Boomer Esiason

[Isles1]

I can also attest to many hard core islander fans from the glory years leaving Long Island because of the cost of living here and work. They are in Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, Florida, etc etc.


Add to that the management debacle, and cluster ******* of our local politicians in not seeing the asset of keeping a sports team on LI with such a glorious history, and you see why.


The younger fans have not had much to root for since then. I will also add that my kids are all islander fans as well, and are finally reaping the benefits for doing so after watching dad all them agonizing years.

 

[Ail]

From all accounts, Boomer loves Matt Martin. Just Boomer stirring the pot. He remembers what this rivalry once was and I am sure now being in the job that he is, he is loving the idea of this rivalry building back up again. The man is just doing his job and from this thread, probably doing it well.

Was coming to post this. Boomer has said on several occasions he likes MM, and has even praised him to an extent as a hockey player. Obviously he is not an Islanders fan in general, but what he says (probably very tongue in cheek) about Islander fans has zero to do with MM being with his daughter.

 

[Islesin93*]

umm what does that mean our fan base sucks? is he lumping us all among idiots who chant stupid things at the game, is he saying the fan base sucks because they are not selling out? I am curious to see why he is saying our fan base sucks, if he is not giving a reason than he is a coward

 

[seabass45]

umm what does that mean our fan base sucks? is he lumping us all among idiots who chant stupid things at the game, is he saying the fan base sucks because they are not selling out? I am curious to see why he is saying our fan base sucks, if he is not giving a reason than he is a coward

He's saying it because only 12,000 fans are showing up.

 

[Islesin93*]

he said this to basically point out the attendance #'s are still not that great even considering how good the team is playing.

waa poor Boomer, sorry the Islanders are not like the Rangers and can rely on the Suits and the Tourists to fill up the place like they have done for the last 40 years, this is going for almost all sports teams who are playing in a city, the Islanders do not get the best crowds but they are real fans as evident by the loud and vocal chants, and as evident by the number of Islander Jerseys and Islander apparel you see around the lower levels and around the building , compare the Coliseum to any other arena in the league and see who has more "real" fans as evident by people wearing their teams colors and those who are wearing suits and polo shirts to a game

 

[Strummergas]

Oh the outrage.....

 

[crasherino]

The difference between the Islanders and Rags attendance is that just about 100% of the Islander fans are real fans. In contrast, you go to a Rags game and you barely see a Rags jersey in the 100s section. I took my 7 yr old to the Isles/Rags game earlier this year and all around us, it was either suits who were barely paying attention or Islander fans. There were a few suits who were actively watching/cheering, but that's not the majority.

Knock out the seats >$200 and there aren't that many more fans there.

 

[FirewagonChange]

But at the Coliseum its all true hockey fans, not men in suits and ties filling up the seats like at MSG.

12,000 real hockey fans > 5,000 real hockey fans and 13,000 businessmen

 

[WangMustGo]

Can we all just bombard him with calls talking about the islanders?

 

[13th Floor]

The better you are, the more haters you will get. Because that's what haters do -- they hate. And they ain't hating on people that suck because it is a waste of time. And this is why this idea is so foreign to us and why this is a thread.

By this time next year, I hope we have more haters.

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

Welcome to the New York sports media, where talking about how much the Jets and Knicks suck is more interesting than talking about how good the Islanders are.

 

[Isles Junkie]

I'd call myself Booomer too if my given name was Norman.

(No offense to anyone named Norman on HFBoards.)

Just offense to all the other Normans

 

[blinkman360]

I don't care for Boomer, and he is the Least annoying one of the Duo in the Morning on the FAN.....
Just a Phoney imho....

Very true. Carton is the worst. He'll go all year long, shutting Boomer down instantly any time he tries to talk hockey - then when the Rangers are in the playoffs, all of a sudden he's a hockey "fan". Talking like he actually understands what's happening on the ice.

He's a ****** nozzle.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

The better you are, the more haters you will get. Because that's what haters do -- they hate. And they ain't hating on people that suck because it is a waste of time. And this is why this idea is so foreign to us and why this is a thread.

By this time next year, I hope we have more haters.

This exactly. we're just not used to being on the other side of the coin. Take the haters in stride and let's keep them hating!

 

[Bones45]

Perhaps its just a way of not having to talk about a sport in which he knows little?

 

[BTrotts19]

Who cares what boomer thinks. (Mod)

This. I barely pay attention to him about football. The fact that he is only seen his beloved team crowned champions once in his life, despite being around for twice as long as the Islanders, I might be a little bitter myself.

 

[Nelly]

Isn't Boomer trying to do the Islanders a solid by trying to galvanize the fan base and get them going to games?

What he's doing is all positive in my eyes.

Boomer:
New York Islanders Team = good
New York Islander fan base = sucks / cheap

I'm sorry, but a weeknight game is no excuse to not go when you can easily get a good seat for less than $50.

 

[islesfan186]

I'm sorry, but a weeknight game is no excuse to not go when you can easily get a good seat for less than $50.

It is if you're a college student making no money...or have a wife and 2 kids and can't afford to drop $200 on one game. Look I've gone to games, but now with the team doing good, high 300 section seats are 50+ so I'm gonna save my money for the important stuff...PLAYOFF GAMES!
Unless the team falls apart and playoffs are out of the picture that is. Then I'll start going to more reg season games since it's the final year at NVMC. But I'm not spending $50 to sit in 335 row T.

 

[nyisles]

He's saying it because only 12,000 fans are showing up.

If that's what he was getting at then he has a point. So far, this team's been one of the best in the league - not the division, not the conference, but the league - and we can't fill the arena on weeknights. I understand that there's usually a lag between a team's improvement and fans coming back, but considering how much of a turnaround the Isles have done, coupled with this being the last year in Nassau, the Coliseum should be at or near capacity most nights. The fact that they're still in the bottom 5 for attendance percentage is disappointing.

 

[blinkman360]

It is if you're a college student making no money...or have a wife and 2 kids and can't afford to drop $200 on one game. Look I've gone to games, but now with the team doing good, high 300 section seats are 50+ so I'm gonna save my money for the important stuff...PLAYOFF GAMES!

I've gone to a few so far, but the trip to Minnesota has set me back a bit. Haven't been able to go to as many as I'd like. Hopefully seeing the Jets and Isles IN Minny will make it worth it.

 

[Amorican]

Isn't Boomer trying to do the Islanders a solid by trying to galvanize the fan base and get them going to games?

What he's doing is all positive in my eyes.

Boomer:
New York Islanders Team = good
New York Islander fan base = sucks / cheap

I'm sorry, but a weeknight game is no excuse to not go when you can easily get a good seat for less than $50.

disagree. IF he made the point that the fans should go to the game, that's one thing...

what he said is, he will NOT discuss the team on the air, the fan SUCK, are rude and
uneducated.

a NEW YORK sports talk personality will not discuss a FIRST PLACE TEAM because the fans suck.. I THINK he used the word "obnoxious"

 

[Nelly]

It is if you're a college student making no money...or have a wife and 2 kids and can't afford to drop $200 on one game. Look I've gone to games, but now with the team doing good, high 300 section seats are 50+ so I'm gonna save my money for the important stuff...PLAYOFF GAMES!
Unless the team falls apart and playoffs are out of the picture that is. Then I'll start going to more reg season games since it's the final year at NVMC. But I'm not spending $50 to sit in 335 row T.

Obviously you need to feed yourself before you feed a pro sports team, but Boomer's pot shots aren't directed at those people. There are plenty of fans on Long Island that have the disposable income but don't bother to go to games. It is with good reason Long Island is losing their only pro sports team at the end of the year.

 

[Nelly]

disagree. IF he made the point that the fans should go to the game, that's one thing...

what he said is, he will NOT discuss the team on the air, the fan SUCK, are rude and
uneducated.

a NEW YORK sports talk personality will not discuss a FIRST PLACE TEAM because the fans suck.. I THINK he used the word "obnoxious"

I didn't hear him on the radio. I did check his twitter time line and he was complaining about the attendance for a very good hockey team.

After all the abuse he took, he then said he won't talk Isles any more.

Again, I agree with him. He was trying to do NYI a solid and got ***t on. I'm sure he went about it the wrong way, but that's the way radio talk shows go. They need to have an *sshole schtick to get people to listen.

 

[seafoam]

On WFANs morning show , Boomer Esiason just said that he will not discuss the Islanders because their "fan base sucks"

Use that as you will, but I refuse to support a radio station that thinks I "suck".

Fan base sucks? No, not exactly Boomer.

If you had said our fan base was small, then I could live with that, but the loyal Isles fans are just as good as any fans in hockey...

Hell, the Coli is louder on a weeknight than MSG is sold out on a weekend.

 

[seabass45]

FWIW, I think Boomer is just chirping a bit. The entire NY sports landscape is lousy aside from the Isles. I doubt he ignores them, he has a talk radio show and they need to fill that time. What is it, three hours a day? And he's going to talk about the Giants, Rangers, and Knicks all that time?

Don't take these sports radio shows too seriously, they're meant to entertain during boring commutes.