Why were there so many empty seats at Braves playoff games?

[HomeRunHomer]

I always have wondered what was with all the empty seats at Atlanta's playoff games over the years, especially since the new milennium.

It's interesting because when the Indians and Yankees had their string of playoff appearances, fans showing up was never an issue.

But why in Atlanta?

I'm just wondering.

[PureBaseballFan]

I always have wondered what was with all the empty seats at Atlanta's playoff games over the years, especially since the new milennium.

It's interesting because when the Indians and Yankees had their string of playoff appearances, fans showing up was never an issue.

But why in Atlanta?

I'm just wondering.

From what I recall it wasn't an issue early on but as the Braves started losing in the early rounds mainly after the 1999 season the fans stop caring, at least it seems to me.

I think that is the part that really frustrates me as a Braves fan from out of state because if I lived down in Atlanta I would go to pretty much every game I possibly could.

Someone may have a better aswner since I am not down there and can really get a great sense but that is what I believe from everything I have seen.

[SamtheBravesFan]

From what I recall it wasn't an issue early on but as the Braves started losing in the early rounds mainly after the 1999 season the fans stop caring, at least it seems to me.

I think that is the part that really frustrates me as a Braves fan from out of state because if I lived down in Atlanta I would go to pretty much every game I possibly could.

Someone may have a better aswner since I am not down there and can really get a great sense but that is what I believe from everything I have seen.

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. The attitude became "Yeah, who cares? They made the playoffs, but they'll lose."

[Extra Innings]

I think that is the part that really frustrates me as a Braves fan from out of state because if I lived down in Atlanta I would go to pretty much every game I possibly could.

I also live out of state and only get to take in 1 or at most 2 games a year. As you pointed out alot of people jumped on board throughout the 90s and then this decade the attendance has dropped off. It does have to do with the early playoff exits. A non-baseball fan told me once: "the Braves used to be huge ,but now they don't do anything in the playoffs so why bother getting your hopes up". That seems to be the way some people do think about the team. Its a shame.

[chip&smoltz95]

maybe because of tbs the fan base isn't localized to atl. so it's harder to get to games to. could be a part of it. It seems like a lot of people on this site are braves fans from out of state.

[EdTarbusz]

It's interesting because when the Indians and Yankees had their string of playoff appearances, fans showing up was never an issue.
.

That isn't quite true about the Indians. By the late 90s, Indians fans were getting blase about the post-season, especially the Division Series. Tickets for that series were ridiculously easy to get and at we saw more than a few empty seats at Jacobs Field at a couple of DS games that I went to against the Red Sox in 1998 and 1999.

[TheJourneyman]

It's called bad fans.

[bleacherbum73]

As a Cards fan living in St.L is's hard to understand empty seats at a playoff game. I went with a group of friends (9) to Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS. I got a call the day before asking if i wanted to go to ATL and watch the Cards vs. Braves. I asked if we could get tickets and my friend called up Turner Field and ordered 9 tickets and held them at will call. Not bad seats either. Right Field, lower level outfield. As we we're driving in to ATL we heard on the radio they were giving away tickets to callers and telling them if they wanted to go just come to where they were broadcasting. I'm not sure what the attendance was that day, or was announced as, but there were thousands of empty seats in the left field upper deck. There must have been at least 3000 or more Cards fans at that game. By the 9th inning with ST.L leading I think 7-1 and getting ready to sweep the series and head to the NLCS the entire 3rd base box seats were filled with red as Braves fans had left and we came down. The ushers were very nice and let us come down and cheer. It was quite a sight to be the road team and have that many fans of the other team in the house.

In St.Louis we 2 have been accustomed to going to the playoffs, only missing twice since '99, but all the games sell out within hours of going on sale. I asked a Braves fan this question back in '00 and he said ATL fans were more interested in Georgia Tech that time of year than the Braves and they would fill it up if they went to the World Series only.:disbelief:

[Gary Dunaier]

As we we're driving in to ATL we heard on the radio they were giving away tickets to callers and telling them if they wanted to go just come to where they were broadcasting.

Not a contest? Not "be the 17th caller" or "answer this trivia question?" Just go to where they were broadcasting, ask for them, and they'd give 'em to you?

Wow..... :disbelief:

[Pere]

A non-baseball fan told me once: "the Braves used to be huge ,but now they don't do anything in the playoffs so why bother getting your hopes up".

Exactly. The bottom line, basically, is that while the Braves have a huge following spread over several states, Atlanta itself (and immediate environs) is not really a baseball town. The Braves are a regionally-oriented baseball organization in a region that is primarily interested in football.

[bleacherbum73]

Not a contest? Not "be the 17th caller" or "answer this trivia question?" Just go to where they were broadcasting, ask for them, and they'd give 'em to you?

Wow..... :disbelief:

Exactly. No strings attached. And they still couldn't fill the park up. It was a day game on a Sat. They announced an attendance of 49,898, but there was no way. Whole sections of the upper deck in left field were empty, at least 2 that I remember. Also, they had so many extra of the foam tomahawks left they (ushers) were walking through the stands giving them to anybody that wanted extra's . The only other city that I can remember that had trouble selling out playoff games (not counting 1995) were the Pirates in the early '90's.

[UncleBubba]

Good points made, but none of you hit on the main reason for empty seats at Turner Field, to wit: Price. The ticket - and everything else - prices have gone up and up and up since '91. The working- and middle-class fans who have always supported the team are to the point where they can only afford a couple of games a year, and certainly not the extra-inflated prices of playoff/World Series tickets.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Good points made, but none of you hit on the main reason for empty seats at Turner Field, to wit: Price. The ticket - and everything else - prices have gone up and up and up since '91. The working- and middle-class fans who have always supported the team are to the point where they can only afford a couple of games a year, and certainly not the extra-inflated prices of playoff/World Series tickets.

That's still not a very good excuse. Prices are going up in just about every stadium, not just Atlanta. Yet, it seems as if Atlanta is the only team that had this playoff tickets problem.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

It's called bad fans.

It hurts to agree, but that's true. It's not just the Braves that have bad fans, it's all Atlanta sports teams. For periods of time, the Thrashers, Braves, Hawks, and Falcons were not good. Meaning fans weren't going to show up at all. A team has a short period of success and you see everybody jump on the bandwagon (a la 2008 NBA Playoffs w/ the Hawks). It's really disheartening to not see die hard fans, but that's the way it is. One more point is that Atlanta is mostly a city of transplants from all around the country, everybody here isn't a Braves fan. You're more likely to see a Mets jersey or a Yankees cap walking down the street than a somebody that's Braves fan.

[jrh31584]

Exactly. No strings attached. And they still couldn't fill the park up. It was a day game on a Sat. They announced an attendance of 49,898, but there was no way. Whole sections of the upper deck in left field were empty, at least 2 that I remember. Also, they had so many extra of the foam tomahawks left they (ushers) were walking through the stands giving them to anybody that wanted extra's . The only other city that I can remember that had trouble selling out playoff games (not counting 1995) were the Pirates in the early '90's.

1. I emboldened a key phrase in this post. Saturday afternoons in the South in October, baseball is not the top priority. I did a little research, and while Georgia Tech was idle, the Bulldogs were at home against Tennessee.
2. The Cardinals had dominated Maddux and Glavine in the first two games of that particular series, so I suppose there were a sense that the series was already over at that point.
3. It always seemed that the Braves had a disproportionate number of late afternoon games on weekdays during the playoffs. You try getting down 75/85 at rush hour.
4. Atlanta has one of the largest stadia in the majors, yet the metropolitan area is near the middle in terms of market size.