The Heat’s local TV ratings on Sun Sports “have doubled” this season, and “merchandise sales are up as much as” 455%, according to Hal Habib of the PALM BEACH POST. Heat Exec VP & CMO Michael McCullough said, “Pretty much every business metric there is, it’s up.” But while there "no doubt will be a measure of frenzy when the playoffs begin" Saturday against the 76ers, the regular season "was more restrained." While “all the tickets were accounted for, it doesn’t mean all the seats were.” South Florida’s “notorious arrive late/leave early mentality led the team to launch a ‘Fan Up’ campaign in October, an effort to energize blasé ticket-holders.” But the “national mockery was such that the campaign vanished.” And business owners around AmericanAirlines Arena “complain that the anticipated shot in the arm hasn’t materialized” (PALM BEACH POST, 4/14). In N.Y., Don Van Natta notes Heat season-ticket holders “straggle in long after the opening tip and flee en masse midway through the fourth quarter to beat the traffic,” making AmericanAirlines Arena “appear half-empty on television.” A Heat home game “ranks among the loudest in the NBA, but much of the noise is artificial.” A “platoon of Heat employees, all armed with microphones, repeatedly order fans to cheer.” South Florida’s “shipwrecked economy has made premium tickets difficult to resell.” Ticket brokers said that on many nights they are “forced to sell some of the arena’s best seats at deep discounts.” WQAM host Sid Rosenberg said Miami “is a football town.” He added, “Miami is the only city in America where you go to any professional sporting event, and you can expect half the crowd to root for the other team.” Van Natta also notes LeBron James’ “now-infamous” July 8 ESPN special "The Decision" made the Heat the “most despised team in the league.” It also “turned off some longtime Miami Heat fans” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/15).
ALL EYES ON US: In Miami, Joseph Goodman writes, “Without question, the Heat’s assault upon the consciousness of American sports has anchored one of the most successful regular seasons in NBA history.” Dwyane Wade said, “I think what happened on July 8 has brought some extra attention to the game of basketball. The Miami Heat, because the decision that was made by us three to play together, people who probably never watched basketball -- whether they’re watching because they want to see us lose or because they want to see us win, they’re watching.” The “good news for Miami and for fans of the NBA is the Heat’s new role in professional basketball is only just beginning.” The playoffs will “only intensify the interest, add more memories and bring in more money” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/15).
LOVE THE VILLAINS: In Miami, Dan Le Batard writes there “has never been a team this loved locally” that was “this hated everywhere else.” An “accurate reflection of the interest in this team can be found in the unprecedented TV and radio ratings locally.” The Heat-Lakers Christmas Day game “had a bigger number locally than the Lions-Dolphins game the next day.” Le Batard writes, “Sports teams always are symbols for civic pride, so the more villainous America makes this team, the more the Heat’s players become our villains.” But he wonders, “How can this be the most riveting team in South Florida’s sports history if LeBron James is throwing up his powder in front of so many empty seats? That’s an easy thing to mock for a sports nation seeking every opportunity to do so, but it also is something of a mirage” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/15).
