The Archway

Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: Sports

The New York Knicks are 3-14 this season. (Courtesy of MCT?Campus)

Being from Long Island, I feel pretty comfortable saying football and baseball are the two most followed sports. You are a Mets fan or a Yankees fan, a Giants fan or a Jets fan there's really no in between. At least one of those four teams is always in the playoff hunt and gives New Yorkers something to cheer about. But once the winter begins, historically, there has been little to get excited about. Specifically, I'm talking about the Islanders and Knicks. Over the past three years the teams have a combined 189-273 record. The Islanders did make the playoffs in the 2006-2007 season, the Knicks however have not seen post season play since the 2003-2004 season. Meanwhile, just 300 miles north, the Boston area loves the winter season. The Bruins and Celtics have a combined 281-183 record over the past three years. Both teams have been to the playoffs the past two seasons and the Celtics won the NBA championship in 2008.

Understandably, the Islanders had the lowest average attendance of the thirty NHL teams last season at 13,773. The average price of an Islanders ticket is $51.46 just above the league average of $51.41 and yet no one shows up. With the team finishing in last place with a 26-47 record it's really no surprise that the Coliseum is never full. On the other hand, the Boston Bruins finished last season with a 53-19 record and lost in the Conference Semifinals and the average ticket is a reasonable $54.94. Yet, the Bruins 2009 attendance average was 17,039, 16th in the league. Its apparent why Islanders attendance is so low, but why are the Bruins, with a 129-89 record over the past three years in the bottom half of the league in terms of attendance?

Then there's the NBA. From the Boston perspective, the Celtics are 152-94 over the past three years. The team boasts some of the biggest stars in the league and won the NBA Championship in 2008. Currently, the team sits in second place in the East at 13-4. The average ticket price last season was $68.55 and an average of 18,624 people attended home games, good for eighth in the league. It might seem surprising that the Celtics have only the eighth best average attendance in the league. Who is one of the teams with a better attendance average? The New York Knicks, a shock I know. The Knicks are 88-158 over the past three years and currently sit at 3-14 (saved from last place only thanks to the Nets). The average price of a Knicks ticket last season was $70.51, the second highest in the league. Yet the high ticket price and dismal record did not seem to hurt attendance; attendance averaged 19,555 the fifth best in the league.

Yes, there are differences in stadium capacities. TD Banknorth Garden does have a greater hockey capacity than the Coliseum and Madison Square Garden has a greater basketball capacity than the TD Garden. Yet, I don't think capacity differences fully explain these attendance statistics. Why are fans more apt to watch the subpar performance of the Knicks over the Islanders? Why are fans willing to pay the second highest ticket price to watch one of the league's worst teams? The most baffling to me, why are more fans willing to pay more money to watch the Knicks than the Celtics? These questions might never be answered. I guess all there is to do is hope that someday the Knicks and Islanders will give New Yorkers something to cheer about.

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