Game Day: Bulls (7-3) @ Suns (6-4), Wed 11/18/15

[The Bobster]

Suns crowds have been this way as long as I can remember. in the 70s and 80s it was Sixers, Celtics and Lakers fans. In the 90s it was Bulls fans. Recently you can add Miami and Cleveland (depending on who LeBron is playing for).

Part of it is the bandwagon mentality of casual fans, part is because there are so many Arizonans who come from somewhere else, but I think another contributing factor is that tickets purchasers are more companies rather than fans and those tickets don't necessarily go to Suns fans.

[Indy]

It's on the Suns. Just look at the Cardinals. They have no problem filling a stadium with Red. The Suns would be there too. I have seen it. This town is dying to support a quality Suns team but watching this team has been depressing for a while now.

Sports is an entertainment industry. It is the team's responsibility to build the atmosphere they want in their own building. Fans are the customers.

There are plenty of teams that have gone through worse spells and have better fans. It's on the citizens of Phoenix for not supporting their team properly.

There are only three teams where this happens with any significance. Chicago, Boston and the Lakers. There are all kinds of Chicago fans in Phoenix and for most the basketball season, Boston and Chicago fans are looking for a reason to travel to Phoenix for the weather. Who travels to Chicago in January.

There are probably more native Californians living in Phoenix than native Phoenicians. So, whose job is it to win over these fans from their hometown teams?

i HATE it when people ignorantly rip on Suns fans.

Completely agree. Especially when most of the complaints are coming from people that aren't in the stands cheering, but watching on TV.

[Indy]

Suns crowds have been this way as long as I can remember. in the 70s and 80s it was Sixers, Celtics and Lakers fans. In the 90s it was Bulls fans. Recently you can add Miami and Cleveland (depending on who LeBron is playing for).

Part of it is the bandwagon mentality of casual fans, part is because there are so many Arizonans who come from somewhere else, but I think another contributing factor is that tickets purchasers are more companies rather than fans and those tickets don't necessarily go to Suns fans.

Don't you think that is true of most arenas?

[The Bobster]

Sure, I think it's that way in most arenas to an extent, especially if you're not winning consistently, but I think it gets compounded by the transient nature of the residents here.

Winning would be a nice cure-all I think.

[Indy]

Sure, I think it's that way in most arenas to an extent, especially if you're not winning consistently, but I think it gets compounded by the transient nature of the residents here.

Winning would be a nice cure-all I think.

Agreed that winning cures all. And, as much as this sucks to say, the Suns organization has had nearly 50 years to win it all, and haven't. And, even more painful, have only been close twice (and the 2nd time wasn't that close). If you aren't a top 3 or 4 market team, and don't have 3rd or 4th generation roots in that community, you can't convince locals to drop hundreds of dollars +40 times a year to cheer for your team.

[The Bobster]

And their last trip the the Finals was a generation ago now.

[Indy]

And their last trip the the Finals was a generation ago now.

Exactly. Put it this way. Devin Booker's dad didn't play in his first NBA game until 3 years after our last Finals appearance. Ouch...

[carey]

That doesn't even seem mathematically possible. Damn I'm old.

[Cap]

When Devin was born, MJ had already beaten us, retired, come back, and beaten the Sonics to begin his second threepeat. The Rockets had already beaten us twice and traded us radioactive waste for Barkley.