If the Oriole fans dont take the Orioles seriously..why should the rest of the country?

[Roy Firestone]

The Orioles have the best record in the American league, and toe to toe with the

Dodgers for the best record in baseball. They have played winning, exciting and even

dramatic baseball.

So when do the fans start coming to the games?

Yes, there have been weather issues, and midweek schedule challenges.

But now it's time for the Oriole fans to step up and fill the stands.

The most depressing thing to see on TV from the west coast is to see a half filled

OPCY AFTER the Orioles have come off a long, successful road trip.And whats even

more depressing is to hear and see the stands filled with Red Sox, Yankees and soon

Phillies fans, some nearly louder than oriole fans. No excuse for that.

The Orioles have played poorly before, or if theyve won before theres been some

sort of ghastly swoon.

I undertstand the fans skepticism perhaps, but not apathy.

If the Orioles play well, and they have, they deserve the support of the home crowd.

It should be loud, passionate and crowded.

Lets see what if the fans hold up their end of the bargain.

I'll be there in June, even though I live in Los Angeles. Who's coming until then and

beyond.

You whine about a lousy team and long for a good one, and the Orioles have given

you no more excuses. Show up...or shut up!

[Lucky Jim]

The Orioles have the best record in the American league, and toe to toe with the

Dodgers for the best record in baseball. They have played winning, exciting and even

dramatic baseball.

So when do the fans start coming to the games?

Yes, there have been weather issues, and midweek schedule challenges.

But now it's time for the Oriole fans to step up and fill the stands.

The most depressing thing to see on TV from the west coast is to see a half filled

OPCY AFTER the Orioles have come off a long, successful road trip.And whats even

more depressing is to hear and see the stands filled with Red Sox, Yankees and soon

Phillies fans, some nearly louder than oriole fans. No excuse for that.

The Orioles have played poorly before, or if theyve won before theres been some

sort of ghastly swoon.

I undertstand the fans skepticism perhaps, but not apathy.

If the Orioles play well, and they have, they deserve the support of the home crowd.

It should be loud, passionate and crowded.

Lets see what if the fans hold up their end of the bargain.

I'll be there in June, even though I live in Los Angeles. Who's coming until then and

beyond.

You whine about a lousy team and long for a good one, and the Orioles have given

you no more excuses. Show up...or shut up!

This is an interesting post.

[SrMeowMeow]

I predicted we'd make the playoffs with 95 wins. I don't need converting.

However, I will need someone to subsidize my nightly plane tickets from Los Angeles.

[Brendan25]

The Orioles have the best record in the American league, and toe to toe with the

Dodgers for the best record in baseball. They have played winning, exciting and even

dramatic baseball.

So when do the fans start coming to the games?

Yes, there have been weather issues, and midweek schedule challenges.

But now it's time for the Oriole fans to step up and fill the stands.

The most depressing thing to see on TV from the west coast is to see a half filled

OPCY AFTER the Orioles have come off a long, successful road trip.And whats even

more depressing is to hear and see the stands filled with Red Sox, Yankees and soon

Phillies fans, some nearly louder than oriole fans. No excuse for that.

The Orioles have played poorly before, or if theyve won before theres been some

sort of ghastly swoon.

I undertstand the fans skepticism perhaps, but not apathy.

If the Orioles play well, and they have, they deserve the support of the home crowd.

It should be loud, passionate and crowded.

Lets see what if the fans hold up their end of the bargain.

I'll be there in June, even though I live in Los Angeles. Who's coming until then and

beyond.

You whine about a lousy team and long for a good one, and the Orioles have given

you no more excuses. Show up...or shut up!

Aside from the Blue Jays series, the attendance has not been abysmal.

An average of 22,000 a game.

Hoping it gets higher if the team continues to win.

[DrungoHazewood]

So when do the fans start coming to the games?

You'll get increased walk up and other non-season ticket sales if the team continues to win through the summer. But you don't wipe away 14 years of ineptness with a good six week start to the season. Most tickets are sold in the offseason. It's simply unrealistic for any team to expect a 27-14 start on the heels of a generation of 70-92 teams to generate 10k a game in walkup sales in May.

[The Rick]

I've spent close to $300 on Orioles apparel since Mid-April. I've gone to Opening Day, and 4 other games so far. I will probably end up going to 10-15 additional games, regardless of what happens. That is my choice. If others don't do that, who am I to judge? Going to games is kind of a pain in the ass, expensive (despite the fact that the O's have froze ticket prices), and in some ways, much less favorable to watching the game in beautiful MASN HD while discussing everything in the Game Threads.

I wish people would get off this whole "hope the fans show up tonight" thing. The Orioles are going to be alright, and the fans will show up eventually, IF, and that's a monumental IF, the Orioles continue to do their part. I'm sure Angelos is realizing higher profits on the MASN side as almost everyone I know is tuning into most of the games at this point. So the interest is there, everything else will follow.

Edited May 21, 2012 by The Rick

[Slappy]

The Orioles have the best record in the American league, and toe to toe with the

Dodgers for the best record in baseball. They have played winning, exciting and even

dramatic baseball.

So when do the fans start coming to the games?

Yes, there have been weather issues, and midweek schedule challenges.

But now it's time for the Oriole fans to step up and fill the stands.

The most depressing thing to see on TV from the west coast is to see a half filled

OPCY AFTER the Orioles have come off a long, successful road trip.And whats even

more depressing is to hear and see the stands filled with Red Sox, Yankees and soon

Phillies fans, some nearly louder than oriole fans. No excuse for that.

The Orioles have played poorly before, or if theyve won before theres been some

sort of ghastly swoon.

I undertstand the fans skepticism perhaps, but not apathy.

If the Orioles play well, and they have, they deserve the support of the home crowd.

It should be loud, passionate and crowded.

Lets see what if the fans hold up their end of the bargain.

I'll be there in June, even though I live in Los Angeles. Who's coming until then and

beyond.

You whine about a lousy team and long for a good one, and the Orioles have given

you no more excuses. Show up...or shut up!

I think we're nearing the threshold where casual fans are starting to take notice. The Tampa series 2 weekends ago was very well attended and that is a club that usually doesn't draw. Nats Stadium was over capacity all 3 games and a good 35% (at least) were Orioles fans. This week will get a better feel. The weather looks bad for this Sox series and even the Yankees don't draw in bad weather (see our series up there). Turning out 25k for these three games would be a good start.

[osfan83]

You'll get increased walk up and other non-season ticket sales if the team continues to win through the summer. But you don't wipe away 14 years of ineptness with a good six week start to the season. Most tickets are sold in the offseason. It's simply unrealistic for any team to expect a 27-14 start on the heels of a generation of 70-92 teams to generate 10k a game in walkup sales in May.

Exactly...you want to see a substancial increase? Win 90 this year, sign Jones, and see how many season ticket plans get sold in the off season.

[Frobby]

You'll get increased walk up and other non-season ticket sales if the team continues to win through the summer. But you don't wipe away 14 years of ineptness with a good six week start to the season. Most tickets are sold in the offseason. It's simply unrealistic for any team to expect a 27-14 start on the heels of a generation of 70-92 teams to generate 10k a game in walkup sales in May.

I agree. If the O's are still playing well when school lets out, weeknight attendance should grow significantly. And by the way, attendance is up 15% compared to last year after 20 paid home dates, which isn't bad. That number will increase if the team continues to play well in the summer months.

[CrimsonTribe]

I'll go to a game in June in Atlanta. That's about the best I can do.

[mi_oriolesfan]

This applies to the team and the fans:

You're welcome.

Edited May 21, 2012 by mi_oriolesfan

[Don Quixote]

It's a process. All along I have not expected for there to be a sizable uptick in attendance unless the team is doing well when compulsory-level school is out. You may see a few more fans in the next few weeks now that colleges are basically done for the spring, but don't expect anything approaching huge swaths of orange until at least mid-June, if the team is still doing well by then.

[OFFNY]

o

I believe that the Orioles need to win at least 86 games for 2 consecutive years to prove that they are now a solid franchise that are the perennial contenders that they once were instead of the perennial doormats that they have become.

THEN, if Oriole Park attendance is still lagging in 2014, I'd say that there is a problem and a legitimate concern about Oriole fan loyalty.

OOOThis fan base kept coming to see a losing team for many years before finally sinking to below 2 Million in 2008. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/baltatte.shtml I'd say that they are entitled to see at least 2 winning teams ............. not necessarily even a playoff teams ............. but 2 winning teams to start swarming back again.

P.S. For the record, I personally have the patience of Mother Teresa when it comes my beloved Orioles. I would keep making 5-hour trips from Brewster to Baltimore for anywhere between 6 and 15 games per year if the Orioles were 2-160. I certainly don't expect the same from the rest of the Oriole fan base, though.

[Orioles_Magic]

The O's are averaging 22,519 this year through 20 home dates (21 games, 1 double header).

Last year through 20 home dates, the team averaged 20,104. So it's up 2,415 from last year.

They drew 22,556 per game over the last 60 home games last year. An increase of 10.9%.

I think an 11% jump from the starting point this year is reasonable to expect. That increase would bump the average attendance over the last 60 home games to 24,996. Which would mean they would finish the year with an average attendance of 24,377. Up 2,434 from last season.

Who knows, if the team continues to play well, maybe it pops even more?

[tennOsfan]

I'll be at two games in Tampa in two weeks, but I was going to do that regardless of their record.

I reserve the right to choose an extra trip to Baltimore in September/October if this keeps up.