The Ongoing Attendance Problem

[Soda]

How are you offended? He is very obviously only talking about people not going to the game.

I complain that no one watched Arrested Development - that doesn't mean I was throwing the people that DID watch it under the bus.

He's talking about Cleveland fans. Talking about they is clearly talking about all Cleveland fans. Their mentality. They're not showing up. Whether he meant those of us that go to games or not, he's grouping all of us. When people insult Cleveland fans about it, they hit us all, not just the ones who aren't going to games.

 

[CavsFinals2016]

I hate to say it, and I said it yesterday, only to hear Boobie and Bman go nuts over it, but this team really isn't that good to begin with. Our run differential is -48!

A lot of stuff is made out about how we're contenders because we're only .5 games out of first. If we were in the AL East, we'd be last, in the West, third, in the NL East, fourth, in the NL Central, fourth, in the NL West, tied for third.

And its not as if this is a one time thing. It happened last year, and we made few, if any improvements. We were told that we would spend once we start contending. Trading for Ubaldo was the first step, but is that it? Is our window back to back .500 seasons? Excuse the fans for not showing up to see the Indians when they've been to the playoffs once in ten years.

As I said yesterday, I'm a huge Indians fan, and they're and have been my favorite team since birth, but a lot of Tribe fans have seen a lot of baseball, myself included. We know enough to know that this team isn't a serious contender, regardless of what the standings say.

 

[AZ_]

I'm not sure how anyone can read what he said and take it as a jab at the people who do go to the games.

When he stops being 100 percent correct about the fans, I'll start caring.

 

[Nom]

I hate to say it, and I said it yesterday, only to hear Boobie and Bman go nuts over it, but this team really isn't that good to begin with. Our run differential is -48!

A lot of stuff is made out about how we're contenders because we're only .5 games out of first. If we were in the AL East, we'd be last, in the West, third, in the NL East, fourth, in the NL Central, fourth, in the NL West, tied for third.

And its not as if this is a one time thing. It happened last year, and we made few, if any improvements. We were told that we would spend once we start contending. Trading for Ubaldo was the first step, but is that it? Is our window back to back .500 seasons? Excuse the fans for not showing up to see the Indians when they've been to the playoffs once in ten years.

As I said yesterday, I'm a huge Indians fan, and they're and have been my favorite team since birth, but a lot of Tribe fans have seen a lot of baseball, myself included. We know enough to know that this team isn't a serious contender, regardless of what the standings say.

I actually agree with this. Rebuilds are tricky - you need a bunch of guys to pan out at the exact same time and play to their level. This rebuild doesn't have a ton of talent like the '07 version, and the talent it has is underperforming (like the '08 and '09 versions).

People are freaking out that they didn't sign a RH bat this summer - but Josh Willingham isn't the difference between a WS and an 81 win season. This team just didn't mature fast enough and the guys they needed to pan out didn't quite make it. It's unfortunate, but it appears to be true.

That being said - I hope they don't get pennies on the dollar for some of our young promising prospects trying to upgrade this team - because the 2015 version of the team looks to be much better than this one.

 

[Steve_424]

Perez said the truth - there is a complete double-standard when it comes to expectations, support, and patience with the Browns and Indians/Cavs. I've never understood it myself - the best reason someone can give is that Cleveland is a "Browns Town", which basically translates to "We know it makes no sense, but it's just how we roll."

WIth that said, Perez needs to learn that when it comes to the unconditional love and support the Browns recieve, you just have to accept it even if it defies logic. That's how it is and always be here, and talking about it isn't going to change that.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

Perez said the truth - there is a complete double-standard when it comes to expectations, support, and patience with the Browns and Indians/Cavs. I've never understood it myself - the best reason someone can give is that Cleveland is a "Browns Town", which basically translates to "We know it makes no sense, but it's just how we roll."

WIth that said, Perez needs to learn that when it comes to the unconditional love and support the Browns recieve, you just have to accept it even if it defies logic. That's how it is and always be here, and talking about it isn't going to change that.

I pretty much like all 3 CLE teams equally, but if I had to say, I'd say the Browns are my "least favorite." Even with that said, it is easy to understand why they get so much more support than the Indians. It's pretty simple IMO.

1) Football is more exciting than baseball

2) There's only 16 games a year (8 at home) - These games are events. You can't just choose to go to any game you want to all summer long since there are 81 home games. You have to get your tickets in advance (for the most part) and you are obligated to go regardless of weather or team performance because of that.

3) They haven't lost a bunch of stars like the Tribe have. I guarantee if the Browns ever got a bunch of star players and continued to lose them over and over again.... interest in the team would deflate. GUARANTEE IT. Unfortunately, the Browns don't know how to draft and develop stars so we don't have to worry about that.

 

[Nom]

I pretty much like all 3 CLE teams equally, but if I had to say, I'd say the Browns are my "least favorite." Even with that said, it is easy to understand why they get so much support. It's pretty simple IMO.

1) Football is more exciting than baseball
2) There's only 16 games a year (8 at home)

But that is true in every city.

No one has been able to explain why Cleveland's baseball support is so much worse than other cities. I get weather, economy, losing, etc - but none of those things are worse than anywhere else - so why is Cleveland SO MUCH different?

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

But that is true in every city.

No one has been able to explain why Cleveland's baseball support is so much worse than other cities. I get weather, economy, losing, etc - but none of those things are worse than anywhere else - so why is Cleveland SO MUCH different?

Maybe there just isn't that many baseball fans in CLE? Could be the case. Not sure. Football is obviously the much more popular sport in Cleveland.

Also, read point 3 that I added to the post above.... I really think that is a HUGE reason why support for the Tribe continues to die.

 

[AZ_]

Football is always going to be number one in Cleveland, and pretty much everywhere else.

The NFL has built itself into a superpower because it's a more exciting sport with more parody and an equal playing field.


That should not be a deterrent for the city to not support another team.

Say what you will about stars leaving, the team wasn't supported when CC Sabathia or Cliff Lee were with the club. While that perception certainly plays a part as to why, I'm not excusing the ignorance of Cleveland fans who don't realize why players leaving has less to do with ownership than it does the system.

There's no excuse to have this little support for a contending team, no excuse at all.

 

[Nom]

Maybe there just isn't that many baseball fans in CLE? Could be the case. Not sure. Football is obviously the much more popular sport in Cleveland.

Also, read point 3 that I added to the post above.... I really think that is a HUGE reason why support for the Tribe continues to die.

Funny how trading / drafting back-to-back Cy Young winners is never used in a positive way for the Indians - only in the negative that they traded them.

I don't disagree with your point - but I don't understand how Clevelanders continue to point at Dolan as some unique problem to Cleveland at the same time that Pujols, Fielder and Crawford just changed markets.

 

[The Oi]

Football is always going to be number one in Cleveland, and pretty much everywhere else.

The NFL has built itself into a superpower because it's a more exciting sport with more parody and an equal playing field.


That should not be a deterrent for the city to not support another team.

Say what you will about stars leaving, the team wasn't supported when CC Sabathia or Cliff Lee were with the club. While that perception certainly plays a part as to why, I'm not excusing the ignorance of Cleveland fans who don't realize why players leaving has less to do with ownership than it does the system.

There's no excuse to have this little support for a contending team, no excuse at all.

Parity. It's parity.

A parody is what people think you are.

 

[AZ_]

That BGSU journalism minor really coming in handy.

 

[The Oi]

That BGSU journalism minor really coming in handy.

Neither BGSU nor Journalism.

 

[Nom]

That BGSU journalism minor really coming in handy.

Neither BGSU nor Journalism.

I think he meant that you keep a minor with you that attends BGSU. Also, he gives you handies.

 

[The Oi]

I think he meant that you keep a minor with you that attends BGSU. Also, he gives you handies.

...and what I'm saying is that the minor attends Wittenberg and I keep him too busy to study journalism.