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CNN Live Saturday

Football Fans Pass on Chance to See Miami Dolphins in Playoffs

Aired January 12, 2002 - 17:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well it's a fantastic playoff season. That's the time when football fans flock the stadium ticket offices for a chance to watch their teams in action, but in south Florida many are taking a pass on catching the Dolphins in the playoffs. Here's CNN's Miami bureau chief John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In frostbitten Green Bay, in real chilly Philly, and in Oakland, California, they're all gone, sold out in hours. But not here, not in South Florida.

And why Miami can't sell out an NFL playoff game is about the only thing people here are talking about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a little more to it than the money. There's a lot of people down here. We ought to be able to sell this game out.

ZARRELLA: Sunday, the Miami Dolphins play the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, but the game won't be on television here, just on the radio. The Dolphins have the ignominious distinction of being the only playoff team that didn't sell out timely enough to avoid a blackout. By late Friday, thousands of tickets were still available, at 75,000 seat pro player stadium.

EDDIE JONES, MIAMI DOLPHINS PRESIDENT: One factor that we don't talk about a lot, our stadium is 9,000 seats larger than the next biggest stadium in the playoffs, so people can afford to wait.

ZARRELLA: That's what Carlos Mendez (ph) did. He waited until he learned he couldn't watch on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: East end zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: East end zone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six of them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ZARRELLA: Mendez (ph) and others who stood in short lines at the stadium ticket office say they understand why people are taking a pass on the game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right after Christmas, a lot of bills.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people are laid off. They don't have a job. Can't afford it.

ZARRELLA: The cheapest seats are $57. But that hit in the pocket is no more than in any other playoff city.

Most veteran sports reporters here say it's more than just the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody says it's a bush-league town. I think we're proving it.

ZARRELLA: When it comes to supporting its team, south Florida just dropped the ball.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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