Remember when the ValleyDawgs drew well?

[Sam Hill]

Second article this week about how bad Pennsylvania's USBL attendance is:

http://www.pennlive.com/sports/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1085389469225760.xml


"We're not worried," says Sam Unera, the team's vice president and general manager. "Yeah, it's a little surprising and I don't know what's going on with that, but the sponsors are there and I expect the crowds to improve once baseball and softball and track and field and soccer (scholastic spring sports) are over."

Oh, no big deal, Sam. No. 150 people at a game is no big deal. It'll be okay. What a moron. A complete and utter moron this guy is. He can get 150 more people to a game than a dead guy could in his position. How the hell he's got sponsor one is beyond me.


"If the goal of the ValleyDawgs is to only put a good team on the court, well that's where they're at," Sweet says. "But fans don't come out to see minor-league sports because their team is winning, they come because they want entertainment value for the dollar. A lot of owners, and I'm not pointing out John on this, think fans will come if you're winning -- and that's not the case."

You're right. Now could you tell that Unera fellow that? And tell him not to just sit back and wait for school to get out so there will be 300 people there instead of 150.

[diggy123]

The reason the dawgs are drawing horribly is because they play in a crappy high school gym and its about 20 minutes farther then it was last year from the suburbs of philly. I still enjoy going but i cant go as much as i would like b/c its like an hour away instead of 35 minutes

[Sam Hill]

So you're telling me that when they were drawing 3,000 a game, that a ton of people were driving from suburban Philadelphia in the spring and summer to see minor league basketball and they weren't drawing from right around the Lehigh Valley, which, last I looked, had a decent population base? You may not be going anymore, but it seems that a lot of people from right around the area aren't going, either, and that's probably because their GM hasn't put any effort forth to actually hustle tickets. He opens the doors and expects people to show up and then says he can't understand it when they don't.

[diggy123]

Yes I am telling you that a bunch more people from the suburbs went to the games it was only about 40 miles away which on the PA turnpike takes about 30 minutes know its about 55-60 miles away. Plus you gotta remeber also that they used to play at lehigh university and a lot of students went to the games