Low A team riding high with Brewers
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers see attendance boost with new pact
"I really encouraged fans to give me their opinion and I took it all in," said Zerjav, who noted that numerous fans had shown up to games wearing Brewers gear in years past. "I don't want to say it made the decision really easy, but my job is to sell tickets and your fans are saying they want the Brewers -- and it wasn't just a majority, it was everybody. It was literally every single person I talked to told me I needed to do this."Also there is this...
Fans have stuck to their word, and the Timber Rattlers are having one of their best attendance years ever. The average attendance per game is up by more than 1,000 fans through the same point last year. Through 24 games this season, an average of 3,259 fans passed through the Fox Cities Stadium turnstiles, compared to an average of 2,001 in 2008.
On June 12, the Timber Rattlers broke the 100,000 attendance mark in the first half of the Midwest League season for the first time in their history.
Angie Ceranski, the Timber Rattlers' vice president of marketing, said the new affiliation came at the perfect time.
"The Brewers were coming off that awesome season last year and the economy as it is right now, and we are very, very fortunate to have this happen now," Ceranski said. "We are staying very steady where we're at financially and with the response from the community."
The boost in the attendance numbers and fan support in the community also has affected the players. Corey Kemp, who played for the Brewers' Rookie-level affiliate in Helena, Mont., last season, said fans make a huge difference during the grinding baseball season.It is pretty cool.
"Sometimes the later the season goes, you kind of drag to the field ... and it wears on you when you get about 50 games in and you come to the ballpark and there are maybe 800 fans there and you see empty seats," Kemp said. "When you come here, you might wake up and be a little tired, but you come and see 5,000 people and that extra adrenaline helps."
The players are also noticed when they go out in the community.
"We walked into Wal-Mart the other day and the greeter was like, 'Hey guys!' She couldn't remember our names but she knew we were Timber Rattlers and it was interesting to walk in there and get noticed," outfielder Erik Miller said. "I actually saw her the other day here when I was in an autograph booth and she walked up and was like, "Hi! Do you remember me from Wal-Mart?' It was pretty cool."
1 comment:
What, you didn't think i'd comment on this post...???...
I'm not a Brewer fan nor a Mariner fan, per say. I'm a Timber Rattler fan first when it comes to that. So as long as they're playing minor league ball here, i wouldn't care of they're the Washington National's affiliate.
But since I moved to The Valley in 1998 all i'd known and followed was the Mariners system (and there are certainly people out there who'd followed them longer than that).
And last year when the idea of the Brewers came up, people couldn't understand my reluctance to jump on board immediately. After all, the Mariners system produced the greatest (read: my favorite) Rattler of all time (say it with, TWOOOOOO-EEEEEEEE, feels good doesn't it?).
Which is absolutely comical to me since these were largely the same people who were crying cuz a certain attention mongering football player who wears number four decided to wear said number four for a different team...but that's another rant for another blog.
I'm pretty much over it now. But to be truthful it was a little weird ("Bittersweet" if you will) when Clinton came in the first time (Maximo's strutting didn't seem nearly as cocky when he was one of us did it?).
And while getting in and out of the stadium and lot takes a little longer. The wait at the concessions is a bit more. And gone are the days when you can spread out and hear every word being said on the field cuz there's 300 people in the stands...bin-nis is bin-nis.
And if this helps the Timber Rattlers make improvements (HD score board) and ensure we'll have Rattler baseball for years to come...i can live with trying to keep track of two minor league systems (don't tell my boss though).
I do however take umbrage that "every single person" said this had to be done. I clearly shared my concerns last year with another member of the front office. What, is the assistant GM chopped liver? :)
WAR UW-LACROSSE
WAR MANITOWOC COUNTY
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