3 Reasons Fan Attendance at Seattle Sea Dragons Games Sucks
I have been to every Seattle Sea Dragons 2023 game this year and the fan attendance has sucked and is getting worse. Why? I have 3 ideas.
Seattle Sea Dragons Fan Attendance
I have always been a Dragons/Sea Dragons season ticket holder and have personally attended every game in Seattle.
I was at both games in the 2020 season before the pandemic and all 3 home games in 2023. It is painfully clear that the support in Seattle was much better in 2020, but why?
1- Horrible Game Schedule Timing for Games
The games in 2020 were in the afternoon on the weekend, making it pretty easy to go. The first game in 2020 in Seattle had almost 30,000 fans, exactly 29,172 fans, and the game kicked off at 5 pm.
Week 2 had over 22,000 fans and also had a kickoff time of 5 pm. The lowest attendance of ANY game in 2020 for ANY team was over 12,000 people.
2023 Sea Dragons Fan Attendance
This year, the Sea Dragons only had 10,386 fans for week one. Week 2 saw a big jump to 15,103 fans for week 2 but then took a big dive this Thursday night.
Only 9,231 fans saw the Sea Dragons beat the undefeated Houston Ruffnecks to go 3-2 for the season.
The 1st and 3rd games were both on Thursday night and both were late. The next home game is scheduled for Easter Sunday...really Easter Sunday? What are they thinking? Do they even want people to go?
2- The Sea Dragons Lead the XFL in Turnovers
Even though the Sea Dragons are 3-2, they lost their first 2 games. They lost both games at the end because of sloppy play and unnecessary turnovers by the QB. The Sea Dragons lead the league in a bunch of offensive categories, but also lead the XFL in turnovers.
The team has been averaging 2+ turnovers per game and shows no sign of making progress in holding on to the ball.
3- Nothing Special for Fan Experience
Both games of the 2020 season had multiple things the Dragons did to improve the fan experience at games. They handed out orange fan towels to fans before the game and had cool "dragon" themed food like the "Dragon Tooth", a big BBQ beef rib.
This year there are no towels, special food, or anything that could get the fans excited to go to games. I heard a lot of 2020 fans complaining about these things after every game so far this season.
Is the XFL in Seattle in Trouble?
Let me say that I have still loved going to Seattle Sea Dragons games this year, even with the negatives I just listed. The quality of football has been really good (besides the quarterback), and all the games have been close and exciting at the end.
The Seattle Sea Dragons are one of the best teams in the XFL, playing in the best stadium in the XFL but Seattle is not embracing the team. Attendance probably will not make a big jump up until the last game, which might be too late.
I am afraid that Seattle might lose the team in the future to another city if things do not turn around quickly. Only time will tell, but I see no sign of any of my concerns improving.
I am really loving XFL spring football, I just hope other Seattle football fans will embrace the Sea Dragons or they will soon be gone. If you love football at all, give the next two games a chance. It is way worth the $24 per ticket price.