Getting butts in the seats....and why winning isn't the only answer.

You know when i see the Jax games on Red Zone channel, i've always noticed they have pretty good attendance for an abysmal team. Kudos to them for showing up.

 

Did you see the come on man this week? There was a woman fully dressed in jeans and like a sweater or something standing in the pool watching the game.

 

There are thousands of gimmicks that can be used to bring in fans, but none of them come even close to being as powerful as having a winning team and an owner with a winning philosophy. I went to hundreds of games in Joe Robbie Stadium and the Orange Bowl and most of them were completely sold out....not because of fancy bars or gals in bikinis, but because the Dolphins showed up every week. That's the big secret- give fans a team they can be proud of. That's it.

Like you said though, winning isn't everything. The bullying scandal is not something we're proud of. Five coaches in the past decade and 15 quarterbacks isn't either. Passing up on Super Bowls....definitely not a good thing. So yes, it is about more than wins, but it is entirely about football and leadership.

 

Its honestly a lot about the new stadium and the energy it brings as well. I live in the perfect example of that. The Colts even when winning had a hard time selling out the RCA Dome. As soon as they built Lucas Oil Stadium though they were about 8000 people deep on a waiting list for season tickets. People want to go and be part of the loud rowdy atmosphere. Part of that comes from the team, part of that comes from a stadium that keeps the energy and noise in the stadium.

 

Winning with a FUN team is the best way, especially with the fair weather fans Miami has. Bringing in coaches who want to win 12-10 games dosn't make people enthusiastic about going to the stadium.

 

unless Dion Jordan was in the swimming pool.

 

You know you got a problem when you're trying to emulate the Jacksonville Jag-wires.

 

Suits don't get it..they continue to stumble around the most lucrative investment oppurtunity in sports, they literally are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars..and I would bet my life that I could make that kind of money for an investor if they just listened to every word I say..

 

Again, Fin D, apologies for cancelling my trip to Miami for the game this weekend. Hopefully my being in Wisconsin will bring Miami a win this weekend since I was in Wisconsin (albeit at the game) the last time Miami and Green Bay played. Miami won 23-20 in OT.

 

I dunno DJ....have a feeling Miami fans would still be cynical as hell. But you have to really look at the stadium as a reflection of the owner. Paul Allen co founded Micro-Soft...hes cut from a much different cloth then Steve Ross. Ross seems to be very conservative....doesnt really go for the touchy feely....emotion of sports. In some ways..I dont think he really even connects with the passion and pure love we all have as fans....

Personally....I think emotion is a HUGE part of a winning formula for a team.

I look at what I would do if I were an owner....when the team exits the locker room, they would walk through a tunnel of images that illicit the fight reaction....slow and low drum beats that get louder the closer you get to the opening .....things like that shield they have but the players would hit it as they walk bye.

Heres what the New Zealand All Blacks do infront of every opponent:

[video=youtube;w5hP0kBQxB0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hP0kBQxB0[/video]


You should hear the players talk about how doing this gets them all psyched up....and it does do a psyche job on the opposing team. Its intimidating. Now, Im not saying we should be doing a Haka...but I think with a bit of creativity....and some will to create a truly inspiring and energizing entrance and pre game ritual ....could do the same for Miami. It has to be something signature...that other teams have to deal with when playing in Miami. Thing is...you cant start it, and if we loose just quit. You have to keep going with it....

I love what the Chiefs do before their games...someone comes out and beats on the war drum and the whole crowd begins a war chant.

 

Unfortunately, the cabanas will be covered for that game and that game only.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2014-07-25/jaguars-to-close-pools-cabanas-for-dolphins-game

But I've always like Alltel/Jacksonville Municipal/Everbank Field. The sight lines are good and there really isn't a bad seat. I've seen the past 2 Dolphins games there (both wins). I'll be flying in from Chicago and watching this year too. Lived in Jacksonville for 10 years and whether it was Florida/Georgia, FSU/Bama, Dolphins/Jags, or Jags/Whomever always a good time.

They tailgate pretty well there too. You'll enjoy dude. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Heck, I can walk out my front door and walk 100 feet to the beach and look at girls in bikini's for free. That's far better than than paying hundreds of dollars to watch a winless team in Jacksonville.

As far as the Dolphins are concerned. I went to games for over 45 years and it was never for anything except the teams playing the game. It is a sad state of affairs that some organizations in the NFL have such lousy teams that the only way they can increase attendance is by coming up with ideas like this.

 

I,

I'm not sure what your questioning VT, I get what your saying about the Intro stuff but none of that matters, the kind of movement and money making proposition Im talking about is all about the venue..first and foremost it starts there..

Great invest opp ever..guaranteed.

 

The Heat and Marlins have fairweather fans, they've won championships recently and also had short periods of mediocrity. The Dolphins have fans that are just fed up. Nothing fairweather about 2 decades of irrelevance. You think people will buy up season tickets when the Dolphins haven't been relevant in 2 decades? Every team in the NFL that has sucked for that long has had issues selling tickets.

 

Paul Allen had nothing to do with the design of the Seahawks stadium nor was it ever intended to become the loudest venue in the league. It was mostly circumstance, starting with the fact they had a much smaller tract of land to build on than most other stadiums.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/p...nt-how-to-match-seahawks-home-field-advantage

What happened in Seattle was a happy accident. And by the way, the new roof over Sun Life, should cause some of the same affect. And just like everywhere else, it won't make a damn bit of difference unless the team is good.

 

While I agree the Marlins have won 2 World Series over the course of their 22 years in major league baseball. Those two years were also the only time they have actually made the playoffs
over those 22 years.

Since they won their last championship in 2003, they have gone from being a very mediocre team to a bad team and this past year they very merely mediocre again. They also are owned by probably the worst owner in professional sports.You can call Marlin fans fair weather fans if you want to. I call them smart for refusing to attend games and putting more money in the pockets of a corrupt owner.

Loria is seen with such disgust throughout the South Florida community that I just don't see the attendance rising, even if the team starts winning on a regular basis. I feel bad for the players on the Marlins, but I certainly can't fault anyone for not wanting to go to games for a team owned by an individual like Loria.

 

Sun Life is getting a whole lot better regarding upgrade and it includes actual Dolphins. Grapevine and a source but we are talking a big freekin huge tank and i'm not talking a Sherman.

 

I agree. I attended games in 1966 when the organization actually had a Dolphin transported to the game each week to be part of the atmosphere at the game.

It was entertaining at first, but it was ended because the transporting of the Dolphin to and from the game was having a negative effect on the health of the Dolphin.

So like you, I certainly hope that having a real Dolphin in attendance during home games is not part of this new renovation plan.

 

The only way I could see it working is if there was some sort of aquarium-like attraction that was part of one of the club/suite levels or inside a main entrance/concourse; something for the kids and families to go to. I don't think that'd be wise to have it visible within the seating bowl or from the field, especially since the seats are being moved closer to the field. Where would you put it?

I'm thinking more like the suite that's available in the Cowboys stadium where patrons can see the team going from the locker room to the tunnel or something like that.

 

.

the point is now you know what a venue is capable of culture wise, if built intimately..the fact that no one is doing it, or trying to take it up a notch is the reeeeeeeeal stupid part..

If owners understood, they wouldn't be adding clubs, or pools..

 

I knew girls in bikinis wasn't your point. I just find it rather sad that any NFL team would have to resort to gimmicks to entice fans to show up for games.

The best way to get butts in the seats is to put a winning team on the field. It just appears that the same teams have had an attendance problem for a number of years because they have a lousy product on the field. Improve the product and those butts will belong to individuals who are there to watch the game and not for the side show entertainment.

Eventually those people who are showing up in Jacksonville to look at the ladies in bikinis, instead of the game on the field, are going to realize that they can save a lot of money by just driving to the beaches in the area, where there will be a lot more girls in bikinis than there are at the stadium.

When you do eventually move to Hawaii, let me know and the first drink is on me. ALOHA

 

I have no problem with a dolphin aquarium, it only makes sense considering we're the fu$$in Dolphins..

The INtention is in the right place, but the result will not change..

If ross or any of his advisors really understood, he'd add another 500 mill to the equation and go full metal jacket.

I dare someone who follows dan Marino on Twitter to tell ross that he wants to build the modern day ob2..he could find the other 500 mill in a sec.

 

Ok then maybe not...I'm gonna go let my kids turtle loose now..

 

Dolphins belong in the ocean and not in a giant aquarium. I hope Ross understands this and doesn't waste any money on building any type of structure for Dolphins, in an effort to exploit these highly intelligent mammals.

 

Good idea, the turtle will thank you.

 

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Lol...it's just so funny to me...the niners did not take advantage of their new stadium, and they play against the 12 th man every year, I'm watching the Texan cowboy game and romo can't even hear himself because of how many Texan fans invaded, Jerry's world, both owners didn't even think about intimacy thru construction and the impact on culture and bank accounts from a true 12 th man advantage..it's truly mind boggling.

 

Man am I good..sorry but I called that sh@& on the record as soon as I watched the first game played there and saw the construction.

Cowboy fans would go back to their old digs in a heart beat..

A perfect example of how dumb these owners are for not understanding how and why you should build a true 12 man design when it comes to your venue.