Losing Seasons' Affect on Fan Bases: More Good Than Harm?

[MaineManPanther]

I hate to say it but I feel almost unworthy of being called a true fan. I first started watching the Panthers in 2003 , luckiley enough it was the super bowl year. Ever since then weve been in the playoff hunt till the last two games.

I havent been truly tested yet

[Fox007]

I like how people bash the Raiders, who are historically so much better than the Panthers, we wouldn't even show up on their radar.

The last couple of years have been terrible for them, but they have one of the highest win % in the history of the NFL.

Their problem is Al Davis has literally gone mad.

[err456]

I have been a fan since day one. I understand both sides of the fan argument. After a year like last it is understandable for fans to get high hopes but when management does nothing to upgrade our weakest link (jake) and he is clearly still our weakest link, even the laughing stock of the NFL, and management is to stubborn to make a change even though it's clear everyone is afraid for him to pass the ball in must pass situations, it's understandable to expect a lot of fan unrest. If we had a good QB to go along with our improved def. we are in the hunt. As is another disappointing season at best. I wish all fans could be good diehard fans but they are not. Most clubs have attendance problems when the team loses.

[OBXPantha]

If the fan base didn't go up during good years and down in bad years what would motivate an owner/gm to try to improve? If they make the same money during a 1-15 year as they do during a 12-4 year why would they care about winning or losing. The NFL is a business to make money. I think bama panther hit the nail on the head. This "true fan", "real fan"stuff reminds me of school kids who want to gang up on the new guy because they wear a different kind of tennis shoe.

[pantherj]

The problem is that I'm sure many fans will skip coming out to the stadium if Jake is still our QB next season. We have no choice, imo, but to replace Jake with a QB in whom the fair weather fan base can believe. If not, the Panthers run the risk of low stadium attendance. Even PSL owners will look to dump their seats if Jake stays at the helm. And even worse, opposing fans will begin to dominate the crowd.

Imo it's extremely unlikely that we will ever make it back to the SB with Jake. I can't imagine that there are many fans who would disagree with me on this issue. Even with a very good defense and running game, this season has been a disaster. I'll still watch the games on tv, but I'm not driving to Charlotte in order to watch a team that doesn't even belong in the playoffs, let alone the SB.

Jake is the worst starting QB in the NFL. No one can match his ability to bungle a game. He is a soul crushing football abomination. I try to get fired up during a game, but Jake always does something to take away my steam. I end up worried about what error Jake might make next. Even when we don't throw the ball, Jake is still a major problem. Is he going to catch the snap? Is he going to fumble? Trip? OH GOD IT'S A PASS PLAY. *INTERCEPTED... TOUCHDOWN ______!* So we spend the entire game inching and scraping our way down the field, and in one play Jake ruins the entire game. The defense plays incredible, but Jake wipes it all away. Gone. L. Screaming "NO JAKE NOOOOO!" is getting old. It's been old, and it's not fun. Other teams have fun, we have Jake.

I don't ever want to hear "it wasn't Jake's fault, it was ___" again. Jake is the sole reason why we can't recover from little plays that go wrong. We have to DRAG Jake like an anchor to the finish line. And if someone else makes an error, then it's over. L. Sure we can beat bad teams, but we are one of them so long as Jake is QB. I don't ever want to see Jake play QB in person ever again. I can barely stomach him on tv.

[Gman was right]

There is a slight problem with logic. We don't have any fans

[AppStatePanther]

If anybody was a fan during the Seifert years and stayed a fan? They are fans. And will be fans forever.

This and this.

[GSO_Pantherz]

If the fan base didn't go up during good years and down in bad years what would motivate an owner/gm to try to improve? If they make the same money during a 1-15 year as they do during a 12-4 year why would they care about winning or losing. The NFL is a business to make money. I think bama panther hit the nail on the head. This "true fan", "real fan"stuff reminds me of school kids who want to gang up on the new guy because they wear a different kind of tennis shoe.

You are right, that's for sure. But my thread was strictly on how it affects a fan base, not revenue generation and team management. Some good posts have been made. It's true that you need to have success in order to convert fans and build a fan base at the start, which is something we have a little experience in.

Gman - are you even a Panther fan?

Fans will stop coming to the games that is true too. Most fans don't want to pay good money to see a losing team, so negatively affecting attendance is definitely a downside. I can't really blame fans for not wanting to go to see a sub-par team though.

[Jase]

If anybody was a fan during the Seifert years and stayed a fan? They are fans. And will be fans forever.

The 4-12 Capers year was worse than the 1-15 year, hands down.

[Kyle82]

If anybody was a fan during the Seifert years and stayed a fan? They are fans. And will be fans forever.

I would fall under that category.

[guyinchesapeake]

I have to ask just what and who are the Panthers fan base? We've been to a SB, we've been to 2 NFC Championship games, and we've made the playoffs 4 times in 15 years of existence. That said, when things are going good, and we're in the playoff hunt late (like last year), people come out to support the Panthers. But any given Sunday at home will show as many fans for the other guys as there are for ours, depending on who we're playing, and what our record is at that time. That's just wrong. The unfortunate truth is that it will take AT LEAST a SB win, and possibly more than one, to reverse that.

I've lived long enough to remember when there were NO Steelers fans on this planet outside a few die hards in Pittsburg itself, back in the '60s. The same with the Dolphins, 49ers, Cowboys, Raiders, and the Pats. Until they established themselves as dynasties, or at least consistently in the playoff hunt, they had no real fan bases outside their own areas.

Success breeds loyalty. People like and want to be associated with a winner, in any sport. When success is established, then true fan bases become realities, and will sustain even during lean years after the dynasties run out. The 'Dog Pound' in Cleveland proves this, as does 'Raider Nation'. So I disagree that losing seasons are good for anyone other than those looking for a bargain when trying to purchase season tickets/PSLs from an owner.

I have been a PSL owner since the first season we played at Ericssen/BOA Stadium. Lots of magic moments, and lots of total failures, and a lot more in between. I drive the better part of 350 miles each way to attend home games. I still view many who attend Panther home games as the 'wine and cheese crowd'. Those are the ones who want to be seen and say they went to an NFL game, but not really giving a hoot how things turn out, especially for the home team! I'll take a 'Dog Pound' anytime! But until we have some serious success, we're going to be stuck with the present situation for quite awhile. Some excuse that by saying many Charlotte residents are either new or transient, that they've moved here in recent years and retain the loyalties to their old teams, and it will take something more along the lines of a 'generational' transition before the locals accept the Panthers en mass. Again, I don't buy that, success will be the best 'transitional' formula imaginable.

[GRWatcher]

I've lived long enough to remember when there were NO Steelers fans on this planet outside a few die hards in Pittsburg itself, back in the '60s. The same with the Dolphins, 49ers, Cowboys, Raiders, and the Pats. Until they established themselves as dynasties, or at least consistently in the playoff hunt, they had no real fan bases outside their own areas.

No, IMO the difference is the tv package that the NFL negotiated in the 70's after the merger and the emergence of cable tv. Before that, teams were big in their area because only the local fans knew the team. The local newspaper was the #1 source of team information and opinions, there was nothing else. And with the tv revenue, the dynasties were built.

Moved to Columbia, SC in 1979. Scores from other teams, let alone certain sports, weren't even printed in the local paper or shown on tv. We'd call one of the tv stations - no cable! - who would read us the football and hockey scores that had come over the AP wire. True story!

[Razzy]

Bad seasons are good because they thing down the herd, especially if your team has been doing good lathin down the herd. They get rid of bandwagon fans, but at the same time they also kill off your fan base. Go talk to a raiders fan and see how excited they truly are on sundays.

[jramsey4]

No, IMO the difference is the tv package that the NFL negotiated in the 70's after the merger and the emergence of cable tv. Before that, teams were big in their area because only the local fans knew the team. The local newspaper was the #1 source of team information and opinions, there was nothing else. And with the tv revenue, the dynasties were built.

Moved to Columbia, SC in 1979. Scores from other teams, let alone certain sports, weren't even printed in the local paper or shown on tv. We'd call one of the tv stations - no cable! - who would read us the football and hockey scores that had come over the AP wire. True story!

I couldn't survive without the internet.