Dallas showdown puts focus on Washington’s attendance woes

Ron Rivera, whose team had just beaten the Las Vegas Raiders on a last-minute kick moments earlier, was already thinking last Sunday about the next game — a home date against the rival Dallas Cowboys at FedEx Field. And the Washington Football Team coach had a message for the franchise’s fans: “We need y’all.”

For the second straight season, Rivera has engineered a late-season surge that has his team stringing together wins and creating buzz around the league. Rivera, reasonably enough, wants to see that electricity translate into the kind of raucous home-field atmosphere that wowed him as an opposing player when he faced the Joe Gibbs teams in RFK Stadium — Washington’s glory days.

But the fan base that Rivera remembers — the diehards who once made the Washington Football Team one of the premier franchises in the NFL — has been dwindling for years. The team is currently ranked last in the league in home attendance, drawing an average of 51,523 so far this season.

Sunday’s matchup against Dallas, generally the hottest ticket of the year for Washington, will bump that number higher. But the overall attendance picture for the franchise and its cavernous suburban Maryland stadium has been an unflattering one. Cameras regularly pick up the swaths of empty seats. Local fans are often drowned out by cheers for the road team. The blue, green and red colors of rivals are sometimes as common in concourse crowds as the home team’s burgundy and gold.   

That’s what Rivera wants to change. It won’t be easy.

How did it come to this?

Derrick Moore’s fandom for the Washington Football Team has reached a crossroads: The 47-year-old is weighing whether to renew his season tickets for next year. 

“You start asking yourself how long you can continue doing this when you don’t see any highs and it’s only lows,” Mr. Moore said.

He’s not the only one.

Just getting the opportunity to buy season tickets once meant a decade or more on a waitlist. But Washington has suffered a 21.3% decline in attendance from 2019, the last time stadiums operated at full capacity.

Steve Baumler, of Herndon, who had to wait 14 years before purchasing his tickets in 2004, says it’s a different feeling at FedEx Field these days. The 55-year-old fan has vivid memories of the  “community” atmosphere that once permeated the parking lot tailgate parties. Eighteen years ago, his tent was connected to seven others — all of them serving food.

Now, Mr. Baumler’s tent is the only one in the corner of Green Lot A. 

“We called it the food court,” said Mr. Baumler. “But, over the years, the others have gotten older or didn’t want to deal with it anymore because the product is worse.”

The decline in season-ticket interest, attendance numbers and tailgaters appears to have caught the NFL’s attention. 

Sports Business Journal reported in October that during a video conference call in August, the league highlighted Washington and four other teams for having “at least 15,000 unsold tickets on average for the upcoming season.” 

Since then, Washington’s business operations have taken a number of steps to improve the game-day experience. Earlier this month, the team sent an email to season-ticket holders that detailed upcoming changes for 2022 — including lower prices for 11,000 seats, free parking for club members and an opportunity for premium seat holders to tear up old long-term contracts in favor of new “market-rate” options. 

Team president Jason Wright said in a radio interview that Washington’s attendance this year isn’t actually down. “We just reported it more accurately than we used to,” he told 106.7 The Fan. 

But he acknowledged there is more the team can do to get fans to come back. For Nov. 29’s game against the Seahawks in prime time, the team had District-based rapper Wale perform at halftime as part of “Inspire Change,” an NFL social-justice campaign.

“We need to think about how to just bring more value to the experience overall to folks,” Mr. Wright said. 

The franchise’s growing disconnect with a once-fervent fan base is never more obvious than when compared with the lovefest that happens on Sunday afternoons just 30 miles north, where Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium is routinely full of raucous purple-clad Ravens fans.  

“M&T Bank is a million times better than FedEx Field,” said Ravens fan Kevin Green, 26, of Great Falls, Virginia, before Baltimore’s game against Minnesota on Nov. 7. “The energy in the stadium is a lot better than FedEx Field.”

The Ravens’ way

For a 1 p.m. kickoff, Erin Gallagher and her husband, Dan, tend to arrive at M&T Bank Stadium around 8:30 a.m. And while that may seem extreme, the Gallaghers wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve been season-ticket holders for five years, and Mrs. Gallagher is even the president of Ravens Roost 140 — a social club aimed at supporting the Ravens and giving back to the community.

Mrs. Gallagher also tries to park in the same area for every home game. 

“The goal is to always be as close to the band,” she said. “We have our own music until they start and then they take over.”

The band, in this case, refers to the musical act that plays near “Ravens Walk” — the pathway leading up to the stadium where fans gather to listen to live music, get food and drinks and hang out. The pregame concert outside the stadium is just one of many differences between the game-day experience in Baltimore and Landover. The Ravens provide an entertainment area outside the stadium for fans to — pardon the pun — flock to. 

“It’s that festive atmosphere,” Mrs. Gallagher said.

For the Ravens’ game against the Vikings, Rick Witmer brought his 10-year-old son, Grimm, with him. On this afternoon, Mr. Witmer wore Ravens gear, while Grimm sported a Vikings’ Kirk Cousins jersey. Yes, Mr. Witmer’s son was a Vikings fan, but that wasn’t always the case.

Grimm Witmer, his father says, used to cheer for the Burgundy and Gold when Cousins was Washington’s starting quarterback. That changed when Cousins signed with the Vikings in free agency in 2018.

“My favorite number at that time was eight and I liked (Cousins) because his number is eight,” Grimm said. “And when he moved to Minnesota, I decided to go with him.”

Sure, sometimes, fandom isn’t complicated. But whether he realizes it or not, Grimm’s decision to root for Cousins — and not cheer for Washington — makes him exactly the type of fan that the franchise has failed to retain over the years. Since 2011, the year Grimm was born, Washington is 69-102-1. Who could blame him for leaving? 

The Ravens, by contrast, are 137-83 since hiring coach John Harbaugh in 2008 with nine playoff appearances — and a Super Bowl victory — in that span. 

These days, M&T Bank Stadium regularly outdraws FedEx Field. That’s been the case since 2018 — the year Washington admitted it no longer had a waiting list for season tickets. And this season, Baltimore is averaging 70,540 fans per game, which ranks ninth in the league. 

“I like this atmosphere better,” said Mr. Witmer, who used to take his son to FedEx Field to watch Cousins. “It seems like the surrounding area around the stadium is more happening, where FedEx seems kind of more residential in a way. Other than the parking lot right outside, there’s not much going on.” 

Mr. Witmer has a point. For those who don’t want to tailgate, M&T Bank Stadium, located across from Camden Yards, has plenty of food and entertainment options nearby. Downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor, with eateries, night life and other tourist attractions, are a short walk away. FedEx Field can’t match that. 

Still, even in the stands, there are differences — big and small — that contribute to or detract from the game-day experience. Russell Michael, a 61-year-old Ravens season-ticket holder, said he enjoys the food at M&T Bank Stadium more than at FedEx Field. Mr. Green noted the variety of hype videos that creates a “super electric” atmosphere.

“I’m a big fan of ‘Small-timore’ connections,” Mrs. Gallagher said. “We know we can come down here and you’re going to see somebody you know, even if they’re not at your tailgate. … It’s very family-friendly.”

Buying back in? 

As much focus as there is on Washington’s attendance, winning — as the cliche goes — is the ultimate cure. Washington’s last home game — a 17-15 win over the Seattle Seahawks — was the team’s second-highest-attended of the season with a crowd of 52,680. Only the team’s home opener had more (52,753).

The figure came after two straight wins: One over the Buccaneers and the other on the road against Carolina. 

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin said he noticed a difference in noise, agreeing it has picked up lately. Washington’s defense grabbed an interception on a two-point attempt to hold on for the victory — a play that was helped by the crowd, McLaurin said. 

“That was pretty loud when we needed to have a stop,” McLaurin said. “So I think the fans have been doing a good job of supporting us, especially when we need them to be loud.”

Washington appeared to have a large contingent of fans travel to Las Vegas last weekend, too. Burgundy and Gold jerseys could be seen in various casinos and at the game, there were distinct boos from the crowd when the score of the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles’ game was shown on the video board. 

A “We Want Dallas!” chant even broke out when a flight full of Burgundy and Gold fans landed at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Monday, further reflecting the buzz of the team’s upcoming matchup. 

On the way to a game earlier this season, Mr. Moore had a conversation with some of his family members about how long he and his uncle will continue paying for season tickets. He compared the fan experience to a roller coaster. 

And suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the cart is climbing skyward again.

“With football, there’s a loyalty like family,” Mr. Moore said. “If you’ve got a family member who has a problem or who has a disability, you don’t turn your back on them. Your football team is your family. It’s your blood.

“I’m going to die still rooting for this team. But whether I keep putting my money into coming to these games is another story.”