Bucs-Falcons game is blacked out in Tampa

BucForce said
1 in 5 mortgage holders in Florida are behind on their mortgage. The national unemployment rate is 9.8%, in Florida it's closer to 12%. I just got notified myself on 12/1 that my job will be going away by June 2011, so I will be in the same boat as plenty of others around here.

Fan support cannot not be measured just by filled stadiums. The Rays had the 5th highest TV ratings of all the major league teams, but were down around 25th in league average attendance. The support for the team was there, but the means to afford to go to a game is not. When you have to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over your head versus using those funds to watch millionaires play a game that billionaires are threatening to shut down in 2011, the choice is easy and clear.

Tampa Bay is notorious for having bandwagoning and frontrunning fans, but if the 2010 was like it was in 2005, RayJay would be filled to capacity each home game. Right now people are struggling, and sports teams are low on the list.

Great post. It never ceases to amaze me that fans and pundits go on and on about how a sports team isn't getting support in the stands. As you point out so well here, the fact is, MOST people have perspective in life. Paying the rent and putting food on your family's table is infinitely more important than watching a bunch of rich people playing a game.

Heck, as a Falcons fan, I see posts on MBs and hear pundits from time to time talking about still seeing Vick jerseys at our games, and just assume it's a matter of people automatically being loyal to him. The more likely explaination is that those uni's are expensive and people with a grip on reality aren't going to throw out tons of money to replace something as trivial as a jersey when the kids need clothes. They probably see themselves as being lucky to get to go to a game in the first place.

I love football. I've been watching my Falcons and the NFL for over 35 years. But it's just a GAME. Alot of people don't realize how hard it is right now for many families in country. Personally, I hate my job, but I thank God every day for it. Especially when I see friends on food stamps who don't even have money for gas to go look for a job most of the time.

I'm incredibly passionate about my team and I went alot of years where I had to miss games because the fans simply didn't show up. Georgia is a very transient state as well. As a result, I have never and will never make comments like 'your fans are bad and don't show up', etc., because, as an adult, I realize that in the real world, football doesn't mean a whole hell of alot...