After 106 years, the Cleveland Indians succumbed to agitated critics and dropped their name last year. But since being renamed the Guardians, the team has had a hard time filling the stadium with fans.
The team, of course, justified their decision to abandon over 100 years of tradition and history as a way to “unite” the “community”.
“We believe our organization works best when we can bring our community together and bring people together, and we believe the new name will allow us to do this more fully,” the team said in a press release when they announced their intentions. . Nickname “Indians” in 2020.
A Cleveland Guardians fan waits to enter the stadium before their game against the San Francisco Giants on April 15, 2022, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Whatever the team’s intentions, fans seem to have lost interest in the team’s first year as the Cleveland Guardians. Audience and TV ratings are falling.
Cleveland TV’s ratings dropped 30 percent, according to Forbes.
Sure, a low-star season didn’t help the team, but TV ratings aren’t the only indicator of fans’ disinterest towards the Guardians.
In 2019, the last “normal” year before the pandemic spree began, Indians saw an average of 21,465 fans per game. However, this year the team only averaged 15,025 fans per game.
The Guardians aren’t the worst team in MLB. They are just two games behind the Mid-American League leaders Minnesota Twins.
There’s no way to be sure that the name change makes fans less likely to support their team. But in the last two years, their ratings and engagement have been the worst in decades.
Source: Breitbart
