EMPTY SEATS!!! WTF

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RedPoo said:
I didn't read the articles (though you're welcome to do so yourself). But, yes, the Wisky one was specifically about the first half. And the Penn State articles, of which there were a few, were due to a fluke game in horrible weather against a boring opponent (I'll let you guess who) and they obviously aren't used to all the empty seats.

I'm just getting really tired of this conversation every week. This isn't a new thing, and it's not like the powers-that-be don't notice and won't try and remedy the problem next season. I get why it's bad/embarrassing, but this has to be by far the most posted-about topic this year, and they keep coming every week even though we covered this from every angle over a month ago. Why did anyone expect this game to be different? Are we going to be shocked and appalled when it happens again next week?

I know we all expected more out of the students, and really all the fans. But it IS getting better, momentum seems to be building, and as is the case with every team in every sport, the fans will get better as the product on the field improves.
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I understand some of your points. However, I disagree you can closely tie this to the product on the field. If so, why would attendence continue to fall even after big wins and exciting games? This issue is far deeper than the product on the field. If it were just the product on the field, you'd see the rest of the stands empty at a rate similar to the student section. Clearly, something is broken in terms of the overall attraction of going to a game for the UofM students. As I stated earlier, I thought Gopherlady offered some great suggestions (most of which had nothing to do with "make the team play better").

Perhaps this will help you understand why I have talked about this so much: I flat out didn't see it coming. Perhaps I am dumb. Perhaps I am naive. Maybe I watch too much college football.

I didn't see it coming primarily because not only did I expect a full house all year, but I didn't even consider the student section in particular would end up being MORE open than it was in the Metrodome. It is a flat-out shocker to me and if it had held steady at any rate of non-attendance I would have left my posts complete as of that week. But, it has been a STEADY decline between Air Force and Cal, to Wisconsin, to Purdue, to MSU, and a new rock bottom against Illinois. Since it declines every week, it is back fresh in my head and then out my fingertips into a new thread every week.

If this continues at the same rate, and the entire second deck is devoid of students along with all of section 132 on Saturday... guess what will pop into my mind? On the other hand, if the student section looks about like it did for any of the other games - I probably won't mention it.

Look at it this way, if you are sick of reading this same topic each week, there is an end in site. Either some solutions will be presented and the situation will become stable or by mid season next year, there won't be any students at the games and there won't be anything for people like me to comment on.
 

macmoney said:
Im not a UofM student but Ive been going to the games and I didn't get in b/c I don't have a student Id, and I know many other people that go there also

Another reason is b/c us college kids want to go out and party before (pre game) and by the time half time comes around half the people are starting to sober up and what not (this is also dangerous b/c many people get SOOOO messed up before the game). Also I don't know why you wouldnt want alcohal at your football games.... more revenue and plus a more intense crowd, which is key for college football games (look at all the top teams, they have somthing in comin----- crazy student section)

Also, Switching from the spread (in my opinion) kills alot of are excitment (cause weber can't make a damn read under the center)
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it sounds like you are misinformed on the alcohol issue. for your information there are only 2 FBS schools in the country that allow alcohol sales/consumption in their general admission seating areas........and neither of them are as you called them "top teams". allowing or not allowing alcohol sales in a stadium has nothing to do with being a top team or the ability to produce a "crazy student section". if a student needs alcohol in them in order to cheer then they have other issues to deal with. you are right one on thing.....controlled alcohol sales in college stadiums helps to drive additional revenue for the schools and their athletic depts.

the u of m wanted to allow alcohol sales in their stadium in a way that was in accordance with 98% of the big ten.......it was only to be allowed in premium seating areas (this is how 98% of the big ten does it as well) so that it could be controlled and kept out of the hands of underage students. unfortunately, the lame mn legislature felt they needed to stick their nose in the u of m's business and passed a poorly conceived law to tie the hands of the u of m when it comes to alcohol sales in all of their sports venues (williams, mariucci, tcf stadium). it is my hope that the mn legislature is forced to reconsider their blatant mis-deed towards the u of m in the near future.
 

The problem isn't necessarily student disinterest, but disinterest among those students who bought student ticket. They're cheap, so they picked them up, and then lost interest. The tickets are still held, so no one else can use them. Maybe a better way to resell them, let's say that they could turn them back into the ticket office, and the ticket office pays them half of what the ticket cost. Then other students can buy them the day of the game. Getting something for a ticket you aren't using is better than getting nothing for a ticket you aren't using.

They could convert a couple sections from student sections to general seating if students aren't using them.

It really does look bad when the student section has few people in it, something is going to have to be done.
 

If you think the student section has been empty...

...you ain't seen nothin' yet. Just wait until Saturday - horrible opponent, questionable weather and coming off of a bad loss. The student section will likely be pathetic and the rest of the stadium may not be much better. I unfortunately can envision an awful lot of empty seats this Saturday. I hope I'm wrong!
 

Clyde Tester said:
...you ain't seen nothin' yet. Just wait until Saturday - horrible opponent, questionable weather and coming off of a bad loss. The student section will likely be pathetic and the rest of the stadium may not be much better. I unfortunately can envision an awful lot of empty seats this Saturday. I hope I'm wrong!
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I've talked to a number of my friends who are casual fans and they all said they are either selling their tickets or just not going. "Who wants to see a mediocre team play a crap opponent in crappy weather? At least the stadium is nice."
 


GortonsFisherman011 said:
I've talked to a number of my friends who are casual fans and they all said they are either selling their tickets or just not going. "Who wants to see a mediocre team play a crap opponent in crappy weather? At least the stadium is nice."
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sounds to me like your friends kinda suck! no, they do. :)
 


GortonsFisherman011 said:
I've talked to a number of my friends who are casual fans and they all said they are either selling their tickets or just not going. "Who wants to see a mediocre team play a crap opponent in crappy weather? At least the stadium is nice."
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Since the worst example of an empty student section was Saturday's game, did they tell you this after the Gophers just upset Michigan State to position themselves for their best bowl in 20 years (Alamo Bowl) in a game against Illinois where the weather prediction for Saturday held steady all week at 60 degrees with sun? If they said this for the upcoming game against SDSU (which is indeed a mediocre team playing a crap team in GOOD weather), what did they say the reason was for staying away all the previous games?


Is there a movement on campus to get the team back to the Metrodome? The students arrived late and left early there but they did come, to watch Gopher teams that were far worse than this one play opponents as bad or worse than SDSU.
 

Bronko Nagurski Gopher said:
it sounds like you are misinformed on the alcohol issue. for your information there are only 2 FBS schools in the country that allow alcohol sales/consumption in their general admission seating areas........and neither of them are as you called them "top teams". allowing or not allowing alcohol sales in a stadium has nothing to do with being a top team or the ability to produce a "crazy student section". if a student needs alcohol in them in order to cheer then they have other issues to deal with. you are right one on thing.....controlled alcohol sales in college stadiums helps to drive additional revenue for the schools and their athletic depts.

the u of m wanted to allow alcohol sales in their stadium in a way that was in accordance with 98% of the big ten.......it was only to be allowed in premium seating areas (this is how 98% of the big ten does it as well) so that it could be controlled and kept out of the hands of underage students. unfortunately, the lame mn legislature felt they needed to stick their nose in the u of m's business and passed a poorly conceived law to tie the hands of the u of m when it comes to alcohol sales in all of their sports venues (williams, mariucci, tcf stadium). it is my hope that the mn legislature is forced to reconsider their blatant mis-deed towards the u of m in the near future.
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I love to be the person to inform GopherHolers that 98% of Big 10 and Division I football schools are wrong. Fall Saturday afternoons are for watching your favorite college football team and drinking beer. It is Un-American to prevent college football fans from drinking beer in college football stadiums. There needs to be a Congressional investigation into this travesty.
 



Schnauzer said:
Since the worst example of an empty student section was Saturday's game, did they tell you this after the Gophers just upset Michigan State to position themselves for their best bowl in 20 years (Alamo Bowl) in a game against Illinois where the weather prediction for Saturday held steady all week at 60 degrees with sun? If they said this for the upcoming game against SDSU (which is indeed a mediocre team playing a crap team in GOOD weather), what did they say the reason was for staying away all the previous games?


Is there a movement on campus to get the team back to the Metrodome? The students arrived late and left early there but they did come, to watch Gopher teams that were far worse than this one play opponents as bad or worse than SDSU.
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in my lamest frankenstein voice (picking on both students and some of the non-student ticket holders): "must drink, must drink, must drink over-priced stale beer. me can not make it through life or single afternoon without drink." ;)
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
I love to be the person to inform GopherHolers that 98% of Big 10 and Division I football schools are wrong. Fall Saturday afternoons are for watching your favorite college football team and drinking beer. It is Un-American to prevent college football fans from drinking beer in college football stadiums. There needs to be a Congressional investigation into this travesty.
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yawn..............
 

Rodent Rampage- I would agree with your point about students buying tickets and then losing interest. Many of them probably just wanted to get tickets to have tickets for the new stadium. Hopefully Maturi and the Bruininks can come up with something in the off-season to get more student involvement at the games. As another one previously posted- this stadium was built for the University and Students. With half of the students seats empty at the Illinois game and more then likely the SDSU game this is a black eye for the program.

For those of us that have tickets...let's show up and support the program. For those that aren't going to the game and have tickets...find someone that wants to attend the game (give them your tickets if you have to). There is plenty of interest in this Gopher program contrary to the negativity that seems to be abound. I will always wear the Maroon/Gold unless the U is playing SDSU in sports...as a former alum I will be wearing my Blue/Gold of the Jackrabbits.
 

Here's an idea. It may be a crackpot idea, but it's an idea, and we need more ideas.

Have a deposit on student tickets. The more games you attend, the more money you get back. If you attend all the games, you get all your deposit money back, perhaps plus a small bonus. That would mean that those who bought tickets would be the ones who most wanted to go, and would give incentive to ticket holders to attend, or at least to sell/give them to another student.

How about if you oversold the games, but only the first 10,000 get in? Those that didn't get in get a refund of the price of the ticket. That would allow the people who really wanted to attend games to have tickets, while still not screwing people over. It would also provide an incentive to arrive early.
 



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