Ownership and our fan base

[3ddman23]

It really comes down to winning/ having a super star player. Especially in a small market like orlando.

I honestly think want drastically hurt the magic organization fan base wise that a lot people over look is lebron going to Miami.

The timing of him going there was right around the dwightmare time with his departure. So while orlando was coming off there championship run with Dwight but on the decline, miami had the best player in the world and was troting to the finals every year people just jumped ship.

I literally know people that where decked out in magic blue for those magic playoff runs and as soon as Dwight left a few years later when Miami was winning championships where decked out in lebron gear claiming Miami from the beginning. I think it truly killed the magic fan base.

Of course all the transplants don't help but that's always been a thing in orlando/Florida.

In the dwight/tmac years we never and i mean never had nearly this many fans of the opposing teams. Yes where rhe scattered throughout the arena of course but no where near how it is now where it's literally an away game foe the magic in orlando against some of these popular teams.

[Kent]

Orlando is a melting pot — everyone moves here. It's one of the fastest growing metros. It also means the vast majority of residents aren't natives.

Because of that, when people move here during the downtimes, they continue to cheer for the team they grew up supporting.

That culture is magnified in Orlando because of it being a melting pot more than other cities and that the team hasn't been good in a decade. When the team is good, those folks from other places become bandwagoners, naturally.

There isn't an inherent problem with our fan base. It's simply a combination of the dynamics.

Finally, keep in mind that the organization (just like the city) is young by comparison. And when the majority of people aren't natives and didn't live through the Shaq and Dwight days, they have no allegiances.

When the team is good, our crowds are among the loudest and best. It's all there is to it.

[Bensational]

Orlando is a melting pot — everyone moves here. It's one of the fastest growing metros. It also means the vast majority of residents aren't natives.

Because of that, when people move here during the downtimes, they continue to cheer for the team they grew up supporting.

That culture is magnified in Orlando because of it being a melting pot more than other cities and that the team hasn't been good in a decade. When the team is good, those folks from other places become bandwagoners, naturally.

There isn't an inherent problem with our fan base. It's simply a combination of the dynamics.

Finally, keep in mind that the organization (just like the city) is young by comparison. And when the majority of people aren't natives and didn't live through the Shaq and Dwight days, they have no allegiances.

When the team is good, our crowds are among the loudest and best. It's all there is to it.

Sustained winning is what’s needed. A team with a foundation and a management to remain a high level competitor for a decade will bring more pro-Magic fans back out and into the stands like you said, and help keep them that way.

[3ddman23]

Orlando is a melting pot — everyone moves here. It's one of the fastest growing metros. It also means the vast majority of residents aren't natives.

Because of that, when people move here during the downtimes, they continue to cheer for the team they grew up supporting.

That culture is magnified in Orlando because of it being a melting pot more than other cities and that the team hasn't been good in a decade. When the team is good, those folks from other places become bandwagoners, naturally.

There isn't an inherent problem with our fan base. It's simply a combination of the dynamics.

Finally, keep in mind that the organization (just like the city) is young by comparison. And when the majority of people aren't natives and didn't live through the Shaq and Dwight days, they have no allegiances.

When the team is good, our crowds are among the loudest and best. It's all there is to it.

Very well said. Why would someone from out of town support a team as bad the magic have been for 10 years. This is the type of sruff I run to all the time around town talking to people.

Even with people that have been here for a long time. They alway love to revert back to the whole " we get a good super stag player and the magic trade them" which I can see where there coming from lol.

Orlando is a tough spot to gage because there isn't many places like it with how many transplants live here. The city is moving so fast and there aren't many locals any more. And when you do find the locals they either don't care about the magic/basketball or stopped following them a whole back because of how bad we have been.

[Xatticus]

Orlando is a melting pot — everyone moves here. It's one of the fastest growing metros. It also means the vast majority of residents aren't natives.

Because of that, when people move here during the downtimes, they continue to cheer for the team they grew up supporting.

That culture is magnified in Orlando because of it being a melting pot more than other cities and that the team hasn't been good in a decade. When the team is good, those folks from other places become bandwagoners, naturally.

There isn't an inherent problem with our fan base. It's simply a combination of the dynamics.

Finally, keep in mind that the organization (just like the city) is young by comparison. And when the majority of people aren't natives and didn't live through the Shaq and Dwight days, they have no allegiances.

When the team is good, our crowds are among the loudest and best. It's all there is to it.

Sustained winning is what’s needed. A team with a foundation and a management to remain a high level competitor for a decade will bring more pro-Magic fans back out and into the stands like you said, and help keep them that way.

Winning certainly helps. It goes far beyond that though. Fandom requires accessibility. I have a disparate collection of teams that I support, but it was basically all about accessibility in my youth. The Orlando Magic were on local TV, so I could watch every game. Likewise, I supported the Cubs because most of their games were on a television station we had access to. The Cubs were notorious for being unsuccessful, but they also had a fervent fan base, which I have always believed was because they televised the vast majority of their games on a national cable station.

You just can't expect to acquire lifelong fans when you make it really tough for kids to watch your product. Organizations take their fan bases for granted and try to extract as much money as they can from what they have. In general, I'm not going to subscribe to any theory that generalizes a particular population. The onus is on the organization to foster and grow it's fan base. If a fan base is disinterested, that is a reflection on the failures of the organization.

[MAGICian619]

The fan base is fine and is actually above average when the team in winning.

In regards to ownership, I have heard from a few of my well connected people that someone very wealthy is making a push to buy the team. I won't give any specifics about him but it is a south Florida guy so wouldn't have any expectation of the Magic relocating.

[Max Power]

I don’t think the Magic’s fan base is bad, but rather a weary one. Years of being irrelevant and not all that fun a brand of basketball is to blame for the Magic fans lack of enthusiasm. The Magic haven’t had a real National face since Howard. I think winning and having a guy the average fan can grip will do wonders for the teams fortune.

[p0peye]

I can cheer my team losing a game in a blowout, but I don't cheer losers. You can't tank and have fan base, but you can have player fans.

[Viper1500]

I think Redick was a bit dramatic with his apathy quote. Are we Boston, NY or Philly? No.

I've been to an Atlanta game in Atlanta and can convincingly saying that our arena/fan base had a lot more "hype" than there.

[Ducklett]

In a generation or two when there is more "natives" and less transplants, you will see a huge difference. Feel free to mark my words.

[davey_wavy]

I'm 37, went to my first game in 1992. Been to hundreds of games in my lifetime, I love the Magic like a family member. I've also traveled to many different cities because of work and have attended other NBA arenas/games.

Orlando by far has the most fan support for the opposing team, I've left games before because of sheer anger. I once watched Boston play NY In Boston, didn't hear a single cheer for the Knicks...at least thats what it felt like. If I'm a player, I'm not signing here for franchise loyalty & deep city roots. I'm signing for the money, weather, no state tax, and if I have a family= theme parks.

Most of you on here are loyal, that's why we are on here. As a whole, our base I'd rate at the bottom of the league

[Horcy]

For the European/English/international fans - US sporting culture is different than what you’d see in the EPL, especially in a transplant city like ours.. not many people here have “roots” here in Central Florida. For the younger generation of fans that were actually born here.. why watch Buddy-ball for half a decade when the rest of your family are already Boston/Lakers fans or there’s a team 2.5 hours down the road making playoff runs with way cooler branding/jerseys (how lame our branding is doesn’t get mentioned enough either)

Just win baby

Throw in a decade of complete irrelevance on the Bobcats/Kings level and yeah apathy will be pretty high. During the Dwight era the team was much more relevant and the fanbase was way more lively at games (especially in the playoffs)

I fully agree with you. Something similar happens in Italy. The teams are like the pride of the city. Even if that person moves to another city or country he/she will carry the flag of the team with him/her.
For example, I've been living in Turin, Italy. There are two teams in the city, Juventus and Torino FC. Even Juve has a lot of history, today is more like a business than a team. You go to the stadium and there is people from everywhere in the world, they don't even sing the songs,etc...It's not necessarily bad...but the essence is not there anymore.
On the other hand, if you go to watch Torino, of course you won't see the flashes, lights and luxury but you can still feel the vibes of true love for the team.
What I see as an outsider with American sports is that when people move to a new city they start to assist to the city team games but they don't really care about the result. They watch the games just as an entertainment.
Of course, winning will attract more attention, but I believe that the true fan base is created by the ones who will support that team no matter what. As many of us do with the Magic.

[jezzerinho]

For the European/English/international fans - US sporting culture is different than what you’d see in the EPL, especially in a transplant city like ours.. not many people here have “roots” here in Central Florida. For the younger generation of fans that were actually born here.. why watch Buddy-ball for half a decade when the rest of your family are already Boston/Lakers fans or there’s a team 2.5 hours down the road making playoff runs with way cooler branding/jerseys (how lame our branding is doesn’t get mentioned enough either)

Just win baby

Throw in a decade of complete irrelevance on the Bobcats/Kings level and yeah apathy will be pretty high. During the Dwight era the team was much more relevant and the fanbase was way more lively at games (especially in the playoffs)

I fully agree with you. Something similar happens in Italy. The teams are like the pride of the city. Even if that person moves to another city or country he/she will carry the flag of the team with him/her.
For example, I've been living in Turin, Italy. There are two teams in the city, Juventus and Torino FC. Even Juve has a lot of history, today is more like a business than a team. You go to the stadium and there is people from everywhere in the world, they don't even sing the songs,etc...It's not necessarily bad...but the essence is not there anymore.
On the other hand, if you go to watch Torino, of course you won't see the flashes, lights and luxury but you can still feel the vibes of true love for the team.
What I see as an outsider with American sports is that when people move to a new city they start to assist to the city team games but they don't really care about the result. They watch the games just as an entertainment.
Of course, winning will attract more attention, but I believe that the true fan base is created by the ones who will support that team no matter what. As many of us do with the Magic.

Hey Horcy. I didn't know you were Italian. Can I ask you an unrelated question to this topic? What do you know about the kid Procida from Bologna that's probably in the draft? He looks really intriguing....

[Horcy]

For the European/English/international fans - US sporting culture is different than what you’d see in the EPL, especially in a transplant city like ours.. not many people here have “roots” here in Central Florida. For the younger generation of fans that were actually born here.. why watch Buddy-ball for half a decade when the rest of your family are already Boston/Lakers fans or there’s a team 2.5 hours down the road making playoff runs with way cooler branding/jerseys (how lame our branding is doesn’t get mentioned enough either)

Just win baby

Throw in a decade of complete irrelevance on the Bobcats/Kings level and yeah apathy will be pretty high. During the Dwight era the team was much more relevant and the fanbase was way more lively at games (especially in the playoffs)

I fully agree with you. Something similar happens in Italy. The teams are like the pride of the city. Even if that person moves to another city or country he/she will carry the flag of the team with him/her.
For example, I've been living in Turin, Italy. There are two teams in the city, Juventus and Torino FC. Even Juve has a lot of history, today is more like a business than a team. You go to the stadium and there is people from everywhere in the world, they don't even sing the songs,etc...It's not necessarily bad...but the essence is not there anymore.
On the other hand, if you go to watch Torino, of course you won't see the flashes, lights and luxury but you can still feel the vibes of true love for the team.
What I see as an outsider with American sports is that when people move to a new city they start to assist to the city team games but they don't really care about the result. They watch the games just as an entertainment.
Of course, winning will attract more attention, but I believe that the true fan base is created by the ones who will support that team no matter what. As many of us do with the Magic.

Hey Horcy. I didn't know you were Italian. Can I ask you an unrelated question to this topic? What do you know about the kid Procida from Bologna that's probably in the draft? He looks really intriguing....

I'm not Italian, my wife is. I'm Argentinean but I've been living in Italy since March 2021.
Well, Procida is part of the new European prototype of versatile forwards. Like Luka, Franz...those forwards who can change from 1 position to 3 without any problem.
He's really complete, good outside shooting, good defense. Maybe he's still a little bit skinny. He's a very good and solid offensive player and for the moment a good defensive player. He's young, he can become a very good defensive player in a close future.
A more athletic but not so strong and less defensive-minded Franz could be a fair comparison.

[jezzerinho]

I've watched all the LBA Seria A stuff on him i can find and I'm very impressed. He's skinny now but has the frame to get a lot more muscular. Has great defensive instincts but maybe not the work ethic to really contribute on help D.

Offensively, like Franz, he plays smart. Ceiling looks high to me.

[jezzerinho]

I've watched all the LBA Seria A stuff on him i can find and I'm very impressed. He's skinny now but has the frame to get a lot more muscular. Has great defensive instincts but maybe currently lacks the work ethic to really contribute on help D.

Offensively, like Franz, he plays smart. Can do a bit of everything and there is scope for big improvement in all departments. Ceiling looks high to me.

[three3d]

I have been a Magic fan going back to the Penny and Shaq days, stayed through the Heart & Hustle with Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw, Ben Wallace, was there when T-Mac became a legend, and watched Dwight become the best young center and dominate his years in Orlando. Those years we had something exciting, we had players that the fans LOVED, we had something worth paying to go watch live. After Dwight left I honestly lost interest, we don't have a product worth paying to watch. The front office is so bad we can't even get a rebuild right, they can't blow up the team right, they can't draft right, trade right, hell we can't even get a ping pong ball to bounce in our favor. Domantas Sabonis was probably the best draft pick we had in years and they decided to trade him and Victor Oladipo to OKC for Serge Ibaka smh. Nothing else needs to be said lol, horrid ownership, drafting, and trading have really pushed fans away.

[drsd]

It really comes down to winning/ having a super star player. Especially in a small market like orlando.

TO point A: look at how bad the Knicks has been for so long. Fans want wins.

No for a team like Orlando, its needs to come from development. There is no Lakers - buy a title - type approach.

This is Suggs and F-Wagner's team. Sink or swim, it will come to these twos development.

And let's say the Magic is a 45-win team in 2023/24. In the 2024 off-season, a splashy FA would sign here. So I agree in full, everything starts by actually winning games!

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