Rant about Thursday night games

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Football holds the premier position above all sports in America when it comes to game day. Friday night High School, Saturday College, Sunday NFL. There is no other sport that comes close to owning a specific day of the week for it's events and that dominance helps keep the casual fan base cognizant of when the next game is and that helps keep the stadiums full and the broadcasts watched.

I think putting games on Thursday's is hubris. For the NFL and college TV money it may be profitable but in the micro sense for a team like the Gophers it isn't helpful. People reading this and on this website aren't casual fans, we are already locked in and I'm not saying don't go to the game in protest, I'm just saying that if we are trying to grow our fan base a Thursday night game against Eastern Illinois sounds like a scrimmage to a casual fan and not a must see or attend event.

Personally I can't wait for that first game, but I bought season tickets for football over hockey/basketball specifically because I like knowing the games are on Saturday and I can make a whole day event of it and not worry about going to work the next day. I dropped basketball season tickets because i got tired of the grind of driving down on a weekday, going to a game and just trying to get home at a reasonable hour so I can get up the next day for work.
 

LakerFan, you are complaining about a single game, once a year in which we had over a years advance notice. It also appears as if you are complaining about having to drive to a basketball game during the week and maybe getting home an hour or so later than you normally would?

No one is forcing you to be a sports fan.

I can't wait for next Thursday night and I can't wait to drive to The Barn in the middle of a snow storm knowing I get to see my beloved Gophers!!

Go Gophers!!
 

Just to warn you, they open on Thursday four of the next 6 seasons. The 2017 game against Buffalo will likely get moved to Thursday. They will likely schedule the 2018 opener on a Thursday. Plan accordingly.

This is not hubris, this is a chance to get national exposure, and it's a night game. Love it.
 

The start time is the problem. 7 PM would make it so much easier to get everyone's butts in the seats at kickoff.
 

I prefer games on Saturday afternoon, but it makes a lot of sense to play this game on Thursday. Football doesn't own Labor Day weekend - a lot of people will choose to spend this weekend rather than coming to the game. We've only had games on Labor Day weekend for about 20 years, before that, the season started later.

Big time college sports runs on money. You can have college sports where all the games are on the weekends, but you're then talking about D-II and D-III.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 


Opening at home on a Thursday is also one of the only ways we can really host on opening weekend.

There is a lot of pushback against hosting a Saturday opener while the State Fair is going on. Shared lots, shuttle bus issues, etc.

So, if the coach wants to open the season in his own stadium and not on the road (and of course he does), then Thursday night games are simply gonna happen.
 

I enjoy the Thursday night game to kick off the season. It's different and gives the program the chance to be the main event on BTN for a night. The minor complaint I have is the start time, I wish it was 7 PM instead of 6 PM, but everything else about it I like.
 

If you are looking for a specific person or thing to "blame" for why we essentially HAVE to open the season at home on Thursdays instead of Saturdays you only have to look two places. Anything else that anyone tells you is irrelevant to this specific topic.

First and foremost blame the State Fair dolts and their continued desire to have people park on campus and then shuttle over to the fair. The fair claiming they just have to be able to use those lots on the weekend of the fair and certain U of M PTS officials kowtowing to those demands. Personally, I would say to the fair (who I believe has a good sized pile of capital project money sitting around) build you own damn park and ride lots closer to the fairgrounds and figure it out yourself. Your apparent parking problems shouldn't also have to be the U's to help you deal with each year.

Second, blame U of M Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) for continuing to agree to the demands, for the most part, of those same State Fair officials and putting the fair's wants/needs ahead of those of the U of M and it's fans. When we open a season at home and it has to fall on a Thursday, it is squarely on the idiots who run Parking and Transportation services and has nothing to do with the athletic department. Parking and Transportation Services had a chance a couple years ago to finally end the fair parking contract that had been in place, but instead they stupidly and stubbornly chose to continue on with it and thus continue to force the athletic department and us fans to have to move home openers to Thursdays instead of Saturdays.

Personally, I find the state fair to be not much more these days than an excuse for a mostly overweight population and their fat little kids to go and spend way too much money stuffing their chubby faces with mostly fried crap on a stick and then wash it down with a nice 5000 calorie bucket of cookies. Yep, that is a real display of a state's agriculture and industry (i.e. what a state fair is supposed to be about). :D
 

LakerFan said:
I like knowing the games are on Saturday and I can make a whole day event of it and not worry about going to work the next day. I dropped basketball season tickets because i got tired of the grind of driving down on a weekday, going to a game and just trying to get home at a reasonable hour so I can get up the next day for work.
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I presume, then, that you aren't allowed vacation days where you work?

supadupafly said:
First and foremost blame the State Fair official idiots and their desire to have people park on campus and then shuttle over to the fair. The fair claiming they just have to be able to use those lots on the opening weekend of the fair. Personally, I would say to the fair (who I believe has a good sized pile of capital project money sitting around) build you own damn park and ride lots closer to the fairgrounds. Your parking problems shouldn't also have to be the U's to help you deal with it.

Second, blame U of M Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) for continuing to agreeing to the demands, for the most part, of those same State Fair officials and putting the fair's wants/needs ahead of those of the U of M and it's fans. When we open a season at home and it has to fall on a Thursday, it is squarely on the idiots who run Parking and Transportation services and has nothing to do with the athletic department. Parking and Transportation Services had a chance a couple years ago to finally end the ridiculous fair parking contract that had been in place, but instead they stupidly and stubbornly chose to continue on with it and thus continue to force the athletic department and us fans to have to move home openers to Thursdays instead of Saturdays.
Click to expand...

I presume, then, that you'd be pleased as punch if the U jacked up ticket prices for football to make up the difference of what they'd lose from dropping the parking contract with the State Fair?
 



The 6:00 start is what sucks. Half my group won't be able to get to the game on the time. I'll have max 15 minutes to tailgate. Last year I had less than that. Many at my work with season tickets are just skipping. Too much of a hassle to get there plus work on Friday. The Thursday start is bad enough. Starting at 6 kills the atmosphere and will result in even less attendence.
 

I personally like Thursday night opener. It's nice to be part of college football opening night, and it frees up Saturday of Labor Day weekend for going up north etc. Plus we only get (1) night game per season these days so there is the novelty factor at play as well.

Agreed with everyone else though- the 6 PM start is ridiculous nonsense. Move it to 7 PM and I have zero complaints.
 

The people at the State Fair are hardly idiots for wanting to use the U's parking lots, it makes a lot of sense. It makes more sense to rent lots than to build there own.

Whether or not to renew the contract with the State Fair isn't something parking services is going to decide on it's own. That is the sort of decision that comes from the top. State Fair parking brings in revenue, is it worth giving up that revenue to play on Saturday? Perhaps, but the U doesn't think so. Many people would skip the game if it were on Labor Day weekend.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
 




RodentRampage said:
I prefer games on Saturday afternoon, but it makes a lot of sense to play this game on Thursday. Football doesn't own Labor Day weekend - a lot of people will choose to spend this weekend rather than coming to the game. We've only had games on Labor Day weekend for about 20 years, before that, the season started later.

Big time college sports runs on money. You can have college sports where all the games are on the weekends, but you're then talking about D-II and D-III.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

tjgopher said:
Opening at home on a Thursday is also one of the only ways we can really host on opening weekend.

There is a lot of pushback against hosting a Saturday opener while the State Fair is going on. Shared lots, shuttle bus issues, etc.

So, if the coach wants to open the season in his own stadium and not on the road (and of course he does), then Thursday night games are simply gonna happen.
Click to expand...

You both nailed it.

jaymil said:
I enjoy the Thursday night game to kick off the season. It's different and gives the program the chance to be the main event on BTN for a night. The minor complaint I have is the start time, I wish it was 7 PM instead of 6 PM, but everything else about it I like.
Click to expand...

Blame the "neighborhood coalitions" they want you out of there when they go to bed at 9.

BJN said:
The 6:00 start is what sucks. Half my group won't be able to get to the game on the time. I'll have max 15 minutes to tailgate. Last year I had less than that. Many at my work with season tickets are just skipping. Too much of a hassle to get there plus work on Friday. The Thursday start is bad enough. Starting at 6 kills the atmosphere and will result in even less attendence.
Click to expand...

It's a wash. I'll bet just as many people have trouble getting to an 11 o'clock Saturday game as a 6 o'clock Thursday game. Different folks, but the same sort of issues.
 

supadupafly said:
If you are looking for a specific person or thing to "blame" for why we essentially HAVE to open the season at home on Thursdays instead of Saturdays you only have to look two places. Anything else that anyone tells you is irrelevant to this specific topic.

First and foremost blame the State Fair dolts and their continued desire to have people park on campus and then shuttle over to the fair. The fair claiming they just have to be able to use those lots on the opening weekend of the fair and certain U of M PTS officials kowtowing to those demands. Personally, I would say to the fair (who I believe has a good sized pile of capital project money sitting around) build you own damn park and ride lots closer to the fairgrounds and figure it out yourself. Your apparent parking problems shouldn't also have to be the U's to help you deal with each year.

Second, blame U of M Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) for continuing to agreeing to the demands, for the most part, of those same State Fair officials and putting the fair's wants/needs ahead of those of the U of M and it's fans. When we open a season at home and it has to fall on a Thursday, it is squarely on the idiots who run Parking and Transportation services and has nothing to do with the athletic department. Parking and Transportation Services had a chance a couple years ago to finally end the fair parking contract that had been in place, but instead they stupidly and stubbornly chose to continue on with it and thus continue to force the athletic department and us fans to have to move home openers to Thursdays instead of Saturdays.

Personally, I find the state fair to be not much more these days than an excuse for a mostly overweight population and their fat little kids to go and spend way too much money stuffing their chubby faces with mostly fried crap on a stick and then wash it down with a nice 5000 calorie bucket of cookies. Yep, that is a real display of a state's agriculture and industry (i.e. what a state fair is supposed to be about). :D
Click to expand...
Are you from Wisconsin? You sound like you might be from Wisconsin.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I presume, then, that you aren't allowed vacation days where you work?



I presume, then, that you'd be pleased as punch if the U jacked up ticket prices for football to make up the difference of what they'd lose from dropping the parking contract with the State Fair?
Click to expand...
Highly doubt they would do that. OR instead please show some proof that they in fact would.
 

CFB games belong at 11am on Saturdays. If you think differently you are simply wrong.
 

LakerFan said:
I think putting games on Thursday's is hubris. For the NFL and college TV money it may be profitable but in the micro sense for a team like the Gophers it isn't helpful. People reading this and on this website aren't casual fans, we are already locked in and I'm not saying don't go to the game in protest, I'm just saying that if we are trying to grow our fan base a Thursday night game against Eastern Illinois sounds like a scrimmage to a casual fan and not a must see or attend event.
Click to expand...
It's profitable because more people will watch. More people watching=helpful. Everyone knows it's not a scrimmage. Take a vacation day on Friday if you're such a big drinker.
 

I hate the two bye weeks worse. Playing into the end of November is too late into the season.
 

supadupafly said:
Highly doubt they would do that. OR instead please show some proof that they in fact would.
Click to expand...

I never said that they would. Hence the "if".

You'd be the first person in line to bitch and complain if they did, though. It's always easy to worry about other people's money.
 


The fans have spoken! We need to just move our first game of the season on the road each year or at least to the new Viking stadium when open. We can't handle a two hour change for one game.

Let's see 100,000 will attend State Fair and maybe 40,000 for a game against a 1AA team. Maybe we consider going to a bar, the state fair, walking a bit, riding a bike, wait until 2pm, ride the train, etc. Options, Options, Options.

Are there imaginary tailgaters the U is missing. I don't see the need for more tailgating space or time.
 

highwayman said:
Just to warn you, they open on Thursday four of the next 6 seasons. The 2017 game against Buffalo will likely get moved to Thursday. They will likely schedule the 2018 opener on a Thursday. Plan accordingly.

This is not hubris, this is a chance to get national exposure, and it's a night game. Love it.
Click to expand...

I was understanding this will be only two years more after this year. Out of my 12 tickets, 3 people can go or at a minimum be very late. Last year was the same thing and in my section and group of friends, this is not well attended. It is what it is I guess but I think it is a poor choice to open the season.
 

Personally, I love the Thursday night opener. Gives me an excuse to skip out of work early and bar-gate during Happy Hour. Love that it's now an annual thing.
 


Selfishly, I wish every game was played on Thursday nights. Living in Bangladesh, a Muslim country that's 11 hours ahead, I will be able to wake up at 5:00 on Friday morning (start of my weekend) to watch the Gophers play on a video feed that often times freezes or becomes fuzzy or has pop-ups that interrupt. It'll be the only game I get to watch live this year, except perhaps a bowl game since I'll be back for the holiday season; ideally though, I'll miss watching that bowl game too, since we will be flying back for work on New Year's Eve.

My wife and I willingly made this choice and for the most part we look forward with no regrets. But, besides being away from family and friends, probably my biggest ongoing melancholic moment in being away from home is that I've never seen the Gophers at The Bank on a beautiful fall afternoon or evening. I'm sure my story's not that dissimilar from many other Gopher fans who are spread throughout the world. Enjoy the opening game.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
The fans have spoken! We need to just move our first game of the season on the road each year or at least to the new Viking stadium when open. We can't handle a two hour change for one game.

Let's see 100,000 will attend State Fair and maybe 40,000 for a game against a 1AA team. Maybe we consider going to a bar, the state fair, walking a bit, riding a bike, wait until 2pm, ride the train, etc. Options, Options, Options.

Are there imaginary tailgaters the U is missing. I don't see the need for more tailgating space or time.
Click to expand...

There certainly isn't a need for more total space. There is a need for better management of existing space to cultivate a better environment. The way the U sells its tailgating space, it hurts the atmosphere because it spreads out the hardcore group into a series of pockets spread around a bunch of different lots. What would be ideal would be a tailgate where are the hardcore groups start out earliest at the lots closest to the stadium, created a localized party atmosphere that can grow and attract more people feeding off of itself.

More tailgaters is always a good thing for the team. I know that I have had plenty of friends who would have had no interest in simply buying a football ticket and accompanying me to a game, but were willing to do just that when I sold them on the fun of joining my group for our tailgate (I have a couple groups, sometimes I am down by the river, sometimes up by the Barn). I would bet that other tailgaters have similar experiences recruiting fans to games who otherwise would not have attended.

At the end of the day, I am not saying that tailgaters are more important than any other fans. However, until we are consistently selling out and have a waiting list for tickets, we should be trying to cater to as many different types of fans as we can. That is why I got annoyed last year when we had some people complaining about the guys who complained about the stadium running out of hot dogs at the opener ("if it bothers you so much, just don't come!" some of you said). While I have no interest in paying for a wildly overpriced brat in the stadium (especially after swallowing 6 or 7 brats in the tailgate lot), some people consider it a tradition to take their kids to a game, get a brat and soda with them, and watch it. Who am I to judge them for enjoying the Gophers in a different way than I do? And who are the Gophers, who struggle to come close to filling their stadium, to take any attitude other than "let's make sure we do everything in our power to keep as many different types of fans happy and coming back as possible"?
 

Lets play on a rock-pile at mid-night. It doesn't matter. Adjust your schedule to match theirs and not ask to have their schedule match yours. Either your a fan or not a fan. Suck it up.
 

Goldy247 said:
Lets play on a rock-pile at mid-night. It doesn't matter. Adjust your schedule to match theirs and not ask to have their schedule match yours. Either your a fan or not a fan. Suck it up.
Click to expand...

So, instead of "the customer is always right" your sales motto is "buy my product, regardless of what I do to make it less attractive of a purchase". This is exactly the attitude I just got done ranting about. You are assuming everyone is as loyal of a fan as you are. Most of the people on this website are the kind of fan who will certainly be on the rock-pile at midnight if that's when the Gophs play. The problem is, until we get enough fans like us to fill up the stadium, the U needs to do what it can to attract casual fans for whom start time and day of the week may be very important factors. I am not smart enough to know if Labor Day weekend Saturday or Thursday night is going to be better, but people do have opinions, and the U should be doing what it can to fill the stadium.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Are there imaginary tailgaters the U is missing. I don't see the need for more tailgating space or time.
Click to expand...

Well I agree that there are plenty of options for pregame activities to make up for the shortened tailgating time (State Fair and Bars), however I'm guessing that most of us (including myself) that are complaining about this for different reasons. First off it is pretty rare for our team to have an evening game, especially when the weather will most likely be nice, so it would be nice not having to be up before dawn to start tailgating.

Secondly, the State Fair lot is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) day of game lots that allows tailgating, so due to that lot closing for the day we are missing out on tailgating space and time. I don't like to complain about this stuff and I understand that closing the fair lot probably needs to happen, but The U does need to fix some of the tailgating issues and it's up to the fans to make these issues known.
 

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