Comments on: Jags expecting ten blackouts in 2009

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:08:53 +0000

“@jj jones – for such a loyal fanbase, how come when you go to a jags-bills game, the stadium is predominantly blils fans? Could it be that jacksonville is like a mini-pheonix where nobody is “from” jacksonville? The only problem with that is jax is a lot smaller and a lot poorer than pheonix.”
At least people in Jacksonville know how to spell Phoenix.

By: BillsSeasonz

BillsSeasonz — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:14:40 +0000

@BigVinny – you know how many franchises have even worse drafts/free agent signings than the jags, yet still sell out the season?
Look at the Jets, look at the Bills, look at the the bronocos, look at the bears, etc. etc. Whenever you think of it as a “im paying for a product”, you’re not going to be satisfied. That’s not what it is to be a fan… People who think like that aren’t real fans. Luckily, most cities have enough real fans to sell out the place. Jacksonville isn’t so lucky. The bills have realistically no shot at making the playoffs this year, yet they will still sell out. That’s what im talking about. It’s not all about TO.
@redcell – having the 50th biggest market blacked out from the jags (and forced to watch another team) isn’t going to hurt the NFL one bit.
@redcell – you’re obviously not a real fan. When the bills wer eblacked out regularly back in the day, i’d listen on the radio. Can you say you’d do that?
Again, this is what i’m talking about… maybe there just isn’t that appropriate level of interest in jax to keep a team…
@jaxjohn – waiting lists actually do exist. In new york, green bay, pittsburgh, and new england. I know its a foreign concept to a fan of a team where there are less season ticketholders than are on the packers waiting list…
@jj jones – for such a loyal fanbase, how come when you go to a jags-bills game, the stadium is predominantly blils fans? Could it be that jacksonville is like a mini-pheonix where nobody is “from” jacksonville? The only problem with that is jax is a lot smaller and a lot poorer than pheonix.
@jj jones – thanks for hitting my point home. nobody watches the rays because everyone from tampa is a yankee fan but retired to the south from nyc, connecticut, new jersey, etc. Now, are they can switch teams after 50 years? No way. They don’t care about 1 world series appearance; once you are a real fan of a team, you don’t switch. That is why expansion is so hard.

By: BillsSeasonz

BillsSeasonz — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:52:55 +0000

@bboozehound – that was the mid 80s. The game has changed. Back then, stadiums were played in baseball stadiums, great players made $1M a year, and the NFL’s targeted fan was the blue collar worker. Times have changed, and so has the nfl.
@alfie – you couldn’t be more wrong. The jags have had trouble lifting blackouts for the entire decade. Go look it up. They would have had even more blackouts if they didn’t put all that tarp covering 15k seats in their stadium. In normal times, the jags had 4 blackouts a year.
@all the people who say the jags are getting singled out or that this is an NFL problem – i dont think you realize how serious this is. Take the bills for example: a small market team that has to worry about blackouts: 4 blackouts (all in 2006) since 2005. Jacksonville: 8 blackouts in one year! The bills have sold out all but 3 regular season games this year, but all are likely to sell out, even in a recession. Sure, tickets are a little cheaper but don’t give me that crap like it would matter in an economically depressed area like buffalo… Its not about high ticket prices, the jacksonville problem is the lack of fan support. Nobody cares for the team in jacksonville. Well, obviously some people do, but not enough to fill a stadium.
Is the problem correctable? Sure, The cardinals averaged 40k fans a game in the 90′s… now they sell out every game. The bills used to sell out the home opener and the miami game in the 90′s… now they sell out every non december game with ease (and usually the december ones as well). They just need a new marketing plan and a new attitude. maybe they are trying to attact the wrong people? I’m not sure. But, they better fix it fast becaues the league really wants a team in LA right now. Don’t let them have a reason… the nfl will take it.

By: chris57

chris57 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:53:08 +0000

sorry dcfan but I signed up for the waitlist in 2002 and got an offer for tickets before last season. I turned it down and got the same offer again this year. So will I be on the wait list from now until forever? How many thousand are like me and don’t want tickets anymore, but are still on the waitlist?

By: rvnmaniak

rvnmaniak — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:49:52 +0000

Oh, I forgot the punch line. The above timeline is why PAUL TAGLIABUE is the man who stole the Browns from their beloved Cleveland. The same Browns who were looking at a blackout for their first preseason game last night against Detroit. The same Browns whose fans wonder why they have to pay high prices and PSL’s for their seats. Don’t blame Baltimore.

By: rvnmaniak

rvnmaniak — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:35:42 +0000

Baltimore takes flack all the time for “stealing” the Browns from Cleveland. What short-sited national media and fans forget is that the franchises were headed to St Louis and Baltimore (according to SI article the week before expansion.) But in stepped Tagliabue with his social engineering and awarded only one franchise, deferring the other to a later date. A dejected Wayne Weaver threw in the towel and withdrew Jax from consideration……..until Tagliabue called him and said “Not so fast.” Baltimore, of course, knew we were screwed.
People forget that STL and Baltimore had publicly financed stadiums without the need for PSL financing. Tagliabue shrewdly realized that Charlotte and Jax could transfer the expense to THE FANS by inventing the PSL (originally devised by Jerry Richardson of the Panthers to compete in expansion.) So not only did Tags protect Jack Kent Cooke’s “Baltimore-Washington Redskins” (never accepted by Baltimore fans) but the lucrative PSL was invented. Unfortunately, this is the NFL equivalent of the sub-prime mortgage, eventually coming to roost as the the economy goes down and the luster of the new team wears off. Ironically, Florida takes the hit again.
Meanwhile, owners at the table immediately take aim at STL and Baltimore where the true fan base and financing are waiting for the fortunate owners willing to take them. Both cities had teams within 2 years, and both teams had super bowl victories within 6 years……….with teams that had never won the SB before. Still blaming Baltimore? Tagliabue for the HOF? Think of that the next time you hear that a PSL is $20K a seat and people in Jax can’t watch their team on TV.
By the way, Baltimore Ravens tix go for 3 times face value on StubHub and there has never been ONE unsold ticket in 13 years since the team moved. Good job Tagliabue.

By: PARavensJeff

PARavensJeff — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:23:07 +0000

Taglibue was a jerk & will get what he deserved for what he did to Baltimore trying to protect his buddy Jack Kent Cooke. He put teams in Jacksonville & Charlotte that should have been put in Baltimore & St. Louis. This guy deserves to never be in the HOF for being a corrupt inside the beltway lawyer.

By: Brewster

Brewster — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:28:16 +0000

WeMissYouDan says:
August 21, 2009 10:52 AM
And if I have to log in many more times, I’m going to say screw it and just find somewhere else to get my news. How is it that the hamster run servers were better than NBC’s?
AND WTF HAPPENED TO THE COMMENT RATINGS FLORIO??? DON’T SELL YOUR LONGTIME FAITHFULS UP THE FRIGGAN RIVER!!!
_____________________________
Florio, he has two very valid points which many others have also mentioned numerous times, and unless I’ve missed it you have never given us an appropriate answer as to why these issues have not yet been addressed.
Having to log on every time to post a comment is a constant annoyance and totally unnecessary technologically.
And the disappearance of the comment ratings system???
Since the changeover to NBC I find myself spending less time on your site since it’s just not as enjoyable.

By: Baseball First

Baseball First — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:30:57 +0000

defan says, “You know, for the first time us Redskins fans can make a comment without any single stupid person out there knocking on us for ridiculous reasons.”
You must be kidding. Before this is even typed I am sure there will be numerous knocks on your post. It is all your fault for using the word stupid, stupid. Everyone here thinks they are a genius on any topic. You are giving us all a free pass to pick your post apart, lol.
Being loyal to mediocrity does not give you the right to claim the best fans ring. True fans will, at some point, still support their team and emphatically boo 18 years of waiting for next year. Did you think that, maybe, the complacency of the wonderful fans contributes to the inability to produce a champion? With a waiting list in the tens of thousands, what incentive does ownership have to end the failure? We all may snipe at each other’s teams, but we all love them equally. That is why we post here to begin with.

By: BOLO63

BOLO63 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:27:25 +0000

YOU WANT LOYALTY, THE STEELRS BEEN SOLD OUT SINCE 1972. KIDS FIGHT OVER THEIR PARENTS WILLS FOR THE TICKETS. WHEN IT COMES TO LOYALTY, THERE’S ONLY ONE. THE STEELERS NATION!

By: SpartaChris

SpartaChris — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:17:15 +0000

dcfan-1212450 says:
August 21, 2009 3:34 PM
…with the longest season tickets waiting list in history BY FAR.
=======================================
Yeah, not quite. You might have the most number of people on your wait list for season tickets, but the average wait for season tickets is 30 years.
Compared to Green Bay’s 100+ year wait for season tickets, the Redskins wait pales in comparison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_season_ticket_waiting_lists

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:00:26 +0000

“People now watch the Tampa Bay Rays because they win…”
Have you watched a Rays game this year? They can hardly get 20k. Nice try though.

By: dcfan-1212450

dcfan-1212450 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:34:08 +0000

You know, for the first time us Redskins fans can make a comment without any single stupid person out there knocking on us for ridiculous reasons. We will NEVER have this problem. A 92,000 seat stadium with 146,000 people on the season tickets waiting list, more than double the second team in any pro sport. So all you Philladelphia and Dallas fans have no idea what true fan loyalty is compared to Washington Redskins fans. 18 years since a super bowl with only 3 playoff appearance and yet sold out almost every year with the longest season tickets waiting list in history BY FAR. Ya, thats real loyalty. As some of you mentioned, fan loyalty fixes all and the Jaguars just dont have it. People now watch the Tampa Bay Rays because they win, but people dont even watch the Jags when they win. Hell, people went to see the Lions last year when the entire city’s people have no jobs and no houses in Detroit. I give them far more props than all the retirees in Jacksonville.

By: Wellsee

Wellsee — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:24:34 +0000

The Jags need to lower prices on tickets, as Blank did in Atlanta when he came in. He knew there wasn’t great demand (for an inferior product, at the time), so he priced it accordingly.
And it is the smart move to do, economically. When running a business, you want each customer to cover their own variable and fixed costs, but you NEED each customer to cover their variable cost. With a stadium, each attendees variable cost is very low (concessionaires, parking lot attendants, and cleanup people are used at a low ratio to the number who go to the event) while their fixed costs are very high (player salaries; the fricking stadium). As long as the ticket price exceeds the variable cost, the organization is better off, and the amount that exceeds the variable cost helps pay for the fixed cost. It is like with airplanes selling last minute seats cheap — the extra fuel consumed due to that person sitting on the plane isn’t much, and getting $50 is better than $0.
The Jags are stupid if they don’t mark down prices and leave seats empty.
(And for the love of god, please fix this broken registration/logged-in/log-out problem.)

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:13:14 +0000

“It’s still the fan base and LOYALTY!”
The Jaguars have a loyal, passionate fanbase. It just isn’t big enough. Go to a game at their stadium.

By: jaxjohn

jaxjohn — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:08:51 +0000

20,000 seat waiting list yeah sure!!!!
The Giants and Cowboys said the same thing then they went to their list with 50,000.00 personal seat licenses and guess what no list.
Those lists are bogus!!!
Wise up we are an OBAMNATION NOW!

By: virtueandvice

virtueandvice — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:55:42 +0000

My God, will the NFL FINALLY admit it made a mistake and get this team out of Wafflehouseville, USA? Putting a team in Jacksonville and not Baltimore was a disgrace from the day it was announced, not to mention the fact that Cleveland lost it’s team to a city that should have been given an expansion franchise the day after the Colts moved. Tarping off sections of a stadium is an embarrassment!

By: grantar2

grantar2 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:48:54 +0000

What the NFL needs this year is to strike a deal with priceline.com or similar to sell off unpurchased seats. make them available online from a week before the game until the day before at discount. Yeah some people will wait, but it will generate additional revenue without the team having to do the discounting publically.

By: spyboots

spyboots — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:41:11 +0000

“Jacksonville’s issue is that the stadium is too big, literally. It’s stadium is BIGGER.”
It’s still the fan base and LOYALTY!
Those of us on 15-year waiting lists for season tickets wish we had those extra 20,000 seats iu our stadiums. The waiting time might go down to just 10 years.

By: purpleguy

purpleguy — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:10:02 +0000

Just wait, the Jags won’t be standing alone here. Low population center, other NFL teams in the state, short tenure to build a fan base, crappy economy, lousy team — this isn’t a big suprise.
But really, where else is there to go? LA won’t realistically work for well known reasons. Canada? Mexico? Vegas? Oklahoma?

By: BuffalofaninPhilly

BuffalofaninPhilly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:28:47 +0000

When Arthur Blank bought the Falcons the first thing he did to fill in the seats was sell Upper deck seats for $10 per game on a season ticket package. I believe they now sell for $30 per game on a package last I heard. I remember when asked Mr.Blank why they did that he stated that he needed to fill the seats and that the only way to fill them was lower the price. An owner needs to determine if it is in his best interest to lower the price of the seats to have the stadium filled and make money. Mr.Weaver apparently does not feel that way

By: mr duval

mr duval — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:13:11 +0000

Alfie says:
August 21, 2009 9:45 AM
Jacksonville’s issue is that the stadium is too big, literally. It’s stadium is BIGGER than Pitt’s and Chicago’s WITH the tarps. They don’t have PSL’s like the Panthers.
Without the tarps it seats 77,000, which would be the 4th most in the NFL. Only 2 stadiums built since Jacksonville built theirs, Washington and Dallas.
Terrible planning on the city of Jacksonville’s part. Shocker, really…
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Why would you put a almost 80,000 seat stadium in one of the NFL’s smallest and newest markets?! They should have started really small, like 60,000 and increased the number of seats as intrest, population, and loyalty improved. But they were so worried about hosting a Super Bowl that they made a huge stadium that can’t be filled. smooth guys, real smooth…

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:53:08 +0000

“That being said, this team has been managed horrifically. Some of the worst drafting and free agent signings in league history. Certainly one of the worst 5-year spans in league history if nothing else.”
And yet they made the playoffs twice and finished a game out twice. I think some fans in Buffalo, Cincinnati and Detroit could handle that type of torture.

By: Bigbluefan

Bigbluefan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:41:17 +0000

It must be the team we have two teams one good one a joke but even the jets who will do poorly again this year and have been rebuilding since 1969 sell out every weekend
That means 22 games a season at the meadowlands sold out
And if they make the place twice as big they will still sell out
Jacksonville is just not into it

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:34:31 +0000

“Hard times ?The dome is sold out for the season, with a waiting list of 20,000. The Jaguars to L.A. .”
If Jacksonville gets flooded by a hurricane and the team leaves for a year, they will have a waiting list too. Don’t be so naive.

By: redcell

redcell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:26:16 +0000

a dozen cities blacked out…that’s millions of fans…many won’t be back. B-O-Y-C-O-T.

By: Big Vinny

Big Vinny — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:21:33 +0000

rayg, there’s no room for you hate-filled speech on this site. If you don’t like the Southeastern US, then I suggest you stay away from it.

By: redcell

redcell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:21:19 +0000

The League black-out policy will kill the NFL.Don’t punish the fans because of a down economy.It’s mean spirited and there will be a heavy price to pay.Lost market share is seldom regained. Bye Bye !

By: Yatgirl

Yatgirl — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:11:09 +0000

Hard times ?The dome is sold out for the season, with a waiting list of 20,000. The Jaguars to L.A. .
Geaux Saints!!!!

By: jj jones

jj jones — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:01:58 +0000

The Jaguars won’t be the only team in the NFL with blackouts in 2009. They are just the first to admit it. The Chargers have thousands of tickets available for every home game this year. This will be an ugly year for blackouts in the NFL.