What An Embarrassment

[Satyr3206]

If I still lived in Baltimore I would probably go to 20 games a year or so. I really miss going to Camden Yards, even when the Skankees and Sux fans are there. If I had to guess I think attendance will jump next year. But what do I know. I think the O's are going to win the WC next year.

[vab]

It's just ridiculous to expect Oriole fans to come out and watch the team get hammered by the Red Sox and Yankees. Do you really think if the Red Sox and Yankees were working on 12 year losing streaks and the Orioles were in the playoffs every year that those fans would be taking over Camden Yards? Call it bandwagon or whatever but it's just reality. People aren't going to pay hard-earned money to watch their team get beat over and over again and it's unreasonable to blame them for that. The Orioles have to turn this around themselves and I think Mr. MacPhail is well on his way to doing that but it's on them.

[scottbbfm]

The guilt I feel for only attending a game or two per season = zero.

It's not a matter of "waiting until they win." I have followed this team religiously (from my home) since 1979.

I don't go to games.

If people find that disgusting or embarrassing, well, I don't know what to say about that. It just seems silly.

If you don't go to games, thats fine. Its the people who just flat out refuse to go to the games against the Red Sox or Yankees while going to a dozen other games this season. Show some pride.

[Satyr3206]

It's just ridiculous to expect Oriole fans to come out and watch the team get hammered by the Red Sox and Yankees. Do you really think if the Red Sox and Yankees were working on 12 year losing streaks and the Orioles were in the playoffs every year that those fans would be taking over Camden Yards? Call it bandwagon or whatever but it's just reality. People aren't going to pay hard-earned money to watch their team get beat over and over again and it's unreasonable to blame them for that. The Orioles have to turn this around themselves and I think Mr. MacPhail is well on his way to doing that but it's on them.

The Yankees and Red Sox have both had extended periods of suckitude and they still drew well. Not to mention the Cubs.

[frankpembleton]

Dont blame the level of play either. The Orioles have a young, rebuilding team that, despite their horrendous record, has many attractive players and these players deserve to see and hear support from its fan base.

True, the Orioles havent been good for a decade, but tons of other fans in other cities support inferior teams and uplift them when they are down.Milwaukee outdraws Boston. The Cubs average 4O,000 a game.The Mets 38,000 a game. Even the Giants are drawing well. You tell me those are great teams?

Fans have been hearing about "rebuilding" for over a decade. They aren't coming back until there are some results.

And how you can compare any of those teams and their fan support with the Orioles is just ludicrous to me. Sorry. All of those teams have had a lot of recent success. The Giants are 72 and 59 this year.

No city in this country would be providing any more support to their team if they sat through 12 consecutive losing seasons. It's absurd to think that Boston would be out there putting more people in the seats than Baltimore if roles were reversed. They haven't had more than 2 or 3 losing seasons in a row in like 50 years. The Cubs had horrible attendance in the early to mid 80's when they had their last extended stretch of bad baseball (which didn't even approach the Orioles streak of ineptitude). We know the Yankees didn't draw well in the 80's and they weren't even that bad...

All of this Oriole fan bashing makes me sick. Oriole fans don't need to prove themselves, they've done it in the past. They supported this team better than any city in baseball more than 5 years into this stretch of horrid baseball. Baltimore was probably the best baseball city in the country from the late 70's through the 90's. The teams during that time period were fairly average as well. It's not like they were dominant, but there was hope every year that the team could be good because you didn't have any ridiculously long stretches of bad years. That hope has not existed in Baltimore in the last 7 or 8 years and thus the apathy.

Evens still, the attendance figures in more recent years have been pretty good for a completely miserable team with NO HOPE whatsoever. The Orioles need to prove something to the fans, not the reverse.

You can tell the fanbase wants to get excited. Look at what happened when Wieters got called up. Does that kind of reaction happen anywhere else for a rookie? When there is something, anything, to get excited about the fans come out. The Wieters call up and the chance to boo Teixera were the two most exciting things to happen this year - and fans came out in droves to support that. The fact is, there hasn't been anything remotely exciting going on on the field.

[frankpembleton]

The Yankees and Red Sox have both had extended periods of suckitude and they still drew well. Not to mention the Cubs.

When?

Seriously. Show me when and their attendance figures.

[TonySoprano]

The past six games with the Red Sox and Yankees have exposed an irritating issue for some club officials and players. A majority of the fans who have come to the Camden Yards have supported the opposing team. Angelos said he has noticed the trend, but is not as bothered by as some of his Orioles contemporaries.

"We don't mind that," he said. "The fans who come to support their team bring their children with them. They are not a bunch of rowdies. Many bring their entire family to the ballpark, and I think that's a compliment to the game of baseball. They patronize the merchants and the local business. And soon we'll get the fans back, because we'll make the necessary moves and acquisitions to compete favorably."

source - Sep 28, 2005

[NewMarketSean]

Thank you.

I can't believe that Matusz and Tillman and Wieters are sitting there in the dugout, looking around at what goes on there, and people here are making excuses about how it's all somebody else's fault. I can't believe that fans want the young guys to come up and begin their ML careers as Orioles, only to discover that that's what happens in Baltimore when BOS and the MFY's come to town. People are real good about talking about pride until it requires them to get off their butt and do something, and then they have their excuses all in a row. Do they really want the young MiL talent to finally get here and have this be their introduction to Baltimore? I cannot imagine anything more lame than justifying that...

Like I said before, it's easy to throw stones when you're living off the Gulf of Mexico. I know you said you come to several games a year...great. How many have you been to this season?

The bottom line is that winning begets attendance. Some loyal O's fans know that we're rebuilding and have some good pieces in place for the future but the general public sees the record -- which will be worse than last year -- and doesn't even begin to entertain going to the Orioles games in August and September, especially when the Ravens are playing games.

It's been 12 years, guys. It shouldn't shock anyone anymore when the Yanks and Sox come to town and bring their fans with them. It's been going on for years.

[NewMarketSean]

Wow, this still surprises people. Wow.

[scottbbfm]

This thread is probably a great place for Steelers fans to find Ravens fans who are willing to sell their tickets.

[Satyr3206]

I can't believe some of you. Back in the day we OWNED Memorial Stadium. Do whatever you have to do to keep the bandwagoners out of Camden Yards. I used to go to Yankees and Sox games just to annoy them. Stand up to the Barbarians at the Gates.

[NewMarketSean]

This thread is probably a great place for Steelers fans to find Ravens fans who are willing to sell their tickets.

Steelers fans in M&T Bank stadium just goes to show you the strength of bandwagon teams. The Ravens are a competitive team with a rabid fanbase, yet hordes Steeler fans find their way into the stadium each year. Granted it's nothing like the Yanks and Sox fans in OPACY, but it happens.

[AlbNYfan]

This is a redundant thread with the "it's an embarassment". There are many reasons, most logical to argue the point about why so many Sox or Yankee fans are present. The most obvious is:

1) If the O's and Yanks were in a race, the place would have been full, national coverage, more O's fans than Yanks. The National coverage would have only to do with NY.

The less obvious or more arguable:

1) MLB could give a damn about more than half the franchises out there. They absolutely dread the possibility of a KC, Oriole, Twins vs Cinci, P'burgh, Florida World Series. These teams are just fillers for the high market teams.

2) The world has shrunk.....20 years ago it was a luxury to think of the travel that is common place today. Hell, I can travel Southwest to Baltimore for $80, get a great seat, see the game, have a nice dinner and the overall tab isn't bad and much more affordable than doing the same, driving to NY. As I said in a previous thread, Baltimore is a great spot for a couple day vacation. Lot's of things to do in a 2 square mile area, even the wife is happy.

3) Relates to 1....TV, ESPN, YES, NESN...creates Nations and viewing audiences and revenues, so mid and lower market teams will continue to have less exposure and the potential for having kids become fans of teams other than their hometeam (Parents, do not allow this to happen!!!). I mean, it happens in football already. But football balances the playing field, more exposure for all teams, salary caps, a draft that can work..so, all fans feel they have a chance to see their team win. Baseball does not care to.

Baseball is just a model of the US as a Nation. Over, the last two decades the rich have been become richer (Yanks, Sox). The shrinking of the middle class (Baltimore, Cinci, others), and it is obvious where the power lies.

[crowmst3k!]

If you don't go to games, thats fine. Its the people who just flat out refuse to go to the games against the Red Sox or Yankees while going to a dozen other games this season. Show some pride.

I've been to a ton of games this season (including some against Sux and MFYS (one at Yankee stadium, as well). The problem for me is that in the past 4 MFY/Sux games I've attended at Camden Yards, two of those times I've been either called things not repeatable on this message board or challenged to a fight.

Frankly, I'm not interested in being ejected for life from my hometown ballpark. I know that when I'm at a game, getting rowdy, and my pride takes a hit, I'm going to get quite defensive, and my first outlet will be the jerks who are monopolizing my stadium!

In short: it will be easier to attend games against these games once more hometown fans return. This will help provide some fan support and a buffer against the plague of locusts. Unfortunately, only happen through either winning or an ownership change (the two reasons most frequently cited by ex-fans and non-fans for not going).

[Mackus]

The Yankees and Red Sox have both had extended periods of suckitude and they still drew well. Not to mention the Cubs.

So did the Orioles. We were still over 3 million fans well into the losing stretch.