The coach was mad. Sections of his home stadium were empty for a blowout win against an overmatched opponent, and he couldn’t understand why.
“I can honestly say I was a little disappointed there weren’t more students at the last game,” the coach said, adding, “There’s got to be a spirit that makes it special to play here, because that’s what makes it special to be here. And if that’s not here…”
Lincoln Riley after USC’s sparsely attended opener?
No, that was Nick Saban after a midseason home game between Alabama and Louisiana Lafayette in 2018.
Hmmm. Empty seats even at the royal palace of the king of college football, huh?
There has been much similar chatter this week after the sports landscape witnessed a virtual ghost town at the USC opener against San José State Saturday at the Coliseum. There was an announced crowd of 51,444 but only about half that many showed up, immersing a national television audience in a giant bowl of empty red that left outsiders in a rage.
They called the Los Angeles sports fans a disgrace. They said they weren’t real sports fans. They whined so loudly on social media that USC embarrassingly felt compelled to issue a statement promising better turnouts.
Fans attending USC’s season opener against San José State at the Coliseum on Saturday endured temperatures in the 90s.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“We understand the factors that impacted Saturday’s attendance,” read the statement. “We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program. We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season.”
With all due respect, I would like to issue a second statement to all you arrogant dummies spouting lazy cliches about a market you don’t understand.
Stick a foam finger in it.
The Los Angeles sports fans are the nation’s smartest and most sophisticated sports fans, and it’s not even close.
Start with Saturday. Hello? It was nearly 100 degrees at a noon kickoff for a struggling coach against an overmatched opponent.
Fans around here know better. They know USC hasn’t earned a bout of sunstroke. They know the entertainment value wouldn’t be worth the price of sunscreen.
Unlike those folks from the other side of the country who fill cold-weather stadiums for bad teams during snowstorms and brag about it, the local sports fans stay away from struggling teams in uncomfortable situations and shrug about it.
You have to win here. You have to entertain here. You have to earn it here.
In other markets, the fans exist for the teams. The fans feel it is their responsibility to support their town’s millionaire players and billionaire owners as if they were needy children working the neighborhood lemonade stand.
In this market, the teams exist for the fans. Nobody considers it their civic duty to buy a baseball ticket. You can’t just throw open the doors and expect people to show up because your city’s name is on your jersey.
Most other sports towns in America consider empty seats an embarrassment. In this town, those empty seats are an honor. Those empty seats are a message. Those empty seats say you better start winning or you will be very alone.
The local teams know this. The local teams react to this. The local teams are not constantly building for championships not simply because they want to win. They are doing it because they want to survive.
There is a reason L.A. teams are seemingly always in the hunt for a title, always in the market for a superstar, always chasing greatness.
America’s toughest customers demand it.
Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner takes the field at SoFi Stadium before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in November.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
You know why the Dodgers constantly try to buy a championship? Because the 56,000 fans who consistently fill baseball’s biggest ballpark won’t settle for anything less.
The last Dodger owner who didn’t want to win caused the customers to flee. The forced departure of Frank McCourt was completely fueled by a fan revolt epitomized by an empty stadium, something which would have never happened in other cities that treat their teams like an act of patriotism rather than an expensive hobby.
You know why the Lakers just sold for $12.5 billion? Because they also sell out every game with a fan base that appreciates their consistent commitment to winning.
Whenever they strayed, like in the years between Showtimes and Kobe-Shaq, fans stayed away. It was those empty seats that helped inspire Jerry West to sign Shaquille O’Neal, trade for Kobe Bryant, and eventually hire Phil Jackson.
The Los Angeles sports fans demanded it, and the Lakers did it, and one could argue there are few tougher places to play in the spring than in the deafening Crypto.com Arena.
There’s 12 major pro sports teams and two major college programs in this market — a greater combined number than anywhere in the country — and all are fighting for attention, and if you’re not trying to win, you’re worse than bad, you’re irrelevant.
Nobody knows this better than the Rams, whose savvy understanding of the local fan has inspired them to a consistent championship level.
When they returned to Los Angeles 10 years ago, they were ridiculed with empty seats and crowds that were dominated by opposing fans.
They knew the only way to create a local embrace was by winning, and winning big, and winning now, and so that’s what they did. No contract was too large. No move was too crazy. They drafted and traded and schemed their way to one Super Bowl championship while building a team that is favored to win another one.
And today they are the darlings of the Southland, Rams gear worn from San Clemente to Ventura, “Rams House” chanted everywhere.
The Rams have a region full of fans not because they felt entitled to them, but because they won them.
There will be other USC home games this year, and there will be bigger crowds, and some may even sell out, but it won’t be because fans felt guilted by some absurd belief that you owe a team your money or your love.
The best fans in America will show up because USC earned them.
And there’s nothing disgraceful about that.