Ok Guys Lets Just Be Real Here

[CODHAWKSFAN]

This is basically a continuation of the conversation that was started in an earlier thread that was moved (for good reason).Lets be real here about why people don't show up to Hawks games, its not about traffic, its not about location, its not about the time of day the games are played, price....etc or any of the other EXCUSES people give when asked about coming to Hawks games, because we all know that if D12 LBJ or any big name player was to come to Atlanta all of those EXCUSES would magically disappear. This situation is all about PERCEPTION, people in general have a negative perception about the Hawks, and if you have been around for a while, you know the perception (in some cases) far out weighs reality. If I fault the Hawks for anything it is not doing enough or a better job at changing that negative perception.Think about it, whats your perception of Mercedes? Classy, elite, all of the good things that you can say about a car correct? Now what has been perception of Kia? Cheap, unreliable, basically the direct opposite right? What if someone took the symbol off of the Mercedes and put it on a Kia optima? Do you think most would know the difference? Kia has worked really hard (and I believe it is working) at changing peoples perception of their vehicles and the Kia optima a perfect example of that (I like the car by the way).You take the Hawks recent 5 seasons and put that on any other sports team in Atlanta and I guarantee you a majority sell out. What you are seeing with the Falcons now is that perception starting to wear off "wait a minute, these just some regular ol crackers" (inside joke for those of you who have seen Eddie Murphy's Raw). AB has done a very good job in making people believe that he is bettering his team but the result remains the same.I will admit that the Hawks have made some very bad decisions but as far as the product that they have put on the court? I can honestly say that they have done a good job.

Edited August 19, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The fans themselves don't like to be blamed for not showing up to Hawks games. The truth is, the area just isn't die hard about their sports teams. Great wins doesn't generate enough support and bad losses doesn't generate enough criticism. Chalk that up to whatever you want, but that's is the truth. People simply do not care about the Hawks.Combine that, with the piss poor marketing that the team does for itself and for its star players, and you have the ingredients for a poorly supported product, even if they're a playoff level team.I'll never forget back in 2009 when we were playing the Heat. I was in Athens visiting friends and was listening to the game on the radio in my car and on my headphones. I believe it was Game 3 of that series. Because the Hawks flagship station was 680 AM, I had no problem listening to the game . . as long as the sun was up. But a lot of AM stations power down at night, or go off the air altogether. So as nightfall came, the signal got weaker and weaker, until it finally went out. LOL . . I'm 70 miles away from ATL, but can't listen to a Hawks PLAYOFF GAME on the radio. That was mind boggling to me. Meanwhile, I could pick up nighttime signals from New Orleans, Dallas, and Chicago on powerful AM radio signals. When the Hawks were on 750 AM, listening to them as far away as Kentucky used to be no problem at night.- lack of a true superstar player- fan apathy toward the Hawks- pitiful marketing of the Hawks as an organization and its good playersThose are the 3 big reasons for a weak fan base in ATL, even when the team is good, but not great.

[CODHAWKSFAN]

I mostly agree with some of your points buy not all. I feel like when you the Hawks win, a big game is kinda of brushed over we agree on that, but when they lose big, it is very well known that the hawks lost, by how much and how such and such was just the better team.I kinda get what you are saying about the radio station but I can't really say that the hawks are bad because of that. 680 could have been having problems that night. Lastly I do not believe that not having a "superstar" is that much of a factor, I believe it is the lack of marketing for the hawks players that they do have is the problem.

Edited August 20, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[CODHAWKSFAN]

And I don't agree with blaming the fans either but I can blame some atliens for being ignorant about their home teams. I will never forget the day that I asked someone to come to a game with me and he said no because the Hawks suck, but he will go to a Falcons game. At the time the Hawks had one of the best records in the east and had advanced to the second round twice, I don't think that the falcons even made the playoffs the year before.

Edited August 20, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[Nicholasp27]

680 powers down at nightBack then you couldn't get hawks games outside the perimeter at night; it was annoying to not be able to listen to the games on the way home...They shoulda had an official radio partner that doesn't power down during the games...seems like a no-brainerBy outside the perimeter I mean right outside...Roswell, Duluth, Marietta, etc

[CODHAWKSFAN]

680 powers down at night Back then you couldn't get hawks games outside the perimeter at night; it was annoying to not be able to listen to the games on the way home... They shoulda had an official radio partner that doesn't power down during the games...seems like a no-brainer By outside the perimeter I mean right outside...Roswell, Duluth, Marietta, etc

Wow... I didn't know that.

[ATLscrubLove]

Ticket prices do still stack up to fans not showing up. There are still A LOT of people in the area that are jobless, or have cut rate minimum wage job. I don't have a job, Ive only been to one game in the past 4 years. I saved up for days just so I could go to game 5 against the Celtics this past season. The traffic really isn't too terrible but I think another reason for people not showing up is because of all the ignorance within the city... A lot of people are scared of Atlanta because they are afraid of getting jumped, not to mention getting bugged all the so called "homeless" down there. The "homeless" down there can make anywhere between $30,000- $50,000 a year just by asking for handouts. I'm not scared of anyone down there, but I will say this non-jokingly... NEVER GO TO THE SOUTHSIDE!!!

[Theeyo]

marketing is pretty terrible around the city, i see braves & falcons stuff everywhere, but no Hawks.

[CODHAWKSFAN]

Ticket prices do still stack up to fans not showing up. There are still A LOT of people in the area that are jobless, or have cut rate minimum wage job. I don't have a job, Ive only been to one game in the past 4 years. I saved up for days just so I could go to game 5 against the Celtics this past season. The traffic really isn't too terrible but I think another reason for people not showing up is because of all the ignorance within the city... A lot of people are scared of Atlanta because they are afraid of getting jumped, not to mention getting bugged all the so called "homeless" down there. The "homeless" down there can make anywhere between $30,000- $50,000 a year just by asking for handouts. I'm not scared of anyone down there, but I will say this non-jokingly... NEVER GO TO THE SOUTHSIDE!!!

See to me... this is one of the prime examples of the excuses that I am talking about. There are way to many people in Atlanta with money to spend on games but choose not to because they don't want to associate themselves with the Hawks. I mean the homeless people? Seriously how far is the dome from Phillips arena? To be honest look at the area surrounding the braves stadium, u are more likely to get robbed in that area than downtown Atlanta, and Marta doesn't even stop there but the braves can draw in 15-16 thousand fans on a Thursday during business hours. Its the perception I'm telling you. Edited August 20, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[CODHAWKSFAN]

marketing is pretty terrible around the city, i see braves & falcons stuff everywhere, but no Hawks.

The Hawks do not purchase those items, the vendor does. For example I was getting my hair cut yesterday and spotted a woman selling hats, she had Braves, Falcons, Saints, Miami and Boston hats. I asked here where the Hawks hat was she said that she didn't know if anyone would buy one, 3 barbers immediately said "I would". So the reason walmart, target, and all of these other stores don't have hawks stuff is because they do not believe that it is profitable or that people will buy it.

[ATLscrubLove]

See to me... this is one of the prime examples of the excuses that I am talking about. There are way to many people in Atlanta with money to spend on games but choose not to because they don't want to associate themselves with the Hawks. I mean the homeless people? Seriously how far is the dome from Phillips arena? To be honest look at the area surrounding the braves stadium, u are more likely to get robbed in that area than downtown Atlanta, and Marta doesn't even stop there but the braves can draw in 15-16 thousand fans on a Thursday during business hours. Its the perception I'm telling you.

Bills come before games, just saying. People that live in Atlanta should have enough money to go. But I'm talking about average to poor people.

[CODHAWKSFAN]

Bills come before games, just saying. People that live in Atlanta should have enough money to go. But I'm talking about average to poor people.

Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about those who cannot afford to go to games, but the ones who have the disposable income to do so, and trust me, there are A LOT, of those people in Atlanta. Edited August 20, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[EazyRoc]

See to me... this is one of the prime examples of the excuses that I am talking about. There are way to many people in Atlanta with money to spend on games but choose not to because they don't want to associate themselves with the Hawks. I mean the homeless people? Seriously how far is the dome from Phillips arena? To be honest look at the area surrounding the braves stadium, u are more likely to get robbed in that area than downtown Atlanta, and Marta doesn't even stop there but the braves can draw in 15-16 thousand fans on a Thursday during business hours. Its the perception I'm telling you.

The area around Phillips is nice and yes you're more likely to get robbed or something around Turner Field. I guess that's why he was warning about the Southside lol

[CODHAWKSFAN]

The area around Phillips is nice and yes you're more likely to get robbed or something around Turner Field. I guess that's why he was warning about the Southside lol

LOL...true. But that whole excuse about getting robbed or harassed going to a Hawks game as opposed to a Falcons or Braves game is just silly, especially when Dome is right next to Phillips Arena and the Braves stadium is LITERALLY in the ghetto. Edited August 20, 2012 by CODHAWKSFAN

[ATLscrubLove]

LOL...true. But that whole excuse about getting robbed or harassed going to a Hawks game as opposed to a Falcons or Braves game is just silly, especially when Dome is right next to Phillips Arena and the Braves stadium is LITERALLY in the ghetto.

Downtown is the safest but I don't consider it entirely safe just because it's in Atlanta. I like going to the city but you can't be too careful. But yea overall Turner Field is in the worst place. I went to a Taco Bell in south side before the game... I was lucky to get out lol. These black bros kept asking for money within the restaurant while we were trying to eat. Plus there were some trying to sell me bootleg DVDs and CDs. Man it was a bad experience. Trust me, you're better off paying stadium price for food.

[clicklandshopping]

I guarantee you this, if the mass media (ESPN, TNT with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith) start talking about how good of a team we are and stop dissing us at every waking moment, I guarantee attendance would go up. I think the Hawks should pay the media for support. That in itself would start the sellouts to come because if people hear positive things about their team, they will get curious and want to see what's going on.

[CODHAWKSFAN]

Bingo, my point EXACTLY!!! I agree.!

[DrReality]

Atl is a football town gets all jacked up for the SEC..... Not hawks

[CODHAWKSFAN]

Yes Football is king in this city, but there are more than enough people in the city of Atlanta to fill up a 18,000 seat arena. This is not some small town in the middle of nowhere .

[wolvetigers]

Atlanta just have trouble by not having a culture of winning. When I'm in town i go to game but ultimately people want a winner..and the Hawks just really dont put much star power on the court...People want hope..."Hope is a powerful thing" If we can create a team that gives the Hope of a Championship then people will come out - - winning is addictive and fans would want to watch...That is what Ferry means by creating a Culture of Winning here...