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Some people are concerned about attendance


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#1
juberish

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What's the appropriate thread to discuss attendance in? Anyone check out the EoS piece where DM blames the fans for our crappy turn-out for the home opener?

 

 

The Red Bulls announced an attendance figure of 21,303 at Red Bull Arena yesterday.

In actuality, there were roughly 17-18,000 butts-in-seats. By my eye anyway.

No, I am not decrying the announced number. Using the tickets sold metric is a standard practice for all teams in North America and provides the most fair and accurate measurement of club sales.

What is disappointing is the fan engagement.

Let’s face it; over the years, the New York Red Bulls fan base has been quick to blame the front office for the general malaise that has followed this club since its inception. And rightfully so.

However, on a night where you open the season at home, on a beautiful Sunday evening, celebrating the team’s second Supporters’ Shield championship in three years … and you can’t fill up the joint? Or bother to show up? That falls on the fans.

 

http://www.empireofs...eekend-45469/6/

 

I don't get the logic where this "falls on the fans" - isnt fan engagement always the FO's responsibility? What's the nature of the blame? 

 

I just don't understand how "the fans" can be faulted at all for something like this. FO has to attract new fans, different fans, get creative, find ways to reduce how many seats the ticket brokers are sitting on, etc etc. 

 

Or by "fan engagement" does he mean that the fans who were there weren't bringing the energy? 



#2
ukraine76

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Obviously, he is not blaming the fans who were there. Or fans who would love to have been there, but had legitimate reasons not to be. He is blaming NY/NJ soccer fan community as a whole for failure to produce more than 17-18k of people to attend a home opener for a regular season champ facing off against a team that has the MVP of the league and USMNT captain in their line-up while the weather was perfect for this time of the year.



#3
juberish

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He is blaming NY/NJ soccer fan community as a whole for failure to produce more than 17-18k of people to attend a home opener

Yeah, I don't think thats a very rational stance to take. 



#4
Haig

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What's the appropriate thread to discuss attendance in? Anyone check out the EoS piece where DM blames the fans for our crappy turn-out for the home opener?

 

 

 

http://www.empireofs...eekend-45469/6/

 

I don't get the logic where this "falls on the fans" - isnt fan engagement always the FO's responsibility? What's the nature of the blame? 

 

I just don't understand how "the fans" can be faulted at all for something like this. FO has to attract new fans, different fans, get creative, find ways to reduce how many seats ticket brokers are sitting on, etc etc. 

 

Or by "fan engagement" does he mean that the fans who were there weren't bringing the energy? 

 

 

This is fucking lame of Dave. Our core fans are really good, for the most part - the ones who actually show up, not the fuckers who buy tickets for seats that sit empty. So it's bullshit to blame the "fans."

"Fan engagement" is an entirely different thing, but I'm afraid that our ownership doesn't have any real ideas about how to get us past the plateau we have been at for the last four years or so. Eventually someone who knows what they're doing will take over for them, but that shit isn't on any of us.


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#5
RedBullScouse

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Just win.  Yeah, we have done a pretty good job of that the past few years, but the fan effect doesn't happen overnight.


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#6
juberish

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Obviously, he is not blaming the fans who were there. Or fans who would love to have been there, but had legitimate reasons not to be. He is blaming NY/NJ soccer fan community as a whole for failure to produce more than 17-18k of people to attend a home opener for a regular season champ facing off against a team that has the MVP of the league and USMNT captain in their line-up while the weather was perfect for this time of the year.

Oh man, you got a BLew 'like' out of this one! Cuts like a knife!

 

It doesn't matter how good the weather is or what players are on the field or how entertaining we play - we've had this problem forever. What has the FO tried to do differently to improve things? Was there some marketing campaign I missed? Was the name of the team changed to something less corporate and I haven't realized it yet? Why is this now the community's fault; because the weather was good? fuck. that. 

 

Our attendance hasn't fluctuated much at all since the move into RBA in 2010. Supporters shields and Thierry Henry's didn't really change things that much, why would this years home opener have different expectations? 

 

Maybe scolding people will make things better? Yeah, that sounds like the solution!



#7
ElMetrofan

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RB is not engaged at all with the community, surrounding area, etc... To make the impact this teams needs. There are people who don't even know that MLS exists, yet a local professional team. I don't understand how we live in the media capital of the world and NOBODY can do some research and apply their findings to better promote this team. RB has some talented people already. They do some pretty cool "YouTube", social media ,and tricks like the street team. But obviously, it's not enough.

Aren't there consulting companies that can do this shit for a living and can get a better plan in place? Come on now...

#8
SatansHockey

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I have Devils season tickets but the guy who is a season ticket holder next to me gives his tickets to different friends and family throughout the season when he can't make it and I almost always bring up the Red Bulls and it's amazing how almost none of them know about the team or the fact that they play in an arena that is basically a mile away from the prudential center.

Of course all the beat the dead horse topics about the red bulls name, them being called New York when they play in New Jersey and have no history in NY like the jets or Giants do.

I'm sure all those factors have an impact on the teams attendance plus the new team in blue.

I also think a huge factor is having causal fans who don't know where to park or don't like taking the train get frustrated with getting in and out of the area and just don't come back to another game.

#9
iced1776

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Of course all the beat the dead horse topics about the red bulls name, them being called New York when they play in New Jersey and have no history in NY like the jets or Giants do.
 

This is still a thing people say? Its been over three decades since either team played a game in the state of New York.



#10
SatansHockey

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This is still a thing people say? Its been over three decades since either team played a game in the state of New York.


I've read it numerous times on a few Devils message board. I've also read that some people also don't support the jets or Giants since neither of them have New Jersey in their name either.

#11
RandomHero

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The team has two pretty huge things going against it that aren't going to change anytime soon that deter people and that's the name and the town of Harrison. The few times i brought someone new to the game they questioned why the team is named after a energy drink and why the traffic is so awful in and out of Harrison. The raised parking prices this year aren't going to help that second cause at all. 



#12
jamison

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Traffic is awful for Yankees home games when they get 50,000 as well, but people take the subway.  Once the PATH station is fixed (and, hopefully, not run by incompetent morons) it could get better, but traffic sucks for Jets & Giants games too. I've gone to the Meadowlands and sat in traffic for 3 hours getting out of there for NFL games. It's criminally awful.  That said, I don't see it stopping the 80k that do go from going. The remedy is people make a day out of going to the game, and get to the stadium like 3 hours before the game. They tailgate afterwards. etc.  I don't think RBNY attendance changes materially until we find 25k people with that mindset. 

 

I'm not really sure what this suburban fantasy is all about where you are expecting to drive right up to the front door of a game, park, walk into your seat in 5 minutes, watch the game and get in zero traffic going home. Maybe that shit happens in Kansas, but even there I doubt it. If everyone is still carrying their 2007 commuting-to-games boner for going to games at Giants Stadium when it was 74% empty- ok, maybe I'd understand- but the experience there was awful. And the same 17k that were going then are going now, only we've got 4k no shows per game now and we're calling it 21k a game.

 

So, if the only people who aren't going have as their only reason why they aren't going that traffic is bad- then I'm thinking those were softies who also aren't going when (1) the team is losing, (2) it might rain out, (3) they want to stay home and watch Mythbusters on TV instead, etc.

 

People used to go El Pastor at 4pm, hang out for 3 hours, go to the game, hang out for an hour afterwards and go home, all while getting stuck in zero gameday traffic. Traffic wasn't a problem for them, because they devoted a day to it.

 

Now, the traffic is actually awful. Not disputing that. But the traffic is awful for a lot of events in NJ that still get a lot more than 16-18k actual people there per game. (Jets, Giants, Rutgers home games, etc.). So, I don't really get that as an explanation.

 

If enough people cared to make a day of it, the traffic wouldn't really matter. 


 


#13
hurricane1091

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Attendance better than usual for home opener tbh. Fan base sucks, lol who cares. I'm a big time Devils fan and their fan base blows too. It will for many years to come, just get used to it.



#14
SatansHockey

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Traffic is awful for Yankees home games when they get 50,000 as well, but people take the subway.  Once the PATH station is fixed (and, hopefully, not run by incompetent morons) it could get better, but traffic sucks for Jets & Giants games too. I've gone to the Meadowlands and sat in traffic for 3 hours getting out of there for NFL games. It's criminally awful.  That said, I don't see it stopping the 80k that do go from going. The remedy is people make a day out of going to the game, and get to the stadium like 3 hours before the game. They tailgate afterwards. etc.  I don't think RBNY attendance changes materially until we find 25k people with that mindset. 
 
I'm not really sure what this suburban fantasy is all about where you are expecting to drive right up to the front door of a game, park, walk into your seat in 5 minutes, watch the game and get in zero traffic going home. Maybe that shit happens in Kansas, but even there I doubt it. If everyone is still carrying their 2007 commuting-to-games boner for going to games at Giants Stadium when it was 74% empty- ok, maybe I'd understand- but the experience there was awful. And the same 17k that were going then are going now, only we've got 4k no shows per game now and we're calling it 21k a game.
 
So, if the only people who aren't going have as their only reason why they aren't going that traffic is bad- then I'm thinking those were softies who also aren't going when (1) the team is losing, (2) it might rain out, (3) they want to stay home and watch Mythbusters on TV instead, etc.
 
People used to go El Pastor at 4pm, hang out for 3 hours, go to the game, hang out for an hour afterwards and go home, all while getting stuck in zero gameday traffic. Traffic wasn't a problem for them, because they devoted a day to it.
 
Now, the traffic is actually awful. Not disputing that. But the traffic is awful for a lot of events in NJ that still get a lot more than 16-18k actual people there per game. (Jets, Giants, Rutgers home games, etc.). So, I don't really get that as an explanation.
 
If enough people cared to make a day of it, the traffic wouldn't really matter. 


MLS doesn't have the best players in the world our area has too many other major league sports teams and options of things to do blah blah blah

#15
McSoccer

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The team has two pretty huge things going against it that aren't going to change anytime soon that deter people and that's the name and the town of Harrison. The few times i brought someone new to the game they questioned why the team is named after a energy drink and why the traffic is so awful in and out of Harrison. The raised parking prices this year aren't going to help that second cause at all. 

Yep.  More than a few people I know have gone, dealt with the traffic, and have not returned.  If we drive, we usually tailgate before and after.  That takes care of a lot of traffic problems.

 

I also think if Harrison had a place like Hell's Kitchen in Newark the train would be a more attractive offering.






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