Quick Trip Back to MMP

Often when the Astros play a day game after a night game it can be hard to get organized in the morning since the daily routine is messed up. No time for a morning bit of exercise. No time to slowly scan the internet for tidbits of information. No time for much except waking up, showering and heading to the ball park.

Funny, though, how although that routine doesn't change it is a whole lot more fun when the club is winning games. I am looking forward to getting back to Minute Maid Park in about an hour and half from now (it is just before 8 a.m. as I write this) to line up today's pre game interview and fire up the lap top for interaction with fans.

Heck the fact that it is currently pouring rain outside my home on the north side doesn't deter things. We have the good old retractable roof so we know will will have baseball.

One thing that puzzles me about Houston sports fans (and I think I can criticize since I have been here since the end of 1982) is how extremely "fair weather" too many of us are. I am not specifically speaking of baseball fans, but ALL fans.

The Astros attendance is down this year, but with a losing record that is not surprising. In fact, tickets sold each night is not horrible. Sure, sometimes the number of tickets sold does not come that close to actual bodies in the seats but that seems to be almost a Houston tradition with the team is not winning enough.

Look at the Rockets. They have plenty of nights with good, but not sold out crowds. This city and region has enough population that one would think that with only 41 home games and a limited capacity of less than 18,000 the building would be sold out every night. Similar up and down success stories in other cities are.

Remember how the Houston Comets packed 'em in when they first game to town. They weren't drawing sellouts to Compaq Center, but were always drawing five figures to the envy of the rest of the WNBA. They won four titles. Then they no longer won titles and Houston said that was enough. Crowds dwindled and the team was sold to owners without deep enough pockets to pay rent for the big arena or handle smaller crowds. Soon, the Comets were a memory.

Currently our fair weather nature seems to be affecting the Houston Dynamo. Even before their embarrassing gathering of just over 1000 fans for their last home game the attendance had not been reaching the levels of their first years in the league. Oh yes, they were also champions when they got to town. Soccer fans were on the Dynamo bandwagon.

Folks on radio talk shows and newspapers like to tell us we are a football town. I suppose if you ranked sports football would come out first in a poll of citizens. But are we really a football town?
The Texans don't have full houses for every game. The tickets may be sold, but why are there so many no shows. Or are those tickets really sold in a true sense. Have ticket agencies bought them, but been unable to re-sell to fans?

I have absolutely no doubt that if the Texans provide a championship calibre team the fans will be clamoring for all the tickets. When the Astros were a contending and exciting club it was hard to find a ticket for Minute Maid Park, too. The same went for the Rockets.

We have fans in the region. They are just much more selective and perhaps not as deeply passionate about their teams as in other parts of the country. Selling tickets to sporting events is not a case of opening the ticket window and taking orders.

I haven't even brought up the plights with Houston and Rice and TSU and HBU on the collegiate level either. The trickle down from the pros means they have an even higher percentage of empty seats.

If this all sounds like complaining it isn't meant to be. It is just to point out Houston is different than many places. We have a whole lot fewer fans who live and die with their teams, but also support them loyally win or lose. Our city sports slogan should be borrowed from the state of Missouri. As far as supporting our teams is more, "Show me." If the teams show that they can win the fans will be around.