Well-put.

Most people in the south think baseball is “boring.” It’s as simple as that. I’m not one of those people, just the messenger.

A big difference is that NY has how many MILLIONS of people to fill a stadium with???

Market size is a big factor.

One factor (although not a big one) this time of year for fans who have to travel is sometimes they change the game time if the “big networks” decide to over it. If you have to travel, this can be a MAJOR inconvenience.

For instance, the upcoming game with the Nationals on Saturday, big Fox has decided to now carry this game and the time has changed. If you’re a fan who has bought airline tickets to see this game, you may miss the game entirely if your travel plans don’t coincide.

We’ve had this happen to us before, but thankfully the game started later than our original plans and not earlier. It was a Sunday game and they changed it from 7pm to a 4pm start. We got there very early in the day and the people at the hotel informed us of it when we checked in. When we got back that evening for the game, there were about 10 people who had all come as a family group to see the game in our hotel’s lobby who had arrived to see the 7pm game and were very disappointed that they missed it entirely. If we had flown in in the nick of time like they did – we would have been pretty upset too.

I know this is a tiny example, but we would be leery of spending big bucks to fly in and try and see a game unless we could arrange extra time “just in case”.

http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/09/29/the-braves-are-in-a-playoff-race-but-does-anybody-care/?cxntfid=blogs_mark_bradley_blog

It marvelously states what I think.

Hmm, there’s a little bit of irony here, I just can’t find it…no, wait…I think I got it…

Last night I am watching the game

bark at the park for the rest of the week

to be fair 25 000 for a monday game against the Marlins isnt that bad of a turnout

in the first half we cracked 20 000 on a monday twice (once was against the Cubs) and most of the time we werent even close).

attendance has gone up considerably in the second half. And this is evidence of that. Sure other teams got more than we did, but its not like we are only drawing 10 000 like the Rays did Mon.

What we need is David Justice to call out all the Braves fans for not being supportive. Look what happened last time

So it aint my fault.

I have to wonder if the whole “playoff fatigue” thing is still a factor in Atlanta. I mean, after that amazing run of division titles in the 90’s, the town might not be willing to show up for anything other than the league championship.

I can definitely remember seeing a whole bunch of empty seats in the Ted during those NLDS games that the Braves played in. That’s playoff fatigue, right there. The city was inoculated to success, by success. I think that it still is, and that the Braves will have to reach at least the NLCS to sell out the stadium.

I live in NYC too. I always find myself thinking, wtf, where is every1. If I lived in ATL, I would go to sooo many games. From what I’ve heard, the tickets are soooo cheap. Yeah, I agree with u.

With the “godd braves fans suxx” commentary. So I’m skimming through posts, and not necessarily reading fully, but I just got back from game #47 on the season for me, and thought I’d field some of the questions by the OP.

Is it hard to get to Turner Field? If you don’t go often, then yes. Atlanta is perennially rated in the top-5 or top-10 worst traffic in the nation, and Turner Field just happens to be on the Southeast quadrant of what causes most of the traffic, where I-85/I-75 intersects with I-20. The back roads surrounding the ballpark are often mismanaged, and as game time approaches, closed or converted to single direction traffic. It took me two years, but I’ve gotten a somewhat of a system developed, but that mostly has to do with the fact that I’m unafraid to walk through a sketchy area at night, and my car is on its last legs, so I have no qualms with parking it in said sketchy areas. But to answer your question, yes. Others have also chimed in with the lack of public transportation there, as well as the sketchy area.

Are the tickets expensive? It depends on your idea of expensive. If you go on the day of a game, every ticket has a completely unjustifiable $2 surcharge added that wasn’t around before this year. If it’s a weekend, then tickets jump almost 2×. If it’s the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, or other high popularity away teams, then tickets might jump to 3×. But there’s almost always a price that anyone can afford – general admission day of game is $8, and if you know where to go, and can spare some time, you can be one of 187 lucky fans to get a $1 ticket. The more desirable tickets can run a person a good $36-72, or you can settle in the outfield for around $22 on average.

Gimmicks? Well, we’re not the Miami Heat or the Golden State Warriors, so rule out the towels. Free foam tomahawks wasn’t done this year, and if there was a rally towel, it was the Powerade ones. Instead, fans were encouraged to use their own materials and print out their own flair and bring it to the parks themselves. Face the facts, most people are stingy, and don’t want to do that kind of stuff. But those who have been doing it, there has been some good creativity and resourcefulness.

Fact – Turner Field’s maximum capacity fluctuates depending on whom you ask from 55,000-57,000. Every Red Sox/Yankees game was called a sell-out, despite only topping out at 48,000, and the Greg Maddux Night topped out at a sell-out 51,000+. But the highest attendance of the year was "NASCAR day/free concert by All American Rejects at 53,000+ The point of bringing this up is the fact that Turner Field is up there as one of the larger MLB parks, and it’s simply hard to fill up. The average 29,000+ attendance in peak summer months would more than sufficient at making a Fenway Park look pretty well occupied.

Fact – Colorado is known for a cold climate. Atlanta is known for a mild climate. But the seasons do change, and this time of year, temperatures dip into the 60s. For Atlantans, this is cold. When it is cold, fans do not want to be outside. I do not mean to generalize, but I’m willing to bet that people in Colorado deal with their 56-62 degree weather a lot better than people in Atlanta do.

All of the above doesn’t excuse people for no-showing during a critical stretch by any imagination, but I am giving answers to questions inquired about. I wish my 600 lb girth could count for more than one person, because I attend a boatload of games every season, and make vast efforts to follow them on the road. Does this make me a bigger fan than anyone else? Not really. Just because you can’t get to the games doesn’t make you any less of a Braves fan you want to be.