twins are now with theirs - like you said. But, the Metrodome Sucked, so it's suprising even with a crap stadium and an unbelievably low payroll, there were still an average of about 20,000 people at games throughout the 2000s.
Maybe attendance numbers don't represent loyalty... But with a mid-sized market, with a poor stadium and low payroll, it should be a surprise that they weren't at the bottom of the league in attendance.
Even with Chicago going to The Series not too long ago and having a decent stadium, their attendence is super-low. But when I went to US Cellular last year to see a Sox v. Twins game, there were so many Sox fans yelling "Fudge the Twins!" and "Mauer sucks!" and "Let's go Sox.. Let's go Sox! as we were walking out..
To me, that's loyalty. I think the Cubs fans are loyal too. Poor team after poor team, and their fans will still go down with them. I think Yankee and BoSox fans are the most loyal. Cardinals fans seem very loyal, as do Brewer fans. Phillies fans are just crazy, but like I said with the poor stadiums, payrolls, teams and in a mid-sized market, while still bringing in 20,000 fans and having that thick grass roots following, Twins' fans loyalty shouldn't even be a question.
Forbes, ha, they should stick to what they're good at, and everyone on C-D knows that their lists are a joke
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