[Ramsnation_SD]

Of course, Bakersfield is getting overpopulated now and traffic can be a real problem here in many areas.

Yeah, I just drove from my house in the Eastridge area off Fairfax and the 178 to the Quailridge area at Truxtun and Coffee to pick up my kid. 12 miles one way. 65 minute ordeal. Nightmare.

California is getting bad in general. Plus the Anaheim thing with the Rams. I don't think most people who don't live in the Los Angeles area know how hard it is to get to different areas. And the culture differences. Anaheim and Los Angeles are WORLDS different.

[BobCarl]

12 miles one way. 65 minute ordeal.

makes me want to talk demographics and politics .. but i digress ... that sucks.

[Vincit Veritas]

Why the empty seats? One reason: Roughly two-thirds of the seats around mine are owned by businesses, not by moms and pops. The season tickets are tax-deductible if certain conditions are met. Companies bought them as perks for clients, to conduct some business, to reward employees. They are mainly looking toward the new stadium, where they will be in line for ultra-costly club seats. Only temporarily are their seats near the riffraff like us.

These seats have often gone empty because the companies are not going to insult clients or employees by offering them a chance to watch a boring, losing team, and to wait in long concession and bathroom lines. Most games, we have been surrounded by people from higher rows who saw the vacancies and moved down to grab them. If and when the Rams make the playoffs, those same seats will be filled with many thousands of managerial employees from the steel-and-glass corporate offices all around the L.A. area, as well as from smaller businesses. In the new stadium, they will be sitting pretty in club seats.

It’s the same story at Stub Hub: The very limited number of $70 bleacher seats have been virtually full and sell on Ticket Exchange for more than they cost; the $200-plus sideline and midfield seats are half empty -- for the time being. But all those expensive seats were sold. This isn’t Green Bay or Buffalo or the NY Giants, where season seats have been passed down within families for generations. It’s the changing face of football, more apparent here than anywhere else. Blame the tax laws and the team owners.

[BuiltRamTough]

Looks packed to me..

[aeneas1]

Why the empty seats? One reason: Roughly two-thirds of the seats around mine are owned by businesses, not by moms and pops. The season tickets are tax-deductible if certain conditions are met. Companies bought them as perks for clients, to conduct some business, to reward employees. They are mainly looking toward the new stadium, where they will be in line for ultra-costly club seats. Only temporarily are their seats near the riffraff like us.

These seats have often gone empty because the companies are not going to insult clients or employees by offering them a chance to watch a boring, losing team, and to wait in long concession and bathroom lines. Most games, we have been surrounded by people from higher rows who saw the vacancies and moved down to grab them. If and when the Rams make the playoffs, those same seats will be filled with many thousands of managerial employees from the steel-and-glass corporate offices all around the L.A. area, as well as from smaller businesses. In the new stadium, they will be sitting pretty in club seats.

It’s the same story at Stub Hub: The very limited number of $70 bleacher seats have been virtually full and sell on Ticket Exchange for more than they cost; the $200-plus sideline and midfield seats are half empty -- for the time being. But all those expensive seats were sold. This isn’t Green Bay or Buffalo or the NY Giants, where season seats have been passed down within families for generations. It’s the changing face of football, more apparent here than anywhere else. Blame the tax laws and the team owners.

exactly... years ago i went to a raiders home game, couldn't believe all of the empty choice seats, 50-yardline seats, asked the guy next to me what was going on, he was a season ticket holder, said they were psl season ticket seats that the raiders were selling, and would let sit empty until purchased... lots of dynamics goin' on with empty seats that are ignored when the doomsayer stuff comes out, and just because the seats might be empty doesn't mean they weren't sold.

[St. Loser Fan]

In St. Louis I spent a single season as a holder on the 100 level. It was all corporate seats down there with people not into the game and just there for the social experience or because they were gifted tickets. Plus the ushers down there ordered people to sit at all times because the newbies complained.

I moved back up to the 400 level where there were some real fans and the ushers wouldn't tell you sit down/shut up on a defensive 3rd down.

[Stranger]

Coliseum is a rough place for games. Hot as heck. No relief from the sun. By the 3rd qtr you have to start paying attention to drunks looking for fights - no good for dads with little kids.

But one question. Do they still have the old black tops where they cook the hot dogs, or have those been replaced? No better sight than those big (ie large) woman sweatin' all over the place while they pushed around hundreds of dogs on those dirty black tops, burning the heck out 'em. Best tasting dogs eva!

[RedAlice]

In St. Louis I spent a single season as a holder on the 100 level. It was all corporate seats down there with people not into the game and just there for the social experience or because they were gifted tickets. Plus the ushers down there ordered people to sit at all times because the newbies complained.

I moved back up to the 400 level where there were some real fans and the ushers wouldn't tell you sit down/shut up on a defensive 3rd down.

Good points, and thank you for sharing. So right from my limited experience there. I always sat front row, right behind Rams bench. Always by the same family - they did deck out in Rams gear. I came to adore them, and switched from stubhub to just direct tickets from them.

But, I was always the only one standing and yelling. And I ignored all who told me to stand down. Hence, why the cameras have me on film as the only fan standing a couple times. Fun days when my friends would text me and say, we can see you!

I still adore my video of being on camera when Fisher was mic'd up as we beat the Niners in OT in St. Louis. It only exists cuz I was the one standing up w emotion.