cabiness42 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 At first glance I automatically want to say fair weather. The same thing happened in 2005. There were some dismal attendance numbers that last month of the year for a first place team, but as soon as the playoffs started, those were the hottest tickets around. Then I took a glance at some of this year's playoff teams like the A's, Nats, Orioles, & Reds. They had the same thing going on, where multiple September games were played to half-empty stadiums, yet at playoff games the stadium is rocking. Maybe there is a good chunk of fans that will only attend playoff games? I think that playoff games really bring out the casual/bandwagon fans, which is true in all sports in all cities though. There are probably a few who will only attend playoff games, but I think the larger factor is the scarcity of playoff tickets. The last month of the season has an average of about 15 home games, with about 600,000 tickets available for those games. A round of playoff has two guaranteed home games, with only about 80,000 tickets available. You have the a slightly larger number of fans vying for a much smaller number of tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 08:28 AM) There are probably a few who will only attend playoff games, but I think the larger factor is the scarcity of playoff tickets. The last month of the season has an average of about 15 home games, with about 600,000 tickets available for those games. A round of playoff has two guaranteed home games, with only about 80,000 tickets available. You have the a slightly larger number of fans vying for a much smaller number of tickets. Yeah that makes sense. Everything always comes back to simple supply & demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 08:28 AM) There are probably a few who will only attend playoff games, but I think the larger factor is the scarcity of playoff tickets. The last month of the season has an average of about 15 home games, with about 600,000 tickets available for those games. A round of playoff has two guaranteed home games, with only about 80,000 tickets available. You have the a slightly larger number of fans vying for a much smaller number of tickets. The reality is a combination of everything. Sure the Sox play in the third largest market in the US, but they are also sharing that market very unevenly with one of the most popular franchises in professional sports. The reality is that the Sox base is probably much more like a midmarket team, than "Chicago". I would put the Sox fan base to draw from more equivalent to somewhere like Indianapolis, than Chicago, once you subtract out the Cubs fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Sox_Summer Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 08:28 AM) There are probably a few who will only attend playoff games, but I think the larger factor is the scarcity of playoff tickets. The last month of the season has an average of about 15 home games, with about 600,000 tickets available for those games. A round of playoff has two guaranteed home games, with only about 80,000 tickets available. You have the a slightly larger number of fans vying for a much smaller number of tickets. I was hoping to see the market for the playoff tickets. I don't think the demand was going to be that great to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 07:40 AM) If Sox fans exerted the same amount of energy trying to attend Sox games that they exert making excuses about why they don't go to games, the Cell would be sold out 81 games year. This is ridiculous. In your opinion, if someone voices a complaint are they now "crying" about it? That's another one of my favorites. If a conversation comes up about reasons why I don't go to a lot of games, I will give them. You can raise your nose and say they are "excuses" if you want to I suppose. The fact is, yes, there's public transportation, but it doesn't make any sense for me. 3 or 4 round trip tickets on the Metra + taking/paying the el round trip doesn't offer any financial solution. Add in taking my 4 year old on the red line at 10 pm isn't an ideal situation for me. With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Sox_Summer Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 12:23 PM) This is ridiculous. In your opinion, if someone voices a complaint are they now "crying" about it? That's another one of my favorites. If a conversation comes up about reasons why I don't go to a lot of games, I will give them. You can raise your nose and say they are "excuses" if you want to I suppose. The fact is, yes, there's public transportation, but it doesn't make any sense for me. 3 or 4 round trip tickets on the Metra + taking/paying the el round trip doesn't offer any financial solution. Add in taking my 4 year old on the red line at 10 pm isn't an ideal situation for me. With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more. Like I said, it's about effort. The more you put in, the more you get out. Just my view though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (My_Sox_Summer @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 04:27 PM) I was hoping to see the market for the playoff tickets. I don't think the demand was going to be that great to be honest. I never thought about this but after drawing so few fans during the season with a team nobody really believed in, I wonder if Sox would have sold out any early playoff games. Certainly if the Sox made the championship series, those would have been sold out but before that? Maybe not. Nobody has any money. If this goes on another year or two, I'd suspect habit will kick in and the Sox fan base will be very, very tiny. If enough seasons pass where the average fan just says the hell with it, it costs too much to go to a game, that can shrink a fan base for decades to come. Edited October 12, 2012 by greg775 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 12:23 PM) This is ridiculous. In your opinion, if someone voices a complaint are they now "crying" about it? That's another one of my favorites. If a conversation comes up about reasons why I don't go to a lot of games, I will give them. You can raise your nose and say they are "excuses" if you want to I suppose. The fact is, yes, there's public transportation, but it doesn't make any sense for me. 3 or 4 round trip tickets on the Metra + taking/paying the el round trip doesn't offer any financial solution. Add in taking my 4 year old on the red line at 10 pm isn't an ideal situation for me. With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more. With a code, you could have gotten to a game for $9 on a weekend($12 after fees). So a family of four($48) plus parking($23) comes out to $100. And if you tailgate, you save a lot on your food expenses. Hell, the Smart Circle package(that I posted on here and other sites) offered 12 1/2 off tickets and four tickets at $1 each for $40(plus $5 shipping). So if you factor in the cost of the package plus the four $1 tickets, you spending $49 on a weekend date(most dates were friday and sunday games, with a few saturdays thrown in), while still having vouchers for 12 1/2 off tickets. So YES, I think you are making excuses. If you want to go to a game, you have more than one way to get there. Hell, you can even go for free when you sign your kids for the kids' club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) I never thought about this but after drawing so few fans during the season with a team nobody really believed in, I wonder if Sox would have sold out any early playoff games. Certainly if the Sox made the championship series, those would have been sold out but before that? Maybe not. I'm almost positive the ALDS playoff tickets completely sold out the day they went on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) I never thought about this but after drawing so few fans during the season with a team nobody really believed in, I wonder if Sox would have sold out any early playoff games. Certainly if the Sox made the championship series, those would have been sold out but before that? Maybe not. Nobody has any money. If this goes on another year or two, I'd suspect habit will kick in and the Sox fan base will be very, very tiny. If enough seasons pass where the average fan just says the hell with it, it costs too much to go to a game, that can shrink a fan base for decades to come. sox held a bit for season ticket sales(playoff payoff), but most seats were sold as the season wound down. the smaller season ticket base meant more were up for sale to the public. when you look across the league, there were plenty of teams that had extra tix as the playoff started. but that was mainly due to a few teams not knowing their playoff future until the last second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 12:23 PM) This is ridiculous. In your opinion, if someone voices a complaint are they now "crying" about it? That's another one of my favorites. If a conversation comes up about reasons why I don't go to a lot of games, I will give them. You can raise your nose and say they are "excuses" if you want to I suppose. The fact is, yes, there's public transportation, but it doesn't make any sense for me. 3 or 4 round trip tickets on the Metra + taking/paying the el round trip doesn't offer any financial solution. Add in taking my 4 year old on the red line at 10 pm isn't an ideal situation for me. With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more. I get that people have various financial issues, large families w/ children, etc. I'm not doubting people's personal situations, I'm not trying to call out specific people to attend more games, I don't really care all that much. I'm no super fan, I go to maybe 4-5 games a year, and I'm happy. It just seems that the new cool thing to do is b**** about how you want to go to more games, but it's 100% the Sox fault. Prices are too high, yet there are cheap tickets available if you search a little bit. The team may have collapsed at the end, but they were still up 3 games with mid-September, yet people complain that they weren't good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 12:18 PM) With a code, you could have gotten to a game for $9 on a weekend($12 after fees). So a family of four($48) plus parking($23) comes out to $100. And if you tailgate, you save a lot on your food expenses. Hell, the Smart Circle package(that I posted on here and other sites) offered 12 1/2 off tickets and four tickets at $1 each for $40(plus $5 shipping). So if you factor in the cost of the package plus the four $1 tickets, you spending $49 on a weekend date(most dates were friday and sunday games, with a few saturdays thrown in), while still having vouchers for 12 1/2 off tickets. So YES, I think you are making excuses. If you want to go to a game, you have more than one way to get there. Hell, you can even go for free when you sign your kids for the kids' club. I typically don't respond to people who obviously haven't read my post all the way through, but for you I'll make the exception. I very clearly said, "With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more." More being the key word in that sentence. I never said the Sox make it impossible to go to one game, my issue is location (which can't be solved), pricing, convenience. While $49 is a very good price, sometimes it's not doable. I know that a good portion of this site seem to be doctors, lawyers, accountants and the like, but some of us do work at White Castle Edited October 12, 2012 by Tuna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 02:27 PM) I typically don't respond to people who obviously haven't read my post all the way through, but for you I'll make the exception. I very clearly said, "With all that being said, it's not like I don't go to games. I do, but that is my reasoning of why I don't go to more." More being the key word in that sentence. I never said the Sox make it impossible to go to one game, my issue is location (which can't be solved), pricing, convenience. While $49 is a very good price, sometimes it's not doable. I know that a good portion of this site seem to be doctors, lawyers, accountants and the like, but some of us do work at White Castle I offered solutions. You say I dont read your responses. You act as if money is hard to come by despite living in Crystal Lake(and working at white castle). Not everyone here is a dr/lawyer/accountant, so that idle generalization hold no water here. I know not everyone can hit 5-50 games a year, but if you WANT to go, you WILL find a way. I have a newborn at home, and I still managed to hit 4 games in september. I even organized a mini group(7 people including myself) for one of them. We spent $140 total on lower reserved seats. And $18 on parking. And everyone but myself lived out in the western burbs(I'm in the city) It CAN be done if YOU WANT TO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 03:28 PM) I offered solutions. You say I dont read your responses. You act as if money is hard to come by despite living in Crystal Lake(and working at white castle). Not everyone here is a dr/lawyer/accountant, so that idle generalization hold no water here. I know not everyone can hit 5-50 games a year, but if you WANT to go, you WILL find a way. I have a newborn at home, and I still managed to hit 4 games in september. I even organized a mini group(7 people including myself) for one of them. We spent $140 total on lower reserved seats. And $18 on parking. And everyone but myself lived out in the western burbs(I'm in the city) A) sometimes money is hard to come by. My idle generalization is about as ridiculous as yours -that money will just appear in your pocket if YOU REALLY WANT TO GO- B) your wife is no doubt nicer than mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 12, 2012 -> 05:28 PM) A) sometimes money is hard to come by. My idle generalization is about as ridiculous as yours -that money will just appear in your pocket if YOU REALLY WANT TO GO- B) your wife is no doubt nicer than mine. you do realize that you can go to the game for free, right? two kids in the kids' club equals 4 free tickets. one game paid for. $23 to park means you can tailgate. bring your own burgers and beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 looks like you have no excuses now tuna. tix are going down. same as parking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Sox_Summer Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 I am honestly debating a season ticket. At $810 for an upper deck one, I might just do it. Congrats to the White Sox for listening to fans, and maybe, just maybe, I provided a role in it. Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian26 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 and maybe, just maybe, I provided a role in it. Ha. How so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claydude14 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 He showed that people would attend if it was affordable? If I lived as close to the stadium as he does, I'd definitely do a season at $810. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My_Sox_Summer Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 QUOTE (Brian26 @ Oct 20, 2012 -> 07:50 PM) How so? Supported their Dynamic Deals. Used coupons for the lower ticket prices. Went to 53 games this season for $400. I also filled out a survey and said (like many I am sure) that they needed to sell the tickets in the corners in both the uppers and lowers for a fixed price, lower parking costs, ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 QUOTE (My_Sox_Summer @ Oct 30, 2012 -> 01:57 PM) Supported their Dynamic Deals. Used coupons for the lower ticket prices. Went to 53 games this season for $400. I also filled out a survey and said (like many I am sure) that they needed to sell the tickets in the corners in both the uppers and lowers for a fixed price, lower parking costs, ect. 53 games $400 is $7.54 a ticket. The lowest price I saw with Dynamic Deals was $7, but you wind up paying about double that with ticketmaster fees, so you had a ton of freebies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 53 games $400 is $7.54 a ticket. The lowest price I saw with Dynamic Deals was $7, but you wind up paying about double that with ticketmaster fees, so you had a ton of freebies. No TM fees if you buy at the box office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 30, 2012 -> 02:43 PM) No TM fees if you buy at the box office. Were Dynamic Deals available at the Box office? I also don't think those $7 tickets were available for anywhere close to 53 games. I'm not doubting his numbers, just pointing out if they are accurate, he was doing something differently than dynamic deals and coupons. Edited October 30, 2012 by Dick Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 30, 2012 -> 02:45 PM) Were Dynamic Deals available at the Box office? I also don't think those $7 tickets were available for anywhere close to 53 games. I'm not doubting his numbers, just pointing out if they are accurate, he was doing something differently than dynamic deals and coupons. The sox had $5 tickets for the toronto series in june. Also, he bought from various sources, and some games were flat out free. He details it ALL in the blog. One method was the smart circle books(you pay $40 for a bunch of $1 ticket vouchers and 1/2 off coupons) And yes, dynamic deals were box office as well as online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 QUOTE (My_Sox_Summer @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 04:19 PM) I am honestly debating a season ticket. At $810 for an upper deck one, I might just do it. Congrats to the White Sox for listening to fans, and maybe, just maybe, I provided a role in it. Ha. If you're still thinking about season tickets, let me know. I'll connect you with my rep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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