Struggling NFL Team Desperate for Fans Gives Out Free Tickets
It’s been a bizarre season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
They opened the season with a win against the New Orleans Saints, the team that currently has the best record in the NFL. That loss to the Bucs remains the only blemish on the Saints’ record.
A week later, the Bucs rode the “FitzMagic” wave to a win over the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles and a 2-0 record.
FitzMagic then fizzled out as backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick started playing again like a backup quarterback. But starter Jameis Winston also struggled and the Bucs lost seven of their next eight games.
During that losing skid, Winston was benched, and then reinserted as the starting quarterback after Fitzpatrick fizzled again.
The rollercoaster ride hasn’t been a thrill — instead it’s made fans ill to the point of not wanting to go to the games anymore.
In their 27-9 win over the 49ers last Sunday, the Bucs drew their smallest home crowd in eight years with just 40,682 fans in Raymond James Stadium.
BREAKING: After the smallest actual crowd in more than eight years witnessed Tampa Bay beat the 49ers at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs are offering season pass members two complimentary tickets each for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) November 29, 2018
To make matters look even worse, the game between the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida one day earlier attracted more fans (47,104) than the Bucs did.
Fearing more large sections of empty seats for their game this weekend against the Carolina Panthers, team officials are giving away tickets to the game.
According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Bucs are offering two free tickets to each season-ticket holder for Sunday’s game.
This is was a rare weekend where USF football outdraws Bucs at Raymond James Stadium. Announced attendance had USF-UCF at 57,626, Bucs-49ers at 50,436; and actual attendance per TSA shows USF at 47,104, Bucs at 40,682.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 26, 2018
If the attendance doesn’t increase over last week, we’ll know the Buccaneers couldn’t even give tickets away.
The Bucs rank 29th out of 32 NFL teams in average attendance this year with 55,181, according to ESPN.
Only the Raiders (54,091), Bengals (52,844), and Chargers (25,383) are worse.
The Chargers are playing in a soccer stadium with a much lower capacity. The Chargers are filling up 94 percent of their stadium, but considering they’re 8-3 and playing in a smaller stadium, they should be playing to full capacity.
Fan interest aside, the Bucs are mathematically still alive in the NFC wild card race. If they manage to beat the Panthers, they would improve to 5-7 and be one game behind Carolina in their division. Carolina won the first meeting between the teams on Nov. 4.
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