OK, let's hear it. What's the excuse of the day for a fan base that is refusing to recognize this team as the feel-good story the rest of baseball nation feels it is?
The Rays were the worst drawing team in the major leagues going into late August, even though the team on the field had:
1) One of the best home records in the major leagues
2) One of the best overall records in the major leagues
3) One of the more economical ticket packages in the major leagues
So what is it?
Could it be parking? Well, no. Current ownership took care of that this year by allowing free parking at the stadium. Free parking, who gets that?
High concession prices got you down? New ownership took care of that by allowing patrons to bring in small coolers.
Team not competitive? No, they've been at or near first place the entire year.
I mean this is a fan base that did, at one time, support the (S)Hit Show of Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, Greg Vaughan and Vinnie Castilla (or was it cash-stealer?).
And they supported those guys at higher levels than the current group of Rays.
New ownership even excised the Devil from the team's name for God's sake. No pun intended. Oh shoot, too late, I'm going to hell now.
The point is, Vince Naimoli is not around anymore. The recent comments from team President Matt Silverman indicate the apathy of the area fans may be reaching a tipping point soon.
Silverman said:
"To me, it's about how disheartening it is for everybody in the organization-the players, coaches and front office-to not see the excitement funnel its way into Tropicana Field."
"The TV ratings are high, and that's a great sign, but it hasn't translated to the number of people at Tropicana Field. It really takes the wind out of our sails" Silverman continued "We've poured our hearts and souls into making this a great draw and a great fan experience. To come home after a great road trip and have the smallest crowds in major league baseball was discouraging."
"We're proud of what we have done to turn the organization around. We've done everything we could do to make it a compelling experience at Tropicana Field."
Don't worry Matt, first I think at some point, if not already, MLB will agree with you and support whatever efforts you take to locate a newer, more responsive market than the moribund, comatose one you are currently stuck with. Secondly, I think should your team make the playoffs and draw the White Sox in the first round, as I expect to happen, you can count on the place being filled with White Sox fans who will not be able to get (enough) home tickets to the two games here in Chicago.
That would be a civic black-eye on a national stage for the locals.
Why do I get the feeling that an interview that tried to get the real story behind the lack of attendance in this market, with the typical Rays fan, would go something like this?
Q: Good golly, man. What is it going to take to get this area galvanized behind this team? They are in first place and almost guaranteed to make the playoffs this year for the first time in franchise history.
A: Well, they'll probably choke and not make the playoffs anyway, so why get all excited and then be let down?
Q: How about if the team makes the playoffs, will you get behind them then?
A: Well, they'll probably jack the prices up for playoffs tickets so that the average family of four can't afford to go to a game. And then they'll still probably lose, even though they'll likely have a better record then their first round opponent.
Q: How about the Championship Series or the World Series, would you go then?
A: Well, no 'cause the World Series tickets will be even expensiver.
Q: Expensiver is not a real word, champ. Would you go if the team gave you free tickets, picked you up for the game, drove you home after the game, provided you and your family with free food and booze during the game and allowed you to throw out the first ball and sing the national anthem?
A: I don't know, maybe but that sounds like an awful lot of work, that throwing and singing part. I don't think so.
Q: Would you go to games after the team packs up and leaves the area for Portland or San Antonio leaving your community the tab for an abysmal barn of a stadium that has no other real utility now that the tractor-pull industry has gone under?
A: Oh yeah, me and 40,000 of St. Pete's finest would surely be in line then. Of course.
I thought so.
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UPDATE:
A quick and dirty analysis.
In order to be fair, I did take a look at the amount of fan support (stated by total attendance reported by ESPN) and compared it to the areas total population base (reported by the Census Bureau July, 2007) defined by the cities population and the MSA figures. I looked at the franchises closest to the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area in terms of both population and position in the standings for this year.
So, although San Diego, Baltimore and Seattle might be close cousins to the Rays from a fan base standpoint, they are not comparable from a competitive standpoint this season.
City............Attendance.......Population......MSA Population
Tampa...........1,565,194........583,279...........2,723,949
St. Louis.......3,238,016........350,759...........2,803,707
Milwaukee.......2,825,909........602,191...........1,544,398
Minnesota.......2,069,791........654,643...........3,208,212
Clearly the Twins are the most comparable with a similarity to the Tampa Bay dynamic (Tampa-St.Pete and Minneapolis-St. Paul). They have about 12% higher city population (combined) and about an 18% higher MSA or regional population base to draw from. However, they are outdrawing the Rays by about 33%. The Twins also play in very similar facilities to the Rays (domed-stadium) although they do have new digs on the way.
Milwaukee is almost double the attendance based on a similar local population and a considerably smaller regional number to draw from. The Brewers and their fans are still in the honeymoon phase with their new stadium.
St. Louis may be the crown jewel in MLB in terms of rabid. loyal fan base. Easily double the total attendance while drawing from a smaller local fan base and a comparable regional base. The Cardinals do have a new stadium and a long and proud baseball history.
The Rays first year attendance in 1998 was about 2.5 million fans. The next year produced a 30% drop-off in fans, an extraordinarily short honeymoon period for an area that was supposedly starved for a major-league franchise.
I just don't feel it is too unreasonable to expect a Rays attendance number somewhere between the Twinkies and the Brewers on a regular basis (provided the team is contending) and occasionally approaching the Cardinals number in the extraordinary years.
And if this year does not meet the definition of an extraordinary year in Rays fans minds, I just ask the question: "What year will?"
The big problem for the Rays community of fans however is--not that I am asking the question--but that MLB executives and the new Rays ownership group might be privately asking themselves similar questions.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
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