What is it that makes the Thrashers so successful?

[Eleven Bravo]

Some may say otherwise, but i am astonished by the fact a HOCKEY team in GEORGIA is averaging over 15,000 a game.

Honestly, I have yet to meet one person who would actually consider hockey their first sport in the state of Georgia. Furthermore, I would struggle to think of one person from Georgia that I've met that has ever seriously played hockey before (I know we played it once in PE when i was in highschool at the gym, but that was it)....Yet the Atlanta Thrashers do better than most MLS teams. What are they doing to get these fans to come to the games?The only thing I can think of is that they get 99X to advertise their games for them.

But when it comes to soccer, i know hundreds if not thousands of soccer fans from Georgia. I would go as far as to say A) it's the number one sport played by kids and hispanics B) the fastest growing sport in the state...especially, among the white audience...the fact that highschools play their games in the spring is very helpful for the sport C) and probably the number one pick-up sport in the state.

....What I'm trying to get at is that I have yet to see anything that a pro soccer team in Atlanta couldn't do as well as a pro hockey team. But what is it that makes the Thrashers attract the general sports fan that we would need to take note to ensure that we have that kind of success?

[oldie]

People like to go watch the fights they have. No other sport allows it. People go to the races to watch the cars crash. The type of fans of the two sports are similar.

[DavidP]

Some may say otherwise, but i am astonished by the fact a HOCKEY team in GEORGIA is averaging over 15,000 a game.

Honestly, I have yet to meet one person who would actually consider hockey their first sport in the state of Georgia. Furthermore, I would struggle to think of one person from Georgia that I've met that has ever seriously played hockey before (I know we played it once in PE when i was in highschool at the gym, but that was it)....Yet the Atlanta Thrashers do better than most MLS teams. What are they doing to get these fans to come to the games?The only thing I can think of is that they get 99X to advertise their games for them.

But when it comes to soccer, i know hundreds if not thousands of soccer fans from Georgia. I would go as far as to say A) it's the number one sport played by kids and hispanics B) the fastest growing sport in the state...especially, among the white audience...the fact that highschools play their games in the spring is very helpful for the sport C) and probably the number one pick-up sport in the state.

....What I'm trying to get at is that I have yet to see anything that a pro soccer team in Atlanta couldn't do as well as a pro hockey team. But what is it that makes the Thrashers attract the general sports fan that we would need to take note to ensure that we have that kind of success?

When you have an area that has as many Northern transplants as Atlanta does, it's rather easy to see (there are probably as many Bruins/Sabres/Rangers fans in ATL as there are Thrasher fans). The Flames also drew in pretty good numbers, their main problem being the lack of a TV contract. Hockey has also had a lot more exposure for a lot longer. I can remember when the NHL was on NBC back in the 70s. Plus, the Thrashers have promoted the living heck out of their team. I don't know if you were here then, but they started promoting and advertising a full year before they took to the ice. That's also how the Beat managed to draw the numbers they did for women's soccer (not to mention the fact that the WUSA was seen as "major league"), by getting a jump on the advertising game before they took the field. Hopefully one day, the soccer powers that be will realize that soccer is just like any other sport, and in order to be successful in the US, they'll have to spend a little money, do some advertising, and let the folks know they're there, whether it's MLS, USL, or the local rec league.

[Eleven Bravo]

When you have an area that has as many Northern transplants as Atlanta does, it's rather easy to see (there are probably as many Bruins/Sabres/Rangers fans in ATL as there are Thrasher fans). The Flames also drew in pretty good numbers, their main problem being the lack of a TV contract. Hockey has also had a lot more exposure for a lot longer. I can remember when the NHL was on NBC back in the 70s. Plus, the Thrashers have promoted the living heck out of their team. I don't know if you were here then, but they started promoting and advertising a full year before they took to the ice. That's also how the Beat managed to draw the numbers they did for women's soccer (not to mention the fact that the WUSA was seen as "major league"), by getting a jump on the advertising game before they took the field. Hopefully one day, the soccer powers that be will realize that soccer is just like any other sport, and in order to be successful in the US, they'll have to spend a little money, do some advertising, and let the folks know they're there, whether it's MLS, USL, or the local rec league.

I agree with you on the advertising. How much would it cost the Backs to get 99X to broadcast their games? I know that would attract fans from all over just from that.

Seriously, if the Beat could average 11,000 fans (granted, that was the first season but still they were one of the best teams as far as attendance goes in the WUSA) than i see no reason why the Silverbacks couldn't...and I definately don't see how a MLS team couldn't get A LOT MORE than that.

[BigKahuna]

One word: Yankees. :D

[Reignking]

Two words: Northern Transplants.

Oh, and the fact that hockey is immensely better in person.

It sure as heck can't be the ticket prices.

[jbeall]

It's a little surprising, but then again, the Carolina Hurricanes have a great fanbase.

Considering that the 'Canes and Thrashers are playing in a region so hot that ice is too precious to put in anything but tea, I'm genuinely amazed.

Hockey is similar enough to basketball that maybe fans are just turning out because the Thrashers are what they wish the Hawks could be. (Side note: I remember when Josh Smith was drafted, and all the 'experts' suggested he would be a first-round bust... idiots. You guys better hang on to him; he's turning into a stud.)

[pontiacj]

Hello folks, first post here...

The #1 reason why the Thrashers have been such a hit in Atlanta has everything to do with the growing transplant population irregardless of their involvement with the sport in years past.

Atlanta has grown at unprecedented levels for the last decade, but fan base growth has been largely stagnant for the Braves and Hawks (the Falcons finally fielded a competitive team for once, and that put butts in the seats). The reason being that these franchises have been here for a long time, they have fan bases, they have rivalries, they have history which predates the transplant's time in this city. If someone moves down here from New York, Philly, Chicago, etc, they grew up rooting against the Braves when they played the Mets, Phillies, Cubs, etc. These lines of allegiance run deep, and they certainly exist despite what zip code you call your own. Your team is still your team is still your team.

However, when speaking of the Trashers, that history doesn't exist for many northern transplants, because for many of them, the team came into existence, or at least came into its' own while many of them were here. Not to mention that the divisional rivalries between the southern teams are also new and growing. You don't have to root against the Rangers that you grew up loving on a game to game basis to support the Thrashers, you can show up to the ice and root against the 'Canes or Lightning, new traditions both of them. The Thrashers, therefore, are a team that is distinctly Atlantan, new, fresh, exciting, and something without history, without ties. It is a team which everyone here has seen grow from nothing to what it is now.

Which brings me to my point. A futbol team here would bring out those who came recently, those who will come, due in large part to the fact that they can be apart of something from the beginning of what will one day become something great. Which is why they moved here in the first place.

[FC Matt 90]

Not to put a damper on things, but I'd hardly consider the Thrashers a franchise that is "so successful". Yes, they do draw 15,000, but this is in their best season to date, and those attendance numbers are still at the bottom half of the league. I do, however, see your point, and find it amazing that teams in the South and the Sunbelt can draw comparable numbers as some of their northern counterparts. The one thing with the Thrashers, though, is that I do not think they have a strong television viewing, which affects how truly "successful" a team is.

Although I understand your argument for soccer, I think it is too hard to compare support for other sports to possible support for MLS; its just apples and oranges.

[pontiacj]

Although I understand your argument for soccer, I think it is too hard to compare support for other sports to possible support for MLS; its just apples and oranges.

If there is a sport which is ripe (haha, fruit) for comparision to soccer it is hockey. The tactics are extremely similar in that the game is played in space and most scoring opportunities are created from moving the puck/ball laterally near the goal, the game is more popular internationally than on American soil, the talent is largely foreign, and the game is fast and furious with minimal breaks in action, not to mention that the appeal of the game comes largely with watching it live as opposed to on television.

Though one may complain that comparisions from one professional sport to the next are too hard in gauging a region's response to a club, it happens. I mean, what is the one thing that gets thrown around when it comes to the Philadephia area? The die hard fan base, how it is an amazing sports market, and though this is true, it reeks of comparision to other professional sports. My point is that without drawing comparision, one cannot debate...in other words red herring tastes best when grilled over an open flame. The point of the post was to discuss how it is that the Thrashers have been so successful in promoting a sport not native to this region, which they have been quite successful at thus far, posting a 19% increase in attendance in 4 years time. Bloody impressive if you ask me. Now, if the Atlanta Spirit Group would just work on firing Billy Knight.

[FC Matt 90]

If there is a sport which is ripe (haha, fruit) for comparision to soccer it is hockey. The tactics are extremely similar in that the game is played in space and most scoring opportunities are created from moving the puck/ball laterally near the goal, the game is more popular internationally than on American soil, the talent is largely foreign, and the game is fast and furious with minimal breaks in action, not to mention that the appeal of the game comes largely with watching it live as opposed to on television.

Though one may complain that comparisions from one professional sport to the next are too hard in gauging a region's response to a club, it happens. I mean, what is the one thing that gets thrown around when it comes to the Philadephia area? The die hard fan base, how it is an amazing sports market, and though this is true, it reeks of comparision to other professional sports. My point is that without drawing comparision, one cannot debate...in other words red herring tastes best when grilled over an open flame. The point of the post was to discuss how it is that the Thrashers have been so successful in promoting a sport not native to this region, which they have been quite successful at thus far, posting a 19% increase in attendance in 4 years time. Bloody impressive if you ask me. Now, if the Atlanta Spirit Group would just work on firing Billy Knight.

You make a valid point, and by no means am I downplaying what the Thrashers have done in a non-traditional hockey market. What I mean by saying that its difficult to compare leagues is that its really hard to compare the success of one league in a city to the success of another, just as its impossible to make the comparison between NASL and possible MLS success. For instance, there is little comparison in Chicago sports, where the Blackhawks draw horribly, the Bulls sellout most games, and the Fire are in between. I am not saying that Atlanta would be a bad MLS market or whatever, just saying that its hard to base your whole argument of why MLS should be in ATL on the moderate success of the local NHL team.

[pontiacj]

You make a valid point, and by no means am I downplaying what the Thrashers have done in a non-traditional hockey market. What I mean by saying that its difficult to compare leagues is that its really hard to compare the success of one league in a city to the success of another, just as its impossible to make the comparison between NASL and possible MLS success. For instance, there is little comparison in Chicago sports, where the Blackhawks draw horribly, the Bulls sellout most games, and the Fire are in between. I am not saying that Atlanta would be a bad MLS market or whatever, just saying that its hard to base your whole argument of why MLS should be in ATL on the moderate success of the local NHL team.

Understood. One of the big knocks on Atlanta as a major sports market is the apathy of the fan base. What we are seeing right now is a growing fan base for a new franchise, and a team which seems to be drawing the notoriously fickle transplant population. When I've ponied up the cash to go to see the Atlanta Falcons, I've noticed a fan base divided amongst those who are there to see the Falcons and those that are there to see Football. When the Cubs come to Atlanta, the crowd is divided right down the middle between fans of each franchise. Let's not even talk about when the Lakers come to town. When one goes to a Thrashers game, the environment is totally different, Phillips is a sea of blue, with save for a few loyalists here and there for their hometown club, an entire city gets behind one franchise. Truly, this is an exciting time for a fan of Atlanta sports, and there is a good bit of evidence to support my theory, which simply stated is, that Atlanta will come out and support a team with new ties to the city. So often it is said that franchises and fan bases are reflections of the city where they thrive or die, this city is new and without roots, giving this city an mls franchise would set the stage for the same thing to happen with soccer that it did for hockey. Whether or not it does happen is up to us.

PS...Thrashers attendance over the last 20 games is about 17,200 which would push them to the middle of the pack when it comes to attendance, if one could fudge statistics at will.