The View From Your Seat

by Scott Coleman on Jun 10, 2010 10:39 PM EDT in The View From Your Seat

Chase Field, Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 6/10/10, top of the first

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Damn

the crowds for this whole series were downright pathetic. This was the best of the series I believe, and even it looks Florida-esque. Poor Diamondbacks.

"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson

by Jacob Peterson on Jun 10, 2010 11:56 PM EDT reply actions

The “attendance” today had like 7,000 kids included too.

"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- You know he's gonna get you, you just never know when or where."

by Scott Coleman on Jun 11, 2010 12:00 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Oh yeah, i saw those kids. They were really annoying, even on TV! they were yelling and everything…poor you. That must have been awful.

"Tony Gwynn made sacrifices. Cal Ripken made sacrifices. I'm not sure Derek Jeter made sacrifices given the ungodly deep pockets the Yankees have." - Chipper Jones

by MBL1 on Jun 11, 2010 12:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

To be fair

As bad as the D-backs bullpen is, this team has to be brutal to follow.

It’s not excuse for the sub-20K attendances we’ve seen, but it makes some sense.

And I’m sure there’s a bit of the “transplant” problem in AZ like there is in ATL as well. mvhsbball would know better than I. Seems like there were plenty of Braves fans at these games.

by get swoll yunel on Jun 11, 2010 12:10 AM EDT up reply actions

funny you mention that

I actually did a paper a year ago on why Phoenix teams tend to draw lower numbers than most large city teams do. It was probably the best paper I’ve ever done.

Basically, there’s 3 reasons:

1. Besides the DBacks in 2001, they’ve never really had a championship in Phoenix. The Suns were always close, but fell short. The Cardinals suck. And the Coyotes struggle to stick around. A championship obviously excites a city and Phoenix never really gets to experience that.

2. The majority of the middle and upper class live in suburbs of Phoenix (Scottsdale, Chandler, Glibert, Tempe, etc.) and anyone who’s ever been to the Phoenix area in the past 5 years knows how horrible rush hour traffic is. It’s bad in a most cities, but Phoenix has it down to an exact science. It takes at least an hour for 75% of the population to get to a DBacks/Suns game and even longer to get to a Cardinals/Coyotes game.

3. Downtown Phoenix isn’t too safe and there’s nothing to do for families. The whole reason the DBacks start at 6:40 is to get the crowds out by 10 o’clock. Despite a bunch of efforts by the city to clean up/promote the downtown area, it’s either a) big business or b) run-down auto shops and workshops. Not too appealing for families with kids.

So yeah, they definitely struggle to draw big crowds. They’re usually pretty decent on the holidays and weekends, but most teams besides the Marlins are.

"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- You know he's gonna get you, you just never know when or where."

by Scott Coleman on Jun 11, 2010 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Haha

you may need to revise number 1. Cardinals don’t suck anymore (well, maybe). Suns definelty don’t and probably get good crowds and the Coyotes just made a playoff run

"Batting second and playing shortstop-he's Cuban. Yeah, his name's Pablo...no, eh, Yunel Escobar, sorry"

by GoBravesNY on Jun 11, 2010 6:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m talking historically though. You’re right, the Suns never really have a problem drawing big numbers. The Cardinals were awful and no one went to the games until they built the new stadium. And the Coyotes almost got moved to Canada last year.

"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- You know he's gonna get you, you just never know when or where."

by Scott Coleman on Jun 11, 2010 2:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions