Comments on: Be Careful What You Root for on Blackouts

By: alanp

alanp — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:34:05 +0000

Thanks. I actually wrote it Sunday but didn’t post it until Monday because I was in NYC on Sunday. In a way, I wrote it in December when I said Sabre fans should root for Knicks. I just thought it would end because of interest in Carmelo, not Jeremy.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:17:24 +0000

Tom Bauerle’s call screener is claiming that he scooped you on the Jeremy Lin point. He’s getting a verbal butt-kissing this morning from Bauerle saying he “called it” on Wednesday of last week.

It was an old opinion by Wednesday. You called it here on Monday. And others followed suit.

Bauerle’s getting a little narrow vision. He jumped late on the LeRoy stuff, and tried to make it sound like he was the only one covering it, or first to suggest “mass hysteria.” The News had been writing it for a week or more prior to Bauerle jumping in late.

By: J. Myrle Fuller

J. Myrle Fuller — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:59:31 +0000

There’s one other factor: the only reason that LA doesn’t have a team is an unfortunate coincidence of events that led to both leaving: Frontiere’s long-standing wish to move to St. Louis, and the earthquake of ’94. With the LA market to themselves, the Rams did fine. The Raiders also had a relatively good following, even with the Rams still hanging out in Anaheim and largely dwindling.

They were in the process of updating the Coliseum at the time, but the earthquake led them to focus on other priorities, which prompted Al Davis to seek the move back to Oakland.

With one team, LA supports football without any problems. It’s only with two that they started to have trouble. LA metro’s a crowded sports town (2 MLB teams, 2 NHL teams, 2 NBA teams, 2 MLS teams, plus college football) and stretching it across two NFL teams is a recipe for trouble.

By: alanp

alanp — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:12:57 +0000

Yes, it is a huge assumption. I’m just saying it is a risk worth considering. The Bills don’t need to sell a “decent” amount of tickets. They need to sell-out to compete at the low prices they charge compared to what teams around the league charge.

By: alanp

alanp — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:10:41 +0000

LA is an anomaly. True, the Rams and Raiders didn’t sell-out the Coliseum, an aging stadium with 95,000 seats that led to both teams asking for new stadiums that were never built. I covered a game in the Coliseum — it was actually the playoff game in which Bo Jackson broke his hip. After the game, I was escorted to my car by a security guard, as were all sportswriters at the time. If LA gets a team and builds a new modern stadium, fans will come.

By: alanp

alanp — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:58:00 +0000

My point is that the presale will diminish if the blackout rule is rescinded and that will make sellouts next to impossible. The Bills need a lot of season tickets to get sold-out games. The Bills will never be out of sight since all the road games are televised. Hockey isn’t a comparable sport. Less seats and being there is better than watching TV. Baseball’s attendance gains have nothing to do with increased TV exposure.

By: alanp

alanp — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:54:56 +0000

I don’t agree with this cynical take.

By: Gman

Gman — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:48:57 +0000

The NFL doesn’t want a team in Buffalo, no matter how many games are sold out. The blackout rules changing also would have no effect. It’s all about corporate boxes and a new stadium; both scenarios that will never happen in the Buffalo market.

By: David R

David R — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:22:17 +0000

I actually think lifting the blackout rule will help teams like the Bills sell tickets. Remember the three late-season home games this year? All were well known to be in danger of being blacked out well in advance, yet ticket sales barely budged as the games approached.
These days, the bigger risk to sports teams is being out of sight and out of mind. Sabres attendance hasn’t suffered because all of their games are broadcast (TWC excluded). Baseball attendance has grown as televised games have increased. It’s great marketing.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:18:18 +0000

And let’s say the NFL is right that the blackout rule helps it fill stadiums and a change in the rule results in more empty seats in Buffalo,
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I think that is a huge assumption. I think the Bills will still sell a decent amount of tickets without the threat of a blackout. There may be a small decrease in ticket sales, but its not the end of the world if they factor in how much ad revenue they will be making by showing a game on TV that would have been otherwise blacked out.