Way way way back in June, I mentioned how the attendance of the Tampa Bay Rays is absolutely ridiculous:“While watching the latest installment of the Rays-Marlins series, I can only look in shame as to what is taking place. What should be a big series that’s the talk of all Florida sports news is just a blurb in the pages. The attendance in this ballgame was 23,000, which actually is a little bit higher than usual Florida games. By comparison, we have the Pirates nabbing 38,000 fans in their homestand, and they are by no means a decent ballclub. No need to insult the Pirates, but the Marlins and the Rays are thick in the playoff hunt, with the Rays remaining the best team in all of baseball. And plus this is supposed to be a statewide rivalry, similar to the popular Subway Series up north. The last Rays home game reached 25,000 and a week before that against the Blue Jays, the attendance was a meager 16,000. Why such low numbers?”
It seems that the attendance has become an actual topic of discussion, months after I brought it up mind you (not tooting my own horn or anything, but HA! Saw it coming). With two popular Rays players pointing it out, a major backlash has occurred amongst fans of Rays and all of baseball. What started out as a simple plea for more support in the stadium has turned into a hot-topic issue that concerns an excellent young team struggling to find a consistent fanbase in a sport that has reached new levels of competitiveness with the influx of incredible pitchers.
After years of complaints from fans about what had been happening to the team, the owner gives the team a new name, a new look, a new attitude, and a fresh start. The Rays did what the Expos did in the early 90s; rely heavily on a good farm system and a core of hungry young stars. Before you know it, Tampa became a tough scrappy team that was three wins away from actually winning it all. And nowadays, they have among the best records in baseball in the toughest division in ALL of sports (There is no argument here, do not even think about arguing this).
The owners even lobbied for a new stadium, which was promptly put down by the city of St. Petersburg. So now, there is recoil amongst the few Rays fans in the area when David Price and Evan Longoria complained about the terrible attendance in a potential playoff-clinching game. The backlash has been quite heavy amongst ESPN and the Tampa Bay media. Want my take? They are totally correct in every possible manner, and I am about to explain why.
The Tampa Bay Rays are on a much smaller payroll than the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, and other teams. Even with the payroll expanding several 20 million dollars in the last couple of years, it was still among the lowest in all of MLB. The fact that they are competing with such a young scrappy group of players (and winning most of the time) is quite unbelievable. They have been described by the Northeastern media as the “Team That Won’t Go Away.” Unlike the Rays teams of the past (leading up to 2008), this team does not give up, will not give up. Every game, they will give you 110%. In spite of all this, they are still among the lowest in attendance. Even the Pirates can average bigger numbers than the Rays, and this is even with Tampa playing fan favorites like the Red Sox and Yankees constantly. Just how much do empty seats affect the psyche of a baseball team? Observe this stat from the article back in June:
“The Rays are 18-15 at home, far from the best home record in baseball. I am sure the sluggish numbers, the amount of empty seats, and lack of support (especially when the Yankees and Red Sox come into town) contributes to their weaker play in Tampa. In comparison, here are the home records of the teams with extremely high attendance: Yankees (24-10), Phillies (17-14), Dodgers (23-13), Cardinals (23-11), Twins (23-13). See the difference (unless you are the Phillies)?”
Now look at the home records of the said teams:
Yankees (52-29)
Phillies (54-30)
Dodgers (43-35)
Cardinals (47-28)
Twins (52-29)
The three best home records amongst those five are all going to the playoffs. Home field advantage does exist, but if there are few witnesses, the advantage ceases to exist. But are the prices high in Tropicana Field? Not in Tampa. You can easily find good seats for prices between $15-$30 for regular games, $20-$40 for more important and high-profile games. Parking? The prices range from a high $20 to a lower-than-usual $10. So why aren’t they going to the games? The games are generally cheap, the parking isn’t ridiculous (and sometimes even free), and the team is clearly winning and clearly bothering the big boys of baseball the Yankees and Red Sox. So why was there a laughable 12,000 watching the Rays attempt to clinch?
Many fans are crying foul because “overpaid ballplayers are telling fans to spend their money and head to the game”. The overpaid part is slightly true, but slightly justifiable. We Americans are obsessed with sports, especially football. At least five NFL franchises are worth over a billion dollars, and the Yankees are the richest baseball team with a billion in revenue. No matter what the economy is, sports can and will forever make good money, no matter what the circumstances are. So, the overpayment comes from the fact that these ballplayers are extremely valuable, and owners can and will pay top dollar to maintain them. Longoria isn’t the one demanding the overpayment, the business demands it.
Now, look at it from the player’s point of view. The Tampa Bay Rays are in a terrible location, in a nasty division, and a terrible stadium that literally stole a win from them earlier this year (against the Twins, when a popup turned into a hit because of catwalks). Quoting me from earlier:
“Tampa Bay represents St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Ybor City, Treasure Island, amongst other little spots next to Tampa. However, they chose a more secluded and uglier part of St. Petersburg for the home team. If you’ve ever driven around there, the location is very tricky and somewhat confusing to reach. The surrounding area isn’t exactly the best area, and it takes 10 minutes of driving to even find the highway.”
They are in one of the most grueling schedules in all of sports, and all they want is to see major support. They want to see the support that the Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees receive on a yearly basis. After years of totally shifting the franchise from joke to near-champ, the players felt like they deserved it. We all know they deserve the press, fame, and popularity that they were (somewhat) getting. Yet, inexplicably, they just weren’t getting the fans. Not only that, but the fanbase of the Sox and Yanks were more powerful and present during those heavily-contested matchups. Does this sad scenario sound familiar? Well, it shouldn’t, unless you are a baseball buff.
Anyone remember the Brooklyn Dodgers? Well, back in the 40s and 50s, the Brooklyn Dodgers was also a young, scrappy team that was constantly taking on the big boys. In spite of lower attendance numbers, smaller fanbase, and a stadium built in a tough location, the Brooklyn Dodgers would play year after year, constantly trying to thwart the Yankees. What eventually happened was that when the Brookyln area refused to help the dwindling attendance of the team by building a new stadium, the owner went to the west coast in a shockingly fast rate and crafted the Los Angeles Dodgers. To this day, Brooklyn has some ghosts from that fateful day. The Tampa Bay Rays of today are becoming the new millennium’s Brooklyn Dodgers (to an extent, the 1994 Montreal Expos), and if something doesn’t happen soon, they will move as well.
St. Petersburg straight-up is not supporting their team, not supporting their future. The fans haven’t really been there to support either. Why would the owner spend more money if the fans aren’t arriving? While the owner’s decision sounds a bit selfish, from an economic standpoint, it makes sense. I am a huge Rays fan, but I admit that we really don’t deserve the success of our ballclub. The Marlins-Rays game I went to several months ago was embarrassingly empty. Even the insane Yankees-Rays series didn’t hit sellout crowds. St. Petersburg doesn’t want a new stadium for our team, nowhere in Tampa Bay can you find land available for a new stadium, it just wasn’t being allowed. I have constantly screamed that the solution to this dilemma is this: start supporting our hard-working franchise, or move the team to a place that will support them better. Orlando anyone?
The Tampa Bay Rays can potentially create more jobs, and create more revenue, but there just isn’t enough support to allow for this wonderful franchise to flourish. And once again, I am being quite critical on an area, on a state that has been economically hit in recent times. However, as a community, you have a beautiful gem that is not fully being appreciated. I am not saying that there are no loyal Rays fans, but what I am saying is that they deserve more. Why can’t they have the heavy fanbase of winners like the Yankees and losers (well, not loser per say, but a team missing the postseason) like the Cardinals, Rockies, Mets, and Pirates?
Bottom Line: I am a big Rays fan that will follow the team no matter where they go or what happens to them, because I can’t see the Rays remaining happy in St. Petersburg much longer if this continues. They clinched as I typed this article, but still didn’t see a sellout crowd, still didn’t see a full house, and they even had the always-reliable David Price pitching. Now do I ask for sellout crowds every single night? Of course not, but I should see full houses on important games, on heavy matchups, on most September games, and when the playoffs arrive. I totally agree with Longoria and Price and sympathize with their pain. In comparison, they sound like a great writer that has no readers, like a great band that has no audience when performing. They aren’t telling you to spend money on them; they are telling you to help support a young team in a heavily contested league that needs whatever small edge they can get.
Congrats to the Rays, this team is excellent for baseball. However, if Tampa Bay altogether doesn’t see what me and most baseball buffs see, who knows what might happen to the franchise in the future. I’d hate to see them go, but I hate to see them suffer too. Just watching the Orioles-Rays game the night before, and seeing the sadness and subtle despair on their faces was quite heartbreaking.
If you are a Rays fan, I want you to prove it. Support your team.
Stop sitting! Get up, be loud, be proud, and shout it out:
GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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