Quote:
Originally Posted by dobbles
outliers? there have always been some pretty high drawing teams. an outlier would be someone drawing like 13000 or something. hershey has been a little higher than normal this year, but its a pretty regular thing. i would actually argue lowell is more of an outlier as they are usually significantly in last place. p.s. has any major sport ever referred to median attendance? i am pretty sure i have never heard anything other than the average attendance referenced. i think you are trying to pick that just to make things look better.
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Stating that Hershey is an outlier doesn't suggest that they have not consistently drawn well. It merely suggests that the team draws higher numbers than the majority of the league. I would agree that Hershey is an outlier as they are near 1500 more people per game than the next closest team.
Also, as someone who went to games in the QC, every game I went to had a number of fans from the opposing team in the house. That was one of the justifications for moving the team to the QC from Omaha. Rockford, Peoria, Iowa, and to a lesser extent Chicago and Milwaukee were within driving distance. To eliminate the games the Moose play in Abbotsford suggesting artificially inflated attendance numbers, one would also have to eliminate games where a close division rival for the QC was the opponent and drew equally well. In particular for one game vs Rockford that I attended, I would say the crowd was 65/45 QC fans.
If one really wants to get whiney, the 2nd year in Omaha when the team was the regular season conference leader saw attendance numbers dramatically increase in the last quarter of the season and into the playoffs. Unfortunately for Knights fans the move to the QC had already been initated despite the increased attendance. The big club didn't have the patience to stick with the plan. That, and the business operations of the team was a gong show for the first season and a half.
It's unfortunate that the QC fans didn't get to witness playoff games. Attendance may have dramatically increased as the Mallards had an established tradition of winning. For the Heat making the playoffs in the first year is a great accomplishment, particularly when you look at the lineup for the last 10-20 games. If the Heat can win a playoff round or two and as long as the local owners are patient enough to let the fanbase grow, the team and attendance will improve.