Omiya Ardija, a pro soccer club in Japan’s J-League Division One, is not having the best luck when it comes to drawing fans to their matches this season. That’s certainly not a problem that’s foreign to a lot of sports organizations, who usually turn to special promotions and giveaways (or, you know, a better product on the field) to putt asses in the seats.
Not Omiya Ardija, though…they’re turning to cardboard cutouts. Seriously, the team is attempting to create the illusion of fans in the stands by setting up cardboard cutouts of spectators wearing jerseys.
It’s a valiant effort, but I’d say that cardboard fans are probably more embarrassing than no fans at all…especially when those cardboard fans don’t even have faces. If you’re going to set up phony fans, at least put some more effort into it.
