I expect at least 7 wins, I guess that makes me a bad fan.

KingDL1 · August 26, 2013

Stars are gaining fans back rapidly, the new ownership is really got folks attention. Jim Lites is back as President, CEO and Alternate Governor, Jim Nill as GM a tremendous pick, and Lindy Ruff as coach I am very excited. They have already made some good player moves, I think people are seeing what commitment Tom Gaglardi has and the they like his moves. There is a buzz in Dallas at least around me. I predict the Stars will be back in the playoffs this year.

A good winning streak along with Mac's name will go along way, maybe a new AD. We could see a buzz in DFW also.

untjim1995 · August 26, 2013

Um, Astros are an exception...we've lost legions of fans due to the AL move, the embarrassing budget, no TV deal, ruining Minute Maid Park, poor marketing, trading away every fan favorite, overcharging for tickets, not allowing coolers (until this year), overcharging for food, no game promotions, etc.
A fanbase can only take so much neglect. Astros have historically had really good attendance and averaged over 30K at Minute Maid until 2010. Astrodome attendance was quite solid year in and year out as well even as it fell into disrepair.
And up until the last few years, UH was regarded as a community college in the city and didn't really have much history to lean back on. That's like calling Philadelphia a bad sports town because Temple has/had bad attendance.
The Oilers, Rockets, Texans, Dynamo (hell, even the Aeros until they moved them) had incredibly solid support. Love Ya Blue? Astros sellout streak from 04-08?
DFW is 100% bandwagon town. Not as bad as Miami though. But every team except the Cowboys has had attendance problems...and the Cowboys would if Jerry wasn't in the pockets of every businessman in town...that stadium is all suits and no fans, even Aikman noticed it.

The Rangers have higher attendance than the Astros for damn near 20 years...look it up.

When the Texans fall back, they'll see it, too. Only reason the Cowboys won't see it for a while is that JerryWorld is still a phenomenon and the team is always winning just enough to keep fans coming back for more torture (see 8-8 years, without making the playoffs)

Most towns are a winners town. But even in Atlanta, where the Braves have basically been awesome for 20 years, they rarely play in front of a sellout, just because they lose every year in the playoffs. This goes for college sports and pro sports.

meangreener · August 26, 2013

What's the story here?

One of many things...this is most noticeable. Formerly, you had the best view of Downtown. No longer. Also blocks the train. Is also ugly as shit. Won't repainting all the faded green on the exterior because it's too costly now...told fans to open their pocketbooks.

Also, to make it clear, I'm not saying Houston isn't a bandwagon town. It is. DFW is just more severe. Texans have sold out every game as did the Oilers until Bud announced he was moving the team...so the Texans thing is unlikely. Astros...maybe at this point because our attendance has been so bad for 3 years but we sold out every game in the Killer B era from 04-07ish.

Houston is a bandwagon town, all cities are, look at all the Ranger gear and lack of Cowboy gear down there. DFW is a bit more extreme, however.

Edited August 26, 2013 by meangreener

UNTLifer · August 26, 2013

Little off on your criticism of Dallas sports fans.

The Mavs: great attendance during the Don Carter era when we had Blackmon, Aguirre, Tarpley, Donaldson, Harper, etc... Attendance tanked when Perot bought the team and he gutted the team. Cuban brought the excitement back.

Cowboys: Have always had good attendance, sellouts forever and a day.

Rangers: Considering their history, this area has always supported the team especially with the addition of The Temple.

meangreener · August 26, 2013

Stars are gaining fans back rapidly, the new ownership is really got folks attention. Jim Lites is back as President, CEO and Alternate Governor, Jim Nill as GM a tremendous pick, and Lindy Ruff as coach I am very excited. They have already made some good player moves, I think people are seeing what commitment Tom Gaglardi has and the they like his moves. There is a buzz in Dallas at least around me. I predict the Stars will be back in the playoffs this year.

A good winning streak along with Mac's name will go along way, maybe a new AD. We could see a buzz in DFW also.

I love the Stars. Go to multiple games a year. Attendance has been garbage past few years. Last year was an improvement.

Mean Green 93-98 · August 26, 2013

The 2013 Astros are the most profitable MLB team ever.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/23332281/forbes-2013-astros-most-profitable-mlb-team-ever

FirefightnRick · August 26, 2013

I'd like to see those numbers if you subtracted the Dodge debacle. I don't think it can be overhyped just how much of a failure that experiment was.

Yet that failure produced many if not he most of the starters our current turnaround master is using.

Rick

ColoradoEagle · August 26, 2013

Okay, back away from the panic button.

This town is a bandwagon town unlike any other. They only support a winner.

I don't consider being frustrated by rarely being able to find UNT gear anywhere in DFW not named Denton as the panic button. What would you call FAU and Texas State's 2013 recruiting class rankings being in the 80s while ours was #117?

I'm as excited as anyone else for this season, but it does bother me that we've made very little progress since building a new stadium and putting significantly more down on our current coaching staff. This has to be a make or break year.