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In all honesty, why should people go to the Toyota Center to watch this team?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by DVauthrin, Dec 1, 2004.

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  1. DVauthrin

    DVauthrin Contributing Member

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    Before I start this post, I want to make it clear I have lived in katy(a suburb of houston) for all my life except 3 years of college at UT-Austin, and I am a huge Rockets fan. In fact, my mom used to get company seats in the metal chairs behind the baskets at the Summit/Compaq Center and I went to plenty of games.

    And a couple weeks ago, I talked my family into going to the Lakers game as we hadn't been to any games since the team's move to the Toyota Center. Sadly, it was quite honestly, one of the worst sporting experiences I've ever had. I'd say we spent 135 dollars(not counting the 40 bucks spent on arena food because that is by choice) for the three of us to attend the game, and the experience nowhere came close to the amount we paid. And that got me to thinking, why exactly would somebody want to go pay good money to watch this team on a regular basis? I mean, when you go to a Rockets game nowadays these are just some of the things you have to look forward to:

    1. Expensive Ticket Prices

    Yes, I understand the NBA is a business and after the two championships ticket increases are understandable. However, to get a good UPPER level seat costs you 30-40 bucks a piece. I sat in the 40 dollar upper bowl seats for the game I went to, and let me tell you, those seats were uncomfortable. It felt so ridiculously steep up there that it was crazy. They weren't even close to being worth 40 dollars.

    2. Boring, idiotic basketball(Van Gundy ball)

    As if it's not bad enough that even upper deck seats cost good money, if one chooses to embark to the Toyota Center to watch the Rockets play they are subjected to some of the most unexciting, stupid basketball they'll ever see in their lifetime. One night it is JVG's mindnumbingly stupid substitutions like in the Knicks and Lakers games. The rest of the time it is let's make sure we never start any offensive play until 10 seconds are on the shot clock therefore resulting in bad shots. Watching this team play is about as much fun as watching paint dry or going to the dentist to fill a cavity.

    3. T-Grey/Drummers

    I'm lumping these two things into one individual category because I feel they are similar problems. First, as far as T-Grey is concerned, he just sucks. His "WHOSE BALL IS IT" might just be the most annoying PA announcer phrase ever uttered. I mean, I felt like he was announcing an and-1 mix tape game when I took my family to the Lakers game. That's not a good thing, and sadly, it wasn't a one game occurrence. Lastly, as far as the Drummers are concerned, they are just out of place at an NBA game. It just distracts from the whole experience and I have to admit when they came around to our section during the first half of the Lakers game they annoyed the hell out of me and my parents who were trying to watch the game. It's not that they are bad musicians; not at all. It's that they just are a bad fit at a Rockets game.

    The bottom line is unless I was a Rockets fan who didn't have access to cable television or rarely was in the city to go to games I would stay home at this point. At least that way I would save money and also have the added benefit of being able to change the channel during games like tonight's Pistons defeat. I don't want to feel this way, but as long as the atmosphere at a Rockets game is as such, I can't blame people for not going to games, especially those with the ability to get all the games at their homes.
     
    #1 DVauthrin, Dec 1, 2004
  2. Nick

    Nick Contributing Member

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    I'd shudder to think of what the make-up of this team would be if attendance was zero.

    A roster full of CBA players?

    Basically, all of the problems you listed can be found at all arenas.... except the Rockets boring play. Every arena is expensive, every arena has dumb promotion ideas that get on fans' nerves, and every team offers games on cable that limit the amount of local games a team can watch.

    But, the only thing that this team could have ever done to get fans out there... is win. Forget the style of basketball... if it gets you wins, then use it (of course now, we're not getting wins either way, so its moot).

    But, if we were 16-0... w/ Van Gundy's style... you would see more fans. If this team went on a run to the NBA finals, you would see sell-outs.

    That's the only way Houston fans respond... also, if we were 6-10 w/ a highlight reel flashing, uptempo style... I still think attendance would be where it is. (see 2001-02 Rockets).
     
    #2 Nick, Dec 1, 2004
  3. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    So that they won't start redundant threads?:confused:
     
    #3 SamFisher, Dec 1, 2004
  4. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Contributing Member

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    Two words:

    Tundra Dancers
     
    #4 ima_drummer2k, Dec 1, 2004
  5. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Contributing Member

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    Tim - VP, you have angry fans here who don't like the entertainment and the pricing. What can you do about it?
     
    #5 Rockets34Legend, Dec 1, 2004
  6. cuneo77

    cuneo77 Contributing Member

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    even toyota center wasnt on the ball last nite

    they ran out off food, wanted to chargeme 7 bucks for 3 pieces of chicken with no fries, no bread either at one point. i guess when it rains it pours, i do like our dec schedule after our dallas and spurs games,if we are losing those, i think the jvg era is over!!
     
    #6 cuneo77, Dec 1, 2004
  7. pugsly8422

    pugsly8422 Contributing Member

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    I wish I could give Tim, or someone, my opinion face to face so that I know they're actually listening even though they'll probably just toss my thoughts aside as soon as I leave. I have to agree with everything the original poster said. I'm a half season ticket holder and have already missed 2 games voluntarily because I just didn't want to see this team play, or put up with all the bs that goes on during the games. Unless changes are made I'm definitely not going to be renewing my tickets next year. I actually pondered not getting them this year, but being a die hard fan kind of forced me into it. Next year I'll probably go to a few games, but won't commit like I've done this year.

    I think one thing leads to another, and in the end it leads to Van Gundy. Why would you want to watch this team? It's slow, and we're the second worst scoring team in the league. I know when most people go they want to see scoring, not defense. Yeah defense wins championship, but sometimes scoring comes in handy too. Wins do put people in the seats too, but I think as long as they're seeing something actually happen on the court people will still be happy. One thing we're never going to see with Van Gundy as the coach is a 40+ Mcgrady game. Things like that get people going, and we're not going to get it.

    Of course our other problem, T-Grey, Drummers, etc. can't be blamed on Van Gundy unfortunately. As much as it drives me crazy, I can live with that stuff because I'm there to see the Rockets and that's what I think is most important. I guess we just need a more offensive minded/fastbreaking coach because I can't think of anything else.

    Pugs
     
    #7 pugsly8422, Dec 1, 2004
  8. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Tim is listening, but it is a CRAP storm right now, if the team was playing well, a lot of this is inconsequesntial.

    DD
     
    #8 DaDakota, Dec 1, 2004
  9. KeepKenny

    KeepKenny Contributing Member

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    I laughed out loud when they showed the commercial for the six game packs at halftime. No way anybody in that arena is gonna buy anymore tickets than they already have.
     
    #9 KeepKenny, Dec 1, 2004
  10. Rocket G

    Rocket G Contributing Member

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    Before I go off on the negative, I will say that the Rockets/TC center staff took good care of us in one instance last night. Last night I was so bored & so angry at the game b/c of our play (I ended up bailing halfway through the 4th) that I couldn't bring myself to drink beer. :eek: I decided to find some coffee b/c I still needed to wake up to drive home. Bizarrely, none of the places on the main concourse had any. I asked a TC/Rockets staff member, & he escorted us into the club area where they have a full blown coffee shop. Very kind of him.

    Now for the negative.

    DaDakota, I see what you're saying, but the Rockets' food/entertainment/announcing/marketing components are in NO WAY connected to winning or losing on the court. Crap service, crap food, crap announcers, & crap giveaway running (I saw people getting up to 3 bobbleheads last night while others were told they had "just run out") are STILL CRAP no matter if we win or lose. I think I have made my dislike of the TC's food offerings - not to mention the pisspoor service ( I don't need to have you roll your eyes at me when YOU mess up my order and I have to correct you) - well known. I won't sit here and rehash it, but these reports I'm hearing of TC RUNNING OUT of food and/or rationing portions are crazy!

    You cater to 17k people, on a night when the World Champs are in town, and you don't have your **** together?Don't use the on the court results as a means of justifying (as an example) the fact that the people serving the food are poorly trained & surly. Or that the food runs out! You can't make excuses now & pray that wins down the road mean you can sweep problems under the rug.

    The organization seems to be a mess right now. Van Gundy' s style & system sucks. The team isn't meshing well at all. Yao is still soft. We have no point guard. Van Chancellor is unintelligible. T-Gray's mumbling & incessant chants makes me cry & wish for the former announcer. I wonder why music is blared during EVERY possession we have so that I can't hear jack else coming from the court. Coop doesn't belong near a mic. The club section placement is the stupidest thing I have ever seen - it has been EMPTY every single damn game this season. I walked into the club section last night, so don't tell me that those peeps are all up in the bar area b/c they are most definitely not. They should turn the "end zone" areas behind the basket into the club area. Wanna know why it's so boring, tired-feeling, and unenergetic in the stadium even when we're winning? It's because the giant fan area in the lower middle portion is BUTT EMPTY. It's embarrasing.

    Despite all this, I'll say the following: ticket prices are...ticket prices. My seats are 57 bucks each to sit in the corner of the lower bowl. For the same money I could get much better seats - comparitively - for the Texans or Astros. BUT, I KNEW THIS when i bought my mini-plan. I love this team & live and die with every win or loss. I have since I was a kid. Even with all the crap listed above , the only way I can see them live is to put up with the rest of the stuff, and pony up for the tix.

    Call me a sucker for it, but I believe in this TEAM - not in Tim, or Aramark, or T-Gray, or Les Alexander, or anyone else connected to the Rockets as an organization (ummm, Power Dancers excepted). It's about those guys out on the court and my hope in them, and that's why despite the inanity surrounding the court, I'll continue to go to the games.

    They better trade for a damn point guard soon though, lol. :cool:
     
    #10 Rocket G, Dec 1, 2004
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2004
  11. gucci888

    gucci888 Contributing Member

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    People buy tickets and go to games to be entertained, and I think it's pretty safe to say that nothing about our games is entertaining. Spending our hard earned money to watch boring games and losing is getting old.

    Would anyone who watches sports ever imagine that we would have trouble filling up the TC with Yao/TMac? I don't know any other instance in which this could happen.
     
    #11 gucci888, Dec 1, 2004
  12. pugsly8422

    pugsly8422 Contributing Member

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    Gucci, thanx for summing up in 2 paragraphs what I've been trying to say for the last month.

    Pugs
     
    #12 pugsly8422, Dec 1, 2004
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