MERGED: Dolphins top of the list in the NFL for teams losing fans

[Stefins]

That has NOTHING To do with losing fans..

ALL fans do not live close to Miami and the Economy is a big reason.

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

I wouldn't give a damn, if I was the only Miami Dolphins fan in the world. When we have lost as much as we have it has consequences, and unfortunately losing fans, and fans deciding to watch the game at home is part of that losing.

And some day we will get to winning on a consistent basis, and that has it's own set of consequences as well.

[Gonzo]

A true fan sticks with their team through good and bad times. They don't jump ship and not show up until their team starts winning. That mentality is ridiculous. Either you're with the Dolphins or your against the Dolphins. It's that simple. There's no riding the fence.

Diehards do show up. That's not the problem. The problem lies in getting the average fans to show up. Not everybody is a diehard like those that take the time to post on this site. Many, especially in markets like Miami, Phoenix, SD, etc. will go if it's a product worth seeing. Otherwise, they spend their disposable income elsewhere. People keep viewing the Miami market through the eyes of places like Green Bay. It's not even remotely close to the same kind of market. In Green Bay, you have a bunch of people that grew up there, just as every damn person in their family did. They grew up in a culture of the Green Bay Packers being the only thing that matters and the only thing worth doing on a Sunday outside of going to church (if you're into that sorta thing).

Miami is a COMPLETELY different market. It makes absolutely zero sense to compare these markets. Miami is a place where only about, what, 20% of the population was actually born there? The majority are transplants from other states, or worse, immigrants (by worse, I don't mean anything racial, I mean it's worse for a sports business that isn't as popular overseas as other sports). Places like GB and Buffalo don't have this problem because nobody wants to ****ing move there. Harsh, but true. So, with Miami, you have a weird situation. You have a bunch of people that were born there that moved away for work or because times got to tough and they had to move on (same happened in every market that was hit the hardest, such as Phoenix) and you have a bunch of transplants and immigrants. This is one big reason why the team remains popular nationwide, despite a decline at home.

The market is still there, but it's a different kind of market. This is key. There was always a market in places like Phoenix (I keep using them because I lived there) despite it's huge transplant population, however, nobody showed up to those games because it was an absolutely horrible product. Then, suddenly, they started winning. What happened? Miraculously, fans started showing up. The stadium was selling out. Part of this had to do with it being a new stadium, but that won't be enough. That stadium is in the middle of ****ing nowhere. It was literally surrounded by farms when it was built, so once that team starts losing regularly again, that attendance will plummet.

That's just the market. Ridicule the fanbase all you want, it just means you don't have a clue about how this kind of business works. That's like Borders bashing customers for not wanting to pay $30 to carry bricks around anymore rather than adjusting to what the customers actually want. In this case, the customers want a winning team. Once that happens, then they can start rebuilding a larger foundation of diehards that will stay loyal during dips in competitiveness, though that will never, ever last long in a market like Miami. The fanbase turnover is too great. Once they start winning consistently, the average fans will begin to turn into diehards, as will their kids. Anybody that grew up in Miami during the 70's, 80's and most of the 90's knows what that is like.

[Bigjbizzle2]

Mariners are last because Japan stopped being a fan.

they are last cause they went from good to complete joke outside of king felix. if they are good they fill that stadium in seattle

[MarshallFin1]

Diehards do show up. That's not the problem. The problem lies in getting the average fans to show up. Not everybody is a diehard like those that take the time to post on this site. Many, especially in markets like Miami, Phoenix, SD, etc. will go if it's a product worth seeing. Otherwise, they spend their disposable income elsewhere. People keep viewing the Miami market through the eyes of places like Green Bay. It's not even remotely close to the same kind of market. In Green Bay, you have a bunch of people that grew up there, just as every damn person in their family did. They grew up in a culture of the Green Bay Packers being the only thing that matters and the only thing worth doing on a Sunday outside of going to church (if you're into that sorta thing).

Miami is a COMPLETELY different market. It makes absolutely zero sense to compare these markets. Miami is a place where only about, what, 20% of the population was actually born there? The majority are transplants from other states, or worse, immigrants (by worse, I don't mean anything racial, I mean it's worse for a sports business that isn't as popular overseas as other sports). Places like GB and Buffalo don't have this problem because nobody wants to ****ing move there. Harsh, but true. So, with Miami, you have a weird situation. You have a bunch of people that were born there that moved away for work or because times got to tough and they had to move on (same happened in every market that was hit the hardest, such as Phoenix) and you have a bunch of transplants and immigrants. This is one big reason why the team remains popular nationwide, despite a decline at home.

The market is still there, but it's a different kind of market. This is key. There was always a market in places like Phoenix (I keep using them because I lived there) despite it's huge transplant population, however, nobody showed up to those games because it was an absolutely horrible product. Then, suddenly, they started winning. What happened? Miraculously, fans started showing up. The stadium was selling out. Part of this had to do with it being a new stadium, but that won't be enough. That stadium is in the middle of ****ing nowhere. It was literally surrounded by farms when it was built, so once that team starts losing regularly again, that attendance will plummet.

That's just the market. Ridicule the fanbase all you want, it just means you don't have a clue about how this kind of business works. That's like Borders bashing customers for not wanting to pay $30 to carry bricks around anymore rather than adjusting to what the customers actually want. In this case, the customers want a winning team. Once that happens, then they can start rebuilding a larger foundation of diehards that will stay loyal during dips in competitiveness, though that will never, ever last long in a market like Miami. The fanbase turnover is too great. Once they start winning consistently, the average fans will begin to turn into diehards, as will their kids. Anybody that grew up in Miami during the 70's, 80's and most of the 90's knows what that is like.

for the record, im from brazil also
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[PBay Fin Fan]

If you win games, they will come. It's that simple.

It is just that simple. You never saw puke England fans in central Florida during the 80s when they were irrelevant. A decade if botched moves and home record if 1 and 15 for 2012 and 2011 did not help.

[PBay Fin Fan]

Hanging on to henne, that last year was also a piss poor move. The fans were frustrated with the lack of effort to upgrade the most important position.

[finomenal]

I see this has turned into yet another "you're a fair-weather fan" thread.

Just because it's sports, it doesn't make it any less of a business for me. You wouldn't continue giving any other business your money if the product was bad for months, let alone the better part of a decade. Call it whatever you wish. I love the Dolphins as much or more than anyone else here, but I'm not spending money on subpar product. Damnit, these are the Dolphins we're talking about. I remember a time when this was a very proud franchise. I have high standards. Everyone else should as well.

Tough **** if you can't relate.

[DefensiveEnd76]

Yes but other losing teams sell out their tickets. Their fans come and support them even if they have a crappy product. Our fans don't.

---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 PM ----------

What about the Hurricanes? They can have a winning record and win their division and the stadium is half empty. Horrible fan support. It seems like the fans don't show up for the Hurricanes games unless they're ranked in the top 5 and are undefeated.

[finomenal]

Yes but other losing teams sell out their tickets. Their fans come and support them even if they have a crappy product. Our fans don't.

Look up the stats instead of just assuming that. It's not true. The same thing happens everywhere. Yankees fans, Jets fans, 49ers fans, Patriots fans, Falcons fans, Colts fans, Chicago Bulls fans. Consumers across the board do the same thing with their discretionary income.