Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
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Raleigh was always a market that frustrated me, and imo had some weird building tactics. They were never a complete low budget "we don't spend money on anyone" team, but they kind of took breaks from spending.
They would start building and if things looked really good they would spend that extra to try and put them over the top, but if things looked bad they'd bail and cut bait to save money.
It obviously worked once, which is great, but what it prevented was ever building a loyal fanbase, they actually perpetuated the fairweather fan label more than the actual fans did, lol.
Their fans knew the game after a few years. "We're either a playoff contender or the team cuts all finances and we're a bottom feeder....this year they've gone with bottom feeder, so I'll tune out until further notice".
This strategy also prevented them from building a solid, cohesive team that grew from year to year, just like the fanbase. It's especially frustrating because their fans showed they could be literally the loudest in the league when they were given a respectable product.