Buffalo Rumblings
Fans of the Buffalo Bills have gained a reputation for traveling well, and when it comes to nearby Cleveland, OH it stands to reason that would be especially true when facing the Cleveland Browns on their home turf. This season, my sister suggested we make the trek. Perhaps you saw her in her Christmas Tree costume in the waning moments of the fourth quarter or during Chris Berman’s highlights during halftime of Monday Night Football.
While there, Browns fans around us couldn’t stop talking about the amount of “blue” in the stands. One fan pointed to a section of the field and told me that it usually looked a lot emptier than it did this past weekend. I wanted to see if there was any truth to the notion that Bills Mafia had really shown up strong.
One of the many things tracked by Pro Football Reference is stadium attendance. Check the link if you want to verify my work. Assuming I read things well, Bills Mafia not only showed up, they pushed Huntington Bank Field slightly past it’s listed capacity.
A quick search of the internet tells me that the home of the Browns since 1999, Huntington Bank Field, holds 67,431 fans. Pro Football Reference has the attendance of Bills at Browns in Week 16 as 67, 580 people. Assuming that’s accurate, that’s 149 people more than they should have sold tickets to.
Want to hear even more crazy stats about the attendance this past Sunday? The attendance figure was fairly easily the highest of the season for Cleveland so far. The next highest was opening week against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals. That game saw 65,599 people in attendance, a difference of 3% of fans or 1,981 people.
Let me re-frame this. It makes sense that the first week of the season against a division rival would be well attended. The stadium was at near capacity. That was comfortably beat out in Week 16 by a game that most expected would be a blowout loss for the 3-11 home team.
The attendance for Cleveland does seem to have waned as the team’s woes continue. Starting off strong with two game near 66,000 fans, by Week 5 the 1-4 Browns hosted the Minnesota Vikings in front of a season-low 61,082 fans. That’s a stadium at under 91% capacity.
The point of this isn’t to poke fun at the Dawg Pound, mind you. Buffalo and their fans have faced their own issues over the years, and even with a sea of blue surrounding them, the home fans were loud and enthusiastic. Their attendance dips are logical and even rebounded some with games in the 64,000 range much of the year.
The last home game before the Bills fell a bit shy of 63,ooo fans. Weather wasn’t likely the culprit, with temperatures about eight degrees warmer in that game than against Buffalo and milder winds.
The deciding factor seems to be the...
