Here’s Astros outfielder Michael Bourn, venting on the large contingent of Red Sox fans that has overtaken Houston’s Minute Maid Park this weekend:
“Their fan base is huge. When we are playing the Red Sox, you hear ‘Let’s go Red Sox!’ loud. I’m like, ‘We’re in our home stands.’ I want to hear, ‘Let’s go Astros!’ I don’t want to hear a visiting team overtaking our team. We have to get our fans to come out and the only way we can do that is by winning.”
It’s a frustration that many losing teams know well, and the Astros don’t appear likely to climb out of the gutter anytime soon. They have an organization-wide lack of talent and a changing ownership situation. Attendance is not going to be strong at Minute Maid Park while the rebuilding effort is in full swing.
The ‘Stros drew 2.8 million fans in 2005, when they made it all the way to the World Series. In 2006, 3.02 million packed into Minute Maid. This season, it’s looking like they’ll have trouble topping 2.3 million.
