Gillette attendance after Brady & Belichick retire.

[cupofjoe1962]

Do you think there will still be a waiting list for season tickets or problems filling the stadium after Belichick & Brady retire & the team has a couple of 3-13 seasons?

I remember the days of the local TV blackouts of Patriots home games in the 1980’s, because the games did not sell out.
At the time you could get a ticket for under $20.

Guys I use to work with use to joke with me about keeping my tickets through the 1-15 seasons.

I also remember a urban legend about a guy who got called into work at a restaurant on a Sunday morning & he called all his friends and nobody wanted his Patriots tickets. When he got to the restaurant he put his 2 tickets under his windshield wipers. He was hoping someone would spy them & use the tickets. When he got out of work Sunday night he noticed that not only were his 2 tickets under the windshield wipers, there were 4 more under the other wiper.

I also remember when the Celtics were rolling in the 80’s & they had a 50 year waiting list for season tickets. Then Bird, Parish, & McHale retired & the Celtics went from a 50 year waiting list to no waiting list. They were selling tickets for $10 during the Pitino years just to try to fill the Garden.

I got season tickets for the Patriots for the first time in 1979 & gave them up after the 1981 season because my friend did not want to split them any more after the Ron Erhardt 2-14 season.

I purchased season tickets on my own in 1987 & I have had them ever since then.
I have kept them through the Rod Rust & **** McPhearson 1-15 seasons, but the tickets were less than $25 each at the time.

As much as everyone loves the Patriots, I believe their season ticket waiting list will dry up and they will have a problem filling the stadium if the Patriots have a couple 3-13 or 4-12 seasons.

I am getting older & I am fighting serious health issues at this time, but I have no plans to give up my tickets. The past 5 years I have split my tickets with a friend & we both have children who love going to the games. We also both do not have a money problem.

When I originally purchased sideline season tickets in 1979, the tickets were $10 each. When I purchased end zone season tickets in 1987, the tickets were $18 each.
My mezzanine tickets this season are $129 each.

I believe the first season ticket holders running for the exits after a couple 3-13 seasons will be the club seats ticket holders. They are the “Pink Hats” of Gillette. Maybe that is why they make them commit to multiple seasons.

I also know a few guys who have families & do not make a lot of money who are not in the club seats. Who could blame them for giving up their tickets after a couple 3-13 seasons at today’s cost?

 

[RayClay]

If the team wins.

 

[denverpatsfan]

I agree. With the price of a ticket and a losing season or two the stadium will not be full. It's tough to attend NFL games. Traffic, parking, lines to get into the stadium, lines to get out, more traffic. We have trouble giving some of our tickets away as is and the team is winning.

 

[Bill Lee]

Strange thread.

Kind of like asking what I'll do if my cat dies.

Think I'll wait till my cat dies and then decide.

PS: It's not a given "the team has a couple of 3-13 seasons" after Brady and Belicheck retire. Hopefully there's enough people in the post-BB era who've learned one of the key things BB always puts into practice: sustainability.

 

[jboston19]

It all depends on how handsome the next QB is.

Lol. This region is so used to winning right now, a few 3-13 seasons could be devastating for attendance. Not only are we used to elite coaching and QB play, but two dreadful seasons in a row, or even declining success, may be a sign Kraft hired the wrong guys to follow the two legends and things are trending in a bad direction.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Strange thread.

Kind of like asking what I'll do if my cat dies.

Think I'll wait till my cat dies and then decide.

PS: It's not a given "the team has a couple of 3-13 seasons" after Brady and Belicheck retire. Hopefully there's enough people in the post-BB era who've learned one of the key things BB always puts into practice: sustainability.

It is not if the cat dies, it is when the cat dies.
How old is 41 in cat years?

Yeah we all know how successful all those guys who have coached under Belichick have done on their own.

The Steelers, the 49ers & the Cowboys.
How did they sustain their winning ways after the stars & coach retired?

They didn’t, but if you want to think we are the exception to the rule, that is your prerogative.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

It is not if the cat dies, it is when the cat dies.
How old is 41 in cat years?

 

[NormZauchin]

It is not if the cat dies, it is when the cat dies.
How old is 41 in cat years?

Yeah we all know how successful all those guys who have coached under Belichick have done on their own.

The Steelers, the 49ers & the Cowboys.
How did they sustain their winning ways after the stars & coach retired?

They didn’t, but if you want to think we are the exception to the rule, that is your prerogative.

Let's hear from Sammy.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Strange thread.

Kind of like asking what I'll do if my cat dies.

Think I'll wait till my cat dies and then decide.

PS: It's not a given "the team has a couple of 3-13 seasons" after Brady and Belicheck retire. Hopefully there's enough people in the post-BB era who've learned one of the key things BB always puts into practice: sustainability.

The sellouts began when Kraft bought the team, with the hope that it would stay in MA.

Also, Parcells was already on board.


Logically, as long as there's a reputable and competent head coach with the potential to win, the sellouts should continue.


Personally, my interest never waned during the early 90's...we were still here, we were still the Patriots, we still had promise...(we also still looked like the Patriots)

 

[cupofjoe1962]

The sellouts began when Kraft bought the team, with the hope that it would stay in MA.

Also, Parcells was already on board.


Logically, as long as there's a reputable and competent head coach with the potential to win, the sellouts should continue.


Personally, my interest never waned during the early 90's...we were still here, we were still the Patriots, we still had promise...(we also still looked like the Patriots)

Parcells started the sellouts, not Kraft.
This was also the old stadium in which the cost of tickets were much less.

When we moved into the new stadium in 2002, my ticket prices tripled in cost.

How do you know we are going to have a competent head coach when Belichick retires?

I believe you need a quality coach and quarterback to be successful in the NFL these days. I feel a lot less confident in a quality QB after Brady since Garoppolo got traded.

 

[BelichicksBlackEye]

It is not if the cat dies, it is when the cat dies.

As a cat dad I also prefer to say if rather than when.

 

[Nunchucks]

I got on the waiting list in 1999. So, no Bill or Brady, just a declining team with a crap coach and gm.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

As a cat dad I also prefer to say if rather than when.

The lady ****y I remember starting at QB for the Patriots was Tony Eason.

I hope your cat is not named Tony Eason.
I wouldn’t want any Pats fans kicking your cat.

 

[Jackson 2]

One of the many positive developments of this dynasty has been the evolution of NE into a legitimate football area. I don't think that will change. Less success for a period of time will result in the loss of some band wagoners, but I believe this franchise will continue to thrive. However, as I've predicted before, I'm far less confident that this board will continue to thrive.

 

[maust]

The Steelers, the 49ers & the Cowboys.
How did they sustain their winning ways after the stars & coach retired?

They didn’t, but if you want to think we are the exception to the rule, that is your prerogative.

My brother and I have had season tickets going back to the Erhardt era. Each of us maintaining them on our own in the years one of us lived and worked outside the region. I've seen the dark days as well and I think you may be discounting something that is different than when previous dynasties fell, there's a salary cap now. The worst of the bad old days were largely driven by broke/incompetent ownership pre cap. We might see a 3-13 season or two but if Jonathon Kraft has learned anything from his father we are unlikely to see a string like we saw under the drag end of the Sullivan ownership thru the Kiam 'error.' That observation isn't made to discount your core question about what it will look like at the stadium when this unprecedented run ends. I firmly believe the golden era we have been witnessing has forever changed the way New England fans view both the team and the league. Before this run the NFL was a very distant 4th in the fans hearts and minds but we've had an entire sports generation that has now had it blended into their DNA, it's part of who they are. Something like that doesn't just go away. Given the cost and traffic/time hassle of attending games in Foxborough even a brief period of struggle at current prices will see an exodus of the sit on their hands club seating pink hats but their loss will be real fans gain when the price drops and the noise dead zone they create will be become a cacophony of raucousness. Gillette isn't Fenway or the Garden, it's a PITA all day commitment getting in and out of there and the Krafts are good enough businessmen to know the product needs to be worth the fans investment of time and money. Thanks to the cost certainty of the cap we will not see anything like the hopelessness of the Kiam years under their watch, at some point the team will have a down cycle but I doubt we will ever see a down and out one again.

 

[Ivan]

Idiotic thread, how are we supposed to know what will happen 20 years from now?

 

[Boston Boxer]

see Dallas, Pittsburgh, and San Fran for the answer. all had dynasties but still had great crowds after the team talent tailed off. I dont see a problem.

 

[signbabybrady]

I'll still go.

 

[Jimke]

The question is what the NFL looks like after the two Bs retire. The NFL might
be the National Flag Football League because of the concussion problem. There
may be no kick returns, no punt returns, and any head contact will result in a
penalty.

 

[TB_Helmet]

We will just have Steve Belichick as our head coach. He'll stay here through 2040. He'll be able to draft and develop a great QB. We're all set. Bump this thread in 25 years and ask again.