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Cleveland Indians (2013 Season)

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desert_buckeye;2342136; said:
I don't understand why the Tribe can't at least half fill the ballpark. It's not like they are horrible, and they did make some moves in the off season to bolster the offense a bit, as well as add some much needed speed (Giambi and Reynolds). I'm a die hard Tribe fan, but unfortunately I live in Arizona and don't get back to Ohio much to catch any games. I do however, go up to Goodyear and catch a few spring training games since they moved back from Florida a couple years back. Had the MLB extra innings package for a couple seasons, but I travel too much to make it worth the price for the full season. A little off topic here, but glad to see them stop the skid tonight and hopefully get back on track. I think if the bullpen gets things straightened out, they will be in contention for a playoff spot. Cabrera and Kipnis haven't really produced yet, so there's plenty of room for improvement. Can't expect the starters to hold the opponents to 1 or 2 runs every game to have a chance, so the offense needs to find some consistency. Just kidding about adding speed to the lineup with Giambi and Reynolds, the point was Bourn and Stubbs, but wanted to see if anyone actually reads posts in this thread. :biggrin:
GO TRIBE!
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If you want the Indians to draw more fans a few things will have to happen:

1. They need to challenge for the division
2. The Browns need to move to LA
3. They need to blow up Browns Stadium
4. The Indians and Cavs need to swap owners
5. The Cavs need to fire Chris Grant and give Isiah Thomas complete control

As bad as the Browns have been they will always be #1 in the hearts of Cleveland fans. With the Cavs having competent ownership/management the Indians are battling them to be #2. The mid to late 90's were a perfect storm for the Indians that will likely never be repeated. Outside of big weekend games and a chance at the playoffs the only way the Tribe is selling out a game is to make it into the playoffs.
 
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y0yoyoin;2342168; said:
its directed at everyone that falls in that category...i know quite a few personally....and just a reminder to everyone outside of columbus and beyond...the rest of ohio is in a deep deep financial crisis and most people that would go to a tribe game cannot afford to...its sad to say this is true but it is...every town or city an hour's drive from cleveland is broke and everyone in that city is pretty much broke...its not the 90's where they could sell out the stadium every game...it will never be like that again...i would love to see how the attendance would be if you switched our team with say the Angels or the Dodgers, teams with star power, if the attendance would be any different...im willing to bet it wouldnt be much different
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My original comment wasn't meant to be a knock at the entire fan base. It was meant to show that it's amazing to see a US soccer match in Cleveland (are there that many soccer fans in Cleveland) could provide a 33% increase attendance over a Reds/Indians game.

I believe though, attendance during weekends has been relatively higher than weekday games too. There's a lot more factors for going to ball games now. Gas prices, entertainment of the team, food prices, and just the economy in general. Attendance around most teams I'm sure is down (take out the Yankees, cardinals, Red Sox, etc)

I do agree with you that it's difficult to get to games because of $ at this given moment. I do think that if we had the "star power" like the Angels/Dodgers, we would fill more seats. But I don't see it being like it was in the 90's until they start dominating again
 
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y0yoyoin;2342168; said:
its directed at everyone that falls in that category...i know quite a few personally....and just a reminder to everyone outside of columbus and beyond...the rest of ohio is in a deep deep financial crisis and most people that would go to a tribe game cannot afford to...its sad to say this is true but it is...every town or city an hour's drive from cleveland is broke and everyone in that city is pretty much broke...its not the 90's where they could sell out the stadium every game...it will never be like that again...i would love to see how the attendance would be if you switched our team with say the Angels or the Dodgers, teams with star power, if the attendance would be any different...im willing to bet it wouldnt be much different
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I don't buy this excuse. Detroit/m*ch*g*n is in horrific economic shape and the Tigers are currently leading the AL in attendance. Put a quality product on the field, prove it's sustainable, and people will come.

I think people are staying away for more than just simple "economy" issues:

1. The team has started fast the previous two years and followed that with major collapses.
2. Fans are still jaded from the 2008-10 firesale that saw fan-favorites Cliff Lee, Sabathia, and Victor dealt with little return other than Masterson and to some extent Michael Brantley
3. This team, though they did make some moves this offseason, still lacks start power.
4. Expanding on #2, I think fans still expect anybody that ends up worth a damn here will eventually be traded for another sack 'o prospects.

This franchise burnt a lot of goodwill after the 2007 ALCS collapse. They built a nice foundation of talent from 2003-2007 and never capitalized on it. Once it became clear they couldn't afford to supplement that talent, or even keep it around past their contracts, they were shipped out. The mid-late 90's was a perfect storm for the Tribe, and I agree, it'll never happen again. But to say "economy" is the reason for their attendance woes is a cop-out, IMO.
 
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NFBuck;2342181; said:
I don't buy this excuse. Detroit/m*ch*g*n is in horrific economic shape and the Tigers are currently leading the AL in attendance. Put a quality product on the field, prove it's sustainable, and people will come.

I think people are staying away for more than just simple "economy" issues:

1. The team has started fast the previous two years and followed that with major collapses.
2. Fans are still jaded from the 2008-10 firesale that saw fan-favorites Cliff Lee, Sabathia, and Victor dealt with little return other than Masterson and to some extent Michael Brantley
3. This team, though they did make some moves this offseason, still lacks start power.
4. Expanding on #2, I think fans still expect anybody that ends up worth a damn here will eventually be traded for another sack 'o prospects.

This franchise burnt a lot of goodwill after the 2007 ALCS collapse. They built a nice foundation of talent from 2003-2007 and never capitalized on it. Once it became clear they couldn't afford to supplement that talent, or even keep it around past their contracts, they were shipped out. The mid-late 90's was a perfect storm for the Tribe, and I agree, it'll never happen again. But to say "economy" is the reason for their attendance woes is a cop-out, IMO.
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ok so i probably am going overboard by saying economy is the only reason...Yes what you are saying is true and definitelty plays a part into why attendance is why it is...if we combine your post and my post then i think we have the majority of the attendance issues...Detroit is a different case then Cleveland because for one the metro area's are different...both are losing people each year but Detroit still has 2.5 million more people then Cleveland does in the metropolitan area that could attend a game...they have a newER ball park and the tigers are coming off a World Series appearance...are they just as broke as Cleveland? yes if not more
 
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y0yoyoin;2342192; said:
no offense to either of you both, and this is just a question, but when was the last time either of you were in the state of ohio/Cleveland area?
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There's actually quite a few towns in NE Ohio that are thriving. I wouldn't say all of NE is in a bad state. But I know what you're point is.
 
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y0yoyoin;2342192; said:
no offense to either of you both, and this is just a question, but when was the last time either of you were in the state of ohio/Cleveland area?
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No offense taken.

It can't be materially worse than the Detroit area. Just can't be.

Also look down state at the Reds. No more dollar hot dog nights down there since they started being less shitty than before.
 
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y0yoyoin;2342192; said:
no offense to either of you both, and this is just a question, but when was the last time either of you were in the state of ohio/Cleveland area?
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I make it back at least twice a year, and still have a lot of family/friends in the area. I'm fully aware of the woes back there. I also have friends on both sides of the attendance fence. I have a friend from the Cleveland area that goes to 2-3 games a month, and more friends in the Youngstown/Warren area that try to go to 2-3 games a year. They both say they'd go to more if they knew the franchise was committed to winning long-term. Most Tribe fans view the franchise simply as a farm team for the larger markets and are burned out. I'd be in that boat if I still lived there as well. A day at the ballpark can cost anywhere from $30-100 (depending on how much booze you consume). That's a lot of money to plunk down (regardless of where you are economically) for a mediocre product.

I miss living in St. Louis. I was never a Cards fan, but went to probably 30-50 games a year from 2002-05 because they let you in for free with a military ID. That was fucking awesome.
 
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I usually try to make it to 5-10 games a year and I even may go to Detroit for the Detroit series coming up this year...but I know in my situation and like alot of others it gets tougher to go up from Columbus, pay for gas, get a hotel and then go to the game and everything afterwards....it is super hard now that there is a casino which can make or break your trip...and if the team is not doing well it makes not going even easier...what irritates me most, even tho they have a point somewhat, is members of the media outside of cleveland blasting the attendance when they probably havent even attended a game themselves and live somewhere in LA or Atlanta....basically if your going to blast the attendance in Cleveland, then you better fucking be going to the games yourself
 
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tsteele316;2342214; said:
the middling attendance in 2007 would argue otherwise.
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They were about 300K below AL average for their lone playoff year in the last 10. I don't see any real damning evidence there.I would think it an obvious assertion that the fans have to believe there will be some consistency but if I wasn't clear on that I apologize.

Build a reasonably consistent winner and they will come.
 
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There was a column written by one of the Cleveland writers regarding attendance about a month ago and I wish I would have saved it. One of the major reasons he made for lacking attendance was the loss of season ticket holders over the past 5 years and it is going to take that long to recover those season-ticket holders if the Indians can put a contender on the field.

I do not buy the economy situation whatsoever. You cannot tell me everyone sits home every weekday night and on weekends. They are doing something but until the Indians put a contender on the field for a couple seasons people will not start to come back until then and it is going to take 5 years to recover from the previous five years.

Also, comparing baseball to soccer is much different. How many times can you see professional soccer in Cleveland and there are a lot more young soccer players then there are young baseball players. Soccer is almost becoming the national sport for suburban kids:shake:
 
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