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airbag23

These past two years have already boosted the fandom greatly. I see flags, jerseys, t shirts and hats all over now. I went to Dominican Republic during the Boston series and even some of the locals knew what team was on my hat and t shirt


bigboycig

I guess so, I just look at clips of the regular season and see a lot of empty seats and it makes me sad šŸ˜‚


airbag23

Weā€™ve had record number of sellouts and had like top 4-5 attendance this season so not sure what youā€™re talking about. If youā€™re talking about the seats behind the benches those seats give you access to the vip lounge with bomb ass food and drinks and people take advantage of it and watch the game from there sometimes


bigboycig

Damn really, guess im wrong then, thats good to know though.


Mothers_spaghetti

We also have a larger than average arena so even some empty seats is still better attendance than other arenas


RippyRonnie

Thatā€™s just bc the rich people section is the one you de won tv. Theyā€™re still back there getting free food and drinks when the puck drops at the start of each period.


nschaef93

I think it will as long as we stay competitive and make runs in the playoffs. I feel like the heat had a great following and then their first title boosted that to even greater heights. Then they stayed competitive for most seasons so their fan base is huge. I think Panthers could be the same way


GruffyMcGuiness

I hope so. Iā€™m in St. Augustine and have NEVER seen any Panthers stuff. Or lightning for that matter


SweedishThunder

Is sports of any kind big there though? Isn't it all about the Fort and the Gator farm (at least for tourism, which I reckon is big in itself)?


Ok_Carpenter7470

Old people and wine


GruffyMcGuiness

Big Jags presence. Otherwise yankee teams and old people


IranianSleepercell

Not really st Augustine because it's a tourist hub but here in Jax is all Jags for football, Braves/Marlins for baseball and Lightning/Panthers for hockey. Basketball isn't as big here but most basketball fans I know here are heat fans.


SweedishThunder

Aren't you forgetting college football? When I lived in Jax in the early 90s (pre-Jags), most people were crazy invested in either the Gators, the Canes, the 'Noles, or even the Bulldogs (because of the proximity to Ga)... Maybe everybody got more focused on pro sports when the Jags moved in?


IranianSleepercell

Oh of course how could I forget lol. Yeah no FlaGa is still the biggest sports event in town.


2BuckTkachuk

You can be in Orlando wearing a Lightning shirt and most people will just think you're into The Flash.


ChemicalEcstatic9382

Well, you also have to consider the fact that the Florida Panthers are in a small city like Sunrise, as other South Floridan sports teams have massive fan bases, and while in understand your weather prediction, you also have to consider the area surrounding the team, Sunrise is one of the smallest professional sports cities.


OxfordCommaRule

The Marlins have an absolutely gorgeous stadium in a downtown location. Have you been to a Marlins game lately? I doubt it because virtually no one has been to a Marlins game lately.


ChemicalEcstatic9382

TouchƩ


big_krill

Ok but plenty of sport teams have their stadium in a location outside the main city I think if you ask anyone in the greater Miami-Fort Lauderdale area ā€œare the Panthers this cityā€™s team?ā€ The answer will be ā€œyesā€


SweedishThunder

Sunrise has the huge mall that attracts people from all over the country, and the Panthers. Not bad for a small city!


SweedishThunder

Sawgrass Mills is still around, and in Sunrise, right?


ChemicalEcstatic9382

You know Iā€™ve thought about that, Iā€™m not sure, Iā€™ve not been down in sunrise since the 2000s, but I donā€™t seem to see it near the arena anymore in pictures, so maybe.


IranianSleepercell

It's in the Miami metro area and so it's considered a SoFlo team. The dolphins don't play in Miami either but it's still a regional team.


ChemicalEcstatic9382

Iā€™d say itā€™s a Fort Lauderdale team if anything


IranianSleepercell

If you were to show people from outside of SoFlo a map where ft L is and pictures of it they'd tell you it's Miami. It's the greater Miami area/ South Florida. All the teams here share it. From homestead all the way up to Jupiter. I was in Miami for game 7 and there were a ton of people celebrating the win there. I have older retired family in Jupiter that said they were celebrating up there too.


2BuckTkachuk

People are always talking about dilineations between cities in South Florida as if it's anything other than like, local geopolitical formality or something. I live in a completely different town than either the Panthers or Dolphins stadiums, and I'm a 10-15 minute drive from each (Dont even need the highway at all.) . In the process I am passing through another 2 towns


Techiesarethebomb

100% will. The only sfla team immune from fandom fluctuating during bad years are the dolphins.


grim-old-dog

Iā€™m a Canuck fan and I jumped on the bandwagon after you guys cleaned Boston; loved the gameplay, the graphics team on insta (they are awesome lol!!) and of course Luuuuuu. When the Nucks lost to Edmonton I was rooting for Florida even harder. After watching this series Iā€™m committed to being a fan- the community has been incredible, and I love an underdog. Canucks will always be first, but the Cats are a forever team to me now. Vamos gatos!


FlyinDutchman95

the fanbase will grow, although it seems like 90% of NHL fans hate us


2BuckTkachuk

Locally it's been a big difference since around 2019 up until now. It's completely different