As of Monday morning, there were a total of 106,700
tickets available to seven of the Vikings' eight home games,
including 16,300 for the opener, and fan "apathy never has
been worse when it comes to buying tickets," according to
Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul PIONEER PRESS. The one
sellout is against the Packers. Sansevere writes a team
"can't sell what the public doesn't want. And the public
doesn't want Vikings tickets." Sansevere: "The Vikings
themselves are part of the problem. They're a misguided
bunch. ... They seem to believe they can lure fans with
gimmicks. ... [CEO Roger Headrick is] one large reason
people are staying away from the Vikings in record numbers.
Headrick would dispute it, but people really aren't very
fond of him or coach Dennis Green" (PIONEER PRESS, 8/26).
TICKET TAPE: There are about 23,000 tickets remaining
for the Bills-Vikings game Sunday at Rich Stadium, and the
game "almost certainly" will be blacked out in Buffalo
(Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/26)....The Lions have sold
50,000 tickets for their opener Sunday against the Falcons,
but would need to sell all 80,368 seats by tomorrow
afternoon to have a local TV blackout lifted. The team is
expecting a crowd of 55,000 (DETROIT NEWS, 8/26).
