Somehow, the Houston Rockets are still having attendance problems not only in a playoff series, but in a playoff series that features the two favorites for MVP going head-to-head.
The Rockets were in the bottom-10 in attendance during the regular season, despite winning 55 games to grab the No. 3 seed in the highly competitive Western Conference.
Here’s how the crowd looked shortly before tip-off in Game 3:
Late-arriving crowd for Game 3. #Rockets #Hmm pic.twitter.com/sLSnXmnPyE
— Brian T. Smith (@BTSmithUK) May 24, 2015
So to try filling up the Toyota Center for a potentially series-clinching Game 5 against the Thunder, the arena offered $1 beers for one hour prior to tip-off:
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/856643929084743682
No matter what piss water they’re serving, that’s a good deal considering a Bud Light at the Toyota Center is usually $11.
As Yahoo points out, the cheapest seats for Game 5 were about $400. If you have that kind of money to spend on Rockets tickets, maybe saving $10 per beer isn’t the most eye-catching perk after all.
In related news, $1 beer night also led Patrick Beverly to reveal he holds Miller Lite in quite high regard, from the Houston Chronicle:
“Better be a million people in here for a dollar beer,” Beverley said prior to Game 5 between the Rockets and Oklahoma City. “I have to get some of those beers after the game for a dollar. Can’t beat that anywhere.”
Beverley then chose to look a semi-gift horse right in the mouth.“What kind of beer is it?” he wondered, before taking a stab at the answer:
“It’s got to be the cheap stuff. Ain’t no Miller Lite for no dollar.”
The Cleveland Indians famously held a Ten-Cent Beer Night in 1974 for a game against the Texas Rangers to get butts in seats. But things went amiss that time, according to a MLB.com report of the game:
Things came to a head in the ninth, after the Indians had tied the game at 5-5 and put the potential winning runner on second. A fan jumped over the outfield wall and flipped the cap off right fielder Jeff Burroughs’ head. The story goes that Burroughs, then in the midst of an MVP season, tried to kick the fan and stumbled to the ground. Martin, thinking the fan had tackled Burroughs, told his men to grab bats and rush to Burroughs’ defense. The Indians then left their dugout in the Rangers’ defense.
That’s when Ten-Cent Beer Night got out of control.
The Indians had to forfeit that game as a result. Let’s hope the Rockets fans don’t cost their team a chance at advancing to the conference semifinals with similar shenanigans.
[Yahoo]
