April 11, 201214 yr does anyone believe there is any chance ozzie loses his job over this if attendance is bad and ticket sales take a hit? If attendance takes a big hit then there's no doubt in my mind that he'll face severe punishment. But like I and others have said-his comments hurt only a small amount of fans who actually attend games. They're not going to punish him more in the future if attendance falls. First, that's just ridiculous; you punish him right away, and you don't add to it later. Second, it'd be nearly impossible to note just what attendance drops are due to which factors.
April 11, 201214 yr Author If attendance doesn't meet expectations, I wouldn't for a single second believe that it has anything to do with the Ozzie stuff.
April 11, 201214 yr does anyone believe there is any chance ozzie loses his job over this if attendance is bad and ticket sales take a hit? If attendance takes a big hit then there's no doubt in my mind that he'll face severe punishment. But like I and others have said-his comments hurt only a small amount of fans who actually attend games. They're not going to punish him more in the future if attendance falls. First, that's just ridiculous; you punish him right away, and you don't add to it later. Second, it'd be nearly impossible to note just what attendance drops are due to which factors. Good point. I thought of that when I wrote my post-but it is not impossible for the Marlins FO to accurately evaluate the factors in a possible drop of attendance-nor do I think it would be incredibly far-fetched to believe the Marlins may give him further punishment at a later date. For example, were a large amount of Cubans to continuously gather around protesting against Ozzie (perhaps even write a bunch of letters to the ownership regarding the situation) & say that they will not attend any games until he is fired then the Marlins FO would certainly believe that the drop in attendance is a result of Ozzie's blunder. Once they have that belief (however it may come about) it would actually seem probable to me that they would handle the situation by firing Ozzie (despite his influence in being able to acquire certain players this offseason) as the Marlins ownership will simply not suffer financially just to keep him as manager.
April 12, 201214 yr If attendance doesn't meet expectations, I wouldn't for a single second believe that it has anything to do with the Ozzie stuff. Yeah, it'd probably have something to do with the losing record and the fact that the fanbase has always been full of fairweather fans.
April 12, 201214 yr If attendance doesn't meet expectations, I wouldn't for a single second believe that it has anything to do with the Ozzie stuff. Yeah, it'd probably have something to do with the losing record and the fact that the fanbase has always been full of fairweather fans. I say this is the truth. Look no further than this board. New season with fancy new stadium and new members jump on. That's all good untill they start flipping a sh*t 5 games into a season like we are seeing now.
April 12, 201214 yr If attendance doesn't meet expectations, I wouldn't for a single second believe that it has anything to do with the Ozzie stuff. Yeah, it'd probably have something to do with the losing record and the fact that the fanbase has always been full of fairweather fans. I say this is the truth. Look no further than this board. New season with fancy new stadium and new members jump on. That's all good untill they start flipping a sh*t 5 games into a season like we are seeing now. I guess what you two are calling fairweather fans is what I call a place to be seen fan base. I've been saying for the last couple years that attendance will have a pretty big drop in 2013, and have given plenty of reasons for it. Now, after attending just the two games here (Yanks and Opening Night), I think I was being optimistic. The numbers may look acceptable for this season. But actual butts in seats?? HOWEVER.......This will be a great excuse for those on both sides of the fence to not go to the ball park for a fan base that can be very imaginative in coming up with excuses for not going.
April 12, 201214 yr Ozzie has been losing sleep over this whole situation... http://www.montrealgazette.com/6436532.bin?size=620x400s
April 12, 201214 yr Interesting survey from ESPN on how many Cuban-Americans/other sports fans think Ozzie should keep his job, how many felt the punishment was too light/harsh and how many say they will attend fewer games because of his comments. Based on this survey it seems like Ozzie's comments may actually effect future attendances. Main number is that 26% of Miami residents (including non-Cuban-Americans) say they will attend fewer games because of the comments (if any at all). Ozzie Guillen is viewed unfavorably by nearly half of Cuban-Americans surveyed in an ESPN-commissioned poll, but nearly two-thirds of Miami residents, and 56 percent of Cuban-Americans, think Guillen should keep his job despite comments about Fidel Castro that earned the Miami Marlins' manager a five-game suspension. Only 27 percent of Miami-area Cuban-Americans view Guillen favorably, while 28 percent view him "extremely unfavorably," according to a survey of more than 900 adults in the Miami media market. The survey was conducted on Tuesday by ESPN and the Global Strategy Group and included nearly 200 Cuban-Americans. The overall margin for error is plus-or-minus 3.2 percent. The survey found that nearly three out of four Cuban-Americans found Guillen's comments that he "loves" Castro and respects him for staying in power for as long as he has offensive. Half found the comments very offensive. Despite that, 69 percent of sports fans and 62 percent of baseball fans said Guillen should keep his job. One-third of Cuban Americans said he should be fired, but 56 percent said he should remain the manager of the Marlins. Guillen returned to Miami on Tuesday to hold a televised news conference, where he apologized and attempted to explain his comments, which were made to a reporter for Time magazine. Guillden's apology was enough for 62 percent of sports fans, and 56 percent of baseball fans. However, only 43 percent of Cuban-Americans felt his apology went far enough. In terms of the five-game suspension, the survey found that 29 percent of respondents felt the suspension was too light; 37 percent of Cuban-Americans felt it should have been harsher. A majority of respondents felt the punishment was fair or even too severe. The survey also found that 26 percent of Miami residents, and 37 percent of Cuban-Americans, said they would attend fewer Marlins games because of Guillen's comments. The automated survey asked respondents to use their touch-tone phone to respond to pre-recorded questions. http://espn.go.com/m...uillen-keep-job
April 12, 201214 yr I think if this Ozzie stuff really gets behind everyone, essentially totally about baseball and not about him, which will take longer than a week it could go halfway into the year, then attendance will stay consistently around 30k for years to come. This city might be full of fairweather fans but the Cuban population loves baseball. At least the older generations will be consistent for a long time. Even back then when we were in Sun Life a lot of people would listen or watch they just didnt see the appeal in going. Now that its in a prime location and its a talented ball club I see the attendance staying consistent. Again, this is all dependent on them completely forgetting this Castro fiasco.
April 12, 201214 yr The Cuban support for the marlins has always been overblown, remember . . . Alex Fernandez: Homegrown and Hispanic, that will bring them out in droves. . . crickets. . . Livan Hernandez- Defected from Cuba , one of their own. . .crickets Carlos Delgado??? Nada! Who was actually the only player in Marlins History to put butts in the seats? Dontrelle Willis, go figure, a non-Hispanic, black guy. How is this possible? ( growing up in Hialeah I can't tell you how much old school Cubans "love" black people.) The reason is the poverty in Hialeah and Little Havana, have you ever spent any time in those places? I grew up in the callejones of Hialeah bro. . it is what it is, they've never supported the marlins and never will because they can't. Hell, I can't even afford to go to the games , but I break my bank to do it, to my wifes dismay. When will the Marlins realize that catering to that small destitute population is worthless. Fans will come out to see charismatic, fun, great baseball. I would rather see Dontrelle than any hispanic player and I'm Hispanic, but I'm a fan of baseball, not certain races. Most people don't realize that many "Cubans" here are 1st, 2nd, even 3rd generation. Many of them don't even speak Spanish, like my kids, or even my nephews. We are Americanized, assimilated. Stop with the BS Marlins, now we are going to be pushed around by people who don't even go to the damn games. A lot of these so called "Cubans", who are really Americans, are just ashamed for their parents, feeling the pain for them, whatever. . .
April 12, 201214 yr I think if this Ozzie stuff really gets behind everyone, essentially totally about baseball and not about him, which will take longer than a week it could go halfway into the year, then attendance will stay consistently around 30k for years to come. This city might be full of fairweather fans but the Cuban population loves baseball. At least the older generations will be consistent for a long time. Even back then when we were in Sun Life a lot of people would listen or watch they just didnt see the appeal in going. Now that its in a prime location and its a talented ball club I see the attendance staying consistent. Again, this is all dependent on them completely forgetting this Castro fiasco. They can't and never will and never have, why are the Marlins barking up this unfounded tree? We need to develop fans, I know a lot of my Cuban friends who have never played baseball in their lives and are basketball and football fans, they actually have disdain for baseball.
April 12, 201214 yr Funny that Selig was reportedly looking into the situation... Is this real or photoshoped?
April 12, 201214 yr Funny that Selig was reportedly looking into the situation... Is this real or photoshoped? It's real. From 1999. Orioles went to play a few games in Cuba.
April 12, 201214 yr Pic at the game (Cuban All-Stars vs. Baltimore Orioles): haha, now we know the real reason the Cubans haven't supported the Marlins! Such hypocrisy, and to think that Selig had the balls to say whatever BS quote he threw out there? Whatever. . .
April 12, 201214 yr This is our whole point. Ozzie does not have that little voice inside him telling him to watch every word that he utters to a reporter because it might end up here or get printed there. This is Ozzie's thing. He's not really interested. He doesn't even take himself seriously. He wasn't writing a book. I don't think it was a joke per se, it was just flippant. It was "almost gotta respect that M-F'er for still being alive while everyone's been trying to take him out for decades." He retracted the "love" comment as soon as he said it. It wasn't "almost gotta respect him". It was "I personally respect him". There's nothing to respect about that man. Nothing. He's a deplorable human being. The fact that he's lived as long as he has is an injustice to humanity. It was a stupid thing to say, just like his comment about getting drunk after every game. Even more stupid because of the demographics of where we are in the world. (Not relevant) This made me crack up in class.
April 12, 201214 yr I was born and raised in Cuba. My family and I fled 13 years ago and I find myself very identified with this article in the PBP today: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/this-offense-of-ozzies-is-too-deep-2299103.html?viewAsSinglePage=true
April 12, 201214 yr Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen sought to clarify his remarks about Fidel Castro today by focusing on the many flaws of the Cuban dictator. Guillen recently told Time magazine, “I love Castro� – comments which have created a huge backlash in South Florida. But Guillen sought to clarify his comments with those he angered in Miami’s Cuban-American community today. “As far as dictators go, the Fidel is basically the shittiest,� Guillen began. “Look at his island. The Cuba. It is crap. They say it used to be nice. I doubt it. But he took it from a hell hole to even worse. I do not love a man such as this. I spit on Fidel and all the Cuban people who elect him over and over again. The Cubans are as dumb as their leader.� As Marlins executives and public relations staff members moved to the podium to remove Guillen and end the press conference just sentences after it began, the outspoken manager continued on. “My favorite dictator? It’s not this Fidel,� he said. “I do not love or respect him. Compare him to someone like the Russian, Joseph Stalin. The Wikipedia say he was responsible for more than 20 million deaths. That is the true power. He would kill Jay Mariotti in a second. I respect that man. Which is saying much because I hate Russians.� Guillen’s microphone was cut, but he continued on, now yelling to be heard: “CUBANS! ACCEPT MYAPOLOGY! LET IT INTO YOUR TINY, COMMUNIST BRAINS AND REALIZE IT IS THE TRUTH! YOU STUPIDBASTAR- …,� he said before being tackled off the stage by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. Minutes later, with Guillen removed by team security, Loria continued the press conference. “What Ozzie was trying to say is that he knows absolutely nothing about anything beyond baseball,� said Loria. “If you ask for his opinion on anything outside of this sport, anything at all, you will only be horrified by what comes out of his mouth. So please only ask him about baseball and I’m confident his tenure here will be a success.� http://www.sportspic...what-stalin-did
April 12, 201214 yr Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen sought to clarify his remarks about Fidel Castro today by focusing on the many flaws of the Cuban dictator. Guillen recently told Time magazine, “I love Castro� – comments which have created a huge backlash in South Florida. But Guillen sought to clarify his comments with those he angered in Miami’s Cuban-American community today. “As far as dictators go, the Fidel is basically the shittiest,� Guillen began. “Look at his island. The Cuba. It is crap. They say it used to be nice. I doubt it. But he took it from a hell hole to even worse. I do not love a man such as this. I spit on Fidel and all the Cuban people who elect him over and over again. The Cubans are as dumb as their leader.� As Marlins executives and public relations staff members moved to the podium to remove Guillen and end the press conference just sentences after it began, the outspoken manager continued on. “My favorite dictator? It’s not this Fidel,� he said. “I do not love or respect him. Compare him to someone like the Russian, Joseph Stalin. The Wikipedia say he was responsible for more than 20 million deaths. That is the true power. He would kill Jay Mariotti in a second. I respect that man. Which is saying much because I hate Russians.� Guillen’s microphone was cut, but he continued on, now yelling to be heard: “CUBANS! ACCEPT MYAPOLOGY! LET IT INTO YOUR TINY, COMMUNIST BRAINS AND REALIZE IT IS THE TRUTH! YOU STUPIDBASTAR- …,� he said before being tackled off the stage by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. Minutes later, with Guillen removed by team security, Loria continued the press conference. “What Ozzie was trying to say is that he knows absolutely nothing about anything beyond baseball,� said Loria. “If you ask for his opinion on anything outside of this sport, anything at all, you will only be horrified by what comes out of his mouth. So please only ask him about baseball and I’m confident his tenure here will be a success.� http://www.sportspic...what-stalin-did Phew... good lord I was reading that and thinking he's really going to get fired.
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