NFL Week 17: The Final Countdown

[derspiess]

Getting back to Week 17 of the 2011 season, I'd say it's almost a roll of the dice which teams are going to get the #4 & #6 seeds in the AFC.  All of the games involving teams in the hunt have spreads of 3 or fewer points.

Bengals are supposedly a narrow favorite for the last wild card spot, due to the fact that they could still lose & get in with a Jets loss and either a Denver or Oakland loss.  The Ravens are beatable, but I've seen the Bengals choke way too often on opportunities like this.  It should be a fun, playoff-type atmosphere at least.  The stadium will be full and not on account of Steelers fans this time.

[CountDeMoney]

The stadium will be full and not on account of Steelers fans this time.

Yeah, they sold it out with a big push, but from what I've been reading and hearing, don't think a shitload of purple cash didn't have anything to do with it.

Two sellouts this season.  That shitty city doesn't deserve that team, Mike Brown or not.  They should be relocated by the league to a city that would give them the kind of love a forever home can give.

[derspiess]

Yeah, they sold it out with a big push, but from what I've been reading and hearing, don't think a shitload of purple cash didn't have anything to do with it.

As soon as the final seconds ticked away in last week's game, they announced on the scoreboard & over the PA that  season ticketholders were eligible for a buy one, get one free deal for additional tickets.  From what I heard on the radio though, they weren't very strict on verifying your account number when you called in, so a lot of non-season ticketholders apparently called in with a made-up number and bought tickets.  I'm sure a lot of those ended up being re-sold, and I wouldn't be surprised if some Bawlmer people bought them.  But I don't usually see a whole lot of Ravens fans at games-- the 9 hour drive is a pain in the ass.

Two sellouts this season.  That shitty city doesn't deserve that team, Mike Brown or not.  They should be relocated by the league to a city that would give them the kind of love a forever home can give.

I guess that worked out well for the Colts.

But yeah, it is pretty sad.  Not only are we dead last in attendance, but by a large margin.  I can sort of understand people feeling burned after buying into the hype of last year's team, but after the spark this year's team showed as early as week 1 you gotta let that go. 

The team hasn't done themselves many favors by making the cheapest seats $77 (by contrast I remember Ravens cheap seats being as low as $27.50 when I lived in Delaware, though I'm sure that has gone up a bit).  I hear they are cutting prices for most upper deck seats in 2012 and doing some promotions on top of that, so hopefully that will draw people out.

Frankly, I'm amazed they had the sellout streak between 2003 and 2010.

[Ed Anger]

I sure as hell don't want to drive down there for a game. Driving to Cincy? bleh.

[derspiess]

I sure as hell don't want to drive down there for a game. Driving to Cincy? bleh.

Yeah, but you have all the fun sights to see along I-75 on your way down here, particularly after butter Jesus is rebuilt (is that still on?).  Plus 75 runs through the west side, birthplace of such icons of high culture as Pete Rose and Cornhole, so you get to see all that wonderful decay.

Seriously though, don't judge us by the west side.  Or Over the Rhine.  Or Clifton.  Or Norwood.

[Ed Anger]

I've been judging Cincy for 40 years. I found it wanting.

[CountDeMoney]

I guess that worked out well for the Colts.

You put a crappy product on the field for 10 years, the people stay home.  But you knew that already. 

Besides, isn't Cincy really a baseball town?

[Valmy]

No Orakpo in the Pro Bowl 

Well hopefully he can go when somebody bails out like last year.

[Neil]

No Orakpo in the Pro Bowl 

Well hopefully he can go when somebody bails out like last year.

He doesn't have the stats and he plays for a bad team.

[dps]

I guess that worked out well for the Colts.

You put a crappy product on the field for 10 years, the people stay home.  But you knew that already. 

Besides, isn't Cincy really a baseball town?

While the latter is probably true, I think that the former is likely more important.

There really aren't many places where people will consistantly show up to watch a team that goes years without winning much of anything.

[Admiral Yi]

There really aren't many places where people will consistantly show up to watch a team that goes years without winning much of anything.

Wrigley.

[derspiess]

I guess that worked out well for the Colts.

You put a crappy product on the field for 10 years, the people stay home.  But you knew that already. 

Besides, isn't Cincy really a baseball town?

Yes.  Baseball is by far the #1 sport.  College basketball is #2.  And the yokels here know those sports really well.  Football almost seems like something new that people discover from time to time.  UC will fill their 35,000 stadium capacity every now & then when they are doing well, but they don't usually get much attention. 

Even when the Bengals were consistently selling out their games, we probably had less of a real home field advantage due to fan cluelessness.  Enthusiasm was there when the team was doing well, but that doesn't always make up for knowledge.  It's a pretty basic rule: make as much noise as possible when your team is on defense and shut the hell up when your team is on offense (at least before the snap).  Doing so gives your team a slight advantage over the other team. 

[dps]

There really aren't many places where people will consistantly show up to watch a team that goes years without winning much of anything.

Wrigley.

Yes, that's of of the obvious exceptions (interestingly, Comisky Field isn't, so it's not a Chicago thing, exactly).  I think Fenway used to be like that, too, but I'm not certain that attendence there was still good back when the Red Sox weren't a good team.

[derspiess]

While the latter is probably true, I think that the former is likely more important.

There really aren't many places where people will consistantly show up to watch a team that goes years without winning much of anything.

Both are factors, but keep in mind the Reds haven't won a World Series title in 21 years and have only been in the playoffs 3 times in the past three decades.  They haven't won a playoff game in 16 years.  The Reds organization makes up for that by creating an excellent fan experience at the game, as well as great PR & marketing.

[CountDeMoney]

I guess that worked out well for the Colts.

You put a crappy product on the field for 10 years, the people stay home.  But you knew that already. 

Besides, isn't Cincy really a baseball town?

Yes.  Baseball is by far the #1 sport.  College basketball is #2.  And the yokels here know those sports really well.  Football almost seems like something new that people discover from time to time.  UC will fill their 35,000 stadium capacity every now & then when they are doing well, but they don't usually get much attention. 

Even when the Bengals were consistently selling out their games, we probably had less of a real home field advantage due to fan cluelessness.  Enthusiasm was there when the team was doing well, but that doesn't always make up for knowledge.  It's a pretty basic rule: make as much noise as possible when your team is on defense and shut the hell up when your team is on offense (at least before the snap).  Doing so gives your team a slight advantage over the other team.

That's interesting;  Baltimore, for all of the rich heritage of the Orioles, has been and always will be a football town first.  That is a scientific fact.
Honestly, if it had been the Orioles that moved away instead of the Colts, I don't think this town would've been nearly as heartbroken.
Sure, Cal Ripken Jr is beloved, Camden Yards is a point of civic pride, Brooks Robinson is a municipal institution, but they are all a distant second to somebody that wore a blue horseshoe on the side of their helmet in this town.