I'll attest to that. I love going to the games, but it's so much easier (and cheaper) to flip it on TV and watch, especially now that there's a little one in the mix.

 

And they stink, not much to get excited about that would make you want to go.

Am I correct when I heard their attendance was down some 800K from last year....ouch.

Edited October 3, 20187 yr by Colonels_Wear_Blue
Rule #13 - Punctuation

Am I correct when I heard their attendance was down some 800K from last year....ouch.

 

I have a hard time believing that they were at 2.4 million last year. If the number in the opening post is accurate, they couldn't have been down 800K.

I have a hard time believing that they were at 2.4 million last year. If the number in the opening post is accurate, they couldn't have been down 800K.

 

Opening Post was accurate. 1,629,356 fans, which ranked them 24th this year.

 

Looks like it was 1,836,917 fans for 2017, which ranked them 26th.

 

And they had 1,894,085 fans for 2016, which ranked them, which ranked them 25th.

 

Maybe @Phantom 5497 heard that they were down 800K since 2015. They had 2,419,506 fans that year, which ranked 18th.

Okay, we've heard what the "announced" attendance was...but from everything I saw, there's no way this team averaged 20k per game in ACTUAL attendance. Honestly, there were some nights where there looked like there wasn't more than 10k in the seats. @MJAlltheWay24 , what would you figure the actual number of butts in seats to be?

Okay, we've heard what the "announced" attendance was...but from everything I saw, there's no way this team averaged 20k per game in ACTUAL attendance. Honestly, there were some nights where there looked like there wasn't more than 10k in the seats. @MJAlltheWay24 , what would you figure the actual number of butts in seats to be?

 

My feelings, especially on those really slow nights in the middle of the week, they add an extra 4K-5K on the announced attendance. There were some nights down there when they would have maybe 7K and they would announce it at 12K.

 

There weren't too many games with over 30K to balance out all those nights. They didn't even draw 30K for some of the bobbleheads this year.

 

Hopefully they add two more additional post-game concerts next year and make them country artists haha!

Build a winner and they will come. Cincy is used to losing and can be a fickle fanbase.

Pitch clock.

Pitch clock.

 

A pitch clock isn't going to bring new fans in, which is what they need. Shaving 10 minutes off an average game really isn't that big of a deal. If you think baseball is boring now, getting out of the game 15 minutes earlier isn't going to change that.

A pitch clock isn't going to bring new fans in, which is what they need. Shaving 10 minutes off an average game really isn't that big of a deal. If you think baseball is boring now, getting out of the game 15 minutes earlier isn't going to change that.

 

True, you also can’t expect people to leave their UHD tv’s, pay $10 to park and sit in traffic 20 mins each way for a losing ball club.

 

In sports the product sells itself, or doesn’t.

How long before Reds games are blacked out in Cincy/NKY?

 

I listen on the radio anyway so they can screw around all they want with the TV.

 

Bottom line is that fans are not going to invest in a team that ownership just wants to cash checks with. Losing 90+ games for season after season after season is killing the fan base and excitement. I mean, how many people here really wanted to follow this team after April when we were basically already out of contending for a title??!? Bringing back Bryan Price, pitching Homer Bailey, and a myriad of other stupid decisions was a clear signal that ownership had no intention of putting a competitive product on the field. You have to spend money to make money and if the Reds ownership doesn't want to do that, don't be surprised when people take their hard earned dollars elsewhere.

I somewhat wonder how much FCC and their success has hurt Reds attendance throughout the summer. I don't think it has a huge effect, but there has to be some.

Fan focus has changed over the decades.

When I was a youngster (a long time ago) I/we loved going to the ballpark, drinking lemonade and cheering for our heroes. The Reds were rarely in contention, but it was the experience and cheering for them to win that particular game that was important to us, you know, like the verse that says, "If they don't win its a shame."

 

Today's fanbase insists on a contender, and the focus is on making and winning in the playoffs. The sheer going to the game to root for Scooter or Billy is lost. Probably that is cost driven, possibly because there are so many other entertainment options out there.

 

I've been to one MLB game since they went on strike, and have only seen the Bengals play in PBS one time. I've really soured on professional sports, and the players who compete with only self-interest at heart and no allegiance to the city for whom they play.

 

With that said, I guess I'm being hypocritical because I watch 80% of the Reds games on FoxSportsOhio, and all of the Bengals games on TV.

A pitch clock isn't going to bring new fans in, which is what they need. Shaving 10 minutes off an average game really isn't that big of a deal. If you think baseball is boring now, getting out of the game 15 minutes earlier isn't going to change that.

 

I think pitch clock is more important to "pace of play" rather than length of games. I'd rather watch a 3:30 game where pace is good than 2:40 where there are significant "lulls" and no action. (Obviously, a 2:40 game has much > likelihood to be well-paced as well.)

I went and hung with friends at Holy Grail and the Banks for Opening Day, didn't enter GABP that day or any other day all season. I took my kids to two games last year and they didn't really enjoy it. Between them not being older yet and the product that the Reds have become, I wasn't motivated to buy tickets since my last game there.

 

If I wanted to watch bad enough, I'd catch a little here and there on Fox Sports, which wasn't much at all.