The San Jose Sharks battled the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at home, and resulted in a pretty sad loss for fans. Not only are the Sharks needing wins, but they are really needing wins at home.
Despite the teams current record of 10-9-4, most would assume that games are still being sold out, especially on a Saturday. Unfortunately this is not the case.
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This is the second time this season that the SAP Center was not sold out. According to SFGate, the only other time this year that the arena sold out was the October 25 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Prior to October, the last time the Shark Tank wasn’t sold out on a Saturday was December 10, 2005.
Is the team’s performance to blame? Sure, the Sharks haven’t been living up to their potential or matching skill-sets compared to the last few years, but they aren’t the complete worst either. Currently the Sharks at 15th in the league and 5th in the Pacific Division. The team has had a rough travel schedule as of late, as well as a few roster changes along the way.
What’s even more concerning is that the Sharks are notorious for having an incredibly loyal fan base. The fact that they aren’t showing up to games is definitely concerning. At least to me. Are fans beginning to tire of never having won a cup? Are they frustrated with management’s lackluster promises of rebuilding and bettering the team?
Another surprising fact is that the team is hoping to avoid a third straight non-sellout on Wednesday, as the Tank was less than full last Thursday as well. Three straight non-capacity home games hasn’t happened since January/February 2006. Shocking that we can go back to such times.
One way or another, fans need to stay loyal. Sure, it’s hard to go to games and see your team lose. But at the same time, the players need to see that their fans will always be there. I guess I’m used to this seeing as I’m a Raiders fan. Perhaps not everyone has as much practice as I do!