The 2023 Colorado Rockies have the third-worst winning percentage in MLB at .375 (48-80), but their home attendance does not reflect that. With a history of faithful fans, win or lose, the 2023 Rockies fans have been no different.
While the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, the two bottom teams in terms of winning percentage, have been in the bottom three of attendance, the Rockies rank in the top half of teams.
Colorado does not even benefit from having an MVP-caliber player on the team as they have had previously in Nolan Arenado, Todd Helton, and Larry Walker. They also don’t have a high-energy, fan-favorite player like Carlos González, Troy Tulowitzki or Ubaldo Jiménez.
They have a couple of young and future big pieces like Ezequiel Tovar and Nolan Jones playing, but more is needed to explain how good the attendance has been this season.
2023 fans
Through 61 games played at Coors Field in 2023, the Rockies have welcomed 1,971,535 fans. That averages 32,320 fans per game, good for 13th in MLB this year. That ranking sits above several playoff-contending teams.
The Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles are all behind Colorado in attendance. It’s a laundry list of teams, so clearly, there is something different about the Rockies’ fans.
Furthermore, the Rockies have had at least 30,000 in attendance. In 37 of their 61 home games, 11th best in the league as of Aug. 23, according to Codify Baseball.
A recent Colorado Sun article outlined several decade-long fans of the team and why they continue to support their team and show up despite the less-than-ideal record. From generations of fandom to the love of the game, there are many reasons why fans have historically shown up and remain faithful fans in 2023.
History of faithful fans
The last time the Rockies ranked below 10th in the National League in attendance was wildly enough during their 2007 Rocktober season, where they made the World Series before losing. The last time they averaged under 30,000 fans? That same 2007 season.
So, for the past 15+ years, and only three playoff appearances, they have passed the threshold of 30,000 fans on average in each season. In their 31-year history, they have finished first in the NL in seven seasons and 15 in the top five.
A 2022 Athletic article addressed the question of why Rockies fans, in particular, and Coors is an attraction for out-of-state fans. One fan even said that the people who come and work at the stadium are great and that the park is beautiful, a significant factor in the yearly attendance of the team.
Coors being a famous stadium is a significant factor in attendance every season, as visiting team fans visit consistently to see the high-octane offense of the Mile High City and the sights of Coors.
A July 2023 article in the Denver Post (paywall) outlines the beauty and wonder of the park and why fans feel so enticed to visit, clearly helping inflate the numbers whether the Rockies are a great team or a bottom-feeder.
Main Photo Credits: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
