Charlotte...Not a football city?

[Happy Panther]

yeah i went to games during the 2010 season.  i think calling it even 50% attendance when we played the cardinals would have been a stretch.

We still had some 75% games this year too

[4Corners]

Has nothing to do with attendance though which is the discussion.

 

Yeah, go to a Bobcats vs Hawks game on a Tuesday/Wednesday night. The place is empty. I know Fred Whitfield is a classy, smart guy but they give him too much credit when talking about Bobcats attendance the past 2-3 years. 

[Happy Panther]

Yeah, go to a Bobcats vs Hawks game on a Tuesday/Wednesday night. The place is empty. I know Fred Whitfield is a classy, smart guy but they give him too much credit when talking about Bobcats attendance the past 2-3 years. 

lol I know. I've told the story here but last time I went to a bobcats game the row in front of me had one person in it doing a crossword puzzle.

[4Corners]

According to ESPN, the Panthers were 6th in average home attendance in 2010 when we went 2-14.

Average home attendance ranking per ESPN since 2007

2007- 6th

2008- 6th

2009- 6th

2010- 6th

2011- 7th

2012- 6th

2013- 8th

 

there's no way. I recall going to the 49ers game that season and we took an entire row up of unused seats so we could all sit together up top. 

 

Even now, if there's a chance of rain the attendance suffers. I was at the Jags monsoon game 3 years ago and I can assure that place was maybe halfway full once the showers started. 

[4Corners]

lol I know. I've told the story here but last time I went to a bobcats game the row in front of me had one person in it doing a crossword puzzle.

 

Yup. Their attendance is awful. Obviously, it's going to get better because the team is respectable now and appear to be trending up, but I've probably been to 10 games in the past two years and the only game I've been in person to that was even remotely close to a sell out was the home opener vs the Pacers two seasons ago. 

[Anybodyhome]

Still selling the tickets which gets revenue for the team (and league) which is the only reason the NFL exists.

 

PSL owners must buy the tickets or lose the tens of thousands they dumped on the PSL itself. It's not as though they have a choice.

 

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

another favorite of mine is how redskins and cowboys fans dog us because a lot of fans switched teams when we got the panthers.

 

as if anybody outside of their home markets would give a poo about either of those teams if they had never won super bowls.

[SCP]

I haven't even read the article, but I can tell you this. Our Sunday night game against the Steelers this season will be 40% (at least) Steeler fans. That is the problem. Since I moved back to Charlotte in 2005, the fanbases of the Giants, Steelers, Ravens, Skins, Eagles, Bengals, Pats, Browns, Packers, Bears, Vikings, Dolphins, Jets, Cowboys, Bills, 49ers, and Broncos have all owned our stadium at one time or another. Until that changes BofA will always be viewed as a joke. And that stupid sell out streak is a joke. They flash that crap up at the games, like in 2010, when it was empty except for 30,000 Ravens fans.

[jarhead]

Charlotte still has some work to do as a sports town but it's getting better. The real problem here is obviously all the transplants down here from upstate NY and Ohio...but that's to be expected. If I moved to Seattle tomorrow I would still carry my team with me. But what really grinds my gears are the people that are born and raised in NC yet claim to be "die hard" Steelers, Cowboys, Redskins fans etc. People like that hillbilly moron from Lincolnton who calls WFNZ 3x a day talking about the Steelers and duke. That idiot probably can't find the state of Pennsylvania on a map. 

I do know where Pennsylvania is on a map.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

that's WFNZs entire programming agenda. There's honestly nobody on that station with any real credibility and all the shows are designed around callers. It's a case of inmates running the asylum and the "host" is just keeping score between fanbases. 

 

I've said this a lot in the college bball sub here - but DJ Stout, the programming directors, etc absolutely LOVE an opportunity to kick the tarheels and talk poo on them. The obvious reason is that they are all jealous dookies, but the REAL reason is because it generates ratings. Most of the state are tarheel fans and all it takes is for some idiot hillbilly dookie/state fan to call in after UNC loses and their entire show is set for the day. UNC obviously has a very dedicated, passionate fan base and they will gladly load up the lines to defend their team. UNC = ratings. It's the same reason why they drag out race/ethnicity discussion for 3-4 days. Race talk = ratings. 

 

i'm not a carolina fan but the extent to which that station clearly goes out of its way to troll that fanbase is annoying and transparent to me too.

 

also i know he's just trying to troll people but marc james needs to shut his cum dumpster about jonathan stewart.  

 

as if this dipshit

has any business calling a professional football player soft or a girl.

[CatMan72]

Talking out of his ass.

Sent from my SM-N900V using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[Lumps]

Not to defend thr guy, but I dont believe that takes into account that we have Psl's. Its the same reason we havent had a "blackout" game in a long time because the franchise "sells out" even if the fans dont show up. Its why owners love a psl idea

Sent from my SCH-I535 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

 

This. Plus attendance does not equate to Panther fans. Trust me, I've been to all the games and it has been half and half excluding playoff years and until Cam came along.

 

I am sorry but I do not consider Charlotte a football city. I have lived in Dallas, San Fran, NYC, Seattle, Denver and there is a big difference. But at the same time this is a young franchise and winning/dynasties will do that for you.

 

Winning will build a football city 10x faster than relying on people who have been here all their life. In fact, I'd bet a majority of middle aged fans today became true fans 2003, when we went to the super bowl. I have not lived here all my life, followed the Panthers before that year but after that year I was a die hard fan.

[332nd]

I've said it before, but it applies here. We are still a really young franchise. Most of the people who grew up with the Panthers are just starting to be able to afford a game or two a season. The folks who had other teams growing up & went in whole hog with the Panthers are rare . Then there are the folks like me who went in with the Panthers but left NC/SC because of work.

 

Add to that what you see when you go to a place like Lambeau or Soldier & of course we don't look like a "football town". Hell, my wife & I got invited to a Bears or Packers game every year (We work in the area every summer) until we had our son & now we get invited to every tailgate. (Albeit I think a big part of that is they found I I could BBQ)

 

Bottom line is you can't compare a team with several generations of history to a team with barely one & a lot of people forget that.

[KendrickPanther]

the franchises that always have a packed house no matter how bad the team is are in the vast minority.  people tend to forget that.

 

I saw a ton of yellow in Pittsburgh last year. Jerry world is notorious for being a tourist destination for visiting fans. I've seen the Linc empty when the team is playing poorly. I've seen Baltimore 60% full. Most of our opinions on fanbases are formed during prime time Nationally Televised games. Coincidentally, the vetting process for getting on Sunday Night football is pretty good and fans put their best foot forward on Ntl TV.

 

With that said remember all the trouble franchises had selling playoff tickets last year? They kept extending deadlines. Ours sold out in 7 minutes.