Three of four NFL Wildcard playoff games still not sold out

[MrBill]

I was aware of Packers tickets still being available but this seems almost unheard of for NFL playoff games.

NFL should be alarmed that three of four playoff games, including Green Bay's home game, still not sold out

The legend of the waiting list for Packers season tickets in Green Bay has grown over the years. Newborns get put on the list, with parents hoping some day their offspring hits the top of the list.

Green Bay has perhaps the best fans in the NFL ... which is why the league should be very worried that the Packers and two other teams are still struggling to sell out their playoff games.

Green Bay, as of Wednesday morning, was about 8,500 tickets short of a sellout, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Silverstein. If the Packers don't sell out by 3:40 p.m. Thursday, the game will be blacked out on local TV from Green Bay to Milwaukee. That's almost inconceivable. The Press-Gazette said the Packers have sold out every regular-season game since 1959 (a playoff game in January of 1983, at the end of the strike-shortened season, did not). And yet they are having troubles selling out a playoff game a week after Aaron Rodgers returned from injury to beat the Bears for the NFC North title.

The Bengals produced a video with some players urging fans to buy playoff tickets, which you wouldn't think should be necessary for a NFL playoff game. Former Bengals receiver Chad Johnson said he would buy the unsold tickets, of which there are about 8,000 according to reports, but it's unclear if he was serious. As of Wednesday afternoon the Colts needed to sell 5,500 tickets for their game against the Chiefs before Thursday afternoon to become a sellout and avoid a local television blackout.

It would be a tremendous embarrassment to the league to have three of four playoff games blacked out locally, and likely, the tickets will get sold somehow to avoid that scenario. But there's a bigger issue here. Is this the most stark example that NFL fans aren't too excited to go to games anymore?

A quick glance at Ticketmaster on Wednesday afternoon showed the face-value prices for the Packers playoff game ranged from $313 and $102, not counting Ticketmaster fees. If you've attended a NFL game, you know that the cost doesn't end with tickets. Parking is outrageously and insultingly high at most NFL games. Concessions aren't cheap either. NFL teams have gouged and gouged and gouged, and maybe there's a breaking point.

It is supposed to be a high of four degrees in Green Bay on Sunday, when the Packers play the 49ers, with a low of minus-15 degrees. Would you rather spend a few hundred dollars to sit in miserable conditions or stay at home and watch on TV, where the high-definition view is a heck of a lot better than it is better than any vantage point in the stadium? It seems that more fans are asking themselves that question, especially as the in-home experience for watching games has improved with great televisions and easy access to discuss the game with friends online.

The NFL has a serious issue on its hands when three cities are struggling to sell out a playoff game, including the Packers. All three games might sell out and the local television blackout scare will be forgotten. But the NFL better not ignore what's happening this week. It's not a good sign for the future.

 

[dave]

It's both the economy and HDTV. I have been to many live NFL games, the allure is the tailgate, not the game itself. Average playoff ticket prices are about $150, parking $20-40, a beer in the stadium $8-10 ... and then the food.
At home, you get HD, cheap beer, cheap snacks, no parking fees. Honestly, while I love the live NFL experience, it's mostly about the tailgate. Live football watching, especially during the playoffs, is horrible. TV timeouts, ugh. You spend more time seeing nothing than actual football.

 

[Golden Taters]

Seahawks don't play for 2 weeks and they sold out in seconds :tiptoe:

 

[Tailback U]

I seriously don't know why people go to games anymore. Like, really? You spend all that time, money, and effort for a worse viewing experience?

I can understand once in a while for fun but it's such a hassle and annoyance to go to football games when you can just sit at home and watch it.

Ticket prices will have to drop eventually, as they should.

 

[Aso]

Ticket prices are definitely too high.

 

[Maynard]

It's both the economy and HDTV. I have been to many live NFL games, the allure is the tailgate, not the game itself. Average playoff ticket prices are about $150, parking $20-40, a beer in the stadium $8-10 ... and then the food.
At home, you get HD, cheap beer, cheap snacks, no parking fees. Honestly, while I love the live NFL experience, it's mostly about the tailgate. Live football watching, especially during the playoffs, is horrible. TV timeouts, ugh. You spend more time seeing nothing than actual football.

HDTV wont matter to anyone who gets blacked out. Browns have sold out every game since they came back in 99. u couldnt tell by all the empty seats though. i wish they were blacked out more often so i could watch meaningful games.

its shocking the packers cant sell out. i dont get that one at all. bengals and colts have some of the worst fans in sports. and thats no offense to the people who are real fans of those teams. But there are alot of fair weather fans and people who simply dont really care about their teams. throw in the ludicrous costs of tickets, parking and concessions and a weak economy and thats what you get.

i think its a trend worth noting. all the piss poor moves by these leagues over the years. sports in general has really turned for the worse over the past 20 years

 

[dave]

HDTV wont matter to anyone who gets blacked out.

Just saying if you get HDTV, it's likely better than $500 (ticket, parking, food, beer).

 

[Maynard]

imo, anything is better than going to a game. no value in going to the game when you can watch it at home with friends or whatever

 

[Primetime]

I'll always choose game over TV. Spoiled to be in Lambeau.

 

[Maynard]

so all teams were given until 4 and 5 pm today...of course they all finally sold out thanks to corperation buying up the remaining seats. pretty bizarre that playoff games couldnt sellout on their own

 

[Primetime]

so all teams were given until 4 and 5 pm today...of course they all finally sold out thanks to corperation buying up the remaining seats. pretty bizarre that playoff games couldnt sellout on their own

Packers were sold out by noon. There were only about 1000 tickets left to sell by 8AM as far as I heard.

 

[Tailback U]

It's also cold as shit out there and it's the first weekend of the new year. Not sure if this has anything to do with it at all but I would assume it has some affect.

Who the hell would pay money to sit in below freezing temperatures for 3 hours? Not to mention the hassle with just getting in and out of there. Fuck all that noise. You'd seriously have to pay me to go.

 

[Primetime]

It's also cold as shit out there and it's the first weekend of the new year. Not sure if this has anything to do with it at all but I would assume it has some affect.

Who the hell would pay money to sit in below freezing temperatures for 3 hours? Not to mention the hassle with just getting in and out of there. Fuck all that noise. You'd seriously have to pay me to go.

5-6 hours if you consider tailgating :jack:

 

[killgod]

NFL teams have gouged and gouged and gouged, and maybe there's a breaking point.

It was always a matter of this, just riding it out until it was obvious. Now it's obvious. I don't expect this to change anytime going forward, average joe football fan's economic future doesn't seem to be improving anytime soon....nor does the NFL's desire for money ever wane.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I remember making a thread years ago about the shitty NFL live experience, and how due to a combination of that & fantasy football that the "untouchable" NFL attendance would soon suffer.

Of course I was met with a ton of resistance, and only NAHSTE agreed with me as I recall.

Score another for the VSN NFL prophet.

 

[Maynard]

Packers were sold out by noon. There were only about 1000 tickets left to sell by 8AM as far as I heard.

and you think this is acceptable? thats embarrassing. The NFL should be taking a long hard look at this. when a fanbase like the packers says nah, there is something wrong

 

[Houston]

Aren't the cheap seats where fights always occur? No thanks.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

and you think this is acceptable? thats embarrassing. The NFL should be taking a long hard look at this. when a fanbase like the packers says nah, there is something wrong

-12 wind chill doesn't help, nobody wants to sit outside in that shit, but yeah, the NFL took one on the chin this weekend.

 

[MVPete]

and you think this is acceptable? thats embarrassing. The NFL should be taking a long hard look at this. when a fanbase like the packers says nah, there is something wrong

People are being told to stay in doors as there is a chance you can fucking die from how cold it is, so yes it is acceptable.

 

[MvP]

I can't speak about the other teams but the Packers scenario was the result of a combination of events that are not correlated to the state of the NFL. Sending the playoff ticket invoice after the Lions game when making the playoffs looked nearly impossible, having a non-refund rule on said tickets, not knowing until the last minute of the final game if the team would make the playoffs, and the freezing cold weather is what caused this.