Pathetic crowds at home opener

[Renegade7]

@Mr. Sinister i don't blame anyway for wanting him to jus pack up this franchise and leave.  I wouldn't lose sleep, my loyalty is to DC sports, not Snyder.  Having said that, you and I both know he ain't going anywhere.  Wishing that jus makes me angrier, what i want and what will happen with this franchise rarely lineup anymore, i accepted that a long time ago.

 

The point on how long it would take to rebuild the fanbase because of how many younger people were lost is such a humbling truth they I'm almost numb now (i crazy, why should i expect anyone to be crazy like me?)

 

Not long ago i did a thread on age demographics for the board, not a single person 21 or under.  If there was ever a thread or poll Snyder needs to see its that one

 

 

[Mr. Sinister]

Yep, he most likely won't leave. He'll either get it, or further eat away at this franchise until there's nothing left but embers 

[Unbias]

Wait a second.

 

The owner, management, coaches and players, who all get paid handsomely by the fans need those same fans to cheer in order for the team to win games? Am I missing something? 

 

To me you are buying a ticket to a show. If it's good you cheer. If it's 'meh' you don't. If it's bad you throw a tomato (or boo). 

 

In Philly's home opener against the Falcons they boo'ed. They are world champions and won that game. Why should we hold the Redskins to a lower standard? 

[mexaskin]

I am trying to show my support this year. I am making trip up from Charlotte to hopefully see us snap streak against the cats. I haven't been since 2005..skins vs boys. The stay there was terrible because I didn't know my way around then and I wasnt as financially stable. I'm taking my kids (diehards already) to their first skins game. I need some advice on where to stay close to sights etc. Any advice would be great. Under 300$ a night preferably.  Let's end this no home field advantage nonsense. 

[turtle2328]

Gents,

There are 8 pages. Forgive me for not reading all it all. But let me drop my view of this on the board because I've been hearing the narrative on the radio and it seems we're missing the point.

I'm a long time season ticket holder. I've been to every game since 1998 and started going to a game here or there since 1996. It was once electric. The place was filled with burgundy and gold and it was loud on defense. But as time wore on, more and more opposing team fans entered the stadium. They displaced us. There are excellent examples over the years of Steelers fans outnumbering us. Or Giants fans, or Eagles fans... or whatever. The only thing worse than going to a game and losing is going to a game, losing, and getting heckled by the majority of the fans, who are at an away game. 

If the ticket office is sacrificing 25k seats to keep them out of the hands of opposing team fans, they should be applauded. Even last year those seats would have been in the hands of Colt fans. Last year I was just off the 50 and no joke was outnumbered as many times as not. THEY ARE BETTER OFF EMPTY. At least that's the case for someone who goes to every game. If they want that kind of rabid loyalty, they're taking the first step in building it. 

To take a family of four to a game is approaching $1k per game. It's really hard to justify. There's no way you're going to do it if the crowd isn't lop sided in your favor every single time. I'd prefer the drop the prices and do the same for concession like the Ravens and Falcons. I believe they have $3 self serve bottomless sodas. I can feel alright about that. That's tougher at $10 and having to wait in line every time they want a refill. And they'll need to take steps like this if they want to start building the next generation of fans - and they'll need to after years of cashing in on what they'd built in under Gibbs. 

Still, crucial first step and the ticket office has my complete support.  Now... if those 25k seats are filled with cheese hats this Sunday, then I'm thinking they just didn't find Colts fans to buy the tickets last week and I'm sour. Redskins fans or empty seats - Protect home field advantage.

[kleese]

Two points to add:

 

1. We discussed this last year, but the "fan invasion" thing isn't unique to FedEx or even unique to struggling teams. This is a new phenomenon in the NFL and it happens in a lot of different places. If you take the most popular teams (Packers, Cowboys, Eagles, Steelers, etc.) and combine them with popular and/or easy travel destinations you will see an influx of opposing fans.... it happens in Dallas en masse in large part because Dallas is a desireable location and the Stadium itself is an attraction. Heck, Redskins fans are some of the main invaders-- we really represent well on the road in certain locations. No doubt, the team struggling increases the number of opposing fans, but this is just a new reality for a variety of reasons. 

 

2. My unscientific observation is that the Redskins fan experience differs GREATLY between local fans and out of town fans. The local fans seem much more beatdown, negative, and angry. Much more ready to just stop paying attention altogether. The out of town fans seem more spirited and able to laugh off the failures while still gaining enjoyment from following the team. It is really remarkable that no one goes to home games, but then road Redskins rallies are packed to the gills-- and that isn't every team in the league. No chance there is an invasion of Cardinals fans on Bourbon Street like we saw with the Skins last year. In 2013, I went to the rally in Denver the night before the game-- had to leave the bar because you couldn't move or breathe. Same thing in Houston the next year. And we all saw how well we showed up in Arizona week one. It's really strange. 

 

For me, I have ZERO connection to the DC area. Never lived there; no family from there. I live in Oklahoma City. So my fandom has nothing to do with local or civic pride. With the Thunder, the fact that they represent OKC is a big deal to me-- as it is for most Thunder fans. My guess is that the local fans have seen the erosion of their fellow fans along with the influx of opposing fans (not just at games, but around town and in the discourse) that it has really furthered the frustration. Also, as soon as the Redskins are done each year, I just tune it all out until August. I didn't fire up the 980 app once between January-July. Pay almost no attention to the draft or FA and check ES sporadically and never post. So I essentially take an 8 month break and then when August rolls back around I'm cool with diving in again for however long they let it last that particular season. If you are local I imagine it's hard to "escape" even if you try. 

[clskinsfan]

22 hours ago, hail2skins said:

One of the contributing factors to Sunday's turnout was kind of created by the Skins themselves, IMO.  I think back to 2015 when the Rams (a low profile team, kind of like the Colts) were in town and if you look at the season ticket renewals page, mention of how cheap tickets are on Stubhub are mentioned (i.e . club level seats for less than $100, etc).  Well, the new marketing team has allegedly decided to limit the amount of tickets available to brokers.....this in order to alleviate the complaints they were getting from STH about the diminished value of their seats. Thus, tickets that were going for x amount on Stubhub for the Rams game in 2015 were probably going for $40 more for this game.  I think that price difference probably drove a lot of the casual, non-STH fan who were used to grabbing the bargains on Stubhub in previous seasons to not go.

 

 

I bought my tickets for that very game on Stubhub. My son and I went and the Rams kicker missed like 5 field goals in that game. Our seat were 50 yard line upper deck row 3 and we got them for $12 each INCLUDING FEES. I havent even looked at prices this year yet. Although I am going to a couple of games for sure. Atlanta is a definite one as my son in law is a Falcons fan. 

22 hours ago, Taylor Made said:

If anything, the Fans need to do the complete opposite and form a boycott of the games.

Looks to me like they already have.

21 hours ago, Veryoldschool said:

Maybe if enough of us stay home Snyder will sell.

Or Move?

[Veryoldschool]

Move? I think Snyder would sell if he thought the value of the Skins was tanking.

 

[Suffolk_Skins]

Can anyone confirm if there were $10 tickets up top on secondary market websites before the Colts game? 

 

If not and they were still $80+ that will go along way to explaining it. Take the Giants TG game last year. Lower bowl I believe were $15 and even though we sucked were all but out of it, it got a bit of a crowd down there even on thanksgiving night.

 

Are Skins limiting tickets to other sources to stop invasions of other fans but it's also stopping people going with no cheap competitive secondary market? Why would this work anyway (in terms of stopping away fans), any Packer/Panthers fan who wants to go will happily buy from redskins.com or stubhub....

 

Thoughts?

[hail2skins]

9 minutes ago, Suffolk_Skins said:

Can anyone confirm if there were $10 tickets up top on secondary market websites before the Colts game? 

 

If not and they were still $80+ that will go along way to explaining it. 

I only check Stubhub, and not from what I saw. With fees, cheapest I saw for the Colts was $80, Right now, cheapest for the Packers is about $110.  But you can get into the club level for under $140. 

[Suffolk_Skins]

Just now, hail2skins said:

I only check Stubhub, and not from what I saw. With fees, cheapest I saw for the Colts was $80, Right now, cheapest for the Packers is about $110.  But you can get into the club level for under $140. 

 

Then the Redskins are being careful with how many tickets are being let out. Last year you could get very very cheap tickets for these kind of games. San Fran we sat up top for $20 and it was fairly busy.

 

Sunday looking at that they should have all been $10-$20 up there. This is the under publicized part of this story IMO

 

 

[megared]

They shut down the secondary market and stopped selling thousands of tickets to brokers.  And they started offering unsold tickets directly through the ticket office.  

I guess since general admission tickets are subject to revenue sharing, they really don't feel like it was much of a loss, from a financial standpoint.

 

[Suffolk_Skins]

10 minutes ago, megared said:

They shut down the secondary market and stopped selling thousands of tickets to brokers.  And they started offering unsold tickets directly through the ticket office.  

I guess since general admission tickets are subject to revenue sharing, they really don't feel like it was much of a loss, from a financial standpoint.

 

 

Which means thy control the price and Joe from Landover is not getting his $20 ticket at 11pm the night before. Trust me this is BIG part of things. If there were thousands on the secondary market for Sunday the price point would be very low. 

 

See Gaints thanks giving last year as a prime example. Lower bowl $15

[skinfan2k]

i can guarantee you that most of these season ticket holders are the ones who saw the superbowl.  Any fan born after 91 would be stupid to invest in this franchise

40 minutes ago, Suffolk_Skins said:

Can anyone confirm if there were $10 tickets up top on secondary market websites before the Colts game? 

 

If not and they were still $80+ that will go along way to explaining it. Take the Giants TG game last year. Lower bowl I believe were $15 and even though we sucked were all but out of it, it got a bit of a crowd down there even on thanksgiving night.

 

Are Skins limiting tickets to other sources to stop invasions of other fans but it's also stopping people going with no cheap competitive secondary market? Why would this work anyway (in terms of stopping away fans), any Packer/Panthers fan who wants to go will happily buy from redskins.com or stubhub....

 

Thoughts?

 

I am known on ES for buying last minute and this was the first home opener in years that the price for uppers for 80+.  Also they dont sell Standing room tickets anymore.  I used to use those seats to get inside of the stadium at pennies 

[bakedtater1]

1 minute ago, skinfan2k said:

i can guarantee you that most of these season ticket holders are the ones who saw the superbowl.  Any fan born after 91 would be stupid to invest in this franchise

I'd say at least until Snyder is no longer the owner... I still blame everything on him

[Rogue Jedi]

Let’s just say if Snyder ever sells this team, I’m buying the most expensive bottle of champagne from my local Giant

[Alexa]

I'm sorry but the fan base isn't going to get excited about a 34 year old noodle armed QB who only throws 5 yard passes. Part of getting fans to come is you have to sell them on your popular players. That is always your QB, RB, WR, a pass rusher. Who do we have that people actually want to come and see? 

[Burgold]

12 hours ago, kleese said:

2. My unscientific observation is that the Redskins fan experience differs GREATLY between local fans and out of town fans. The local fans seem much more beatdown, negative, and angry. Much more ready to just stop paying attention altogether.

I haven't gone to a game in a couple of years, but before that I went to at least two each season. Part of the reason I stopped, although I don't know how conscious this part of the reason was, was because of the negativity of the season ticket holders in the stands around me. I don't mean booing. I've cheered. I've stood. I've worked my voice raw when I had to go air for my radio gig the next day. I've also heartily booed. I don't mind booing. I applaud booing.

 

What wore me down though was the defeatism.  Guys loudly grousing and predicting failure. The team would be leading and these people would be complaining loudly about how we needed to wait because the defense was going to surrender it or Kirk would hand the game away. The doomsayers took away a lot of the fun.They were never happy. They always knew something bad was just about to happen. They were convinced that all our players sucked. That our coaches sucked. That their seat cushions sucked. The never ending cynicism and crying into their beer even when the team was doing well sucked. I was once at a game when we were up by twenty in the fourth quarter and these people still complained. They called it a mirage. They said said we'd still find a way to mess it up because Hall was the worst cover back in the league because Jackson disappeared ninety percent of the game, etc.

 

I think that's one of the things that drives me to the Tailgate section vs. the Fed Ex section of ES too. It's not the negativity or the critical analysis... it's the defeatism. The woe-is-meism. The Redskins deserve our negativity and our booing when they lay an egg, but coming into the Stadium was like going to street corner and listening to people proclaim how the world was going to end for three nonstop hours. I want to have fun watching football.

 

That game against the Colts was not fun and it was the Redskins fault, but the reaction, the overarching defeatism... we own part of that.

[ixcuincle]

21 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

We go to every home game, win, lose, or draw.

 

I hate that people don't show up, but there's nothing that I can do about it, so I don't lose sleep over it.

 

What is annoying, is the people who say that STH's are "stupid for buying tickets" and we "are part of the problem" and should "show Snyder by not showing up"   "I watch it from my 90" HDTV because the food is good, the beer is cheap, the bathroom is clean and I can jerk off from the comfort of my couch"  You know what?  Bully for you. That's great, enjoy the game as you see fit, but don't presume to preach to me about my choice of venue for watching the Redskins.

Go **** yourselves. We can afford it, and it's what we choose to do.   

 

We always win the tailgate!

 

 

Exactly. I mean if I'm at home I can't tailgate. ES Tailgate is the best. 

[kleese]

1 hour ago, Burgold said:

I haven't gone to a game in a couple of years, but before that I went to at least two each season. Part of the reason I stopped, although I don't know how conscious this part of the reason was, was because of the negativity of the season ticket holders in the stands around me. I don't mean booing. I've cheered. I've stood. I've worked my voice raw when I had to go air for my radio gig the next day. I've also heartily booed. I don't mind booing. I applaud booing.

 

What wore me down though was the defeatism.  Guys loudly grousing and predicting failure. The team would be leading and these people would be complaining loudly about how we needed to wait because the defense was going to surrender it or Kirk would hand the game away. The doomsayers took away a lot of the fun.They were never happy. They always knew something bad was just about to happen. They were convinced that all our players sucked. That our coaches sucked. That their seat cushions sucked. The never ending cynicism and crying into their beer even when the team was doing well sucked. I was once at a game when we were up by twenty in the fourth quarter and these people still complained. They called it a mirage. They said said we'd still find a way to mess it up because Hall was the worst cover back in the league because Jackson disappeared ninety percent of the game, etc.

 

I think that's one of the things that drives me to the Tailgate section vs. the Fed Ex section of ES too. It's not the negativity or the critical analysis... it's the defeatism. The woe-is-meism. The Redskins deserve our negativity and our booing when they lay an egg, but coming into the Stadium was like going to street corner and listening to people proclaim how the world was going to end for three nonstop hours. I want to have fun watching football.

 

That game against the Colts was not fun and it was the Redskins fault, but the reaction, the overarching defeatism... we own part of that.

 

This is a good post... the melodrama is a bit much, I agree. It’s defnitely annoying if we score a TD to go up 7-0 and the guy next to you says “Well, I guess we will just lose 35-7 now instead of 35-0.” The guy might be right, but it’s still annoying. No one wants to hang out with that guy. 

[ixcuincle]

Prices right now are 120 for a high seat. That's WAY too much. At this point team might as well start giving tickets away. I'd take em. Just give em to the public at a reasonable price. 120 is a damn joke. 

[hail2skins]

I really don't encounter the defeatism too much at the stadium. What aggravates me more are the fans who are begging for a flag on seemingly every play.

 

And I will express displeasure when clock management errors occur.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but an example of it happened this week. We were down by 9 and Reed fumbled with roughly 5 minutes left, and the Colts took over. First down, their guy runs for 18, and........we let the clock tick down, and didn't call a timeout until after they ran their next play. WHY?  Maybe I'm missing some logic, but at that stage of the game, where you are down by more than one score, to me, your objective is to conserve time. And they have to run plays.  If you called a timeout after the 18-yard gain and their guy fumbles on the next play and you recover, that's 30 more seconds you have.

2 minutes ago, ixcuincle said:

Prices right now are 120 for a high seat. That's WAY too much. At this point team might as well start giving tickets away. I'd take em. Just give em to the public at a reasonable price. 120 is a damn joke. 

I saw clubs for 130 on Stubhub this morning, down from like 160 earlier this week. Maybe still too high for a lot of people's liking, but....lets see.....UL for 120, clubs for 130. That is a hard decision LOL!

[megared]

It's honestly a good thing because eventually season ticket prices will have to be adjusted to match what people are willing to pay on an individual game basis.   This would result more in market based prices versus a false narrative of rabid demand and associated astronomical pricing.  

 

And maybe,  just maybe, these adjustments can also influence pricing of parking and concessions.   That's if Snyder is actually committed to this approach...

[Chachie]

21 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

In a word, no.  DC is almost entirely blue and places like NOVA are some of the most diverse and liberal in the country.  Basically this is the part of Virginia that keeps the state blue.

 

 

Maryland is also very blue but the red is rising. I suppose we'll see what happens vs. Green Bay. 

[GoDeep81]

I think stadiums are full of opposing fans because (mainly) they think they'll get to see their team win.. New England's probably nice to visit too, but who wants to pay through the nose to go up there and watch their team get curb stomped?? The main attraction is the host team usually sucks, so on top of a nice vacation, you get to see your team have a very good shot at a win.. Just my 2 cents.. Start winning games and the opposing fans will watch on TV instead of buying tickets to come heckle you..