TFIR wrote:Not enough fans in the stadium...... Not Antonetti's fault.
It really is a shame to see 24,000 for a game that big last night. But Cleveland is no longer a great baseball city. And, of course, no longer the same size city.
I just enjoy it for what it is. The Browns moved, anyone can move.....
It is a shame, but really, despite the myth of "Diehard Cleveland Fans", it's not odd.
The abberation is the 8-10 year period after the opening of Jacobs Field. Which happened to fall during a perfect storm.
#1 the Indians were shit hot.
#2 the Browns left town
#3 with the resurgence of the downtown area of the mid 90's it was en vogue to go to Indians games
#4 the economy as a whole was better.
In the 20 years since Jacobs Field opened, 8 of them had us in the top 5 attendance. 8 have been in the bottom 10, and 2 fell somewhere in the middle.
In the 20 years before Jacobs Field opened, they were never above the bottom 10 with the peak year being an average of 18k for the 1986 season.
I remember going to games at the old stadium and it seemed like there was NOBODY there.
I may well be the youngest poster here, but I would think you would have to go back to when there were World Series Trophies being won.....and there were much fewer entertainment venues.....to see greater attendance figures.
I think a lot of the griping comes from the fact that I'm pretty sure all of us here are in no position to just roll up to the park and buy tickets any givin night of the week to watch them, and were each of us in that position to be able to catch one of these games we would. But we cant.
I find it harder and harder to find baseball fans of any teams anymore, with the execption of your Die Hard Yankee and Boston fans, and the occasional Philly fan, none of whom can name 5 players of the starting lineup or 3 of the starting pitchers. It's long and boring. Nobody really cares until the playoffs. And even then interest is waning.
Fact is, Cleveland is not a baseball town, it was only the sexy eye candy to have on your arm while the real woman ran away to Baltimore. Then, when she got wrinkles and saggy tits, dumped her when the real woman came back to town (and even she was just a shade of what she used to be.)
It's sad, but really most people are not going to waste their money going to see them. I'd be willing to bet that if you asked 100 people what a "Pennant Race" was, you'd be lucky to get 25% who know what it is, and the majority of those who do know will be old enough to remember the last time the Indians were in a Pennant Race before 1995. I'm not.
It's easier to turn on the TV and watch it while doing something else and only pay attention if the announcers get loud than to put up with the hassle and expense of going downtown to the game.
Gonna take a couple deep playoff runs to make downtown party like its 1995.