Harvey Clapp may have been just the sort of fan the Washington Bullets had in mind when they added their two newest players.
The Baltimore-bred securities lawyer avidly followed the NBA team when it was the Baltimore Bullets, from 1963 to 1973, but his enthusiasm waned when it left town and lost its winning ways.
With the addition last week of Rookie of the Year Chris Webber and No. 1 draft pick Juwan Howard, and the possibility the team could end the season in something other than the cellar, interest in the franchise has gotten a big boost among its twin-city fan base.
"I'm much more likely to come see a team that's competitive," Clapp said yesterday morning, as he waited for the box office to open at the Baltimore Arena.
The Bullets will play the first of their four Baltimore home games of the season Friday, and Clapp was part of a rush that began late last week when word seeped out that the team was on the verge of adding Howard and Webber.
"We always sell out the Bullets games, but it's usually the day of the game," said Bee Crivello, box office manager at the Arena Ticketmaster outlet. About 1,300 tickets remained last night for Friday's game, and she predicted those wouldn't last long.
"I would say this is the hottest ticket in town. This and 'Grease!' " Crivello said.
The Bullets have sold out all their Baltimore games for the past three years, but yesterday produced something new: short, but steady lines of fans days before the game. Many also were buying tickets for games at the team's primary home venue, USAir Arena at Landover.
"If you appreciate basketball, you take it for what it is. But I'm glad to see the owner spend some money to get some players," said John Massey, who came over to the box office from his job at a men's clothing store.
The Baltimore Arena holds only 12,756, so a sellout is not dramatic. But within hours of the Howard and Webber announcement on Thursday, the team sold out last Saturday's game at the 18,756-seat USAir Arena.
The Bullets, who finished 20th out of 27 NBA teams in attendance, filled the USAir Arena to capacity 15 times last season. The season before was their best since the move from Baltimore, with 16 sellouts at Landover and four in Baltimore.
Season-ticket sales also jumped after Thursday's announcement of the new players. About 1,000 tickets have been sold since the announcement, compared with a season-ticket base of 5,000-6,000, said Bullets spokesman Matt Williams.
"There's been a lot of talk about how Americans like an underdog, but in reality you better be a winner to sustain interest," said John Antil, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Delaware with a special interest in sports business.
If a team can't win a championship, it still can do well with a winning personality or two for fans to connect with. Among the major leagues, none has been as adroit as the NBA in promoting itself through its athletes, Antil said.
This is due partly to the nature of the game, where athletes compete face-to-face in a sport easily captured by television, and the structure of the league, where players come out of college already well-known and tend to stay with teams long enough to bond with fans, he said.
However, it's too early to tell if Webber or Howard will provide the sort of winning personalities to sustain fan interest, Antil said.
Whatever they can contribute to the won-lost column will have an immediate impact, Antil said. After finishing last in their division last season, the Bullets are 4-4 and in the middle of the pack.
"Nobody pays much attention to the team when they are losing," said James Taylor, a downtown public safety officer who stopped by the Arena yesterday for Bullets tickets.
Taylor said he is much more excited about the team's prospects now that they've signed some big names.
"I think it will make a big difference," Taylor said. "People will pay more attention to them rather than write them off."
BULLETS IN BALTIMORE
Date Opponent
Friday, Nov. 25 Cleveland
Friday, Jan. 20 Philadelphia
Friday, Feb. 24 Atlanta
Friday, March 10 Milwaukee
Ticket info: (410) 837-3865.