A not so flattering picture of the Hawks crowd gets posted on Twitter

[Admin]

Wrong. Moses' first year as a Hawk, 88-89, saw attendance spike to 15,714 a game. Not to be equaled again until 2006 when the owners started fabricating attendance figures. (one year in the GA dome as an exception).

So Moses did and probably could still make a difference.

http://basketballreference.com/teams/teamatt.htm?tm=atl&lg=N

Wrong? You're talking about 15,714 a game like it's impressive when it's not even a sellout? That's roughly 96% capacity, which is matched up 12 teams this year alone.

And that's one year surrounded by many, many poor years of support. But if this one single year of middle of the pack support is something to be proud of in your eyes then by all means have this "victory".

[capstone21]

It would be interesting to know how many squawkers consistently go to games. I bet the percentage is low

[Admin]

It would be interesting to know how many squawkers consistently go to games. I bet the percentage is low

I would bet you are right. I think that many of the diehards on here aren't even in the Atlanta area.

[Randy]

"If people don't want to come out to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?"

Yogi Berra

[Guest]

Wrong? You're talking about 15,714 a game like it's impressive when it's not even a sellout? That's roughly 96% capacity, which is matched up 12 teams this year alone.

And that's one year surrounded by many, many poor years of support. But if this one single year of middle of the pack support is something to be proud of in your eyes then by all means have this "victory".

I remember looking at this, and 96% capacity in the 80s is pretty good. The Omni was actually one of the smaller capacity stadiums around that time IIRC, so the raw numbers (they came in 11th that season) will look low. Piecing it together with attendance http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1989.html and [capacity] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_arenas, the teams with more attendance had:

Charlotte 96% 23,167 [24,042] (new in 1988)

Detroit 97% 21,448 [22,076] (new in 1988)

New York 100% 18,215 [18,212]

Chicago 91% 17,974 [18,676]

Cleveland 87% 17,595 [20,273]

LA 100% 17,496 [17,505]

Milwaukee 91% 17,097 [18,717] (new in 1988)

Dallas 93% 16,952 [18,293]

Houston 100% 16,603 [16,611]

Sacramento 95% 16,517 [17,317] (new in 1988)

...damn, isn't there a way to put an excel table into this stupid text editor? Anyway.

We were certainly near the top that season with league average at 82% capacity. If I could load up the whole spreadsheet I compiled then you would some of the stinkers like the Bullets (6,195 with capacity of 18756) or the Pacers (8178 with capacity of 16530)...

If you want to talk shit about the Atlanta fans, you have to recognize that 1) they aren't the worst, 2) the fans respond to the product AND price, and 3) do some f***ing research. We have too many damn lazy assholes from ESPN claiming "oh those fans are the worst" but it is an echo-chamber. Why are they the worst? Oh because everyone else has claimed that in the past without ever looking at some data. (not directed at @Dolfan23, actually directed more at Scott Van Pelt as he is an ass)

Edited March 21, 2014 by hawksfanatic

[Gray Mule]

Old rule of thumb:

"Charge what the traffic will bear."

Change those prices for those special, middle of the week with no

"glamor" team for competition. Sell them cheap enough and they

will come.

Who can afford $120.00 per person? Ugh. Give us some special

group rates to those "empty stadium" games. Bus those fans in

and fill the place with $2.00 seats

[Admin]

I remember looking at this, and 96% capacity in the 80s is pretty good. The Omni was actually one of the smaller capacity stadiums around that time IIRC, so the raw numbers (they came in 11th that season) will look low. Piecing it together with attendance http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1989.html and [capacity] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_arenas, the teams with more attendance had:

Charlotte 96% 23,167 [24,042] (new in 1988)

Detroit 97% 21,448 [22,076] (new in 1988)

New York 100% 18,215 [18,212]

Chicago 91% 17,974 [18,676]

Cleveland 87% 17,595 [20,273]

LA 100% 17,496 [17,505]

Milwaukee 91% 17,097 [18,717] (new in 1988)

Dallas 93% 16,952 [18,293]

Houston 100% 16,603 [16,611]

Sacramento 95% 16,517 [17,317] (new in 1988)

...damn, isn't there a way to put an excel table into this stupid text editor? Anyway.

We were certainly near the top that season with league average at 82% capacity. If I could load up the whole spreadsheet I compiled then you would some of the stinkers like the Bullets (6,195 with capacity of 18756) or the Pacers (8178 with capacity of 16530)...

If you want to talk shit about the Atlanta fans, you have to recognize that 1) they aren't the worst, 2) the fans respond to the product AND price, and 3) do some f***ing research. We have too many damn lazy assholes from ESPN claiming "oh those fans are the worst" but it is an echo-chamber. Why are they the worst? Oh because everyone else has claimed that in the past without ever looking at some data. (not directed at @Dolfan23, actually directed more at Scott Van Pelt as he is an ass)

I still don't think 11th then vs what would be 12th this year is all that impressive. If they averaged that every year then it wouldn't be so bad but the surrounding years were much less. I don't consider our fan support over our history to be "bad" it's just not impressive as we simply don't have fans who will support the team no matter what.

[Guest]

I still don't think 11th then vs what would be 12th this year is all that impressive. If they averaged that every year then it wouldn't be so bad but the surrounding years were much less. I don't consider our fan support over our history to be "bad" it's just not impressive as we simply don't have fans who will support the team no matter what.

You're just baiting me to do the research to show you it hasn't always been bad. I know reverse psychology when I see it.

[Admin]

You're just baiting me to do the research to show you it hasn't always been bad. I know reverse psychology when I see it.

There's a link posted earlier showing the year by year attendance. That year was definitely an outlier.

[Guest]

There's a link posted earlier showing the year by year attendance. That year was definitely an outlier.

I don't think you realize how bad some other cities are...which is just a part of the NBA. We've been middle of the pack which is what you kind of should expect except for years that we have had A$G management.

[Admin]

I don't think you realize how bad some other cities are...which is just a part of the NBA. We've been middle of the pack which is what you kind of should expect except for years that we have had A$G management.

I do realize that but just don't want to pump up a single year that's at least 1,500 more fans per game than other years in that era as some sort of accomplishment. I'd bet that over the past 35 years we are around 20 in average attendance but I'm way too lazy to look it up.

[Randy]

I've thought about this some and have concluded that so long as my team doesn't leave town, attendance at games is a problem for the owners not me, the fan. In fact, I can't think of any reason why I would even want to have big crowds. With poor attendance figures, I get easier parking, a quicker exit after the game is over, a less crowded arena, elbow room at my seats, a better chance to actually see all the action since there will be fewer people standing up in front of me, shorter concession lines and maybe lower ticket prices. So why should I care if there's a big crowd or not.

On top of that, if the team does leave town, there is always the chance for an expansion team......The Hawks have been here what 40 years and I'm guessing they will be here another forty years, or at least until I stop wasting oxygen..

[Admin]

Randy I gotta admit that was pretty funny. But I present Hawks vs Celtics 2007 playoffs as to why you'd want big crowds as the team feeds off of that. If this doesn't give you chillz then you must be dead!

http://youtu.be/fNwnTNQ9KjI

[Dejay]

I'll agree with Dolfan but to a point. I recall the '88-89 season quite well. It came after that epic series with Boston. During the offseason, they traded for Reggie Theus then moved on Moses Malone. Both guys were All-Star players who were well proven in the league. The entire city was buzzed about the possibilities and responded by buying tickets by the bushel.

Now ask yourselves this very simple question. Have this franchise ever had an offseason like that before or since? You know, a season where they actually challenged someone in the playoffs before, then added REAL players to their starting lineup?

Sadly, we all know the answer to that, which explains why the stands stay empty except when (insert superstar here) is in town.

We've had close to fifty years of mediocre basketball here. We've witnessed two star players who had to carry the freight by themselves while other teams had guys with actual TALENT who could help them out; only to blame those guys for not being able to carry those carcasses to a title. The draft has been an unmitigated disaster area. Name another franchise that has picked only one All-Star player (Horford) with its picks over the last THIRTY YEARS that actually played for the team.

Fans respond to the product you dish out. That's why those perennial contenders keep adding players every year who can help; all while getting rid of those who can't. The one year this team finally got it right was '88-89; albeit with the wrong mix of players. That one, lonely season we didn't hear about potential, upside, or what they could look like 2-3 years from now. It was about winning the big belt right now; the way it ALWAYS SHOULD BE...

Edited March 22, 2014 by Dejay

[nathan2331]

Randy I gotta admit that was pretty funny. But I present Hawks vs Celtics 2007 playoffs as to why you'd want big crowds as the team feeds off of that. If this doesn't give you chillz then you must be dead!

http://youtu.be/fNwnTNQ9KjI

I wonder how much having a crowd like that helped the team. Probably not too much since we played terribly on a national stage afterwards. Good times though.

[Admin]

I wonder how much having a crowd like that helped the team. Probably not too much since we played terribly on a national stage afterwards. Good times though.

We won every home game that series and hit blown out all 4 on the road so I'd say it helped us a lot.

[macdaddy]

Wrong? You're talking about 15,714 a game like it's impressive when it's not even a sellout? That's roughly 96% capacity, which is matched up 12 teams this year alone.

And that's one year surrounded by many, many poor years of support. But if this one single year of middle of the pack support is something to be proud of in your eyes then by all means have this "victory".

Actually this was mostly a joke about our attendance spiking when we signed Moses Malone since you mentioned Moses and Jesus. But I agree with Hawksfanatic. That was actually a huge year not just in terms of attendance but overall recognition in the city. There was a buzz about the Hawks. Unfortunately they disappointed because Theus got in quite a few spats with Fratello and I don't think the average fan really appreciated Moses' game because it was kind of boring. Effective but boring.

I'd also make the case that that 15,000 number was real. You went to the game and there were actually 15,000 people in the seats whereas now 15,000 means there's about half that number actually in the arena.

[Diesel]

Here's the real question:

If the 2014-2015 season began with the Hawks having been moved to Seattle, how much fight would the city of Atlanta put up to keep the Hawks in Atlanta?

[macdaddy]

Here's the real question:

If the 2014-2015 season began with the Hawks having been moved to Seattle, how much fight would the city of Atlanta put up to keep the Hawks in Atlanta?

The city put up not fight to keep the Braves. You think there'll be any for the Hawks?

[Guest]

The city put up not fight to keep the Braves. You think there'll be any for the Hawks?

I think there is a big difference with moving entirely out of State as opposed to 20 miles north.