Comments on: Where the Panthers Fans At?

By: gimmeapuck

gimmeapuck — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:21:29 +0000

What about jeans, a jersey, and flip-flops?

By: Matt Reitz

Matt Reitz — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:29:01 +0000

That didn't need a disclaimer at all! I loved your point about the type of game that Keith attended. Most teams in the league are going to have games that are going to have problems with attendence… and most of the time the team knows it BEFORE it happens. Panthers/Lightning afternoon game in March would have been a perfect opportunity to break out a Keith Ballard/Tomas Vokoun Bobblehead night (together complete with swinging stick)

I expected you to say that this article made you want to punt kittens or something…

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:31:24 +0000

Disclaimer; I am a die-hard Panthers fan, grew up in south Florida and have lived in Florida my whole life...

First off, south Florida as a whole is frustratingly band-wagon-esque, the Florida Marlins have 2 World Series titles, and they struggle to draw more than 5,000 in mid-July because they aren't currently a cool fad. The Dolphins had trouble selling out their playoff tickets a couple seasons ago. The Miami Hurricanes football team couldn't sell out their home stadium. Greater Miami area just sucks as a sports base.

On top of that, it's hard to bring out any sort of hockey passion in a fan base that hasn't experienced the postseason in a decade, I don't care what market you're in. The Panthers are wrapping up another losing season, and the game you were at was against another non-playoff team (probably) on a Sunday afternoon, and let's be honest. There are a helluva lot more fun things to do on a Sunday afternoon in March in south Florida.

Until this team starts to win, you won't have seats filled, even with the free parking, cheap tickets, and one of the nicer arenas in the league.

By: Matt Reitz

Matt Reitz — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:21:36 +0000

Depends on the market. I was at a game earlier this season in Phoenix and it felt like an AHL game. The fans that were there were EXTREMELY nice and passionate; there just werent many of them there. From an outsiders perspective, they have the same problems that the Ducks will/do have. Just like Southern California, there are plenty of things in South Florida that are competing for an individuals entertainment dollar. Without a LONG history of (15 years isn't exactly the Habs), fans are going to have a harder time following the team with blind faith. Mix in the fact that there are plenty of other things to do and it's probably predictable that the arena would lack energy. Look around Miami… the Heat and Marlins all have similar problems when their struggling.

Build a winner and people come. Every time. (Except for the Atlanta Braves) LOL

By: Keith Korneluk

Keith Korneluk — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:06:52 +0000

I don't get to see any out-of-market hockey (with the exception of the Panthers) so my question would be: is the fan experience of a losing, out-of-market team always like this? Honestly, it's just depressing.

One little encouraging thing is the open letter that ownership sent out before the deadline. If they're truly committed to building a winner, it will be interesting to write a follow-up in a couple of years.