The team failed to post a winning season in its first ten years and finished fifth or sixth in the six-team NL East eight times. Attendance declined as the initial excitement of having a team wore off. It recovered briefly in as the Expos mounted an unsuccessful charge at the NL East pennant, before declining sharply in and beyond. By , attendance had dropped to just over 600,000 fans over the course of the season, less than half of what the Expos drew in their inaugural season.