Orlando Magic Daily
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Orlando Magic Daily Podcast Episode 70: The State of the Magic Fan

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 11, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) dunks the ball as Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) keeps back Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and guard Elfrid Payton (4) keeps back Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (24) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) dunks the ball as Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) keeps back Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and guard Elfrid Payton (4) keeps back Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (24) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Orlando Magic fans are ready for a winner. That much is clear. But after five years of losing, where are Magic fans at and is the fan base healthy?

It has been a difficult and frustrating five seasons for the Orlando Magic. The fall from that incredible high of the 2009 Finals run and competing for the championship for a few years brought new expectations to the team. Orlando believed it was taking that big step forward and the good times would roll in their new arena.

The NBA rarely goes in such a straight line. The Magic’s relationship with its star, Dwight Howard, soured and the team began a five-year rebuild that still has not produced results.

But something did change in those intervening years. The Amway Center is not sold out every night like it was during the championship era. But it is not empty every night either. Even with a 29-win team and even with just one 30-win season in the last five years, fans still come out to the Amway Center.

It is almost as if fans are begging for something to cheer for so they can show up in droves once again.

Recently a Harvard Business Study tried to quantify fan loyalty by looking at attendance capacity as a function of win percentage. The Magic were excluded from the study because the Amway Center was too new to collect adequate data.

Ricky Scricca ran the numbers for us using the parameters of his study and found Magic fans have been surprisingly loyal. They are still showing up despite the losing.

All this while the Magic are the lowest point of their franchise’s history. It brings up plenty of interesting discussions.

As the Magic prepare to try to dig themselves out of this hole, Ricky and I chatted about what he found in the study of Magic attendance and our general thoughts on the state of Magic fans at the moment.

There are signs fans are disengaged. Things are not all rosy.

Television ratings were reportedly down by more than 50 percent from last year at the midpoint of the season. And fan frustration is certainly at its highest. There has to be concern about selling tickets and retaining season ticket holders through all the losing.

The Magic certainly feel like they have to give fans a reason to believe they are headed in the right direction. And the 2017 season certainly did not feel like things were headed in the right direction. It felt like the last five years were a waste that led to a dead end. That is always going to be hard to sell.

But it is also clear Magic fans want a reason to be engaged. The wave of civic pride that Orlando City has engendered will need an outlet in the fall and winter. And longtime Magic fans — people who grew up with the Magic in their lives as lifelong Orlando residents — are at the age where they are ready to invest in season tickets.

The Magic are in an interesting spot growing their fan base as it is.

Next: David Steele: Orlando Magic can turn things around quick

That makes the team’s quest to build hope and find some success all the more important. Orlando fans are just waiting for a winner to cheer for.