Shooter: Gophers football, amid dwindling attendance, offering season tix at $35/game

Donate To GopherHole


Not a great home schedule, for teams that fans will care about.
- SDSU and GSU are or were FCS (I-AA) powers
- Penn St and Maryland are new blood in the Big Ten and on the other side of the conference geographically
- Big Ten purists may have some appreciation for Illinois, but it's not exactly an exciting opponent
- Nebraska is also new blood, but may hold a bit more interest for some

- Then of course there is Wisconsin
 

Gophers_4life said:
Not a great home schedule, for teams that fans will care about.
- SDSU and GSU are or were FCS (I-AA) powers
- Penn St and Maryland are new blood in the Big Ten and on the other side of the conference geographically
- Big Ten purists may have some appreciation for Illinois, but it's not exactly an exciting opponent
- Nebraska is also new blood, but may hold a bit more interest for some

- Then of course there is Wisconsin
Click to expand...

I wonder if SDSU fans will make the journey to see their team play a B1G opponent.

Maryland, Nebraska and (especially) Illinois are games that, for this fan at least, represent golden (no pun) opportunities to redeem ourselves. Losing to those three teams last season... ugh.

Imagine what 2018 could have been if we win those three games. Even one or two of those!
 

It's a decent home schedule but there's more promise for a special season / valuable November tickets than there's been in a while.
 


I don’t know why football fans would be bored with that schedule. All games including FCS can end up in an upset situation, particularly as we’ve seen the past few years. As Gopher fans we are used to getting stoked for upset opportunities vs Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, TCU, Michigan and truth be told those are usually the most exciting games but Illinois, Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers, and other “boring” names can and will end up as dogfights and great drama for a team at the level of MN. There’s also nothing wrong with watching a good beating of an overmatched opponent every now and then.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Not a great home schedule, for teams that fans will care about.
- SDSU and GSU are or were FCS (I-AA) powers
- Penn St and Maryland are new blood in the Big Ten and on the other side of the conference geographically
- Big Ten purists may have some appreciation for Illinois, but it's not exactly an exciting opponent
- Nebraska is also new blood, but may hold a bit more interest for some

- Then of course there is Wisconsin
Click to expand...

Is Penn State really "new blood"? It's been over a quarter century now. They are still an A tier game regardless.
 

fmlizard said:
Is Penn State really "new blood"? It's been over a quarter century now. They are still an A tier game regardless.
Click to expand...

Is Nebraska "new blood"?

For a true fan of Gopher football and the Big Ten, that schedule looks pretty good. I know I'm looking forward to the season.

If anyone is disappointed with that schedule ... what are you wishing you could see instead?
 

fmlizard said:
Is Penn State really "new blood"? It's been over a quarter century now. They are still an A tier game regardless.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. I'm 35 and I barely remember life before Penn State was in the Big Ten.
 



fmlizard said:
Is Penn State really "new blood"? It's been over a quarter century now. They are still an A tier game regardless.
Click to expand...

Wait, Penn State is in the B1G now? Like full time?

I just assumed they were an associate team or something....
 

RememberMurray said:
I wonder if SDSU fans will make the journey to see their team play a B1G opponent.
Click to expand...

Would expect maybe not quite NDSU level, but a good chunk of fans.

RememberMurray said:
Maryland, Nebraska and (especially) Illinois are games that, for this fan at least, represent golden (no pun) opportunities to redeem ourselves. Losing to those three teams last season... ugh.
Click to expand...

Gotta be up there with the worst ever as far as having a trio of putrid road loses in the history of Gopher football.

We think we've identified that Robb Smith ruined those games. Hope that is fixed now and we can get some sweet revenge!
 

RememberMurray said:
For a true fan of Gopher football and the Big Ten, that schedule looks pretty good. I know I'm looking forward to the season.
Click to expand...

Sure ... but please remember the OP and title of this thread.

How many "true fans of Gopher football" are coming to the stadium these days? If you need a hint, take a look at the attendance for the last two home games this season.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Sure ... but please remember the OP and title of this thread.

How many "true fans of Gopher football" are coming to the stadium these days? If you need a hint, take a look at the attendance for the last two home games this season.
Click to expand...

I haven't forgotten at all. The OP states that the U dropped ticket prices in an attempt to increase attendance.

In reply, we had several posts that seemed to be complaining about the lack of interesting games in the 2019 home schedule.

And my point was in reply to those posts. I opined that the 2019 home schedule looks pretty good to me.

If a fanbase needs more incentive, beyond lower ticket prices, the possibility of a competitive team and a decent schedule, that's fine. I would be curious to know what additional incentives might turn the trick (of increasing attendance), beyond those factors.

Any thoughts, Gophers_4life?
 



RememberMurray said:
If a fanbase needs more incentive, beyond lower ticket prices, the possibility of a competitive team and a decent schedule, that's fine. I would be curious to know what additional incentives might turn the trick (of increasing attendance), beyond those factors.
Click to expand...

This thread is about the lowered ticket prices. Clearly those are aimed at people who are less than "true fans". Was just commenting that unfamiliar or unexciting opponents might make that a harder sale.

I mean granted, I guess when you get down to it, there probably only two guarantees ... Iowa and Wisconsin. But the 2015 opener against TCU was definitely the most excited the stadium has been in a while.
 

Gophers_4life said:
This thread is about the lowered ticket prices. Clearly those are aimed at people who are less than "true fans". Was just commenting that unfamiliar or unexciting opponents might make that a harder sale.

I mean granted, I guess when you get down to it, there probably only two guarantees ... Iowa and Wisconsin. But the 2015 opener against TCU was definitely the most excited the stadium has been in a while.
Click to expand...

Are you saying you want to see the U play ranked opponents in the non conference part of the season?
 

Gophers_4life said:
This thread is about the lowered ticket prices. Clearly those are aimed at people who are less than "true fans". Was just commenting that unfamiliar or unexciting opponents might make that a harder sale.

I mean granted, I guess when you get down to it, there probably only two guarantees ... Iowa and Wisconsin. But the 2015 opener against TCU was definitely the most excited the stadium has been in a while.
Click to expand...

so you think the casual fan will be turned off by the non-traditional B1G matchups of Penn State and Nebraska? I doubt casual fans are B1G purists. Prominent names like Penn State and Nebraska are perfect for a casual fan.
 

Clark W. Griswold said:
so you think the casual fan will be turned off by the non-traditional B1G matchups of Penn State and Nebraska? I doubt casual fans are B1G purists. Prominent names like Penn State and Nebraska are perfect for a casual fan.
Click to expand...

Yeah .... your argument is correct ...... except that I just don't buy that John Q Public gets all that excited about Nebraska and Penn St.

Sure, Nebraska might have been a big deal back in the late 90's early 2000's. The Big Ten was in pure fantasy mode when it added them, hoping beyond hope that this was still true or that they might get back to those days.

Penn St is a huge deal in western Pennsylvania. It's like the Green Bay Packers, or the Buffalo Bills. Lot of family tradition, lot of local support. Don't think people living in Minnesota give much a crap about them.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Yeah .... your argument is correct ...... except that I just don't buy that John Q Public gets all that excited about Nebraska and Penn St.

Sure, Nebraska might have been a big deal back in the late 90's early 2000's. The Big Ten was in pure fantasy mode when it added them, hoping beyond hope that this was still true or that they might get back to those days.

Penn St is a huge deal in western Pennsylvania. It's like the Green Bay Packers, or the Buffalo Bills. Lot of family tradition, lot of local support. Don't think people living in Minnesota give much a crap about them.
Click to expand...

that comment is a lot different than stating that these games will not draw an interest because those teams are "new blood" to the B1G.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Yeah .... your argument is correct ...... except that I just don't buy that John Q Public gets all that excited about Nebraska and Penn St.

Sure, Nebraska might have been a big deal back in the late 90's early 2000's. The Big Ten was in pure fantasy mode when it added them, hoping beyond hope that this was still true or that they might get back to those days.


Penn St is a huge deal in western Pennsylvania. It's like the Green Bay Packers, or the Buffalo Bills. Lot of family tradition, lot of local support. Don't think people living in Minnesota give much a crap about them.
Click to expand...

Okay...so...

What, in your opinion, should the U do to increase interest and attendance?
 

Clark W. Griswold said:
that comment is a lot different than stating that these games will not draw an interest because those teams are "new blood" to the B1G.
Click to expand...

I don't think my post made a definitive statement that they will not draw interest. I didn't mean it to sound that way.
 

RememberMurray said:
What, in your opinion, should the U do to increase interest and attendance?
Click to expand...

Coming to the stadium has to offer something significant that can't be delivered by the TV watching experience. And you have to factor in the time and effort that people need to spend to travel there and the logistics and frustrations of parking, waiting, etc.

I think a lot of it has to do with family traditions and tailgating, frankly. Those are things that TV can't ever match. But for people who don't have that already, I really do think it is tough to get them off the couch and down to the stadium.
 

RememberMurray said:
I wonder if SDSU fans will make the journey to see their team play a B1G opponent.

Maryland, Nebraska and (especially) Illinois are games that, for this fan at least, represent golden (no pun) opportunities to redeem ourselves. Losing to those three teams last season... ugh.

Imagine what 2018 could have been if we win those three games. Even one or two of those!
Click to expand...

Correct. Imagine the vibe right now had Gophs finished 9-4 with decisive Wisconsin road and bowl win.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I don't think my post made a definitive statement that they will not draw interest. I didn't mean it to sound that way.
Click to expand...

Gophers_4life said:
Not a great home schedule, for teams that fans will care about.
- SDSU and GSU are or were FCS (I-AA) powers
- Penn St and Maryland are new blood in the Big Ten and on the other side of the conference geographically
- Big Ten purists may have some appreciation for Illinois, but it's not exactly an exciting opponent
- Nebraska is also new blood, but may hold a bit more interest for some

- Then of course there is Wisconsin
Click to expand...
?
 

In my mind, the first sentence of my original post does not correspond to that. Apologize for the confusion!
 

Cheap tickets is not enough to stave off poor attendance and neither is winning. They both play just a small part in the equation. It is all about creative marketing and a unique game day experience. It will be difficult to figure out.
 

I think part of the issue has to do with looking at "Gopher Fans" as a monolithic group. I see the Gopher fan base as a lot of smaller groups with a common interest. And, I don't think there is a "one size fits all" solution to increasing attendance. some fans would like to see more 'name' opponents - other fans don't care. some fans will base their decision solely on ticket prices. Other fans take more intangibles into account, including game-day atmosphere, tailgating, etc.

I think the powers that be at the U need to throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks.

But, I'll close with this. you might be able to use lower prices as a hook to get people to buy tickets for one or two games, but to keep them as long-term fans, there will have to be more than just cheap tickets. they have to make Gopher FB an event that people want to be associated with.
 

It would be great if folks really picked up on this offer, but I suspect nothing happens until more wins.

Hopefully unlike 2014 when folks got reason to be excited and started to show up that ... we don't get a 2015.

I always felt like 15 was such a lost opportunity :(
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I think part of the issue has to do with looking at "Gopher Fans" as a monolithic group. I see the Gopher fan base as a lot of smaller groups with a common interest. And, I don't think there is a "one size fits all" solution to increasing attendance. some fans would like to see more 'name' opponents - other fans don't care. some fans will base their decision solely on ticket prices. Other fans take more intangibles into account, including game-day atmosphere, tailgating, etc.

I think the powers that be at the U need to throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks.

But, I'll close with this. you might be able to use lower prices as a hook to get people to buy tickets for one or two games, but to keep them as long-term fans, there will have to be more than just cheap tickets. they have to make Gopher FB an event that people want to be associated with.
Click to expand...

How specifically does the U accomplish the bold part?
 

PMWinSTP said:
Correct. Imagine the vibe right now had Gophs finished 9-4 with decisive Wisconsin road and bowl win.
Click to expand...

People would be camping in the cold on Wednesday outside the ticket office to buy up SDSU tix!
 

Gophers_4life said:
Coming to the stadium has to offer something significant that can't be delivered by the TV watching experience. And you have to factor in the time and effort that people need to spend to travel there and the logistics and frustrations of parking, waiting, etc.

I think a lot of it has to do with family traditions and tailgating, frankly. Those are things that TV can't ever match. But for people who don't have that already, I really do think it is tough to get them off the couch and down to the stadium.
Click to expand...

As a huge Gopher football fan, who lives in the metro and has the means to get season tickets--I agree with this STRONGLY. What is offered to me as an attendee that I can't get at home? I LOVE going to games but the gameday experience largely sucks.

Tailgating is expensive, spread out and inconsistent. Plus, I don't have friends or family who go to games so if I did my own tailgate it would be my wife and I just drinking in a parking lot. Cool!

Other teams do different stuff. Oregon has a HUGE, PUBLIC, FREEELEEEE TAILGATE. You can buy beer, food, etc. but there is music, TVs to watch other games, people milling about. When I was there for Oregon vs. Nebraska we spent about $60 on food and beer. Had a blast. Watched some games. Way more fun than a bar as it was outdoors and open. Could the U do this? Yes. But they won't.

Sadly the Gophers pre-game is closer to Northwestern than it is to Michigan or Nebraska. And I'm not paying a premium for that.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom