champs2005

saw it last night. really weak. it isnt a show about the team at all, just mixes in little short segments into a regular BBTN broadcast. it really sucked. although it was fun to see laroche's kid try to play pepper, he almost killed micah johnson which could have been pretty embarrassing if he ended up on the dl because of it

For what it's worth, my family did one of those "grinders road trips" sponsored by the Sox a couple years back and we stayed with the Sox at the W in Minneapolis

I think James Loney is a FA after this year, I'd like to see the Sox go after him this off-season.

I really enjoyed watching Sunday's game even though the Sox lost. I thought that Paciorek worked pretty well with Stone on supposedly short notice. I also really enjoyed the inning that had the home and away announcers together. Blyleven was incredible. I think that this could be a cool thing to do more of. The production people mixed in a lot of shots of the college mascots like they were manning the equipment in the control room. Just seemed like a loose and fun broadcast. I suppose this wouldnt work every day or maybe it would get tiresome, but it was fun to watch.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 15, 2012 -> 11:39 AM) It isn't Jerry's opinion. It is the opinion of the fans. That was one of the top issues brought up in the survey they had done professionally. He didn't pull that out if his rear end - the fans themselves said it. Agenda much? Of course traffic was a top issue in the survey. My point is that in Chicago traffic is a factor for al major sports, big events, etc. Traffic is a given. It doesnt seem to be affecting the attendance at all the other places. And you cant really DO anything about traffic as an owner. It is a cheap excuse. I hate Jerry.

It is vintage Jerry to say that traffic is the #1 attendance downer. Like it isnt the Sox fault it is out of their hands oh well our attendance "is what it is" nothing we can do about it. Oh by the way if attendance is low I pay alot less on my sweetheart stadium lease deal. It just shows you who he thinks his fans are. Traffic. Wow that is SO deep Jerry. Like no other ballpark in MLB is a big place that might cause a little traffic because of all the folks going there. Where is there NOT traffic in Chicago? People go to those casinos, they go to Warren Dunes Michigan dare I say they go Cub, Bullls an dBears games, they go everywhere but ONLY the Sox blame traffic for their poor attendance.

No one thing in and of itself short of cutting ticket prices in half will solve attendance woes. It will take a comprehensive approach and a bunch of little and big things together. Here is my thinking on changing the music and noise level: If a fan comes to a game and has fun (win or lose they dont care) that fan will come back. If they freshen up the music and have a new intro or other little things like this it can appeal to new fans. Because they aint attracting any of 'em with what they are doing now. How about giving away Sox ear plugs when that Thunderstruck comes on and the guy starts "singing" like a cat with its tail stepped on. Or when Konerko's Metallica walk up music comes on or when r-o-w-d-i-e starts playing or when the fan-o-meter appears? Ditch all that s#it...it is so old and tired!

I hate Thunderstruck and most of the crap music they play during the game. So much of it is old and stale. And too loud as well. I say start fresh with the in-game music and tone it down. So what if some die-hards get offended. The Sox need to make NEW fans and all these tired old crap songs from the oldies bin are not appealing to new fans. Except for "Let's Go White Sox" by Captain Tubby of course. That is great!

never mind 2006 or 2007 guys, we are living in 2012 and the 2013 season is being planned for. The market research reflects what fans think NOW. You dont plan 2013 for what fans thought 6 years ago. We can argue all we want, but rest assured that Brooks Boyer and the Sox brain trust now will NOT assume that more people will show up if the Sox win. They have to create strategies that get people to show up. And they are doing this. Like they built Bacardi in the Park. Like they built that Metra station stop. Now they are finally cutting parking and ticket prices. Of course the GM and that staff want to get good players and we fans want the team to win. But honestly we all must stop repeating this mantra of if "they win they will come" because it isnt true. Especially in light of the fact that 70% of current fans would rather watch the games at home. OMG that is a horrible stat.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 12:58 PM) We've been over this but here's the cliff notes version: Expectations for the team were low at the beginning of the season thus the season ticket base was low. "Winning" means post-season appearances, not jut spending a few months in first place and crashing at the end of the season. It will take a few years of consistent winning to really build the season ticket base up and thus the attendance numbers. It's not going to happen overnight or even within a few months. Your statements are not backed up by the market research. Winning is not correlated with more attendance for the Sox. Period. This is new information. I urge everyone here to stop accepting as Gospel the theory that if the Sox win (no matter for how long they win) the fans will come to the ballpark in droves. The market researchers talked to more than 8,000 fans and this theory was proven false.

A big takeaway from the Sox Market Research was that 70% of fans would rather watch the game on TV rather than go to the ballpark and that this ratio has basically flipped since 20 years ago when 70% said they'd rather go to the game. wow. tough crowd. Another big conclusion was no one said they werent going to the games because they didnt think the team was any good or werent winning. So much for that commonly-posted theory that if Sox win then fans will come. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/201...cket-price-cuts

I have a couple thoughts on why dont more fans go to games: I think there is a clear distinction between a fan who goes to a game and a fan who only watches the games on tv. My sense is that the Sox have a ton more fans than many other clubs who only watch on TV. Given that our TV ratings are decent, there are people sitting at home who are Sox fans who dont go to the games. I bet most are south suburbanites who never venture far beyond Orland for anything. Sox park is in the middle of the white flight place their parents or grandparents left. It has been ingrained in them that they "escaped" this area. Why expect them to come back? The idea of going to a Sox game is just off their radar or they may go one Sunday a year. Too far, too scary I dont know exactly why. And frankly I dont care. If I were the Sox I'd stop chasing these couch potato suburbanites to come to games. Watch TV, fine. But the Sox should concentrate their ticket-buying marketing on people who already go to games and try to get them to go more. To heck with the lazy people who never go, you will never convince them to change their ways.

sorry, where is Hawk?

Guys, the Sox are in still first place in spite of playing like crap. The Tigers are sucking even worse than the Sox. As this article says, Detroit couldnt even split a double header at home against the lowly Twins with a share of first place on the line as extra motivation. Scherzer is done. They have more issues than the Sox. Read on, you will feel better... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writ...?sct=mlb_t11_a0

Just to follow up these comments, the hotel tax fell short this year and the City is kicking in their own (our) tax dollars. It begs the question why is tax revenue subsidizing a private business? If this tax didnt subsidize Jerry, then it might be available to go to schools, cops etc, actual public goods. Also, someone said the ILSFA "paid" for their two skyboxes. Really? With what money? TAXES! This is a classic case of the people who are supposed to be "regulating" an industry getting in bed with them. This deal stunk when Reinsdorf (and Thompson) extorted us and it STILL stinks!