Reasons:
1) We havent had a SB contender down here for over 20 years. (Doesn't stop me from supporting the team as a fan, but I can see how others would stop buying tickets.)
2) The stadium experience (Tickets, food, beer/drinks, parking, gasoline) is WAY too expensive nowadays with the economic ****hole that is Florida.
- If I was single, or even had no kids, it would be far easier for me to foot the bill for a game, but for families (whether the wife and kids come or not) it is more difficult. Having a family is expensive.
- Travel time and traffic is horrible. Lets face it, going to the game is an all day affair. Now that I'm living on the west coast, it is alot more difficult than when I lived in Lauderdale.
3) Too many people are selling their season tickets online (or other means) to the highest bidder. People from the north-east (NY, Mass..) have a higher disposable income and can pay more for tickets.
-This is rampant. Especially for big games. We have scalping operations that do nothing but purchase blocks of season tickets to sell. Most teams face the same problem, but teams that have waiting lists for season tickets (high demand), don't have to deal with it as much because these operations can't get the volume of tickets to make it worth their time.
4) Opposing team fans love coming to S. Fla, it is a vacation spot, and not difficult to arrange a long weekend to fly down for the game.
- Likewise, our transplants are either snowbirds, receiving pensions etc from their jobs up north, are independantly wealthy, or have no families to support.
- On the other hand, who the hell wants to leave S. Fla to go sit in some freezing cold ****hole with hostile fans around them? I've been to a Jets-Fins game in the meadowlands and it is NOT fun.
5) Just as the players hate to hear cheers for the opposing team, I CAN'T STAND sitting near them (or tailgating next to them). Most of the time it ends up in an argument (unless I bring my kids with me, then I grin and bear it.) I end up going anyway, lol.
6) People use other excuses such as the heat, or better things to do. The heat is BS. You live in Florida, if you can't take sitting in the sun, you need to get outside more.
- Better things to do...goes hand in hand with #1 Fielding a winning team. I admit, there are plenty of times I would rather be out on the water trolling for Sails on a Sunday than sit and watch football (although I'd be watching or listening while I'm out there) Going to the game needs to be one of the things at the top of the list, and winning will help it get there.
7) We have a large number of what I like to call the "Wine & Cheese crowd." These are the folks that go to the game because it gives them something to talk about at the watercooler on monday, or maybe they like looking at the cheerleaders, or maybe they are too old to even cheer.... For most of them, it is simply a social scene, if they arent at the bar, they are probably texting someone or checking scores for other games that they find more interesting. While they buy tickets and support the team with dollars, they typically do very little cheering, or even cheer at the wrong times. Although they irritate me at times, they are FAR more tolerable than seeing opposing fans in those seats.