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By Glenn Miller TAMPA -- Go team! But which one? Here in Southwest Florida there are so many to choose from. With several of the best college and professional teams in the Sunshine State, it's not surprising there are thousands of residents in Lee and Collier counties who invest time and money in their favorite teams. This can be from the cash they spend on season-ticket packages to the license plates they put on the back of their automobiles to the shirts and caps they purchase to show their loyalty. When Rick Bidwell makes the two-hour trip north to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game from his home in Lehigh Acres, picking up his son, Justin, in St. Petersburg on the way, they know what they are there to do. "We're all here for a cause," Rick Bidwell said. "To root for the Bucs." The Bidwells are Bucs season-ticket holders. And owning a season ticket could be recognized as the ultimate commitment by a fan to his or her team. The Bidwells are part of a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal estimates $11.74 billion is spent annually on sports tickets. How much is that? The CIA's on-line factbook lists the gross national products for 232 national economies. That $11.74 billion figure is larger than the gross national products of 100 of those countries, places such as Jamaica, Iceland and Mongolia. Fans are willing to pay nearly any price, drive any distance, bear any burden to see their teams. So what Florida teams are the real fan favorites in this region?
And every game means a road trip for fans from Southwest Florida. Some area fans drive a few miles to Germain Arena or the Lee County Sports Complex. Others drive greater, much greater, distances. Florida State football fans show the greatest commitment simply because they travel the greatest distance. FSU fan Bob Votaw, 62, leaves his Fort Myers home Friday evenings for Saturday home games. The drive takes about six hours and 15 minutes. Naples resident Lee Grover, 64, lives, by his odometer, 388 miles from Alltel Stadium, the home of the Jaguars. Yet, he's a Jags season-ticket holder. "Being a season-ticket holder since Day One, I have to be loyal," Grover said. Grover once resided in Palm Coast, 62 miles from Alltel. He moved to Naples in 2001 but hasn't given up his tickets. Part of the appeal for Gators fan and Fort Myers resident Ginger Cross is the same things that lures fans such as the Bidwells to Tampa. The trips are a reason to bond with friends. Cross travels with her husband, Rick Walker. She has been a Gators fan since long before getting married. "It's worth it," Cross said of the long drive. They go to dinner. They walk along University Avenue. They pet a live alligator for good luck. They see old friends. They talk about former Gators coach Steve Spurrier. Like other fans, the game also is a social event. Votaw tailgates, not tailnoling, with Seminoles fans from Fort Myers, Ocala and Tallahassee. He walks around campus, soaking up the atmosphere, spending time with college kids. "When around young people, you fall in line with them, except for the drinking," Votaw said. Season tickets may, indeed, seem like something for only rich people, or at least the well-to-do. The prices of Bucs' season tickets range from $304.35 to $640.19 for eight regular-season games and two exhibitions. Florida Everblades season tickets for ECHL games in Germain Arena range from $342 to $1,140. The Everblades are Southwest Florida's most successful franchise, averaging 6,300 fans per game in 7,081-seat Germain Arena. The team sold 4,000 season tickets for the 2005-06 season, according to Nathan Gosline, the team's director of sales. The Everblades, who have led the league in attendance for five consecutive years, draw 60 percent of their fans from Lee and 40 percent from Collier, according to Goslin. The team has maintained its season-ticket sales totals at 4,000 for four years. "Which is unheard of for most of the teams in the league," Goslin said. The Everblades don't take season-ticket holders for granted. "That's the bread and butter of our organization," Goslin said. "That's what makes or breaks franchises. We want to make sure they're happy and want to keep them on board as Everblades family." The Everblades dwarf other Southwest Florida teams in season-ticket counts. The Fort Myers Miracle of the Class A Florida State League sold 412 season tickets this year for their 70-game home baseball schedule at the Lee County Sports Complex. The $295 cost also covers parking. The cost for Minnesota Twins' season tickets for 17 games at the Lee County Sports Complex is $289. The Twins sold 1,375 season tickets for their 2005 home spring schedule. The Red Sox have an insatiable demand for spring training games at City of Palms Park. Gordon Lowe, the Red Sox spring training ticket manager, didn't have any numbers available on season-ticket totals. "There are more people than tickets," Lowe said. "I just cut it off, really, for season tickets." Beside time and money, being a season-ticket holder also requires loyalty. Real fans stick by their teams. Recently, Bucs fan and Fort Myers resident Mike Berens watched his team lose 34-14 to the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The lopsided loss didn't scare him off. He plans to be in the parking lot every home Sunday, at his usual spot, hours before kickoff. He wouldn't miss this moment of life. It's a chance to bond with family and friends and watch his favorite team. It's a tradition he cherishes. "Amen," Berens said. Staff writers David Dorsey, Craig Handel and Chris Umpierre contributed to this report.
Webposted on December 4, 2005
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Home This article is copyright 2005 by the Fort Myers News Press and is used for entertainment/educational purposes only.
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The Miami Dolphins, who have been around since 1966, have 1,627 season-ticket holders in Lee and Collier counties.