Monday, November 24, 2008

More ugh....

So, my brother and I did attend the Broncos v. Raiders game at Mile High (Invesco) Stadium. I can’t offer many analytics; in fact, it was such an awful performance I have very little comment. I was witness to many missed offensive opportunities for the Broncos that included a couple of badly overthrown passes and at least 2 wide-open receivers. Turnovers, missed field goals, and a Raiders punt return for a touchdown sucked the life out of that stadium on Sunday.

Yet, we stayed (unlike the majority of the fans) until the final whistle blew. Afterwards we waited near the barricaded players exits for autographs. I scored a Jay cutler and Ebenezer Ekuban autograph. Brandon Marshall was also signing auto’s but only for the kids (admirable). I was impressed that Jay Cutler and Ebenezer stayed to sign every autograph in the chilly weather. I think this is an important way to say thank you to the fans. Especially after a loss.

The Broncos have lost 3 straight home games. This is not helping them with ticket sales. There were over 2,700 no-shows according to the announcer. The Miami game I attended had a similar number of no-shows. I’m sure the economy lends itself to the issue, but (Team owner’s listen up) if you continue to raise the ticket prices and put out a mediocre product, you will continue to see a decline in sporting venue attendance. I’ve never understood the logic in raising ticket prices annually. It’s like they push the consumers to the limit. How far can we go until we see a decline in attendance?….well, you have your answer. Other than the barrage of advertisements and TV time outs, I’d have to say that watching the game from home is surpassing the in-stadium experience. You get more viewing angles, and replays, than you might at the stadium. For my brother and I to attend the live performance, it cost $130 in tickets, $25 in souvenirs, and about $30 in concessions. That’s $185 in lost funds for a single game experience. Conversely, if we had stayed home to watch the game we would likely have spent next to nothing. Though I would have bought the $25 bronco foamhead eventually ;-)…

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