So what about all these bandwagon jumpers for the Hawks and the Bulls? Obviously both teams have increased in popularity over the last 12 months. The Bulls were supposed to compete for the Eastern Conference championship last season but had a supremely disappointing season leading to the firing of the coach that helped bring them back into relevance with three straight playoff appearances. Some serious luck came their way when they surprisingly won the coveted NBA Draft Lottery and made the RIGHT choice bringing Derrick Rose into the mix. Derrick helped lead the Bulls to an 8-game turnaround getting them back in the playoffs as the #7 seed.
The Bulls' epic playoff series with the defending champ Boston Celtics will go down in history as the best first-round (if not THE best) playoff series ever. All the experts say that just having that playoff experience will help the young Bulls develop as a perennial contender for years to come. They were a couple of shots or a couple of referee calls away from upsetting the #2 Celtics and moving on to face the very beatable Orlando Magic. But the extra media attention and being in the limelight for an extra month brought along what most call bandwagon jumpers. "True" or "die hard" fans tend to despise these people as they only come along when the team has success, but aren't there when the team really needs them to get over the hump. To me, the more people at the games means more noise at the UC which only helps out the home team and that's what I want. Eventually (I hope) the Bulls will start to get some actual calls especially at home...that's what all the experts are saying about Derrick Rose. Can you imagine what this kid would have done with 5-6 more FTs per game? I'm looking forward to that time.
The Hawks saw an absolutely INCREDIBLE transformation this year. It "helped" that they haven't been relevant since 2002's playoff appearance. They made HUGE strides last year thanks to their two AMAZING rookies (Kane and Towes), but floundered a bit down the stretch and missed the "cut" for the playoffs. They did NOT falter this season though, did they? The transformation started when Dale Tallon moved from the radio booth to the front office as GM in 2005. He then picked up Towes (#3 overall) and Kane (#1 overall) in the first round in 2006 and 2007 and the Hawks were on their way. With the death of their long-time and ultra-cheap, stubborn, and arrogant owner "Dollar" Bill Wirtz and the ownership change to son Rocky Wirtz along with the hiring of ex-Cubs President John McDonough, the franchise transmformation was complete. But wait, who doesn't love Savoir Faire? When the Hawks decided to fire him only 4 games into the season this year, I was scratching my head. Well, what do I know? Joel Quenneville was the final piece so he actually completed the transformation.
Getting the home games back on TV helped build a more consistent following. This was THE BIG decision behind getting this team the support they needed to get them over the hump. You can literally watch every single Hawks game on TV and nearly all in HD (that helps too - NHL in HD is the BEST). How did this not make sense to Dollar Bill?
The home attendance and revenue numbers for this season have been ASTRONOMICAL. What a perfect storm to redevelop a fan base. With that totally nuts Game 6 at the UC, the Hawks exceeded 1 million fans and that does NOT count the Winter Classic at the Frozen Confines. The Hawks set an NHL club record by attracting an average of 21,783 to their 40 home dates at United Center (not including the 40,818 who filled Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic) this season. Chicago is averaging 22,578 fans per game through their first five home contests of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. How can that be with all the fans they should have lost with everyone staying home to watch the home games? Ya...nice logic there Dollar Bill.
So where did all these people come from? This goes back to my original point. Are all these people coming out of the woodwork only here because the team has been so successful? Or were they always there keeping an eye on the team to see when the franchise cared as much as they did? Speaking for myself, I'm going with the latter. I've always followed the Hawks but not as closely as I have these last two years. It REALLY helps me since I don't have season tickets and only get to a couple games a year to have the games on TV. Having THE BEST announcers on the planet doing the games, REALLY helps too. Eddie O and Pat Foley are simply amazing. Eddie O's analysis of Kane's 3rd and pretty much game and series clinching goal on Mon night was so insightful. Amazing! And that's why people like to watch. I can't find any current revenue numbers for this season, but last year's merchandise revenues were up 175% so this year should be right in that same area. Season ticket sales increased 300% from last year to this year too.
So I say WELCOME BACK fans...WELCOME BACK!
I'm a bandwagon jumper--and proud of it! As a Cubs fan, I jumped on the Sox bandwagon in 2005 and had a great time following the team through the playoffs, during the World Series, and finally at the tickertape parade in the Loop. Some might say I'm not a "true" Cubs fan because I root for the Sox from time-to-time, but I say you're not a true Chicago sports fan unless you support ALL the teams in town.
ReplyDeleteHaving the Hawks on TV is the biggest reason for the increased fan base to me. It doesn't hurt that their is a pretty amazing product out on the ice to watch. I couldn't agree more about Eddie O and Pat Foley they are fantastic. I really started following the Hawks last year and have watched every game that i can. To me its a little different for band wagon jumping for the Hawks since there was no way to watch the game unless you went to the UC.
ReplyDeleteHow about giving the Bulls announcers a little love. Stacey King and Neil Funk are fantastic. Stacey is hilarious and has a ton of basketball knowledge. While Neil Funk can really call the game.
I'll first comment on Big Bow's comment. You may be the first and only as far as I'm concerned, but I have NEVER met or spoken with a "true" Cubs fan that is also a "true" White Sox fan. It is my feeling that these are just two mutually exclusive groups.
ReplyDeletePlease keep in mind the word "fan" is what we're talking about and remember that "fan" is short for "fanatic". I do know people that root for both teams, but not fanatically. Most Cub fans I know kind of keep an eye hoping the Sox lose. But most Sox fans I know check out the Cubs scores first hoping they will lose and then check out the Sox score.
I'm going to do another post tonight on Cubs vs. Sox fans which I hope will generate some comments.
OK Curt, I totally agree that particularly in the Hawks' case, it is not really bandwagon jumping...it is rebuilding a fan base. There were a LOT of Hawks fans in this town back as late as the 90s but ownership decisions to get rid of Roenick, Chelios, etc. REALLY destroyed all the momentum they had built. Add in the fact that you couldn't watch the games on TV all the time and that's the formula for decimating your fan base.
ReplyDeleteWhile I did credit Eddie O and Pat Foley, you're TOTALLY right - Neal Funk and Stacey King are FANTASTIC to listen to as well. Although I do miss Neal on the radio broadcasts. But you're right, they put on a good show with their commentary and analysis.
I think Cub fans (fanatics) should be allowed to be a fan of the Sox. I mean they are in opposite leagues and only play each other 6 times a year. Obviously during those games, you need to pick your favorite team but aside from that, the Sox are from Chicago so if you can root for them, it's twice the baseball!
ReplyDeleteThe one factor that got overlooked all those years with Dollar Bill not broadcasting was you lost the young fan. The Hawks play in the Western Conference so most road games start @ 9:30 CST which made it impossible to cultivate a fan base. Thanks Rocky for changing that!
As far as bandwagon fans, I saw bring 'em on board! (I guess I could be considered a bandwagon guy as I had completly stopped watching the Hawks up until the middle of last year.) The thing with hockey is they have probably the greatest product in Playoff hockey yet coverage is still sparce. If you read any Canadian papers, it's all hockey! It should be the same here so the more fans you have, the bigger probability hockey gets better coverage.
GO HAWKS!
I didn't mean to imply you couldn't be fans of both the Cubs and Sox, I just have never spoken to a person that fits this category. I agree it should be possible, but again, I don't know any.
ReplyDeleteYes, the young fans not being able to watch the Hawks on TV is how you DESTROY a fan base from the bottom up. My son LOVED watching the Cubs since he was about 3. His first visit to Wrigley was for Game 3 of the 2003 NLDS - Maddux vs. Prior. Not bad for a first ever game; that was my first home playoff game for the Cubs in my life too. He was 6 at the time. Had the Cubs not been on TV, he wouldn't have the passion he does for them right now at age 12. When the Cubs play on the west coast or have a night game, his clock radio is always on and tuned to WGN to catch the game. YES, THANKS ROCKY!
Playoff hockey DEFINITELY provides the most intense games in sports. They all seem to be hotly contested with major swings in momentum throughout the game either with a great save by the goalie or an amazing wrister that finds the back of the net.
Having just visited Toronto last week, I have to whole-heartedly agree with Todd on the hockey coverage north of the border. Even though the Maple Leafs didn't make the post-season, the whole sports page was still all hockey.
The more popular it gets here, the more the newspapers and ESPN will have to cover it in order to keep up with demand. And the more people that watch on TV, the better coverage they will get as well as they'll be able to sell the rights to a big name network rather than using a fishing channel.
GO HAWKS!
I agree with Todd that Cubs fanatics should be allowed to root for the Sox. But I also agree with 21daman that a "true" Sox fan would never root for the Cubs. I'm looking forward to your post tonight on Cubs vs. Sox fans!
ReplyDelete