Is USF football growing on Tampa Bay fans?

[HaulingBull Sucks]

Compare the home game attendance vs the same team in their stadium...An tell me the Bucs weren't drawing good crowds in Tampa.

09/17/1978      16-10     W      @      MINNESOTA      46152

10/01/1978      7-24      L            MINNESOTA     [highlight] 65972 [/highlight]

10/22/1978      33-19      W            CHICAGO      [highlight]68146[/highlight]

11/26/1978      3-14      L      @      CHICAGO      42373

10/29/1978      7-9      L      @      GREEN BAY      55108

12/03/1978      7-17      L            GREEN BAY      [highlight]67754[/highlight]

09/02/1978      13-19      L            N.Y. GIANTS      67456

10/15/1978      14-17      L      @      N.Y. GIANTS      [highlight]68025[/highlight]

[Joe]

Green Bay's stadium only held 55k back then.

As for the rest, the NFL just wasn't the popular league back then that it is now.

In the 1985 Atlanta, Buffalo, Kansas City, New Orleans, Tampa, St. Louis and Houston all averaged well below 50,000; 3 of them under 40,000.

These days only 3 teams averaged below 60,000 in 2005. Arizona (this year they broke that barrier), Oakland, and Indy (Their stadium only holds 58k)

The NFL is a whole new monster.

[BDYZR]

Not that any of this is on subject, but the nfl would also book Tamps and Miami on back to back weekends back then so people could catch both games on one trip.

Since we're being nostalgic, do you remember what was sitting where RJ now sits?

Back on subject  -  JUST WIN.

GO BULLS!

[HaulingBull Sucks]

'78 was a lot better, but there were still games with 20K+ empty seats.

09/02/1978      13-19      L            N.Y. GIANTS      67456

09/09/1978      7-15      L            DETROIT      64445  

09/24/1978      14-9      W            ATLANTA      58073

10/01/1978      7-24      L            MINNESOTA      65972

10/22/1978      33-19      W            CHICAGO      68146

11/19/1978      31-10      W            BUFFALO      61383

12/03/1978      7-17      L            GREEN BAY      67754

12/17/1978      10-17    L        NEW ORLEANS      [highlight]51207[/highlight]

Tampa Stadium capacity was 72K in 1978 so there was only one game (highlighted) that had more than 20K empty seats....20,793

[HaulingBull Sucks]

Since we're being nostalgic, do you remember what was sitting where RJ now sits?

Back on subject  -  JUST WIN.

GO BULLS!

Al Lopez Field.

[Don Toro]

Compare the home game attendance vs the same team in their stadium...An tell me the Bucs weren't drawing good crowds in Tampa.

09/17/1978      16-10     W      @      MINNESOTA      46152

10/01/1978      7-24      L            MINNESOTA     [highlight] 65972 [/highlight]

10/22/1978      33-19      W            CHICAGO      [highlight]68146[/highlight]

11/26/1978      3-14      L      @      CHICAGO      42373

10/29/1978      7-9      L      @      GREEN BAY      55108

12/03/1978      7-17      L            GREEN BAY      [highlight]67754[/highlight]

09/02/1978      13-19      L            N.Y. GIANTS      67456

10/15/1978      14-17      L      @      N.Y. GIANTS      [highlight]68025[/highlight]

Of those 67K in Tampa how many were GB fans? And of those 55K in GB how many were Buc fans?

[Don Toro]

The Bulls would kill for attendance like this.

09/02/1978      13-19      L            N.Y. GIANTS      67456

09/09/1978      7-15      L            DETROIT      64445

09/24/1978      14-9      W            ATLANTA      58073

10/01/1978      7-24      L            MINNESOTA      65972

10/22/1978      33-19      W            CHICAGO      68146  

11/19/1978      31-10      W            BUFFALO      61383

12/03/1978      7-17      L            GREEN BAY      67754

12/17/1978      10-17      L            NEW ORLEANS     51207

And who said we wouldn't? Who wouldn't want those attendance numbers for USF games?  :-?

[HaulingBull Sucks]

Green Bay's stadium only held 55k back then.  

Giants Stadium held more than 77,000 so the Bucs sold more of their stadium out than the Giants did at the 78 Bucs/Giants games.  

[Apis Bull]

Guys, get back on topic.  Too much talk about the Bucs attendence.

[Bullpride08]

Again, I will contend that it wasn't until the new ownership and the Dungy area did Tampa full embrace the Bucs.  Stastics and pricing speak for themselves.  [highlight]As for ticket pricing, jesus man you could pick up $25 tickets in 92',[/highlight] and now you're telling me in 1978 there was almost no tickets in the $12-15 range?  What Buc tickets were you buying?

a.  We weren't  talking about 92, so why bring it up.

b.  As I stated before I was a Charter Season Ticket Holder.  I believe I commited to them in 1975.  When did you purchase season tickets?

c.  During the time frame we were discussing my section was full as was everything else in the west stands that was visable from my seat.  The most common complaint (aside from playing calling) I heard was the overcrowed aluminum benches.  Carrying your own orange and white Bucco Bruce stadium  seat to the games was the only way to fly.

When I attempted to purchase additional season tickets in early 1978 I was told that there weren't any available - at least not on the west (home) side.  The best that were available were $12 seats near the 10 yd line.

BTW, Stock brokers did very well in Pinellas county...

It takes time in the Bay Area as anyone will tell you especially the Bucs, Lightning, and Devil Rays.

a. Tampa wasn't  exactlly a hotbed for hockey...few natives knew the difference between a hockey puck and a plug of tabacco..Oh! and the product was rather weak and poorly managed.

b. The Devil Ray!  Namoli...need I say more.

 

USF will grow because it will not rely exclusively on Tampa for support whereas the Bucs do not...I know over a dozen fans that regularly attend Bulls games that travel from Orlando or greater.  It will take time for the alumni support to grow and galvanize but it's starting to happen.  People inside the program realize this, the best gauge is donor dollars and those continue to skyrocket upward for USF, attendance is improving from a core fan standpoint and with the right fuel it will take off.

People traveled from Orlando, Sarasota, and even farther for Bucs games..as I recall the couple in the seats next to mine were from either Naples or Marco Island.

Did you ever travel the H Frankenstein on game day back in the early days?  I did.

How many Bucs games did you attend during the 76, 77, and 78 seasons?

The attendance (butts in seats) at the Bulls games has been rather stagnant....the donor dollars may be way up but ticket sales haven't

Haul stop while you're ahead because you've been punked!  Either your memory is fading or your spin is coming undone.  It appears my memory of the late 70's Buc's attendance is far more accurate then yours chief.

First, I brought up 1992 because ticket sale escalation on Buc's tickets has only recently started.  In the late 70's $12-20 tickets at the Ole Sombrero were common place.   We didn't actually start our season tickets until 82', a good Buc year, relatively speaking, but I probably attended over two dozen between 76-79', Buc tickets were easy to comeby at that time.  In fact, if you're telling the truth then you know that ticket sales were very flat, and up until 1979 and the Miracle Season many people were concerned about whether pro sports could legitimately survive in Tampa.  The season ticket sales had been flat, prices flat, attendance not the greatest...Come on Haul if you're so knowledgeable then you must have remember because this was splashed about the sports pages for years during that time.  There was some resentment that the Bucs had meant the disolving of the UT football program too.

Don't blame Namoli, or packaging for the Lightning and Devil Ray issues.  They experienced the same issues the Bucs did when they entered this marketplace.  Tampa Bay is mainly a blue collar, hard-nosed work force area with low media incomes and a spread out population.  You've got to carve your nitch out in this market, and find a market of people that are willing to set-aside their limited disposable income to use it toward your entertainment.  Not easily done in a city with a very low median income- stats don't lie.  

Sure people travel for Bucs games, but don't kid yourself pro sports is all about the personal ties.  Few travel from say Atlanta for a pro game, but many alumni due it for college.  Allegance change, I was once a Bear fan, but we all get on with life and sometimes switch.

Ticket sales, donations, and collective involvement in the Bulls Club is on an all-time high.  Attendance is not dipping, but rather 2005 was a high water mark for attendance due to great opponents, we took a slight dip in attendance in 2006, but yet had a better season.  Next year we'll be riding the crest of some fantastic football, AND a great schedule.  It is a fantastic combination and one that should blow the doors off most of the attendance records USF has had at RayJay.  The world of USF is turning the corner, now if Men's Hoops would just get with the program.