13 NFL Games Play to Only 26.2% Capacity

The hardest hit in the National Football League Sunday was on attendance.

As previously unknown players became stars in the first round of strike games, there were few fans to appreciate their heretofore untapped talents. The 13 game sites played to average attendance of only 16,987 and 26.2% capacity, and several teams saw their smallest crowds ever.

The smallest was at Philadelphia, where 4,074 spectators had to be escorted by mounted police past 1,500 intimidating union members supporting striking players into Veterans Stadium to see Chicago maul the Eagles, 35-3.

The largest was at Denver, where fans numbered 38,494, about half of Mile High Stadium’s capacity, ending the Broncos’ string of 130 consecutive sellouts.

The Raiders announced a crowd of 10,708 for their game with the Kansas City Chiefs at the Coliseum.

Player representatives are set to meet in Chicago tonight amid reports of mass defections.

One report says the representatives will demand that their union drop its free agency demand.

Details in Sports.