04/25/24
August 04, 2010
Goodell: Jacksonville Fans Better Buy Tickets: During a brief visit to Jacksonville Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stressed to Jaguars fans the importance of buying tickets if they want the team to stay. "We want this team to be successful and we want it to be here," Goodell told a group of business leaders, players and media. "We just want to make sure we're playing in front of large audiences and hopefully a sold-out audience, because that's what we expect in the NFL." Of the 20 regular-season games blacked out in the NFL last year, seven were Jaguars home games. The team has broken records for new season ticket holders but has 10,000 season tickets left to sell with 19 days before the first preseason game. "Goodell came through Jacksonville with all the enthusiasm of a politician drained by the campaign trail," writes local columnist Gene Frenette.
Was that a threat by Mr. Goodell?
posted by yzelda4045 at 10:22 AM on August 04, 2010
"I really hope you guys buy up those remaining tickets, ya hear? I'd hate for something...unfortunate...to happen to your franchise."
/taps lead pipe on nearby table
posted by grum@work at 10:52 AM on August 04, 2010
They were 7-9 in 2009, yet 2nd to last in attendance...worse than Detroit, KC, and St. Louis.
11-5 in 2007, yet 18th in attendance.
I think drop-off in attendance is expected when a team has a sub par season. 7 blackouts during a 7-9 season is not expected.
posted by bdaddy at 11:00 AM on August 04, 2010
Jacksonville's biggest problem is that it's an exceptionally small market, so it's harder for the franchise to weather a bad economy. Florida was one of the first states to hit 10 percent unemployment.
The team and community have been beating the drum all off-season, which is why the ticket sales broke a record for new buyers. But it's tough to buy NFL tickets these days. I have been trying to justify buying two myself but haven't done it yet.
posted by rcade at 01:01 PM on August 04, 2010
The Bills suck, are in a small market, and still sell practically all tickets in one of the league's larger stadiums. Yet they are always being mentioned to be going elsewhere. I can't feel sorry for Jacksonville because it seems people have lost interest in that area.
posted by dyams at 02:01 PM on August 04, 2010
I went to six or seven games last season. Some people have lost interest, but there's a dedicated following here who love the team and have a lot of fun going to games. It's not our fault there aren't more of us.
posted by rcade at 02:03 PM on August 04, 2010
Maybe the NFL feels it's their fault there aren't more of you and has decided it's time to do something about it.
posted by bender at 02:55 PM on August 04, 2010
The Bills suck, are in a small market, and still sell practically all tickets in one of the league's larger stadiums.
Hmm, I went to school in Rochester in the mid-to-late-'90s and the only time the Bills were on TV was when the local grocery chain (Wegman's) bought out the unsold tickets. I think Buffalo's a great football town, but the love affair is a bit oversold to me. They were a few years removed from 4 Superbowls and couldn't sell out.
posted by yerfatma at 03:37 PM on August 04, 2010
I think Buffalo's a great football town, but the love affair is a bit oversold to me. They were a few years removed from 4 Superbowls and couldn't sell out.
This is very true.
Back in the hey-days (early 1990s), it was almost impossible for me to buy a ticket to a Bills game (being from Toronto). We'd end up having to buy an expensive package deal (ticket+bus seat) in the summer for one game in November, which meant sitting in a crowded, smelly coach bus with a bunch of drunk Canadian yahoos, and sit in the nosebleed/frostbite seats, to watch them play an weak NFC team.
In the late 1990s, my dad and I were able to pick up tickets the week of the Dolphins games, sit on the 40 yard line (about halfway up) and pay (at most) a 10% premium on the ticket. In September.
I haven't had a chance to go back in the last 10 years, but my dad investigated getting tickets recently and it didn't seem to have changed much since the last time we went.
posted by grum@work at 05:12 PM on August 04, 2010
I think Buffalo's a great football town, but the love affair is a bit oversold to me. They were a few years removed from 4 Superbowls and couldn't sell out.
True, sometimes companies would buy up the remaining tickets so the games could be on TV. But again, you're talking about one of the smallest markets in the country with a stadium that seats 79,000. Having to buy up 2,500 or less of the seats doesn't tell me the "love affair" is oversold in Buffalo. Often when a game is a near sellout, and the weather forecast is for 33 degrees and a driving rain, many will hold back in hopes the tickets will be bought up so it will be televised and they won't have to sit through it. As someone who has been to hundreds of games at Ralph Wilson Stadium since it was opened, I can tell you sitting through some of the weather there is horrible. Many of the people who like to go to the games are older and can't sit through that type of weather. I doubt Jacksonville has had a huge number of blizzards, whiteouts, driving sleet, or games with wind-chills in the minus numbers. Yet Buffalo still sells an incredible number of tickets. Call it "oversold" but I say that's not accurate.
posted by dyams at 05:29 PM on August 04, 2010
Slight tangent for this that is only slightly related. The other night on Jeopardy the final Jeopardy category was Super Bowls, so of course I had to watch to see the question (when the final category is Poets of the 17th century, I usually pass). The question was "As of 2010 this team is the only team in the NFC never to have appeared in a Super Bowl." The woman who was the defending champ was in third so she went first and got the answer correct (Detroit Lions for those of you who didn't know). The guy in the middle was in second place and answered with "? ? ?" (there by surrendering his card in the man club, at least come up with a guess douchebag). Finally the woman in the lead guessed the Jacksonville Panthers. While the final woman got the question wrong, she had a large enough lead to hold on to win. As pathetic as the winner's guess was, it was still better than the former guy in the middle.
posted by Demophon at 08:49 PM on August 04, 2010
The Jags could try to add some pizzazz at the head coaching position, but Chan Gailey was snapped up a while ago.
Perhaps the Jags need to send emissaries to the towns of Gainesville and Athens to ask the good people there why, when there are at least 11 great opportunities to take part in a memorable football experience in Jacksonville each year, they only take part in one of them.
posted by beaverboard at 10:33 PM on August 04, 2010
I doubt Jacksonville has had a huge number of blizzards, whiteouts, driving sleet, or games with wind-chills in the minus numbers.
Jacksonville has the opposite problem. Beautiful weather all year long, the beach, the ocean and the St. Johns River. I've never lived anywhere that makes a bigger deal about fishing, surfing and other outdoor activities. At least on Sundays. Saturday in the fall is all Gators and Noles all the time.
posted by rcade at 08:17 AM on August 05, 2010
Goodell isn't doing anything his predecessors didn't do; he's just doing it with considerably less tact, personality, subtlety, or class.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 12:16 PM on August 05, 2010
Alex says: What category, Demophon?
Demophon: 17th century English poets for $1,000, Alex.
A: He was not talking about football when he wrote:
Sundays observe; think when the bells do chime,
'T is angels' music.
It is a poor sport that is not worth the candle.
D: Who was ??? ?
It's the closest thing I could find to a football reference among Milton, Donne, and Herbert. Couldn't resist the temptation.
posted by Howard_T at 03:28 PM on August 05, 2010
If they had more success on the field, more people would want to buy tickets. NFL attendance and team success are pretty strongly correlated (NFL Attendance numbers). They should drop the price of the tickets to reflect their actual success on the field.