Bucs Attendance Blasted Nationally
December 5th, 2018
The Buccaneers’ nice gesture of giving away thousands of tickets to season pass holders and others in the community sure fired up a lot of observers after the stadium still had lots of empty seats on Sunday.
Panthers beat writer Marcel Louis-Jacques took his shot in the Charlotte Observer.
“Tampa Bay’s attempt to fill its stadium by giving season ticket holders free tickets …. didn’t work. The upper deck at Raymond James Stadium was sparsely populated and the lower bowl wasn’t a heck of a lot better.”
Sports Business Daily reported on the 52,000-plus butts in the seats for Sunday’s game, and iconic NFL insider Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com thinks that is an ominous sign for the current Bucs regime and their starting quarterback.
The inability to fill the stadium doesn’t bode well for the current power structure in Tampa, and it won’t make it more likely that the organization will keep quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Bucs get another chance to not fill the building on Sunday, when the Saints return to town. Given that the Bucs beat their division rival in a Week One 48-40 shootout, if the locals don’t show up for this one, they never will.
There are lots of reasons for poor Bucs attendance, “poor” when compared to other NFL teams. It starts with weak sauce marketing and more than a decade of no playoff games. Joe can’t hang Dirk Koetter, Jason Licht and Jameis for that. However, they are part of the mix.
Ultimately, the Bucs are an entertainment product, and if the fans are responding well to it, then that will affect ownership decisions.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:02 am
The owners make all their money from TV and sponsorship deals. Crowd attendance doesn’t mean jack
December 5th, 2018 at 10:02 am
Win and they will come. I noticed the club seat were the most empty. Are fans seating in the lounges to beat the heat?
December 5th, 2018 at 10:12 am
We can get cheap tickets to watch a winning organization over at Channelside Drive. Why would we pay hundreds of dollars to watch losing football in the blistering heat?
December 5th, 2018 at 10:13 am
Queue the Winston comments….
December 5th, 2018 at 10:18 am
You want entertainment dollars then you have to entertain people get it together and stop hiring sorry coaches and swing for the fence on a big time hire with an experienced gm give the fans something to be excited about that lasts more than two weeks
December 5th, 2018 at 10:20 am
The team has been horrible for 10 years, and the guy running the personnel dept since drafting jameis has been one of the worst. TV and the red zone and staying at home is cheaper than dropping $200 to watch a team lose. Then the elephant in the room from day 1 of drafting winston with the sexual allegations and then the uber thing starting the year out. So you have Jameis from day 1 coupled with the players taking a knee all combined probably hurt Tampa and attendance worse than other markets. Comparing Cleveland for example they have a bright future to feel positive about, Tampa is still in disarray from coaching to players to GM, there needs to a good hire from the glazers to run the team
December 5th, 2018 at 10:20 am
As a resident if Hillsborough County, I’m already paying half a percent extra for sales tax. Why should I feel guilty about not wanting to pay to watch a football team that has sucked for over a decade. Signed ex-season ticket holder.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:22 am
London Buccaneers….
December 5th, 2018 at 10:23 am
Price vs entertainment just hasn’t been favorable for many years. Fans have tightened up on their hopes and money because the Bucs organization has squandered both for a long time.
Too little too late has been the theme of the Bucs for too long.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:26 am
Perfectly understandable and would happen in many cities with the bucs ten year run of ineptitude.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:38 am
imo, it was dumb to give free tickets to folks that already have tickets….lol….
glazers want to fill the stadium, advertise they’ll be giving away free tickets at Al Lopez Park to non season ticket holders from 8am-4pm on Saturday and watch rayjay fill up……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 5th, 2018 at 10:40 am
This is what happens when are done by Halloween for three years in a row after a decade of losing. Haha.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:43 am
@813bucboi I totally agree. It seemed like a half ass-ed attempt to get more fans in the stadium to me.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:45 am
The Stick Carriers were not in attendance…because they were a fad. I knew they would be. That’s why I did not take them seriously.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:48 am
You give away tickets to those who already have them? Great thinking huh? Go to the areas in the Bay where You know..Kids and adults cannot afford tickets even IF..we were winning if you truly wanna build fanbase. Look Why? Why would anybody spend their hard earned cash on disappointment? I prefer to fill my Sunday’s with something I can hang my hat on Mondays. Beat the Saints. And Maybe the fans will staart rethinking…Maybe. Koetter kinda sealed his fate with retaining pressbox Smitty for so long. I say, go out and hire an admin group top to bottom the fans will start having faith in. Because The Bucs have lost quite a few fans.
December 5th, 2018 at 10:51 am
But the stick carriers are the Bucs mob now, you must have seen the shirts. lol and the stupid soccer chants. we ready, we ready…
December 5th, 2018 at 10:55 am
I can see why we would be blasted. I went to my first game in 1980 and always thought that, even though we sucked for years on end, we had some really passionate and loud fans.
Then the late 90’s came and eventually we somehow won a SB. Then, in my opinion, fans got fat and happy and things haven’t been the same since. I moved far away and have only been to one game since ’07 and that was two years ago. They place was like a freaking library, but I know the diehards still give it their all.
As much as it pains me to see what’s happening, I find it hard to blame people for not wanting to pay a bundle to watch a game. It’s their choice. –I’m sure having the worst winning percentage of all the major sports doesn’t help, not to mention no playoff appearances since we were all a hell of a lot younger than we are now.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:02 am
Were you in attendance? Why do you have an issue with a passionate fan base?
Joe, marketing is irrelevant to getting me to buy tickets. I never bought tickets because I wanted to “Siege the Day” or because I wanted to be a part of some “Bucs Life”. I can’t imagine people out there want to shell out hundreds on a Sunday afternoon of football because some marketing gimmick got them hooked.
No professional sports franchise can withstand such a pathetic run of ineptitude and if they can, it’s likely because there is nothing else to do in the area. Jason Licht, Dirk Koetter, and Jameis Winston are more at fault for this than anyone else.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:04 am
bwahahahahahahaha
thats what happens when you have a thug as the face of the franchise.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:07 am
I decided not to waste my time or money on this team after we basically got blown out for the entire month of October.
The last twelve games I went to were all losses. Twelve straight times I’ve last that stadium completely dejected.
Yes, it has a lot to do with this team but our last 2 decades(rounded up) of futility is the biggest reason for me…….That being said I have decided to drag my ass to the Den of Depression if they win on Sunday. Otherwise a new fishing pole sounds like a much better Xmas 🎁 to me.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:08 am
Here I sit in Pennsylvania dreaming of going to a Bucs game……and you jackoffs complain about free tickets.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:11 am
813 that would fill the stadium but wouldn’t you be pretty upset if you were a season ticket buyer and had to buy preseason games & the franchise turns around and gives free tickets to everybody but you?
You can’t tick off your most valued customers.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:14 am
I know what you mean. I was at the game against the 49ers. That was the first Bucs win I’ve enjoyed at the stadium since their win against the Eagles when Matt Bryant kicked that long FG. Every game I’ve been to in between was a loss.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:15 am
STICK CARRIERS is gone, IT IS NOW THE MOB… flew down for the game and will do so Friday night for the game on Sunday. Was not a fad bro, just changed who we are, why sit back and speak softly when your sick and tired of the home team getting their teeth kicked in? Here’s to the Bucs making it 3 in a row! B U C ~ CAN~ EERS! GO BUCS
December 5th, 2018 at 11:17 am
GMC telling me on TV “not to make him laugh” kept me away.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:20 am
I don’t really know what a stick carrier is but I know they are Buc fans.
Not sure why a fan club for your team would bother you. But I did hear in the last podcast that the host said if you listen that makes you a stick carrier so I guess I am one by that standard. I would wager most posters hear listen so that makes you a stick carrier too.
So basically if you dislike the stick carriers you hate your own self.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:21 am
No one wants to go sit in a 100 degree stadium with no shade and drink $10 piss warm flat beers! The Place is an OVEN..
December 5th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Charge all you want for club level, that’s fine, no other seat should be more than $100 in the lower tank and the upper tank should be $30. Also $2 hot dogs and $5 beers.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:29 am
Zwark.,……I like a redhot stadium. It is our greatest advantage. i.e. Philly’s left tackle lasting only 3 plays in our heat.
Embrass the heat baby!!
December 5th, 2018 at 11:34 am
The Bucs will fill the stadium when they start winning games consistently and are back in the playoffs. And it’s not about Jameis. Back in the winning days, quarterback play wasn’t that compelling, but the defense was. Games were low scoring but exciting, and you wanted to see Sapp, Brooks, Barber, Lynch et al. get after the QB, intercept passes, and knock the snott out of their opponents. The overall product put on the field, not the QB, is what affects attendance, and the product has been piss poor for way too long. This year the Mike Smith defense had people throwing their TVs out the window, so why would they want to come to a game to see it live!
December 5th, 2018 at 11:34 am
I don’t mind paying $7 for a beer. But changing 5 for a water is borderline cruelity. At the least they should allow a spectator to bring in one bottle of water. Or how about just a fair price for something you may vitally need?
December 5th, 2018 at 11:40 am
I got two free tickets to the Carolina game and couldn’t give them away. The past decade of futility has cost the Bucs a generation of fans. When you factor in things like the Lightning’s success, all the other things to do in the area, and the option to watch the game at home on UHD TVs, the Bucs aren’t very exciting.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:44 am
Also, the concessions have been terrible. On Sunday my pizza was under cooked and they ran out of ice at halftime. Earlier this year they ran out of beer. Sad
December 5th, 2018 at 11:50 am
jimmyjack
i wouldnt be pissed at all…..
i would be happy that the owners are attempting to give the team an home field advantage…..
the only way i would be pissed is if they gave club seats out for free or told me i had to sit somewhere else because my seat was taken by someone with a free ticket……lol….plus i would hope the glazers would be smart enough to have the free tickets in the 3rd level…nothing wrong with those seats….
imo, it wouldve been a win win situation…..
fans get to enjoy a game that they may not been able to afford and the glazers get a chance to potentially get more season ticket holders or at least gain fans and get them to come out more often…..
thats how i became a magics fan…..magic gave my dad 4 free tickets to see the super sonics…..he took my brothers and i and we’ve been magic fans ever since…..they were the first nba team i saw live….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 5th, 2018 at 11:50 am
All I read from you moth breathing complaining “so called” Bucs fans is…
Blah, blah, blah
all some of you do is whine and complain and moan and mope and blah, blah, blah.
What a sad and pathetic existence.
The team has the #1 offense in total yards in the NFL and a 24 year old QB who just might be turning the corner…
Pull your panties up and quit moaning and whining and being little prisses and root for them to keep the momentum going this weekend – period.
Otherwise, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
December 5th, 2018 at 11:51 am
This is what happens when the team is terrible for ten years and already out of playoff contention. Who the hell wants to pay $100 for seats in the sun when the games mean absolutely nothing?
December 5th, 2018 at 11:58 am
Doubt you can start with “weak sauce marketing” but agree it is in the mix
How many does ray jay hold? That attentendance number is really sold right?
December 5th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
This is what happens when you have a sh!t product year-in, year-out, compounded over a decade.
I’m another one of those fans who, for some reason, never end up at a winning football game.
The formula is quite simple. If you put a good product on the field, fans will come.
Lets make it 3 for 3. Go Bucs!
December 5th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
The Charlotte writer sounds a little salty if you ask me after having to write how poorly “supercam” played vs a bunch of nobody’s in the secondary lol
Go Bucs
December 5th, 2018 at 12:10 pm
I’m buying none of the B.S. about our attendance. I went to the last 2 home games. The only 2 I attended this year (I’m 2-0 baby!) and the crowd was just fine. There were some empty seats but especially against the Panthers it was a legit crowd and they were loud. At least 90% Bucs fans. If there is any shortage of attendance, it’s because we were 3-7 headed into the SF game. Show me a team in the league that is 3-7 with great attendance. The National pundits condemning the attendance in Tampa are just idiotic.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
813 that’s you. Everybody’s got their own opinion. There would be season ticket holders upset. It would be a bad business decision.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:20 pm
But if their were empty seats then they obvisous didn’t give away all the unsold tickets.
Maybe they could have given away the tickets that were unclaimed by season ticket holders. Or maybe let the ticket holders claim more.
Either way the ticket is going into the hand of somebody who would probably not have gone to the game otherwise.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
The stick carriers are skitzo cultish movement that has changed names and has advocated that anyone not thinking jameis should start is either a gator fan or a racist, bottom line put a consistent winner on the field and the stadium will be packed
December 5th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
JimmyJack
Those Glazer Boys know that a lot of us would be filling our water bottles with vodka……. that’s why they don’t allow that.
Bastards!!
December 5th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
The Browns have shown the world that a fan base isn’t really needed to run a football team so you can lay that dumbass argument to rest.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:46 pm
The stick carriers called Dirk a sexist. I did not appreciate such a garbage opinion being spread on a podcast.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
You reap what you sow. The Glazers are garbage owners.
December 5th, 2018 at 12:59 pm
PSLBob hit the nail right on the head! I am with you 100%.
December 5th, 2018 at 1:03 pm
“Glazers going to go for Splash head coach hiring”
“Status Quo…Hell No!”
Darcie Glazer
December 5th, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Bucsfanman, you echoed what I posted above. Great minds think alike, although in this case I think the reason is pretty obvious.
December 5th, 2018 at 2:00 pm
Supply and demand
If the Demand is not there then the price should drop
But the Bucs raised their prices
They are not worried about that TV pays the big money
Tell you what I bet if they cut their prices that Stadium would fill up
December 5th, 2018 at 2:27 pm
I’ve been a buc fan for 25+ years….. if they don’t bring Jameis back for 2019 I may throw in the towel. He has been on point and we need to see if he takes that jump. So cool the Jameis talk.
December 5th, 2018 at 3:02 pm
jimmyjack
no doubt folks would be mad….cant please everyone…..
but they could try to get creative….
glazers could at least give the STH a chance to get free tickets before the offering them to the public…..just tell the STH to email OBP the number of tickets they would like(up to 4) and they can pick them up at will call….
folks that arent STH would have to go to Al Lopez park saturday morning…..
then everyone is happy……until they’re not…lol…
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
December 5th, 2018 at 3:03 pm
Very sorry to say that the home crowds will continue to dwindle as long as Winston is the starting QB and face of the franchise here. He is a very polarizing figure and the vast majority of Bucs fans don’t want him here and will not pay to see him play. Sad but true
December 5th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
PSLBob- Tip o’ the hat sir! Blatantly obvious. Seen any new Yugos around lately?!
December 5th, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Winning fixes everything…..We’ve had two winning seasons in the last 10 yrs.
Sorry but the ole “Buc loyalty” guilt card has no more use. Fans will be loyal when ownership is loyal….Ownership shows loyalty by fielding a winner at all costs. These owners seem to prefer rebuilding. Fans prefer entertainment elsewhere.
December 5th, 2018 at 3:38 pm
There are empty seats at MetLife stadium for Jets games this year in a market of 10 million plus…
Florida fans love winning football… not the garbage that has been trotted out on the field for most of past 10 years, especially at these ticket prices.
Fans can at least enjoy good food and drinks at many fine restaurants while watching the game for same price as ticket.
December 5th, 2018 at 4:53 pm
I couldn’t give away my free tickets. Nobody wanted them.
December 5th, 2018 at 5:20 pm
Went to the game last week only because it was free. Normally I wouldn’t spend a couple hundred dollars watching a losing team, sorry but i’m not rich. Start winning consistently and make it affordable and i’ll certainly show up. I’m just not down with paying 7$ for a water for example.
December 5th, 2018 at 5:33 pm
# in Jameis we trust. So now Buc fans want a dome or retractable roof? Good luck with that. This is Florida. If you can’t handle the heat, please move back to where you came from.
December 5th, 2018 at 7:40 pm
I flew down for MNF Pittsburgh…
Hadn’t been since I moved and gave up my season tix, 10 yrs ago.
Truthfully. didn’t care for it. The fact that there were more Steeler fans with those disgusting towels, than Buc Fans didn’t help..
I’m getting old I guess but the new video boards with video game graphics every available second were more annoying than inspiring. It’s the ADD age I suppose.
December 5th, 2018 at 8:08 pm
There’s 4 P’s of marketing: price, product, promotion and place (or physical distribution). There’s three L’s to marketing a retail store or restaurant: (1) location, (2) location and (3) location. Then, there’s 2 W’s to fan attendance at sporting events: winning and winning
December 6th, 2018 at 9:44 am
Don’t buy bottles water. They’ll give you a cup, albeit small, from the soda dispenser, which is filtered. It’s not much but they have to due to the possibility of heat exhaustion.
I still buy the $10 water but it has malt, barley and hops added to it…
December 6th, 2018 at 9:48 am
Lol! I wonder how often these billionaire owners stay in hotels with bad service or eat at restaurants with bad service?
December 6th, 2018 at 9:50 am
The NFL experience is no longer worth the opportunity cost. As referenced above video boards loud blaring music etc. that’s not with the experience should be the focus is on everything but the game for entertainment that tells you right there. It’s become a circus environment and no longer a pleasing classic feeling of a quality football game
December 6th, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Schlomie
Exactly. When I had my season tix (’96-’06) the game was definitely about the game.
That zoo I witnessed on MNF was a complete waste of around $800.
December 6th, 2018 at 5:11 pm
it’s clearly a protest against Koetter and Licht. Well done Tampa. Fireeeee Licht!