CENTER FIELD :: Rays Beg Fans To Show Up

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Rays Beg Fans To Show Up

The new slate of postseason baseball commercials are hitting the airwaves as we speak. Nothing beats running around Jacobs Field during the ALCS hollering, "There's only one AAAAAAAAAAAACTOOOOOBER" at random passerby. Come to think of it, maybe that's why our reception in Cleveland last year was less than welcoming. (nah- it's just because they're jerks.)

The city of Tampa, faced with the odd circumstance where their baseball team is actually good - and looks poised to take at least a Wild Card slot in the playoffs - is not sure what this means. To help educate the fans (there are Rays fans, right? I kid! Sort of.), the Rays' postseason commercial is a little different than the rest. Rather than fondly remembering playoffs past or showing montages of action set to heartstring-tugging music, the Rays commercial's message is simple:

PLEASE WON'T SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, ACTUALLY SHOW UP AND WATCH US PLAY?

video courtesy of meech

Of course, Rays fans (see! there are some!) offer a whole range of excuses - the temperatures, the economy, the ballpark, the transplants, and so on. But the sad fact is that the Rays- the most exciting story in baseball this year, a team full of young talent and unlimited promise - are only averaging 21,573 fans per game. Only the Royals and A's have suckier attendance in the AL.

I suppose that's all good news for the Red Sox. That means less of those horrendous cowbells clanging away, and more empty seats available to be filled with Red Sox behinds.

Comments (6)

[ Erica ] says:
on September 16, 2008 2:42 PM

I'm a BoSox fan of nearly 25 years and I've been living down in Florida for the past two years, just south of Tampa. And I occasionally make the trek up to Tropicana to take in a Sox game, and I can tell you that although attendance improved drastically over the past two seasons (due to the Tampa Bay area's tendency to bandwagon (hello Bucs!)), the whole vibe at Tropicana is a lot less fan friendly. Two years ago, they bent over backwards to fill the seats, and now that the team's got a winning record, they've forgotten about their previous commitments to the fan. They just gouge like every other organization so it's a big turnoff to those of us who just enjoy taking in some baseball.

PS: They'll always be the Devil Rays to me!

[ joyosity ] says:
on September 16, 2008 3:08 PM

Don't forget; it's now Progressive Field, or "the Prog" as I like to refer to it.

I've been telling all my friends to sign up for the Rays post season ticket drawing since I have a ton of frequent flier miles and would totally go down (and bring someone with me) if they ended up playing the Sox in October.

[ mermaidmarian ] says:
on September 16, 2008 3:15 PM

:scratches head:

Did TG actually write that the Devil Rays are "the most exciting story in baseball this year"?, or is she quoting Don Zimmer?

[ Liza ] says:
on September 16, 2008 4:31 PM

Whenever anyone mentions Dane Cook, I simply think, There's only one. OCTOBER! And half the time I'll say it out loud, too.

But as for the Rays--a first-place team (FOR NOW) has only 20,000 fans? And most of them are for the opposing team and goes for the cheap, easy tickets? Laaame, Tampa.

[ Di ] says:
on September 16, 2008 5:24 PM

I live and go to school in FL but I had the privelege of living in Maine for 2 years. My school is selling tickets to the Rays/Sox game on Wednesday for $55 and it includes transportation (3 hours of driving there and back). They are desperately trying to sell these tickets and they can't I would go if I didn't have to work. If I was back in Maine and my university were selling tickets to the Sox game, they would be sold out in 5 minutes. It is sooooo sad. The Rays have always been a joke in FL but at least they are doing amazing this year and they still can get a fan base. Short of paying people to go I don't think the Rays have much hope.

[ Karen ] says:
on September 18, 2008 7:05 PM

I was there at the Trop for all 3 games, and it was much louder than ever. They gave away another 15,000 cowbells. They are constantly on the radio announcing games and promoting them with special offers, and still you can buy tickets on the day of the game. They had a record crowd Tuesday night. What annoys me most is they are fair weather fans, they weren't there last year or any other year, and now that there team is winning they want to be there. Well, Sox fans are there all the time , win or lose, even when the Sox were losing last night, we all stayed until the end. That's what real fans do.

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