First Round - Game 4 - Heat @ Hornets

[RoaringRiot]

14 minutes ago, cbarrier90 said:

I saw a place that was packed and rocking. If folks didn't show up it was minimal at best.

You saw the place? Like on TV and not in person? Did you see it on Saturday?

the attandence was disappointing. There were a ton of huge blocks of empty rows. A ton. You're dismissing it as a "few folks" and saying it happens because it was a weekday game? It was a critical game four of a series that the Hornets are no way out of and a much needed win. 

[mrford]

Looked pretty full to me once everyone got in and sat down.

More than 90% easily.

[RoaringRiot]

12 minutes ago, mrford said:

Looked pretty full to me once everyone got in and sat down.

More than 90% easily.

Sure. My point is that 90% is pathetic for a playoff series. Maybe we've just come to accept that not filling all those seats is ok. 

[cbarrier90]

22 minutes ago, RoaringRiot said:

Sure. My point is that 90% is pathetic for a playoff series. Maybe we've just come to accept that not filling all those seats is ok. 

I understand that's your "job" to encourage more fans and don't get me wrong, you do the Lord's work, but it's not comparable between Hornets and Panthers.

Hornets and NBA in general draw mostly within their metro region which is why there's such a disparity between weeknights and weekends. A rowdy 90% on a weeknight is outstanding. The only chance a market like Charlotte could draw regular sellouts in this day and age would be to get a superstar talent that would transcend the typical Charlotte sports fan and start drawing in the bandwagon fans.

You're also talking about a franchise that hadn't won a single playoff game in a decade in a half, has been a poster child for futility for much of its existence, and had just gotten smacked upside the head in its first two playoff games.

I appreciate you striving for perfection, but this is really so, so much better than the status quo.

[RoaringRiot]

It has nothing to do with a job. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to not see huge blocks of empty seats during a playoff game. And I see it as a franchise which just got a great game three win and with a win in game four would be every bit back in this series despite getting blown out in the first two games. It's not like there were a few empty seats here and there, there were blocks of 8 rows that were almost entirely empty. 

It isn't my job to enourage fans to go to Hornets games. It's my love for my team, my city, and probably just being so old that I'm remembering the "good ole Hornets days" that make me think we can do better than that. That and my inability to just accept mediocrity. I refuse to believe that noticeable, gaping holes of missing fans in the stands during a playoff game is ok. But that's just me. 

[cbarrier90]

21 minutes ago, RoaringRiot said:

It has nothing to do with a job. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to not see huge blocks of empty seats during a playoff game. And I see it as a franchise which just got a great game three win and with a win in game four would be every bit back in this series despite getting blown out in the first two games. It's not like there were a few empty seats here and there, there were blocks of 8 rows that were almost entirely empty. 

It isn't my job to enourage fans to go to Hornets games. It's my love for my team, my city, and probably just being so old that I'm remembering the "good ole Hornets days" that make me think we can do better than that. That and my inability to just accept mediocrity. I refuse to believe that noticeable, gaping holes of missing fans in the stands during a playoff game is ok. But that's just me. 

But what you are seeing is not mediocre by any stretch of the imagination!

If you're going to judge everything through the specter of the "good ole days" (which we tend to overrate because we only emphasize the good times or forget about the bad times, Hurney apologists on here prove that) then you're always going to be disappointed.

What Charlotte had then was special, but it was a completely different time and place that can't come back. But what you have now is a franchise learning how to be successful in the league and a fanbase slowly starting to rebuild faith in pro basketball in this market. These two games have shown how far they've come and it's been a joy to watch.

[RoaringRiot]

I get it - and I don't disagree with what you're saying. But I'm never going to look up and see that many empty seats in a game four and think "wow this is great". It doesn't matter to me whether or not that the norm for the NBA in today's day and age. That's just the way I feel about it. 

And I don't mean to take anything away from the people in attandence last night - great energy and vibe. I was just pointing out the numerous noticeable chunks of empty seats that were most definitely there. 

[motocross_cat]

Maybe they were all at the bar drinking mimosas and taking selfies?

[Zaximus]

It takes time, even for playoff attendance.  You have to think about this franchise as only about 10 years old, because people got so tired of the NBA and the team after they left it basically reset.   It's still not as bad as say, Tampa Bay Rays when they had to GIVE out playoff tickets to games (granted, Florida fans are the worst).    NBA is an odd sport anyway.

[TheRed]

When you consider the fact that things have been so desperate that we even had t-shirts begging for us to get our first playoff win, "Just win one game for fugs sake...sadface". It would seem likely that filling at least 80% of the seats on a week night would be a clear step in the right direction.

[ecu88]

[The_Light_Brigade]

Re: Attendance, Casual fans are superficial.  They want their ROI before they invest.  Team has made improvements which got us where we are now.  Now it's time to go to the next step.  The next step puts all the butts in the seats.  

[Sapper]

This isn't a Charlotte issue either.  Most arenas won't fill beyond 85%

[VGcollector]

I think the number of games also attribute to it as well. lot of casual fans will go to the first game and then only the possible last game as well i think that the series winning game will have the most attendence. next year i think we will have more people especially since the product on the court is so improved.