Therefore, one stat I just uncovered might bring a smile to the faces of Mets fans. Mets fans might be disappointed that their team didn't do as well in the standings as their crosstown rivals did, but at least they showed up to cheer them on (until they decided to dress up as green seats during the final month of the season).
During the regular season, the Mets averaged 38,942 tickets sold per game. Citi Field has a capacity of 41,800. Therefore, the Mets sold 93.2% of their seats for their inaugural season at Citi Field.
By comparison, the Yankees sold an average of 45,918 tickets per game, but the official capacity at the new Yankee Stadium is 52,325. Therefore, they only sold 87.8% of their available tickets.
Although team officials have said otherwise, none of the first four playoff games played at Yankee Stadium has been a sellout. In fact, only one game had a paid attendance of 50,000 and that one barely cracked the mark. Here are the attendance figures for each playoff game so far:
- ALDS Game 1 vs. Twins: 49,464
- ALDS Game 2 vs. Twins: 50,006
- ALCS Game 1 vs. Angels: 49,688
- ALCS Game 2 vs. Angels: 49,922
This is a team that hadn't played in an ALCS since 2004 and they can't sell 50,000 tickets for the games against the Angels!
Had the Mets made the playoffs, I'm sure each game would have been sold out. After all, the Mets sold nearly every seat at Citi Field during the regular season while the Yankees averaged more than twice as many unsold seats at their new ballpark.
Of course, buying tickets at Yankee Stadium might cause Yankee fans to have to take out a second mortgage on their homes, but this is the playoffs. Even former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora was stunned to hear that the Yankees couldn't sell out playoff games.
Perhaps I'm just a jealous Mets fan who can't find anything else to write about now that the Mets are playing golf and the Yankees and Phillies are still playing for the trophy. But I was one of those Mets fans who showed up at Citi Field this season despite the disappointing product I was paying to watch on the field. I was there for 20 games (about one-quarter of the home schedule) and plan on going to more games next season.
Real fans go to the games to share their love of their team with fellow fans. The Rockies sold out their playoff games and showed up during sub-freezing temperatures and threats of snow. Why can't Yankee fans show up in chilly weather? I guess Yankee fans don't want to share anything with their fellow fans other than their ubiquitous "Got Rings?" T-shirts. After all, those people in suits with the bulging wallets who occupy most of the seats aren't really fellow fans anyway.
3 comments:
Ed (or is this Joey writing?), I think this comparison is about on the same level as my dad's trick to show how I have 11 fingers (instead of 10). I know you pulled tickets sold (which is probably the only numbers announced), but actual attendance at Citi Field was far far fewer than 93.2% (though I was part of the only real sellout, against the Cards in June). Next year, I'll bet my Sterling Box Seats that the Yankees outdraw the Mets percentage-wise.
Hopefully, the Mets will have a better product on the field, so that fans can stop going to games dressed as green seats. The winner of the "percentage race" next season might come down to who lowers their prices more instead of who puts the better team on the field.
To Bernie--
Interesting. You say our brains turn to goo. On the other hand, I counted three typos in ONE paragraph
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