Recent content by Sports_Realist

There are a lot of factors. Every game is televised in HD and for many fans that is a more enjoyable viewing experience. The kids in college today have grown up with the internet and the many entertainment options it offers for their entire lives and aren't as tuned into sports as past...

I think Michigan State has opened its home season on the Friday night of Labor Day weekend for as long as we have done so on the Thursday night of that weekend, and perhaps for a season or two longer. That Friday tends to have a disproportionate number of college games compared to other...

I disagree with your disagreement. Gopher basketball hasn't had a season in which most games have sold out since before the academic scandal. Even during the high point of the early Tubby Smith days there were always open seats during the nonconference season and for midweek Big Ten games...

I will miss him, but don't blame him at all. I hope his NFL career is long and successful.

If Williams arena and the pavilion were to be torn down, then the replacement would need to go on the same site, necessitating the basketball teams going elsewhere for at least a season, likely to Target Center. The Pavilion sports like Volleyball and wrestling would also need to go elsewhere...

The Gophers would need to consistently sell out TCF Bank Stadium for many seasons, through thin years as well as ones like 2019, before any consideration should be given to expanding the stadium. Ultimately, I think just under 51,000 seats are fine for our needs. Any further expenditures on the...

Suggs wants to contend for the national title and play games against powerhouse teams. I am a Gopher fan through and through, but that isn't us right now and it isn't likely to be us during the course of Suggs' career. The arena at Gonzaga is smaller, but it's always full. The Bulldogs have a...

Although some Auburn fans were upset about losing to Minnesota due to our lack of pedigree (the past National Titles, Big Ten Titles, and such are 50 plus years in the distance and mean little to fans of today other than our own), most seemed respectful about what the Gophers accomplished...

The Outback Bowl had very good attendance from the mid to late 1990s up to the 2007 game. Since then attendance has fallen off noticeably. It's gone from a lengthy streak of 60,000 plus crowds to one crowd above 60,000 since 2008 and most crowds since then under 50,000. In theory a Big Ten vs...

Believe it or not, the Citrus Bowl was almost entirely demolished after the 1/1/14 Citrus Bowl game with South Carolina beating Wisconsin. The two upper most tiers on the sidelines were kept. Everything else was reduced to rubble and hauled away. The lower and middle tiers along with the suites...

It has to be tough for USF to play there. It is off campus, the branding is for the Bucs despite the use of banners, and the capacity is far too large for their needs. At least USF didn't abandon an on campus stadium to go the NFL stadium route as we once did and as Pitt did even at a point when...

I think season and singles game ticket sales will go up, but I don't think the former will rise too significantly. The latter will remain dependent on the team's performance during the course of the season. Having the Iowa game early will help because we should win both games beforehand and the...

For those who went to the Outback Bowl or who have been to Raymond James Stadium in the past for other games or events, what was the stadium like? Obviously it is first and foremost an NFL stadium, so it clearly didn't have an on campus feel to it. However, I am curious to know about some of the...

Raymond James Stadium has a capacity in the 65,000 to 66,000 range, but attendance for the Outback Bowl has exceeded 60,000 just once in the past decade and hasn't exceeded 55,000 in any season during that timeframe other than that one big crowd. I can't imagine anyone driving up to the stadium...

I am fine with the uniform choice that seems to be on deck for the Outback Bowl and like our uniforms in general except for the anthracite alternates. What I'd like to see is some adherence in future seasons to a particular uniform style and to particular shades of color so that the Gophers can...