The NFL's blackout policy says that if a game isn't sold out within 72 hours before kickoff (or 48 hours if the team gets an extension), it can't be shown in the home team's TV market.
But the blackout policy has a somewhat loose definition of what constitutes a game being "sold out."
One example is Sunday's Seahawks-Vikings game in Minnesota, which is a sellout for the purposes of lifting the blackout, even though there are still tickets available for the game.
Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune reports that the Seahawks didn't sell out their full allotment of visiting team tickets, so they returned 400 tickets in the middle of the week. Those tickets haven't sold very quickly, and there are still 200 left.
So, yes, fans of Minnesota, you'll be able to watch your team on TV on Sunday. But if you want to watch in person, you can still do that, too.
Vikings game a sellout, but tickets available
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 21, 2009 1:22 PM ET
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Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, Minnesota Vikings, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Rumors, Seattle Seahawks, Top Stories
For goodness sake--if not selling 200 tickets constituted reason for a blackout, I'd stop watching football.
I am choosing to boycott in the hopes of a better stadium...even an empty swimming pool would be better then throwing the money at the MOA Dome...
Not to worry, if the fair-weather fans don't buy those tickets, the Vikings will simply lean on 3-M, General Mills, or some other corporate sucker to step up and buy the tickets just like they have done for the past decade.
General Mills is projecting higher profitability in 2012 when they no longer have to provide corporate welfare to the Vikings, let it be some LA based company's problem.
How is this news?
JimmySmithBlows says:
November 21, 2009 1:34 PM
How is this news
"Those (Vikings) tickets haven't sold very quickly, and there are still 200 left. "
Can you imagine the stampede if it was announced that there were 200 Packer tickets (or a lot of other teams, for that matter)available for sundays game! That's why it's news. 8-1 and ticket sales are sluggish. Bad news following yesterdays story about extending the lease at the Humpty Dump.
...so who wants to watch football in a dome?...
@JimmySmith
You are a complete Jackass and a Tool. The article clearly reads that the tickets were returned from Seattle. Before you criticize Vikings fans for being fair-weather maybe you should address the fact that the Seahawks don't have any fans.
The funny thing is I read every Vikings article because I am a big fan and supporter. I was when we had Mike Tice and I am now that we have Childress. The funny thing is I see you on every Vikings article making a stupid comment. My guess is you are a bitter Packers fan that believed into all the preseason hype that you were Superbowl bound and are now pissed off because your team seems destined to be .500.
Jimmy you really are an idiot. Maybe you should learn to read. The game is a sellout as far as the NFL is concerned.
Perhaps the people in Minnesota actually have lives and made prior plans since the lousy 400 tickets were only returned a few days ago.
By the way how much was your fine for stealing the glowing road sign in Green Bay. That crime had you written all over it you idiot.
"Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune reports that the Seahawks didn't sell out their full allotment of visiting team tickets, so they returned 400 tickets in the middle of the week. Those tickets haven't sold very quickly, and there are still 200 left."
So.....shouldn't the game be blacked out in Seattle?
Makes sense to me. At least, as much sense as blacking out any game to build a fanbase.
"Before you criticize Vikings fans for being fair-weather maybe you should address the fact that the Seahawks don't have any fans."
I'm not a Seahawks fan, but just because Seattle didn't sell all their tickets for a game being played in Minnesota doesn't mean they don't have any fans.
Anybody know how many tickets an opposing team gets? Are they sold or given free to the opposing team?
Viking fans are a joke. How can they not sell these tickets. The Packers would sell out Lameau if they were winless and the stadium had a capacity of 150,000. This has nothing to do with the Seahawks either, why would they want to go to Minnesota and that crappy stadium!!
@Vikes#28Owns; the Seahawks have a terrific fanbase known as the "twelveth man" for making their field one of the loudest in the league. and it's not a dome. 'Hawks fans just didn't want to make the trek to Minny to sit in the Humpty Dump. And you missed the point, the remaining tickets are not selling quickly, which shows a lack of local support. That's truth, not Packer propaganda.
Vikes28Owns:
You must be new here. Jimmy has been spouting this drivel for all of recorded history. No matter how badly the Vikes Beat GB, no matter how good things are in Eden Prairie; no matter how ugly the Packers organization performance is or the media's portrayal of any, repeat any player misconduct at Packerville, Jimmy will, now and evermore, blast Minnesota's team, coaches, ownership, stadium (which is a dump) and most often the intellect of Vikings fans.
As a consistent poster to this site/blog, I beg you to just ignore the prick. He's a prime example of the worst in Packers fans. Notice how he posts here constantly? He sees it as a regular opportunity to bash Minny while carrying a torch for his beloved GB's perfection. He even claims to not be a Packers fan on occasion.
Bluestree is just another moron that thinks he knows anything and hence believes that his input has value.
These idiots have to ratchet up their puke because everything they said at the start of the season has been proven wrong about Favre, Peterson, Jared Allen, team record, beating GB, selling out games, you name it. Each and every one of those points has gone in favor of the Vikings this year, and the pukers have to fire more and more lame bullets at Minny just to have something to say. There isn't anything good happening in GB now, and they've all fired their coaching staff/management in the media, and their blessed Lambeau is still hallowed and pure and almighty. So they have "solved all their problems" and must look to hurt their betters to soothe their painful record. Things are improving for the Vikings and the Packers are struggling to play .500 ball. They have to redefine Sellout so as to have another spitwad ready.
You'll also learn quickly that Florio insists on posting items like this one so as to stick the Packer Nation in the butt so they'll come here and puke. Mike gets paid for that, so it continues every day.
Didn't the Vikings have trouble selling tickets for their playoff game last year?! Viking fans are lame...
JimmySmith says:
November 21, 2009 1:34 PM
Not to worry, if the fair-weather fans don't buy those tickets, the Vikings will simply lean on 3-M, General Mills, or some other corporate sucker to step up and buy the tickets just like they have done for the past decade.
General Mills is projecting higher profitability in 2012 when they no longer have to provide corporate welfare to the Vikings, let it be some LA based company's problem.
***********
Idiot.
General Mills hasn't been a "buyout" partner for well over 10 years.
Get back to your 12 pack of Miller High Life. Better yet, put the snow tires on the mobile home. The weather is nice in Ladysmith today.
sub 500 - porkers should be in the womans league
"sub 500 - porkers should be in the womans league"
The Vikings shouldn't be in any league....
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock....
That's the sound of the Favre physical breakdown/brain meltdown clock...I'd go while the delusion still lives, Vikings fans.
Sweet. Thanks to all of you, I get to watch the game from the comfort of my living room and I don't have to sit next to you at the stadium. Actually, I wouldn't go even if there was a blackout. It's just football. If some of you took your jobs and your education as seriously as you do football, you'd probably rich.
According to ticketmaster best available seats are in section 227 row 23 - i.e. Corner of the stadium, 8 rows from the roof. I'm a fan but I'm not going to plop down $150 for those seats the day before the game.
"Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune reports that the Seahawks didn't sell out their full allotment of visiting team tickets, so they returned 400 tickets in the middle of the week. Those tickets haven't sold very quickly, and there are still 200 left. "
************
This is a non-story. All visiting teams are allotted tickets and most of those tickets are returned.
It's a slow news day, and Florio knows that he'll get lots of hits from Viking and Packer fans.
golzie says:
"Viking fans are a joke. How can they not sell these tickets. The Packers would sell out Lameau if they were winless and the stadium had a capacity of 150,000."
Keep your current management and add onto your stadium and we just may find out if this is true or not. It does seem to be the direction you are heading.
bluestree I guess I don't understand your arguement. You say you have amazing fans and say the only reason Seahawks fan's don't want to go is because the crappy dome (Which I fully agree is a dump). However, you criticize Vikings fans for not running out and buying tickets for this said dome. You can't have it both ways. OHHH BOX!
and thanks purple hay-seuss for the advice regarding JimmySmith. I'll heed it in the future.
Viking fans def. suck. How could you not sell out the Eagles v Vikings playoff game last year?? Philly had to pick up the slack and come out in droves. For what it cost to goto the game in Minnesota, I couldn't even goto an Eagles Pre-Season game for that much.
Wow JimmySpits
must be really lonely in Mom and Dad's house huh?
GO back and read preseason posts from August. JimmySmith says: wrong wrong wrong wrong. He has been proven wrong all season long. I bet he doesn't even remember how wrong he has been. Just keeps spouting not minding being wrong every time. LMAO. How are your Packers doing Jimmy?
Skippity-do-da-day!
Something that GB Fudgepacker fans need to realize......
The same exact thing has happened in GB before, an opposing team is given X amount of tickets, not all are used and they are returned.
I have friends in WI (cept during football season) that constantly buy tickets at the last minute to see a GB Fudgepacker game.
Your argument that the Vikes fans are fair weather holds no water.
Oh, and once again, I will say that the Vikes are NOT going anywhere. The NFL will not give up the rivalry between the Vikes and GB/Chicago. Learn to deal with it!
Weak effort by the Vikings fans. If 400 tickets turned up for a Pats game they would be gone within 60 seconds of the announcement. And that's with the team at 8-1, you'd think there would be a lot of excitement in the fan base, certainly enough to snap up that tiny amount of tix.
The higher the pedestal, the louder the thump. It's like flippin' clockwork.
Not to worry, if the fair-weather fans don't buy those tickets, the Vikings will simply lean on 3-M, General Mills, or some other corporate sucker to step up and buy the tickets just like they have done for the past decade.
---------------------------------
I love living in a city with entertainment options and Fortune 500 companies. It's a good thing Packer fans have nothing else to do on Sundays. I doubt Nelson's Cheese Farm or Earl's Tool and Die could step in and cover the remaining tickets.
@Vikes28Owns
If you are new here everything you were told about Jimmy Smith is true and look out for Bob Nelson also. There are also quite a few Vike fans on here that if you called them a troll it would be an insult to trolls.
Don't listen to everything you are told however. There are many very smart football people on here, some with an acid sharp tongue that make for great reading, and then there are the trolls. (Apologies to the under the bridge trolls). Judge for your self who is who.
Bluestree's input often has value, just not to purple hey seuss. A lot of times there is actually some pretty intelligent football discussions here once you wade through the BS. And some the post can be downright hilarious.
BTW, I am a Packer fan.
JimmySmith is a turd. He comes out for every single Vikings story and trolls like crazy. I barely ever post, and I see his name all over the place.
Let's look at facts...
The Twin Cities is the 12th biggest market in the country with lots of things to do and see. The Metrodome is terrible for football and in this economy it doesnt pay to go to the Dome when you can sit at home with 60 inch high defs and cheap beer and watch it just as well. Doesnt make Vikings fans any better or any worse. Green Bay has 5% of the population of the Twin Cities with very little else to do other than watch the Packers, brush their last remaining tooth and drink paint thinner. The Twin Cities lead the country in parks and open space per capita, and to be honest our interests are much more diverse than Green Bay and the greater Milwaukee area. Museums, a vibrant night life and a population that doesnt think 300 lbs is anorexic makes for a much better community. Green Bay fans can talk all they want how they are the greatest fans and Minnesota stinks blah blah blah, but we all know the truth
There are good Packer fans on here who can keep the argument civil and within football bounds. I will concede the dome is a terrible place to watch football, but in no way should that be held against the fans. The fans want a new stadium, but the left of center government here in Minnesota would like to spend the money on more worthwhile pursuits such as making sure all the welfare cases that moved here from Gary, Detroit and Milwaukee are well taken care of, lol. Lambeau is gorgeous, been there for lots of games Vikes vs Pack, and people at LamBlow are pretty much always civil. Word to the wise, no more 3:30 cst games at Lambeau. Late start + drunk Sconnies = BAD NEWS
@footballrulz
Thanks for the breath of fresh air on the subject. I am relatively new and do tire of the endless Karen Rodgers and Viqueens statements. In reality I only root for each NFC North team to lose twice a year. I was openly rooting for the Packers to whoop on the Cowboys. However, that may say more for my hatred of the Cowboys then my fondness of the Packers. I will say that your current staff has been slacking a bit in bringing in quality talent. That's a whole different issue though.
"Green Bay has 5% of the population of the Twin Cities with very little else to do other than watch the Packers,"
Have you ever been to Green Bay?.....yeah, that's what I thought.
Minneapolis/St. Paul
(NHL - Wild) Lost track of how many games in a row they have sold out with a less than stellar team on the ice. Minnesota is the State of Hockey, and with the price of a ticket to get into a game, lots of potential Vikings ticket buyer choose that instead of a Vikings game at the inflatable toilet. Green bay spends 7 months of the year waiting for 5 months of football, it would be 6 months but they wont be making the playoffs for awhile.
NBA - Timberwolves ...I cant say much good about them but they are also competition in a touch economy
(MLB - Twins) They also play in the inflatable toilet and draw well compared to a Brewers team with a much newer stadium. BTW....What are the Brewers going to do without all the female fans that came to games just to stare at JJ Hardy. They are welcome to come to the new Target Field and stare at him all they want.
State Theatre
Guthrie
Walker Art Center
Mall of America
Fortune 500 Companies
2nd to none local music scene
Parks and open space, trails and state parks that are flooded with people rain or shine
Local theatre groups and comedy clubs too numerous to mention
There is a million times more competition for entertainment dollars in the Twin Cities than just about anywhere else I have ever been to or lived (Green Bay and Milwaukee included). Those with preconceived notions of minnesota might want to visit here before making broad assumptions. If I could compare my fair city and the surrounding areas to anywhere, I would definitely put us up there with Chicago when it comes to vibrancy and the multitude of things to do and see.
First off these tickets were just given back to the Vikes to sell from Seahawks. Many people probably didn't know that. Also to the person comparing if it happened in GB it would probably be the same thing. I went to the Vikes-Packers playoff game and believe it or not right before the game they had extra tickets to sell at the "Will call". Yes. That is right. The great Lambeau field and those amazing die hard Packer fans and it being the playoffs. But yet there was still more tickets hours before kickoff. Hmmmm....
I'm pretty sure you can get tickets to ANY Packer game in Lambeau you want, check stubhub. Just because they are sold doesn't mean the people will be there.
Darkwing says:
November 21, 2009 3:07 PM
According to ticketmaster best available seats are in section 227 row 23 - i.e. Corner of the stadium, 8 rows from the roof. I'm a fan but I'm not going to plop down $150 for those seats the day before the game.
VikingsPimp says:
November 21, 2009 5:03 The Metrodome is terrible for football and in this economy it doesnt pay to go to the Dome when you can sit at home with 60 inch high defs and cheap beer and watch it just as well.
Your arguments make sense, but if too many Vikes fans concur you'll end up with no team. It is a tough economy, but Wisconsin and Minnesota are far from being hit the hardest. Ticket prices are steep, that is a problem. I think in the future when there is no free broadcast of the NFL, maybe they can use that revenue to keep ticket prices from rising.
Darkwing:
"According to ticketmaster best available seats are in section 227 row 23 - i.e. Corner of the stadium, 8 rows from the roof. I'm a fan but I'm not going to plop down $150 for those seats the day before the game."
I don't know what price you were looking at, but I just pulled up those same tickets on Ticketmaster Section 227 Row 23 and those tickets are $60 each and not $150 each. They are also at the goal line and not in the far corner of the goal line.
It is lame that the Vikings fans, with their team at 8-1, have not purchased those tickets. Real fans would snatch up those tickets in seconds.
New Orleans is a much smaller market (maybe 1/3 the size of Minneapolis) and the Superdome is sold out by season ticket holders. (And there are crappy seats in that stadium too.) It is absolutely lame that those tickets did not sell in minutes. It would be understandable if the team was 1-8, but not 8-1. With fan support like this, the team may make the move to Los Angeles in a couple of years.
To the turd burglar who asked if I had ever been to Green Bay, the answer is yes. My grandparents lived on Oneida, a mile or so away from Lamblow. The Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs have 2 million people, Green Bay has substantially less. That was my entire point, whether it be 5% or 10% of the population of Twin Cities, I was in ballpark. You have to take off your shoes and socks to count past 10. Dont criticize me for my math.
I'm sure the Vikings are more than making up the money lost on tickets with the number of #4 jerseys that are flying off the shelves
This is straight from the Green bay wikipedia page....
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.[3]
The city is located at the head of its namesake Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of 581 feet (177 m) above sea level and is located 112 miles (180 km) north of Milwaukee. As of the 2000 census Green Bay had a population of 102,313.[1] Its 2006 estimated census was 100,353.[4] The Town of Green Bay is located several miles northeast of the city.
So about 100,000 residents in Green Gay.....
This is straight from the Twin Cities Wikipedia Page
in Wisconsin.[4] This larger area in turn is enveloped in the U.S. Census combined statistical area called Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI with an estimated population of 3.5 million people in 2006, ranked the 13th most populous in the U.S. The Minnepolis-Saint Paul MSA is the 35th largest in the Americas. [2]
So lets take out St. Cloud and all the communities 40 miles and out ...
I would ssay about 2.2 million. So I guess my 5% was about right. eat it!!!
The reason we don't buy those tickets is 1) They were the visiting teams tickets and 2) They are crappy seats in a crappy stadium.
For those of you calling Viking fans fair weather fans, we have the #4 rating for most people watching the game at home, and this is when the game is completely sold out too. So eat $hit and STFU.
Just a couple of opinions about earlier comments:
@bluestree - You mention the 12th man in Seattle. Good one. Your fans are great. But you also say, that their stadium is not a dome. You got the name "12th man" when you played in the King Dome. I've been to the King Dome and Qwest. You guys were way louder in the Dome.
@VikesPimp - I appreciate the comment about decent Packer fans who add to these blogs. I'm not sure why you see the need for names like Lamblow and FudgePacker tho. They do make my seventh grade daughter laugh.
You spoke of the NHL Wild. Before them there were the Minnesota NorthStars. A great team who couldn't financially make it in Minnesota. So they moved to Dallas. You mentioned the Timberwolves. Long before them, there were the Lakers. A championship NBA team who saw the much greater financial support in Los Angeles. You also mention the Twins. God bless 'em - they stay even when they're losing money.
The point is, as long as Minnesota fans sit at home watching the 60" TV you speak of, downing the cheap beer, they aren't supporting Vikings. They call themselves fans, but they're not doing what needs to be done to keep their team in their city! In Green Bay, there are some backward eccentric fans. Maybe they do drink paint thinner, lol. I'll give you that. But man, at 0 degrees fahrenheit their asses are on those benches cheering our team on. That's what a dedicated fan is. Someone who will sacrifice to both financially support their team and vocally support their team. Sitting at home, watching the 60" you speak of, is only half the fan. And not the kind of fan that keeps your team in your city. I really loved the Vikings when you guys played outdoors in Bloomington. Then, for some reason, the Vikes management moved you guys indoors to a warm, comfy, dome. The Purple People eaters were studs. What has come since is a complacent, disappointing couple of decades. I do hope Favre helps you guys win a Super Bowl. Perhaps that edge that was Minnesota in Bloomington Stadium will return.
One other irritating comment regarding VikesPimp's astute observation about how big the Minneapolis market is, if you're 20 times bigger than Green Bay (and I believe you are), why don't you have fans 30 years deep waiting to get tickets like Green Bay does? You've got 20 times the fan base, right? You guys should have the 30 year waiting list and Green Bay should be struggling to get fans to turn out. Or are they a different kind of fan? The kind of fan NFL management really appreciates, and the kind of fan who keeps their team in their city despite being 20 times smaller than other cities.
@Unsportsmanlikeconduct
I'm 31 and the dome is the only home I have ever known. I used to travel to Milwaukee to watch outdoor baseball, unfortunately the tools that ran Miller Park never opened the roof. The North Stars were economically viable, and old Met Center was where the Mall of America is now, as was the Vikings old stadium. The Stars owner moved the team after pulling the wool over our eyes. There has never been a big push in this state amongst politicians to pubicly finance sports stadiums, while throwing money down the welfare and social programs toilet.
My point being, out of all cities who offer all 4 major sports, we are by far the smallest. We also have a major university in the city, the only city to offer big time college football, basketball and to a lesser extent hockey. It gets spread out way to thin, and to rag on Vikings fan for sitting at home is not fair.
Minnesota has :
Minnesota Twins (MLB)
Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
Minnesota Wild (NBA)
Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)
Minnesota Lynx (WNBA)
Minnesota Swarm (Lacrosse) ---Before you laugh, they draw insanely well for being what they are.
Minnesota Golden Gophers Division 1:
Basketball (always sold out)
Football
Hockey (always sell out a 10,000 seat rink)
Add on top of that:
Dozens of Museums, Stage Theatres, 100's of miles of trails and parkways, 10,000 plus lakes and tons more competition for our entertainment dollar, it is unreasonable to compare us to Packer fans or other cities where entertainment options are limited. I may not buy tickets as often as I should, but I buy licensed Vikings apparel, listen to games on both the radio and television, and numerous things to support my team.
and until you have watched the Vikings in the inflatable with the pumped in noise and sterile environment you have no right to question my fanhood. I have lived through some serious crap as a Vikings fan.
I support a publicly funded stadium, but unfortunately the legislature doesnt share my appetite. It took the twins over 10 years of lobbying to get Target Field, and I'm afraid 40,000 fans every night watching the Twins, further drains the entertainment dollar pool for the Vikings. The owners of the Vikings have been great for us so far signing great free agents and making shrewd trades
Would you agree that alot of attending a sporting event is the environment? Lambeau Field vs. Inflatable Toilet!! If we had a Lambeau Field we would experience the same success attendance wise, and if the roles were reversed, would you be 100% positive you might not have the same issues filling up a dome in Green Bay.
2 things working against the Vikings:
Bad Stadium
Lots of competition from inside the Twin Cities
By the way, we do sell out every game eventually, and contrary to popular belief we dont need help from corporations and havent needed help since Moss came to town in 1998.
I will admit that the Packers have a special relationship with their fans. Even when the Packers were living in non relevancy from the 70's until the Baby Cheezus (Brett Favre) showed up, the fans showed up. The Packers are the only game in town and in the state for that matter. They love their football and not much else, and that is to be commended. Should the Brewers move because they dont draw (outside of Twins and Cubs game). Bucks home games are like ghost towns.
@unsportsmanlikeconduct
Disappointing decades??? Would those be the 70's and 80's belonging to the Packers? Yes you have won Super Bowls, kudos to you on that one. That is how football teams are ultimately judged.
Please dont knock Minnesota Sports fans interests are more varied than one singular sports team. If the Vikings were all we had, and you blew up our 40,000 student university and the hundreds of theatres, museums and live music venues, then yes we would all be just like Packers fan. this is coming from a guy with family in Wisconsin, witnessing the fervor firsthand
remember when Moss wiped his ass on your goalposts? that was classic!!
The Minnesota Vikings want a new stadium. And the team wants one that will likely cost $900 million-plus. In case you haven't noticed, money is tight for everybody these days and the folks in Minnesota aren't excited about the idea of shelling out all that dough for a football stadium. The Vikings' current 30-year lease runs out at the end of 2011 and the team is making it pretty clear it's not planning on playing one more game than necessary in the Metrodome.
So the Vikings are apparently starting to use the threat of moving the team to Los Angeles a little more often these days, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and one wonders if there is a growing truth to the threat.
Again idiots jumping the gun saying the Vikings could not sell their tickets... What is this world coming to. If there is not some super asteroid that kills us, it will be these people's stupidity. In the article it clearly says "THE SEAHAWKS VISITING TEAM TICKETS" were not completely sold. And they returned them to Minnesota, who in turn sold 200 of the remaining 400.
@ VikesPimp - I am impressed. Thanks for taking the time to word a literate well conceived, well presented defense for Minnesota (though no defense is necessary). You know much more about your state than I do mine (BTW, I don't live in Wisconsin. I only have family there). I really appreciate the fact too that you presented your case with class and without a single offensive name or sexuality challenging term.
If I understand you correctly, your belief that Minnesota doesn't quite sell out games as quickly (they still sell them out) as Green Bay does, is because there are more events and opportunites of interest than in Green Bay? That sounds plausible. But we are talking football now and not culture, yes? In my defense, I spend little time or money on anything else but football. Thus my reading this blog (shot at Florio).
I meant no offense to the Minnesota fan for sitting in the "inflatable toilet." I only say that I have a greater understanding of the passionate fan who sits in the stands to yell his support over the one who yells it in his home. Certainly buying merchandise is an effective way to help support your team, but I'll bet that is at least equal between Green Bay and Minnesota.
A couple of years ago the Sporting News ranked Green Bay Packer fans as #1 in the national in any sport, in support of their team. I'll try to find that article again. In the mean time, thanks again for a cogent argument on fan support. On the Green Bay side, we're not all JimmySmith. Let's hope you're not all as classy as Randy Moss.
VikingsPimp
That was a pretty great read there, and it makes sense. I don't live in Minneapolis obviously, and it's not easy for me to go there. I've been a Vike fan for about 14 years now. But I always try to go to the away games at detroit, and hopefully I can make more trips to the games at chicago. But all that you said would contribute to everything mentioned about the Vike fans.
VikingsPimp made some great arguments that are 100% true.
As a Minnesota sports fan.. I can't afford season tickets to any of our 'major' sporting venues except for one (I split the price of my Gopher football season tickets with my uncle). I still make it to at least one Viking game, one Twins game and one Gopher basketball game a year.. And starting last year, I'll be making appearances to at least one Wild game a year (I don't know why I waited so long.. The best sporting venue EVER!).
I support my teams as much as I financially can. And I know MANY fans that do the same. When our teams start failing to perform to a preconceived expectation, we have to make sacrifices in our sporting attendances to support the teams we feel are worth our money.
We have just as passionate fans as any other team. Wisconsin and Texas are crazy about football, us Minnesotans are crazy about hockey... And a few other exceptions. But in general, we are no different than any other teams' fans.
I will no apologize for the perceived notion that we are 'fairweather fans'. We are definitely NOT fairweather. We are selective, but only because we have the option to be.
There are always tickets available at the Metrodome arena.
For 2 of their home games purchase of an exhibition ticket is required. Otherwise there would be very few ther in August.
It is obvious from the list of teams that never sell all their tickets which franchises are most likely to move. Combine that with the list of low revenue franchises and the Vikings are the top fanchise to move to an area where they will be supported as an NFL team should be.
The vikings can't get 63000 to the Metrodome. That should tell everyone there is no chance of a new Minnesota stadium when they cannot even fill the current samll arena. It is proposterous to assume the taxpayers of Minnesota would pay for an expensive new SMALLER stadium.
Only 61,000 were at the first home playoff game in years in January and many of them were Eagles fans.
It is much more profitable for the NFL owners to move the franchise to more fertile ground and start bringing revenue into the league instead of sucking up league welfare from small market teams.
SF Saints Fan says:
November 21, 2009 6:41 PM
Darkwing:
"According to ticketmaster best available seats are in section 227 row 23 - i.e. Corner of the stadium, 8 rows from the roof. I'm a fan but I'm not going to plop down $150 for those seats the day before the game."
I don't know what price you were looking at, but I just pulled up those same tickets on Ticketmaster Section 227 Row 23 and those tickets are $60 each and not $150 each. They are also at the goal line and not in the far corner of the goal line.
It is lame that the Vikings fans, with their team at 8-1, have not purchased those tickets. Real fans would snatch up those tickets in seconds.
New Orleans is a much smaller market (maybe 1/3 the size of Minneapolis) and the Superdome is sold out by season ticket holders. (And there are crappy seats in that stadium too.) It is absolutely lame that those tickets did not sell in minutes. It would be understandable if the team was 1-8, but not 8-1. With fan support like this, the team may make the move to Los Angeles in a couple of years.
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Not to hate on the Saints or the Superdome, but before Katrina and ESPN's numerous plugs on how the Saints glued together the city...The Superdome was not sold out every game. In fact, there was talk about them moving to San Antonio...Right? I'm not trying to be mean, but there was a lot of factors that went into the Saints being sold out every game. But your post is kind of funny...Because the Vikings have managed to sell out every game in the past decade or so. Now whether that is a company that gives the tickets to children or a business that gives the tickets out as perks, the Dome has still sold out. The Saints can't really say the same.
You can keep bashing the fan support, but look at the facts before you run your fingers on your keyboard. So the Dome didn't sell out in minues, that doesn't mean that Minnesota doesn't love the Vikings. I find it funny that fans of other teams can come into a Vikings story and bash the fan base, the players, the coach, and the owners just because Minnesota is realistic. Fans of the Vikings are some of the best fans in the world. But other life factors come into play. Give it a day...The Dome will be sold out again. In fact, a local bar where I live just picked up 50 tickets for a promotion. They are taking a bus down to see the game. Minnesota will find a way to get a new stadium done. Right now it's all about Politics, not Minnesota Residents.
@ SF Saints Fan - You know what is going to be really lame??? When the Vikings kick the Saints asses in the playoffs. Lame to you that is. Great for us and our great fanbase! You are an over rated turnover machine. Remember I said it!! AD will run through you.We are better than the Panthers ya know.
Blah blah id LOVE to see all these idiots bashing fans pony up $60 or more to go sit in that dump. For real, it's real easy to criticize from afar isn't it?
Seriously go pay the money to not get a full NFL day experience with no tailgating or anything fun prior to the game. Then fight your way out of that dump of a concrete slab and see if you'll pay that cash ever again.
Place sucks, as I vikings fan I'd cry many a tear if they left. But at the same time I can't blame them if they do.
JuicyMelon:
PervyHarvin:
The fact is that the Vikings are 8-1, they brought in Favre, they have the best running back in the game, a great defense, a bald coach and a very small stadium. With all that, they have not only failed to sell out the season with season tickets, they had 400 tickets come available and they were not snatched up in seconds. I understand that the fans are passionate, most NFL fans are, but the city has a much larger population base and the games should be sold out to season ticket holders and should not have to rely on last minute sales of away game tickets. I do think the story is kinda a made up story, the tickets were away team tickets, but if the Eagles, Giants, Patriots or Saints (to name a few) had 400 tickets returned for a game when their team was 8-1, they would be snatched up in minutes.
I have no idea who will win the game if the Saints play the Vikings. I would go with whichever team has home field advantage. And on the "over rated turnover machine", I'll take the Saints offense over the Vikings and I would take the Vikings defense over the Saints. But, I am more objective than most. The Saints are in a slump, but have continued to win. The season will be set in the next few weeks. They need home field advantage and I don't see the Vikings losing another regular season game.
I used to go to at least 4 games a year.... until I went to Lambeau. I can no longer logically reason to fork over cash to sit in the Dome again. Place blows.
@ SF Saints Fan - Don't cry when the Buccs beat you today. My upset pick of the day!!!
Glad I don't bet much on upset picks.
@VikingsPimp-
You should call in to Common's show on KFAN tomorrow and tell him that "the vibrance of Minneapolis puts us up there with Chicago." Congrats! Preposterous statement of the year award!
This is the problem with your logic and the logic of most Minneapolis residents. You see, the State Theatre, the Guthrie, numerous comedy and music clubs and dozens of museums, plus other major sports teams are NOTHING that other cities don't have. Yet you think these make you a special, eclectic city...far superior to the "300 pounders" in Wisconsin (Wisconsin is the 12th fittest state, Minnesota is 9th, but good try).
Vibrant? I could take a dump on First Avenue and no one would notice. It's dead downtown compared to Madison or Milwaukee. Comparing Minneapolis to Green Bay is, like you said, no comparison. There are 100,000 people in the whole frickin' town! But keep telling yourself that the Vikings can't sell out because too many people are at the Children's Museum or the Science Museum or they're at the 14,996th showing of off-broadway Peter Pan at the Guthrie at noon on a Sunday. Maybe the Vikings need all 6 people at the T-Wolves games to help sell out.
No wonder so many gay people live in Minnesota. And that, unlike Wisconsin's disproven "fatness," is a FACT. #2 behind San Francisco as the GAYEST city per capita in the country. Now there's some numbers you can be proud of.
Nice call Pervy on your upset special. You people continue to think you know...but you really do not know.
mixman34 says:
Blah blah id LOVE to see all these idiots bashing fans pony up $60 or more to go sit in that dump. For real, it's real easy to criticize from afar isn't it?
Seriously go pay the money to not get a full NFL day experience with no tailgating or anything fun prior to the game. Then fight your way out of that dump of a concrete slab and see if you'll pay that cash ever again.
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Actually, I have done that a few times. Yes, the place sucks. It's horrible in fact, but it's still YOUR stadium, and there's no reason a Packer fan living on the west coast can make the trip and go to games there and yet the locals can't.
If you want a nice new stadium, you have to buy tickets to the current one. Support your team. Otherwise, they WILL move. No smart businessman intentionally stays in an unprofitable situation.
As for the history and the rivalries, they are great, but they won't save the team from moving if they continue to lose money. Ask people in Baltimore or Cleveland how the long, proud history of their respective former teams worked out for them.
If the Vikings played outdoors, their fans might be as rabid as other cold weather teams. Notice, the northern teams are all great fan bases all the way down to KC. I guess include the Cowboys too...but I know when the Browns were coming back, they had proposed to build a dome and it got shot down 95%-5%. If they had built a dome I would have stopped being a fan because that's not football. The Vikings are doomed to L.A. where they can look forward to blackouts every weekend.
I love reading some of these comments from Packers fans. "maybe if you guys actually bought tickets you'd get a stadium". We do buy tickets you idiots. Read the story. We bought all but 200 of them apparently. The place was plenty packed and very loud. This is such a non story but you pukes eat it out of Florio's hands like little sheep.
The dome was 257 under capacity last Sunday. That is better than Lambeau managed against the Cowboys a week prior.
Seriously, our Dome is packed every week and is extremely loud. Yet we get this artificial bad rap that only exists on PFT due to ignorant Packers fans and their leader Florio.