The View From Your Seat
by gondeee on Aug 20, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
in The View From Your Seat
Email
Print
Turner Field, Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves, 8/19/2010, 1:09pm, top of the first
37 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
You beat me to it
I was gonna say, looks like Sunlife LandShark Miami Dade County Dolphins Stadium.
by Bravestillidie on Aug 20, 2010 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions
I hope you attempted to go down to the lower section. I’m sure the ushers* would have gladly let you sit anywhere you pleased.
*excluding the Seat Nazi in 406, who was undoubtedly still checking tickets and making sure everyone was sitting in the correct seat, and not getting up to take a picture.
Coming soon: winningugly visits Atlanta, takes dump in royhobbs’ Braves hat.
I did...
…but it was a day game with only occasional cloud cover, forecast of possible showers and oppressive humidity. Me and the other “cheapos” with the general admission tickets kept moving further up to stay in the shade. I sat there and enjoyed my dog, peanuts and beer until after the seventh inning. Then I meandered around on the Chop House deck, under the pavillion level and eventually ended up right behind home plate to see Farnsworth give the game (virtually) out of reach.
I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. ~ Crash Davis
by Old Braves' Fan on Aug 20, 2010 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Man, if there’s a 4 in the front of my section number and somebody is trying to boss me around, they just might get cut.
I wrote a novel, it's about baseball, you should buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/Four-C-B-Wilkins/dp/1449578454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257720610&sr=1-1
www.dropoutproductions.com
Seriously
I’ve never understood why they check tickets in the cheapest sections.
“No, sir. You’re going to have to go down to your actual seat, which is located in the first row directly behind home plate. How dare you come up here waving your fancy tickets in our face. I am going to tell the servers down there not to give you a menu to order from. How do you like that?”
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Seat Nazi
That lady is unreal… I went to the Dodgers game on Sunday with a couple of buddies, and we clearly walked into the 406 tunnel together. She checked my friend’s ticket in front of me, and I started walking by with him. She then started yelling “sir” at me and called me back so she could check my nine dollar ticket. On a high note, I did see someone get iced in that section, and he chugged the bottle in about 5 seconds flat.
yea, for the most part they were like, “if you’re crazy enough to sit in the sun, be my guest” (except probably her). I sat in row 5 or so of 119, completely drenched (probably still have some paint melted off the seat on my legs), looking at all the smarter people who had moved up to the shaded seats, which you can’t see in the pic. But as always, I’m just a sucker to get a closer shot.
Come to a hockey game at BU sometime...
You have no idea.
Go USA, Braves, BU Terriers, Irish, Caps, Colts, Hoyas, NU Cats, Wizards, DC United, Washington Freedom
BU Hockey: National Champions 1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009
Terrier Nation!
"Infield hits are sexy, because they require technique."
-Ichiro
by VivaLosBravos on Aug 20, 2010 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow...
That’s sad…I didn’t realize that we had such poor attendance, even for a day game against a lack-luster team. Sad. I guess most Atlantans have work/school obligations!
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Yeah it is...
…but understandable. It was one of those “Business Fans’ Specials,” a weekday game, that was hot, humid and with the theat of rain…and the series win had already been secured. I believe I heard the attendance was less than 16,000.
I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. ~ Crash Davis
by Old Braves' Fan on Aug 20, 2010 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
This team is in Freaking first place in late August, I get so pissed seeing a picture like this.
That being said – business fans specials in August are dumb- anywhere in baseball, let alone the deep southeast. Like OBF said, hot humid, and school is about to be back in session (if not already). Just offer some ticket specials for a night game to pack the house. Atlanta has never drawn BFS games well, don’t know why they keep doing it.
by CharlotteChop on Aug 20, 2010 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Probably horrible from a business perspective, but given that this game was scheduled such that the Braves didn’t have to finish a night game and then head out to Chicago to play a day game at Wrigley immediately after, I’m sure the team appreciates it nonetheless.
by Ivan the Great on Aug 20, 2010 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions
You definitely make some valid points that I agree with. I guess it’s just the tradition of having a day game on “get away day,” thought that confuses me even more that they had a night game on Monday.
Schools in the Atlanta area start back to school the first and second week of August, so all the kiddies were in school this day.
I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. ~ Crash Davis
by Old Braves' Fan on Aug 20, 2010 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions
The players do appreciate I am sure, Ivan. Playing a night game followed by a day game on Friday probably is less appreciative, especially with travel, than a few extra thousand butts in seats. Maybe this was deliberate from a scheduling perspective.
by CharlotteChop on Aug 20, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
BUT THE PHILLIEZ SELL OUT THEIR DAY GAMEZ
OH NOOOZZZZZZ
Go USA, Braves, BU Terriers, Irish, Caps, Colts, Hoyas, NU Cats, Wizards, DC United, Washington Freedom
BU Hockey: National Champions 1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009
I just looked...
Sadly, we’re just average in attendance: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
You would think being in first place would draw more fans to the park. We’re behind the teams like the NY Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Milwaukee Brewers…I get it…NY is huge, but the Rockies and the Brewers? Really?
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
A big part of it
has to be the annoyance of getting to Turner Field, the lack of ANYTHING AT ALL to do outside the stadium. At least there used to be a KFC, but now that’s gone too. no food, no bars, no cafes, nothing. Theres no good public transportation to the stadium and it’s so far from anything else in the A. And parking is expensive.
THIS
Live in Gwinnett, work in Alpharetta. It’s just way too much hassle to fight your way down 400, 85/75, and the one-way madness around Turner.
First place or not, it has to be more conducive to get to the game if you want fans to show up live.
Atlanta is also a horrible audience-participation city; whether it’s Braves, Falcons, Hawks, theatre, etc or not, people just don’t go out like they do in other cities.
insteresting, but a rebuttal if I may
Think about the weather in those places. Colorado and Miwaukee have much milder climates this time of year. THik about their attendance whent he season first starts and at the end when there is threat of snow. They didn’t have that this year, or at least not yet.
I have gone to about 10 games so far this year….can’t afford season tickets, but there have been a number of games I ahve wanted to see, but because of the heat and humidity, I have just balked.
The things that makes me crazy about us fans are the enigmas like having a great crowd for Galvine’s Jersey retirement being outsold by the next nights game. We had a huge crowd for that game…circa 46,000 I believe, but had 1,000 more people at the next nights game. That is shameful.
by Bravestillidie on Aug 20, 2010 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
yea
I drove to that next night’s game (the huddy start). I drove around the stadium for almost 45 mins trying to park and EVERY parking lot was sold out. We left and went to a movie instead. At that point it was already 30 mins into the game and it wasn’t worth it. There were a lot of neighborhood kids/guys trying to get us to pay to park in driveways and stuff, I didn’t know whether or not to trust them or not. Anyone ever parked with those guys?
It's been this way for years.
ATL got jaded on the success, and it’s hard to draw regionally for an 81-game home schedule.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.
by MichaelProcton on Aug 20, 2010 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions
My two cents
I think a few factors contribute:
1) the weather—I love baseball more than most, but I’m not going to sit through a game against a bad team when it is uncomfortable. We all know there are days in Atlanta when its just not enjoyable to watch baseball.
2) transportation—the MARTA is a subway to nowhere. Everyone has to battle traffic to get to the stadium.
3) spoiled—our fans are used to winning. We have a “wake me when the playoffs start” type attitude.
4) remember also that Turner Field is the fourth largest baseball stadium in the league (behind Yankee, Dodger, and Coors). The Braves can pack in 15,000 more people than will can even get into Fenway and the park won’t look full.
by kalesi on Aug 20, 2010 11:57 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Agreed...
As to #4, that’s why I always look at raw numbers and not the percentage of a full stadium. In fairness to the Marlins, they aren’t the worst team, their stadium is gigantic (seats over 70K).
As to #1, I wonder how our attendance in night games compares around baseball? Are there splits for such a thing? Surely games like these drive down our numbers considerably…
All of the above points, definitely play a huge role. If MARTA went directly to the stadium, I’d probably go to many more games. Truth.
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
Yes, all of this.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.
by MichaelProcton on Aug 20, 2010 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Atlanta is 14th in attendance….4% ahead of last year when they finished 15th in the league.
If I lived in there, I would go 10 – 15 times a year. When we go there on vacation, we enjoy the experience. The Braves have certainly done a good job of trying to make it a fan friendly atmosphere.
I guess this...
Is what bothers me the most. While the concerns above are legit, we can’t draw more fans even when we’re in first place and have the 2nd best record in the league?
What does it take?
"You can't print what I said, but they have to catch us." - Chipper Jones
That's the Question
The braves marketing people need to be asking…..from this post it looks like parking & traffic are concerns…..I was surprised to learn they were 14th in attendance when you consider how well the team is playing especially at home.
The weather is also a concern, and kids have just gone back to school.
"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 Aug 20, 2010 1:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Agreed
However…it could be worse….Tampa Bay plays in a dome, has one of the best teams in Baseball and is 23rd in attendance averaging 22,780 per game….BUSH TOWN!
The arrival of the playoffs.
Advance apologies if the contents of this sports-based post offended you. I'm just aiming to educate the masses. My law professor says they're asses.
Panthers '010: Save the Richardson family coffers! We'll take the winning if we stumble into it.
by MichaelProcton on Aug 20, 2010 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Roy Oswalt doesn’t need to save the Rangers, he only needs to provide insurance and depth
- James Loney: Umpires should call pitches from behind mound — and be robots with replay
- Magglio Ordonez set to retire after 15 seasons
- Barry Bonds thinks it will be ‘very sad’ if he doesn’t get into the Hall on his first try
- Chris Johnson’s glove webbing had a Spidey sense at Coors Field — for one play, at least
