Good team. Any fans?

The Lightning--God I hate that team name--have an exciting and talented team. Does anyone care?

What was the average attendance ofr TB home games this season?

Is it possible that round two games played in TB will be more ehavily attende by Hab fans than by supporters of the home team?

We'll see.

The Lightning--God I hate that team name--have an exciting and talented team. Does anyone care?

What was the average attendance ofr TB home games this season?

Is it possible that round two games played in TB will be more ehavily attende by Hab fans than by supporters of the home team?

We'll see.

-- Does anyone care that you don't like that team name? Probably not.
-- Does anyone care that Tampa has an exciting and talented team? Absolutely. Don't judge their "care" by how many fans show up on these boards (they're all on other boards... or have lives), or by rumors of bad attendance.
-- Don't have it in front of me, but it was close to 17, 000 per game (SPTF holds almost 20)
-- Fat chance. This isn't the same fan-base that wasn't caring when TB went through 4 50 loss seasons. Don't know why they're still getting the rep for that. Quite frankly it's ignorant. If it makes you feel better to think that no one cares about TB, well, whatever works for you, but it's not the truth. It's actually not even close. Did you see any of the TB home games last year or this year in the playoffs?

Found the figures
Attendance 2003-04 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2004)

Tampa Bay finished 12th of 30 in average number of fans (17, 820). Montreal, yes, was first.
(A bigger average number than Ottawa, Edmonton, Boston, San Jose, Calgary)
Tampa Bay finished 15th of 30 in percent of seats filled with 90.2%. Again, ahead of Boston. Montreal was 10th.

I guaran-damn-tee that there will be WAY more Tampa fans than Montreal fans in Tampa, though there will obviously be Montreal fans there, too. There will also be sellouts for each game. TB did not sell out Game 1 vs. the Isles, but sold out games 2 and 5.

Geez, to hear some posters talk they're expecting a Montreal Expos type crowd in the SPTF.

Wow, you guys are harsh...

Tampa Bay has the real-deal cup contender team, and I'm sure you fans are as dedicated as any. You can call the thread-poster uninformed or misinformed (we don't get much news about Tampa's attendance up north in Montreal) but 'make him feel better'... :dunno:

Bah, anyway, here's to a NICE fast and exciting series in front of delirious crowds both in Montreal and Tampa. :handclap: I won't be wishing you good luck as I know you DON'T need luck with such a pool of talent as the one you've got. -- And with Kabibhulin (sp?) the great habs stopper.. :yo:

Does anyone care?

Ha! We're so gonna kick your ***es.

I love the arrogance of other teams' fans.

:joker:

-Pete Choquette

(A bigger average number than Ottawa, Edmonton, Boston, San Jose, Calgary)

Aw, geez, you forgot to mention we came ahead of the defending Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, who finished up 23rd overall in the league with an average attendance of 15,057.

:)

-Sharon

Wow, you guys are harsh...



It's been built up - that wasn't just out of the blue.

Practically every day Sotnos or one of us are correcting someone who says one of the following three things: 1) Tampa Bay has no fans/can't sell out/no one cares down there... 2) TB is a product of the SE division (despite having better records against the other two, and tying with ATL for gaining most points from SE by a SE team)... and 3) Lecavalier and Tortorella are still fightning and one will be gone soon.

So, when yet another person comes here and starts a thread called "good team, any fans?" and says "does anyone care?" Yes, that causes some (at least me) to get a little harsh. If it was meant sincerely, my apologies, but it sounded more like yet another shot at an untraditional market's fan base. (something that's been going on a lot lately by the northern folk) And in regard to feeling better, I have seen many, many, many times where the excuse "we lost, but at least we have fans" or "we lost, but at least our fans know what icing is" or something like that is used. It's not really an excuse, it's more like self-consoling. A pacifier, if you will.

Harsh? Probably. I'm just a little tired and cranky of it all.

Heck, I'm from Ontario. I had my doubts about hockey in places like Tampa or Nashville, until I actually went there and saw for myself the support they give their team - vocally, pridefully, and statistically. It's not what you think. Does it take some time to settle in? You bet. Does winning help? Absolutly. But don't paint all non-traditional market fans with the same paint brush.

Good luck in the series.

I second 89 and Pete.

Don't expect a rather warm response when you come to another teams board and ask if they care. Bah :mad:

It's been built up - that wasn't just out of the blue.
...
And in regard to feeling better, I have seen many, many, many times where the excuse "we lost, but at least we have fans" or "we lost, but at least our fans know what icing is" or something like that is used. It's not really an excuse, it's more like self-consoling. A pacifier, if you will.
...

lol, okay I dig what you mean.. And I retract my previous comment : I DO wish you guys a good luck in the upcoming series :yo:

Another thing, down here in Florida we like hockey because we like it, not be casue we were raised to like it. We aren't fed "hockey is the greatest sport" down our throats at a young age and we arent forced to watch it every year. When we (peopel of Florida) become hockey fans its because we choose to like hockey.

lol, okay I dig what you mean.. And I retract my previous comment : I DO wish you guys a good luck in the upcoming series :yo:

Thanks, Paul.

The Lightning--God I hate that team name--have an exciting and talented team. Does anyone care?

What was the average attendance ofr TB home games this season?

Is it possible that round two games played in TB will be more ehavily attende by Hab fans than by supporters of the home team?

We'll see.

Yet another person who thinks the south doesnt have any hockey fans. I would say something but I think everythings been covered. Look at the figures and read them yourself. Oceanic hit it right on the head about how little people know about this team and no it wasnt harsh at all. It has been built up for a long time among Tampa fans and among southern teams fanbases because of people like this. We'll sell out just like Montreal fans, if they come down with some fans great, theyre just putting money into our team which will go to our free agents. Hopefully this guy doesnt represent all Hab fans.

If it was meant sincerely, my apologies, but it sounded more like yet another shot at an untraditional market's fan base.

And we haven't had 100 years of hockey to grow a fan base either. Give us some time and we'll do okay at the box office.

Playoff series like the past 2 years will help correct some of that. :yo:

The Lightning--God I hate that team name--have an exciting and talented team. Does anyone care?

What was the average attendance ofr TB home games this season?

Is it possible that round two games played in TB will be more ehavily attende by Hab fans than by supporters of the home team?

We'll see.

Wasn't Sean Penn nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of you a couple of years back?

Another thing, down here in Florida we like hockey because we like it, not be casue we were raised to like it. We aren't fed "hockey is the greatest sport" down our throats at a young age and we arent forced to watch it every year. When we (peopel of Florida) become hockey fans its because we choose to like hockey.

Raised to Like it??? Forced to watch it??? Your're joking right???

Do u believe that??? Lots of people in Canada don't like hockey my friend. Talk about a sterotype!!!LOL!!!

Its not hard to believe that a hockey team in Florida doesn't have a lot of fans, but its great if they do. You know why? Because hockey is the greatest sport...fastest team sport, intense end to end action, and there is no better sport to watch.

GO HABS GO!!!

Oceanic39, are you the same than I see on a french board ?

If yes, nice to meet you again

If not, nice to meet you :joker:

wow how ignorant

Oceanic39, are you the same than I see on a french board ?

If yes, nice to meet you again

If not, nice to meet you :joker:

I've talked to you before on at least one board, but I don't remember posting on a french board.

Raised to Like it??? Forced to watch it??? Your're joking right???

Do u believe that??? Lots of people in Canada don't like hockey my friend. Talk about a sterotype!!!LOL!!!

Its not hard to believe that a hockey team in Florida doesn't have a lot of fans, but its great if they do. You know why? Because hockey is the greatest sport...fastest team sport, intense end to end action, and there is no better sport to watch.

GO HABS GO!!!

I had actually written a reply to 67 disagreeing with his statement as I grew up in Canada and know what it's like. The more I got to thinking about it - the more he was right (in terms of what I experienced). I played, watched, had the net in the driveway/basement/etc and did the whole hockey thing growing up, BUT... there was some definite peer pressure there. I started playing not only because I loved the idea of it, but because "that's what you do." It was like going to school. It was that expected where I was. There was no peer pressure on me because I wanted to, but out of my elementary school of 300+ students, there were two boys that didn't play hockey. One was a figure skater, and one couldn't skate. Those two took verbal beatings, especially the kid who still couldn't skate by grade 5.

I am completely aware, though, that that's one specific example involving a rural Ontario town of about 3,200.

So, to say there' NO pressure is false, at least based on my specific experience.

Tampa Bay finished 12th of 30 in average number of fans (17, 820). Montreal, yes, was first.
(A bigger average number than Ottawa, Edmonton, Boston, San Jose, Calgary)
Tampa Bay finished 15th of 30 in percent of seats filled with 90.2%. .


That's actually pretty good, i remember the first years of the organization, where you guys played in a 25,000+ seats "arena", sounded like fun.

I had actually written a reply to 67 disagreeing with his statement as I grew up in Canada and know what it's like. The more I got to thinking about it - the more he was right (in terms of what I experienced). I played, watched, had the net in the driveway/basement/etc and did the whole hockey thing growing up, BUT... there was some definite peer pressure there. I started playing not only because I loved the idea of it, but because "that's what you do." It was like going to school. It was that expected where I was. There was no peer pressure on me because I wanted to, but out of my elementary school of 300+ students, there were two boys that didn't play hockey. One was a figure skater, and one couldn't skate. Those two took verbal beatings, especially the kid who still couldn't skate by grade 5.

I am completely aware, though, that that's one specific example involving a rural Ontario town of about 3,200.

So, to say there' NO pressure is false, at least based on my specific experience.

There was an article in the tribune today about that. It said that hockey in Canada was like football in the states, but 10-20 times more popular in Canada. Thats crazy

ya, you see, the reason why hockey is not as marginally popular anywhere in the states as it is in Canada is:

A) The sport has to compete with Baseball, Basketball and Football, all of which are more popular than Hockey.

B) Let's face it folks, hockey was invented here (in Montreal, i dont care if some still dont believe that) and that's why it's so popular. We did have all that time to get the fans etc

C) In Florida, you guys have TWO teams, whereas most other places only have one, which divides the market.

So ya, sure, i believe that you guys have dedicated fans, they are some everywhere, but in no way is hockey as popular anywhere in the states as in Canada. there just isnt any other sports that can compete with it, really. well except for canadian football, it's gotten really big these last couple of years. And lets also remember that in hockey, there's 82 games a season, which for some reason turns off a lot of people or creates a lot of casual fans. but it's a shame though, cuz u guys have a really competitive team (even though u are in the "weakest" association in the league) and people arent recognizing. yet anyway. so hopefully when the CB comes into action, useless teams (buffalo, pittsburgh etc) will open up the market in that respect, giving more fans to the teams that matter. anyway, that's my two cents.

Every team has dedicated fans...despite what some media and nhl execs may say, they expand to certain cities for a reason and there always has to be some fan base there.

Having said that, attendance and fan base alone aren't the only factors for economic success in today's NHL. Even Montreal is supposedly losing money...remember Boivin's comments. So, it isn't as if most of us in Canada think that Florida is some kind of hockey backwater...but it is a non-traditional location and there certainly aren't as many casual fans there as there are here...which leads to attitudes and stereotypes because we never hear about any progress being made...all we hear about are owners who obviously aren't in touch with the game and gimmicky promotions to try and encourage American fans to enjoy the sport...it's very difficult to take any city/fan base seriously when you get the impression that they don't really know or care about the game. That's why it's good to have boards like these so we can meet some real fans and learn about how hardcore hockey is in the southern states.

So...don't be getting all defensive and insecure just because some fans up here ask some ignorant questions. Show some class and educate US on how great the sport is going down there and we'll respect you even more for it.

Hey, we all got along with Bruins fans in the last round...so miracles can happen! haha

Go Habs Go!

So...don't be getting all defensive and insecure just because some fans up here ask some ignorant questions. Show some class and educate US on how great the sport is going down there and we'll respect you even more for it.
Look, no offense, but we hear ignorant, condescending crap like we see in the first post all the time here. It gets a little old after the 1,000th rude "joke", so forgive us if we seem a bit touchy, and sorry if that constitutes "classless" to you.

Hey guys, get off the Tampa fans' back... who cares actually what kind of fans each time has? The most important thing is the show we will get on the ice. I'm sure this serie will be a great one, eventhough there is no existing rivalry (as of now) between these two teams, but I'm sure that will come! Two teams that look much alike on the ice... teams with speed, skill and good goalthending. This serie will be a lot closer than most people on the playoff board thinks. What many people seem to forget is the Habs have beaten lots of top teams throughout the season and have proved, just like Calgary did, they can compete at a high level of play.

Anyways, it's the playoffs, anything can happen. Regular season stats don't mean anything at all right now. This game is going to be played on the ice, not on paper after all! Good luck to the Bolts, and I wish we will be able to watch some exciting hockey games (I'm sure we will). Most important is to win, but I'm also excited about this serie because of the quality of play we'll be able to enjoy!

Once again, good luck Bolts fans!

So...don't be getting all defensive and insecure just because some fans up here ask some ignorant questions. Show some class and educate US on how great the sport is going down there and we'll respect you even more for it.


Hey, how about you guys show some class and dont post negative crap about a team you dont root for on their team board. If you wanna be rude and talk about this stuff you can do it on the main board or a playoff thread, you dont have to barge into their home and treat them like crap.

Hey, how about you guys show some class and dont post negative crap about a team you dont root for on their team board. If you wanna be rude and talk about this stuff you can do it on the main board or a playoff thread, you dont have to barge into their home and treat them like crap.

Completely agreed. See post above. :D

Once again, good luck Bolts fans!
Thanks HiggsFan, good to see you here again, and you're right, we should be seeing some very exciting games! :handclap:

While I'm thinking about it, I'm going to go ahead and close this before it gets any worse, although O39s post should be stickied for all eternity. We should do a "Misconceptions about the Bolts" FAQ!