The Sunshine Empire

Biggus: Want to get mad at Mike Freeman? Read this:
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/13556024/latest-failed-ticket-push-shows-jags-endangered-species-in-jacksonville?tag=headlines;other
me: that doesn’t anger me
Freeman I’m sure still carries a grudge against the city, but I think he was plenty deferential in the piece
Biggus: Really? He made no mention of the fact that their off-season push to sell tickets has mostly worked.
me: I didn’t say I agreed with it, to an extent it looks like the work of a columnist who’s reached the end of the NBA season and is looking for quick throwaway fodder
but it’s not like it was an overt hit job
just rehashed conventional wisdom
They’re not in the dire straights he’s painting
Biggus: Maybe rehashed conventional wisdom makes me angrier than you, especially when I know it is false.
me: He has a nugget of truth in there though
there has to be some reason why nobody’s gone back, and the effort to basically give them an expansion team failed
LA I mean
despite the name the Rams had left LA years before the Raiders showed up and the Raiders had three good seasons before their home games resembled Montreal Expos home games
I think the NFL, despite the popular CW, knows it’s not a matter of if you build it they will come for LA
you’d sell out the first two years, then you would be right back to the same issues you face in Jacksonville
LA is a basketball town pure and simple
Biggus: Pretty much.
me: He also has a point that the small core of Jaguar fans are as rabid as any group in the league
Biggus: Well, southerners like and understand football, for the most part.
me: The Jacksonville metro area despite it’s size, always has the highest ratings for NFL football in general of all 32 markets
Biggus: And the Northerners who move down here are generally from NFL-crazy areas.
Ohio and the Northeast.
me: but therein is the other point
it’s more of a generalized issue with professional sports in the state of Florida
franchises are located here for the size of the markets
but the state is a child in relative terms
Biggus: Right, and I get where you’re going, but Jacksonville has far less problem with that than Orlando or Miami.
me: who the hell was here prior to the 40′s
the Dolphins rarely truly sell out, but the Magic have done well in terms of generating a fan base that shows up
Biggus: Have they? I don’t pay any attention to the NBA.
me: despite a winning team the Rays struggle to draw, and you know what Marlins games look like
Biggus: Yeah, but Tampa does love the Bucs.
me: I think Nease High School draws better than the Miami Heat
Biggus: Miami is possibly the worst sports town in the country.
me: prior to Tony Dungy there was talk of them moving to Jacksonville
and they are dropping off and in $95 million of debt
much of that though is the Glazers mortgaging them for their Manchester United debt
Biggus: They haven’t had attendance problems yet.
Despite sucking.
And picking fucking Josh Freeman as their QB of the future.
me: but I think they are an indication of a corner the Jaguars can turn
the Lightning don’t draw bad, but they’re not selling out. but they are six years past a Stanley Cup title
Biggus: And it’s hockey, in Florida.
me: there’s a large Canadian population in Tampa, but I don’t think many people know Ft. Lauderdale has a hockey team
Biggus: What happened to the Lizard Kings? Were they moved or just dismantled when the NHL was going through their financial difficulties?
me: they were dismantled long before the NHL’s lost season. The ECHL basically reorganized as well
but nobody is really an automatic sellout in the state other than University of Florida football, and I don’t just say that as a graduate
Biggus: Well, Miami’s fan support has always been circumstantial. The Canes have to be good and playing a good team to sell out the place. FSU are only a little better in that regard.
FSU fans
me: Duke would only sell out in one of the four BCS stadiums in the state
Biggus: Right. I’m not sure why SEC fans are so much more into it. I mean, Miami is partially hampered by being a smallish private school without a broad alumni base. FSU should draw better.
South Florida has a chance to develop a rabid fan base I think, if they enjoyed some level of sustained success and maybe got into a better conference.
Though maybe not. They do face the same issue as UCF of being something of a commuter school.
me: But attendance issues will not be the ultimate death of NFL football in Duval
both the Rays and Jaguars will ultimately move due to the lack of a new stadium
Biggus: Maybe, depending on growth in Jacksonville and what not.
That’s ten years down the line. Things could conceivably change between now and then.
me: Right, things could change, and I’m not saying they will move
but most say they will move due to attendance
me: if the economy is alright Jacksonville fans will show up
for a winner
but the political will to push through a new stadium or a massive renovation is what I see as the more difficult task