Does Cincinnati even have baseball fans anymore?

[Kingspoint]

18,000 in gate receipts (counting season-ticket holders, etc. who didn't show up) for a Cardinals game with the red-hot Johnny Cueto pitching on a Friday Night.

This isn't just tonight's game, but this has been going on for years.

Where are the baseball fans in Cincinnati?

It's dissappointing.

[WILD THING]

I think the threat of storms could have played a large part in last night's low attendance. However, that doesn't point to why it's been happening for years.

[keeganbrick]

Unfortunately thats what happens when you have had about two decades without success. This team will start to see a big attendance boost in the next 5 years though.

[sabometrics]

Really don't know what you were expecting when it was raining for 2+ hours leading up to the first pitch. I'd look for close to sellout numbers tonight with good weather and a bobblehead night, and then a large crowd on Sunday, especially if we win tonight and are only 1.5 out of first place.

[Kingspoint]

Unfortunately thats what happens when you have had about two decades without success. This team will start to see a big attendance boost in the next 5 years though.


The thing about Cincinnati fans, is that they "expect" more from the owner. After that strike that devastated the game, they were the last to come back through the gates like lemmings.

You can't have 140 years of history with baseball in the City without having such a depth of relationship between the sport and the town.

Personally, I think they have a lot more self-respect than the average baseball fan, and that they will pay for a good product.

Even with these down times, they'll probably come out in droves this summer and have their highest attendance in 10 years.

[FlyerFanatic]

win baby win, will solve that problem

[NorrisHopper30]

35K tonight probably with the bobble head and nice weather.

[ChatterRed]

How about the fact I'm laid off right now and money is tight?

[GIDP]

Sorry but 15 years of sucking is going to take some time to recover from. Its not the fans fault they dont come to the games, its the Reds for not giving us a reason to come out.

3 games above .500 for 40 games isnt going to be enough. Its going to take multiple years for the fans to regain respect for this organization.

[ChatterRed]

I blame the economy and the last 3 presidents and 3 Congresses.

[Reds09]

I expect there will be big crowds tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully Votto and BP are back in the line-up tonight. The nice weather, bobble head night, and those two returning to the line-up will give more incentive to come out to the ball park. I believe the attendance will continue to grow throughout the summer as long as they keep on winning.

[NastyBoy]

Sold out tonight. Over 9,000 walkups.

[TheBigLebowski]

Reds fans acquitted themselves well tonight.

[OSUredsFAN]

Cincinnati as a baseball town is waaaay over rated!!! In 140 yrs of baseball, the Reds have AVERAGED 30,000+ for a season only 5 times.

[PedroBourbon]

Even though tonight was nearly a sellout, there were a LOT of Cards fans there. Since they wear red too, it wasn't really evident until the St. Louis homer which got their fans cheering. Thank god that's all they got to cheer about tonight.

I agree, our fans are a little fair weathered right now but attendance should pick up with our improving team (I hope.)

[DoubleA_Ron]

I was at the game tonight, and cardinals fans or not, the places was about as red as red could be. There were very few empty seats to be seen and you could really feel the excitement in the atmosphere. That had to have been one of the best Reds crowds in recent memory.

On a side note, I think attendance threads only end badly. I pop in and out of message boards of several other teams I follow and you can pretty much copy and paste the debate verbatim. Bottom line, the Reds have been a perennial disappointment for over a decade. Why would a family waste money on a team that's was constantly underachieved?

[improbus]

I'm not as worried about the attendance figures as much as the crowd that does show up. Half of the crowd is more interested in getting on the camera, filling their kids with Ice Cream, and sunning themselves than actually watching baseball. When baseball started marketing the game as a "family night out", they killed a large portion of their crowds. The fans only cheer for home runs, when the scoreboard tells them to, and at the very end of the game. There is no "tension" in the stadium. That is what is missing, not the crowd.

[Gizmo]

I'm not as worried about the attendance figures as much as the crowd that does show up. Half of the crowd is more interested in getting on the camera, filling their kids with Ice Cream, and sunning themselves than actually watching baseball. When baseball started marketing the game as a "family night out", they killed a large portion of their crowds. The fans only cheer for home runs, when the scoreboard tells them to, and at the very end of the game. There is no "tension" in the stadium. That is what is missing, not the crowd.

I agree here. I was at the game last night, and there was not much excitement in the midst of a 5 run inning. It was hit, cheer, sit, wait, hit, cheer, sit wait.... there was no standing and cheering encouraging the next batter or heckling a former Red getting hit around like he did when we got him out of town. It's hard to be the only one to continue to stand after a 2 run single by our .002 BA pitcher... What's that? Oh, I should "make some noise" ok, that sign is gone now, shhh please. Sometimes it feels more like a golf event than a ball game, and it's sad at times.

[improbus]

It is that way in many stadia around sports. We need to constantly be entertained and don't see that we are part of the equation. We complain about the over-coverage of the Yanks and Sox, but they have largely DESERVED and EARNED that coverage. Their fans show up (except for the overpriced seats at New Yankee Stadium), they watch the game closely, and they feel that they are a PART of the game. Do Reds fans feel that way? Do we feel that we have an effect on what happens on the field? I certainly don't think so and I don't think that I am alone. GABP feels like an outdoor restaurant/patio with a baseball game in the middle of it.

[Reds09]

It is that way in many stadia around sports. We need to constantly be entertained and don't see that we are part of the equation. We complain about the over-coverage of the Yanks and Sox, but they have largely DESERVED and EARNED that coverage. Their fans show up (except for the overpriced seats at New Yankee Stadium), they watch the game closely, and they feel that they are a PART of the game. Do Reds fans feel that way? Do we feel that we have an effect on what happens on the field? I certainly don't think so and I don't think that I am alone. GABP feels like an outdoor restaurant/patio with a baseball game in the middle of it.

I completely agree. I wish/hope this changes with a winning ball club. I remember being at GABP for a reds and cubs series last year. All of the cubs fans were into the game and felt like they could make a difference. They were doing this and they weren't even in their own ball park. I sure hope the fans that are going to the games now can begin feeling like they make a difference. If they can't I hope the winning ball club brings out the real baseball fans.

[reds1869]

I think fans in this part of the country tend to sit on their hands more than those in other areas. When I was in college I was amazed when we played football on the road at SEC and ACC schools. Those fans went crazy the whole game. By comparison, Ohio Stadium was relatively subdued during the dozens of games I attended there, including Michigan. It's not just a Reds problem.

[nineworldseries]

I'm not as worried about the attendance figures as much as the crowd that does show up. Half of the crowd is more interested in getting on the camera, filling their kids with Ice Cream, and sunning themselves than actually watching baseball. When baseball started marketing the game as a "family night out", they killed a large portion of their crowds. The fans only cheer for home runs, when the scoreboard tells them to, and at the very end of the game. There is no "tension" in the stadium. That is what is missing, not the crowd.

I totally agree with this sentiment, and not just the "family" atmosphere. I've been to well over 100 games at GABP, and last night was one of the least enjoyable experiences there ever for me. Don't get me wrong, the game was GREAT, but the thousands of fans who were there apparently just to get the bobblehead and drink were pretty annoying. I've never had the "wow, I'm in the middle of a drunken frat party" feeling at GABP before (unlike Wrigley), but I definitely got that impression last night.

We got up for 5 minutes to fight our way through the crowd to get ice cream, and when we got back, four drunken early twenty-somethings were in our seats and WOULD NOT MOVE. I eventually got really pissed at them and ran them off, but the general feeling from them and the other fans around us was "hey, dude, you're ruining our buzz by throwing us out of these great seats we found."

Throughout the game, a guy about 10 rows in front of us decided it would be a great idea to go down to the rail by first base and scream drunkenly at the first-base umpire (who, according to the wasted fans around us, "blew" about a half dozen calls). He got louder and louder, pointing and screaming at the umpire. Of course, this was the attraction during the 8th inning, not the baseball game. Everyone was egging this drunken hick on instead of being appalled at his idiotic chicanery.

During Harang's at-bat, more people decided it would be cool to do the "wave" rather than pay attention to anything happening on the field. I just felt really out of place last night, and I've never had that feeling at GABP before. If this is how we're going to fill the seats, I'm not sure I want that.

[BurgervilleBuck]

We complain about the over-coverage of the Yanks and Sox, but they have largely DESERVED and EARNED that coverage. Their fans show up (except for the overpriced seats at New Yankee Stadium), they watch the game closely, and they feel that they are a PART of the game.

As far as the Red Sox are concerned, most loyal fans will tell you that Fenway gets sold out not because of the love for baseball but because it's a place to be seen. Most are there for the social aspect solely.

I don't worry about the crowds, myself. I'm a Reds fan and a baseball fan so I'm there for the game. As far as I'm concerned, baseball town, schmaseball town.

[improbus]

I think fans in this part of the country tend to sit on their hands more than those in other areas. When I was in college I was amazed when we played football on the road at SEC and ACC schools. Those fans went crazy the whole game. By comparison, Ohio Stadium was relatively subdued during the dozens of games I attended there, including Michigan. It's not just a Reds problem.
100% accurate. Maybe we're too nice. Ohio Stadium fans think they're the greatest thing ever, but I've been to much smaller settings and felt like the crowd was better. They should start to question themselves when teams like OU and Akron aren't scared to play in their house.

[EddieMilner]

They should start to question themselves when teams like OU and Akron aren't scared to play in their house.

What does this actually mean? How would one be able to tell if OU and Akron were scared to play in "their" house? Would they not show up to the game? Throw in the towel before the kick-off? Run the opposite way when the ball was snapped?

[improbus]

What does this actually mean? How would one be able to tell if OU and Akron were scared to play in "their" house? Would they not show up to the game? Throw in the towel before the kick-off? Run the opposite way when the ball was snapped?
No, but I've been to the two games OU has played at the 'Shoe and the crowd decided that the game wasn't really worth their attention. In both games, OU was leading at half and in the other they were leading in the 4th. In the first game, OU's QB was 17 years old and in the second game, they had to replace their QB in the first quarter. You can't tell me that the same thing would happen in the Swamp or Death Valley or Tuscaloosa. In this latest game, the OU fans were louder for the first 3 quarters.

What I mean is that OSU fans don't realize that 100,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs can be very intimidating. Instead, they sit on their hands if the team isn't playing well and wait for the 3rd down gong sound to cheer.

And, I get the same feeling about Reds games.

[EddieMilner]

No, but I've been to the two games OU has played at the 'Shoe and the crowd decided that the game wasn't really worth their attention. In both games, OU was leading at half and in the other they were leading in the 4th. In the first game, OU's QB was 17 years old and in the second game, they had to replace their QB in the first quarter. You can't tell me that the same thing would happen in the Swamp or Death Valley or Tuscaloosa. In this latest game, the OU fans were louder for the first 3 quarters.

What I mean is that OSU fans don't realize that 100,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs can be very intimidating. Instead, they sit on their hands if the team isn't playing well and wait for the 3rd down gong sound to cheer.

And, I get the same feeling about Reds games.

I can understand how you would feel that way. You should remember, though, that OSU students are not even back on campus for those early games, so that is definitely going to make it less quiet. I don't know when the SEC schools start, but I know OSU is a rarity in having football games before classes start.
I've been to pretty much every big ten stadium, a couple of bowl games (Sugar Bowl where OSU got stomped by LSU), and Notre Dame games (way more than I'd like to admit) and I have to say that OSU fans are definitely as loud as any group I've seen in those situations (inclusing LSU - before the whooping commenced). But that is more of a qualitative than quantitative belief.

As for Reds games... I feel that is pretty typical for most MLB teams anymore. More focus on the atmosphere of the stadium less focus on the actual reason you are there. Its sad, but baseball is a business and the business is to generate sales, not to cater to grumpy purists like us.
If grumpy purists were enough to support a major league squad, I think it would make the owners ecstatic. No need for a new stadium, jumbo tron, 4 different types of heady beers, etc. Just put a product on the field and let people enjoy it in its true beauty.

[Kingspoint]

Don't get me wrong, the game was GREAT, but the thousands of fans who were there apparently just to get the bobblehead and drink were pretty annoying.

Those are the ones that are going to get hit in the head with the bat or a ball.

I do love going to baseball games, though, where you can have a day with the family in the sun, and there happens to be a game going on in the background. I think sometimes that's better than paying full attention to the game.

[improbus]

I can understand how you would feel that way. You should remember, though, that OSU students are not even back on campus for those early games, so that is definitely going to make it less quiet. I don't know when the SEC schools start, but I know OSU is a rarity in having football games before classes start.
I never bought the "students haven't started school yet" argument. Especially since there are 50,000 students to choose from and probably 30,000 live within 50 miles even during the summer. No excuse. OSU just has too many blue hairs who spend the entire game giving dirty looks to people who actually cheer.

[mlh1981]

I HATE going to promotion games, especially fireworks games. Alot of people have no interest in the game, as they don't even show up until the latter stages. Just a bunch of college kids wandering around, talking on their phones, and in general, not caring.

I was at the Reds/Pirates games at PNC. Hardly anyone there was interested in the game. Just a bunch of drunken idiots trying to do the wave, or doing the things I already mentioned. I'm sure that same scene is repeated in Cincinnati/Milwaukee/L.A. Wherever you go.

[Ghosts of 1990]

I think that most Reds fans are subdued and mild mannered. A lot of the fellas my age (26) who show up to the game sound like they don't even know a game is going on when I hear them behind me. But I'd say "bring it" to any Yankee or Red Sox fan in terms of their intensity and my own. I watch the game as if I'm part of it but not everyone is that way and I understand that; my girlfriend says I have a problem like an addict. Overall, there are more die hards in other fan bases. I think that success through this era could bring out more die hards for us though.