Originally posted by dnewma04:
the problem with the Expos isn't with the team they have fielded, it is with the utter lack of fan support.
It's a vicious cycle in Montreal - when you look at the year the team was having in 1994, the games were very well attended.
Then - a player's strike. All the good players became free agents, and the team had to let them go.
Then - surprise! The next year, they fall towards the basement. Fans stay away.
Then - wow, imagine that! No money to retain the good players in the subsequent years when they became free agents!
Then - well, would you look here! Fans stay away because the team sucks. No revenues.
Of course, then you have Loria come in, buy the team, and then make a colossal cluster-f**k of any revenue-generating activities - not only do they not have any TV broadcasting presence this year, but they
don't even have a local radio broadcasting agreement!I think Loria and his GM Samson's incompetence was completely intentional, with an eye towards buying the Expos on the cheap, sabotaging any change at the team's success, and then moving the team to another city and then selling the team at an enormous profit. Why else would you get rid of Felipe Alou, who has done an amazing job with the talent he has been given every year? With the talent present on the team each opening day, I would argue that the Expos have almost been overachievers the past few years.
Of course, they're the farm team for the rest of the major leagues, but what can you do about that?
If the team could find a little bit of traction, I would wager that some fans would return to watching the game.
