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Let's preface this by saying that it is extremely likely that the Indianapolis Colts will sell out its home opener against the Minnesota Vikings. They have less than 1,300 remaining, down from 2,000 when training camp started and 4,000 from earlier this summer, per the Indianapolis Business Journal.
However, the fact that we are roughly a month away from the start of the regular season and the game is still not sold out... yeah, that's not good.
It's also confusing. Sunday's preseason opener against the Rams was a sellout, with fans mostly on hand to see No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck. Luck did not disappoint, putting on a show for everyone to the tune of 188 yards passing and two touchdowns. If that performance wasn't enough to close the gap of roughly 2,000 tickets, what do the Colts need to do to get people to commit?
PFT has weighed in on the news, saying:
The bigger reality is that having Luck on the team isn’t enough to ensure an ongoing high demand for tickets. He’ll have to play well in order to help the team re-connect with the fringes of the fan base.
It also would help if Manning doesn’t perform at an MVP level in Denver.
Folks, this is important to take note of. Fans showed up to Sunday's preseason game wearing authentic Manning Denver jerseys. For whatever season, these people think that Peyton Manning was wronged by owner Jim Irsay when the Colts owner released him this offseason. If Luck struggles and Manning plays an an MVP-like level, it will affect ticket sales adversely for the Colts.
Annoying? Yes, but it's the reality of our fanbase. It's great that everyone came out to see the "new era" Colts on Sunday, but if the team doesn't play well during the regular season, fans will tune them out and stop coming to the stadium.
Thus, the "fair-weather" label.