'Nobody cares'

[whaler11]

not hijacking the thread by any means cause this is good discussion but the amount of passionate students would be exponentially higher if the stadium wasnt 45 minutes away.

But when they are alumni the location will generally help them. Doesn't make much sense as a reason to me.

 

[Adesmar123]

watch the recording with captions on ..its funny!

 

[Palatine]

The NFL is having problems filing stadiums. The stadium experience is having trouble competing with TV. This is a national trend.

So you have a poor economy, a diminishing of the reputation of the stadium experience, a boring UConn team, a losing team, and substandard marketing. It's the perfect storm.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

It's really not that hard to figure out. While we were winning 8,9 games a year... we were mentioned on TV more, we were "up and coming", and we sold out nearly every game.

I don't remember what stadium you've been attending, but even when were were "up and coming" we rarely had full sellouts. I always saw empty seats. Yeah, it's gotten worse, but I think part of it is the total lack of history and football culture here. You can't build these things overnight. Obviously we're moving in the wrong direction right now, but let's not just start pretending the past was all rainbows and sunshine, either.

 

[DOZE860]

Sun Life Stadium capacity 76,100 - Saturday's attendance 76,968 - What game were you watching?

and if you believe announced attendance figures.. i have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. there were sections in the upper decks that were half empty...

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/...013/09/07/cc/13/090713_spt_um_vs_uf_002_1.JPG

 

[traitor71]

and if you believe announced attendance figures.. i have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. there were sections in the upper decks that we half empty...

The early morning lightning storms kept some people away, they were pretty scary to sit through and I can understand a casual fan waking up, seeing them and deciding to go back to bed. But to the point of the thread, winning cures all. Playing exciting football will bring fans out. Having hope for the future will bring people out. Unfortunately, none of that is going to happen with this has been in charge.

 

[husky10]

But when they are alumni the location will generally help them. Doesn't make much sense as a reason to me.

If a student doesn't go to the games while at uconn there is no reason to believe he will after he graduates no matter where the stadium is. If uconn graduates 4,000 students a year that is 4,000 new potential season ticket holders. Obviously the location of the stadium isn't going to change but doing more things to get more students to the games would help a lot.

 

[Rondogg]

Season ticket holder since the last year of Memorial Stadium. Next year will be my last year. It was a fun ride but conference realignment has really killed my appetite for the sport. When we first started, it seemed like we had nowhere to go but up and our ceiling was unlimited. We were in a power conference. Then CR came in to play and we were burned at every turn. Every turn. This hurt in season and out of season and our ceiling got lower and lower.

Then we won the Big East and went to the Fiesta Bowl. You would think this would have been a good thing! All it turned out to be was a month long anti-Big East festival where ESPN seemed to go out of their way to showcase us, not as the lovable underdog, but as the reason for all of the problems with the BCS. We were "the worst team to ever make it to a BCS game". We "even lost to Temple"! We wouldn't travel well - not to get off on a tangent but it took a major effort (financially and otherwise) to get from Bradley to Phoenix to face a potential blowout. We should have played FSU in the Orange Bowl...

To top it all off, we did lose to OU, confirming everyone's derision. Then...to top that! we lose our head coach the next day to his "dream job" at Maryland, an ACC team!

Anyway, I don't look forward to going to the games anymore. My wife no longer wants to go if the temperature is lower than 70 degrees and I eat a lot of tickets. Somehow over the past 3 years the average age of the people in the 6 rows in front of me has gone from 40something to 90something and they don't even stand up for third downs. Screw it. I'll cherry pick a few games after next year and go to the bowls. That's good enough. I put in my time...

 

[jackl]

If a student doesn't go to the games while at uconn there is no reason to believe he will after he graduates no matter where the stadium is. If uconn graduates 4,000 students a year that is 4,000 new potential season ticket holders. Obviously the location of the stadium isn't going to change but doing more things to get more students to the games would help a lot.

How about the number of ever increasing boomers who have limited disposable income for tickets/donations. I happen to be one of the lucky ones but that could be part of the issue. Especially with the amount of football that is on TV which we are already paying for and watching on 50" HDTV in the comfort of your living room or den. I know its not the same but given the perceived lack of coaching ability or stubbornness in some areas of the team it is possible that some are turning their noises up at the product on the field. This is not related to the players but to some of the overpaid staff. I have been coming back every year at the RENT in hope of seeing a really good football team, not theirs but ours. I was thrilled when I saw Michigan, Maryland, Tenn. on the schedule. But this staff has drained my need to come out and watch this same old, same old. I'll still make it to every game but more people in our group of 12 are professing a distaste to continue further.

 

[husky10]

How about the number of ever increasing boomers who have limited disposable income for tickets/donations. I happen to be one of the lucky ones but that could be part of the issue. Especially with the amount of football that is on TV which we are already paying for and watching on 50" HDTV in the comfort of your living room or den. I know its not the same but given the perceived lack of coaching ability or stubbornness in some areas of the team it is possible that some are turning their noises up at the product on the field. This is not related to the players but to some of the overpaid staff. I have been coming back every year at the RENT in hope of seeing a really good football team, not theirs but ours. I was thrilled when I saw Michigan, Maryland, Tenn. on the schedule. But this staff has drained my need to come out and watch this same old, same old. I'll still make it to every game but more people in our group of 12 are professing a distaste to continue further.

No disrespect intended but I'm not sure I understand what your point is. Should the school do more to get more retired boomers with limited disposable income (as you said) that are probably going to sit during the entire game and have a limited number of years that they will remain season ticket holders? Rather than students that will be loud and give the atmosphere the college feel college football is supposed to have?

 

[whaler11]

If a student doesn't go to the games while at uconn there is no reason to believe he will after he graduates no matter where the stadium is. If uconn graduates 4,000 students a year that is 4,000 new potential season ticket holders. Obviously the location of the stadium isn't going to change but doing more things to get more students to the games would help a lot.

The student tickets have sold out for years and they generally make appearances at games even if they come a bit late and leave a bit early.

They have expanded the student seating since the place opened. Added at least two sections.

 

[whaler11]

Season ticket holder since the last year of Memorial Stadium. Next year will be my last year. It was a fun ride but conference realignment has really killed my appetite for the sport. When we first started, it seemed like we had nowhere to go but up and our ceiling was unlimited. We were in a power conference. Then CR came in to play and we were burned at every turn. Every turn. This hurt in season and out of season and our ceiling got lower and lower.

Then we won the Big East and went to the Fiesta Bowl. You would think this would have been a good thing! All it turned out to be was a month long anti-Big East festival where ESPN seemed to go out of their way to showcase us, not as the lovable underdog, but as the reason for all of the problems with the BCS. We were "the worst team to ever make it to a BCS game". We "even lost to Temple"! We wouldn't travel well - not to get off on a tangent but it took a major effort (financially and otherwise) to get from Bradley to Phoenix to face a potential blowout. We should have played FSU in the Orange Bowl...

To top it all off, we did lose to OU, confirming everyone's derision. Then...to top that! we lose our head coach the next day to his "dream job" at Maryland, an ACC team!

Anyway, I don't look forward to going to the games anymore. My wife no longer wants to go if the temperature is lower than 70 degrees and I eat a lot of tickets. Somehow over the past 3 years the average age of the people in the 6 rows in front of me has gone from 40something to 90something and they don't even stand up for third downs. Screw it. I'll cherry pick a few games after next year and go to the bowls. That's good enough. I put in my time...

I fully respect the sentiment but if too many people choose this the program just continues to slide further into the abyss.

Nothing makes a bigger statement than people coming out to support a bad team. When you do that people notice.

 

[jackl]

No disrespect intended but I'm not sure I understand what your point is. Should the school do more to get more retired boomers with limited disposable income (as you said) that are probably going to sit during the entire game and have a limited number of years that they will remain season ticket holders? Rather than students that will be loud and give the atmosphere the college feel college football is supposed to have?

I guess what I was trying to get at was I'm not happy paying to watch the product that this coaching staff is putting on the field. Just upset with the fact the that PP and GDL are still here. I am not one to sit all game long but I have found myself covering my eyes or slapping my forehead too many time in the last 2 plus years saying WTF. There has been no effort to adjust things in the second half of games.
Talking about the college game day experience why did they take the padding off of the wall in front of the student section. That created a lot of noise and kept the 1st row of students up the whole game. I was up in Storrs a couple of years ago watching a soccer match and they asked a group of African American students to either give up the drums they were beating or leave. They left. They were sitting behind but well off to one side of a goal. They added color and noise to the "College experience" but they were shut down by the event staff in yellow.
Along with other posts in this column concerning the trend of fans staying at home rather than watching it live it maybe that boomers don't want to deal with the that goes along with large crowds these days. I read yesterday that Michigan will not play OSU or MSU at night because they already have upwards of 70 to 100 ambulance calls for afternoon games and the AD says that number could triple if they play those 2 teams at night. Luckily we don't have this at the RENT but it is a trend I could do without.
Sorry if I wandered a bit but you know how geezers can be.

 

[cohenzone]

Winning always helps. Just about all of the factors everyone mentions contribute to attendance issues. Even with a solid winning record it's hard to say how much loyalty and continuing interest you will get so long as the point system rewards revenue rather than loyalty. I don't know what other universities do, but I don't think they all shove the students into some of the worst seats (if they are sober enough to care) and leave it up to the corporate buyers to unload their tickets very week. Not to beat my own dead horse, but from my Rent seats which are 50 yard line, low in the upper deck, there are very few familiar faces from game to game and always too many empty seats. There is one little misleading aspect of the Rent as far as how attendance looks to the naked eye. It is so easy to see the field from the promenade that there has to be at least a few thousand people out of their seats at any given time. In a stadium like Michigan Stadium, you are crammed in like sardines and don't think too much about getting up until half time.

 

[jackl]

Winning always helps. Just about all of the factors everyone mentions contribute to attendance issues. Even with a solid winning record it's hard to say how much loyalty and continuing interest you will get so long as the point system rewards revenue rather than loyalty. I don't know what other universities do, but I don't think they all shove the students into some of the worst seats (if they are sober enough to care) and leave it up to the corporate buyers to unload their tickets very week. Not to beat my own dead horse, but from my Rent seats which are 50 yard line, low in the upper deck, there are very few familiar faces from game to game and always too many empty seats. There is one little misleading aspect of the Rent as far as how attendance looks to the naked eye. It is so easy to see the field from the promenade that there has to be at least a few thousand people out of their seats at any given time. In a stadium like Michigan Stadium, you are crammed in like sardines and don't think too much about getting up until half time.

I was walking the concourse to see my brother on the other side of the stadium and I was surprised at the view from under the scoreboard area. It is a good place to meet your friends and hang out as long as they let you. I guess so far we have been spoiled with the free run of a not so full stadium. I know that needs to change if we expect anything to happen CR wise. Also for a non student of the game it was nice to be able to see all the line splits and play from that angle. At the time we had seats in row 7 on the 18 yard line on the right end of the Uconn Bench. Where you could smell it but often could not see everything. We have since been moved up to row 20 and like it much better. Just hope for a better showing this Saturday night. Go Huskies!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rondogg]

and if you believe announced attendance figures.. i have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. there were sections in the upper decks that were half empty...

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/...013/09/07/cc/13/090713_spt_um_vs_uf_002_1.JPG

LOL, loved it when they announced the attendance at almost the same time they showed that big empty section - I said "no way" out loud!

 

[Sea Goat]

and if you believe announced attendance figures.. i have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. there were sections in the upper decks that were half empty...

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/610/img/photos/2013/09/07/cc/13/090713_spt_um_vs_uf_002_1.JPG[/quote]

Because some of the Gator fans didn't go into the Stadium...


Actually the point is that team performance matters and a coach's style matters. We've sunk in the attendance department since Pasqualoni took over - it's undeniable. Down 10%. I've heard a lot re: the need for an on campus stadium. I think the brand of football you play and your success will drive attendance regardless of where the stadium is. That's my point about the "U". Randy Shannon was a "buzz killer" kind of coach there and Golden has the fans excited again. If the "Rent" was built in Storrs, do you really think kids would go to more games under current circumstances? I don't. (BTW, the student section at the Rent was packed for Towson. It was the only section filled.) I think the kids will come back for Maryland and perhaps Michigan, but they need to see some exciting football. If not they too will find something else to do.

A buck for the bridge - not a penny more!

 

[FAIRTIDES]

I'm not so sure that the attendance issue isn't part of a larger problem with attendance in sports. Two weeks ago, both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald had fairly lengthy pieces on the Red Sox attendance problem this year. Its the Red Sox, they've been in first place since April and they are running 3000/game behind last year. Now part of that is the damage of the past few years which really effected early season gate, just as pasqualoni's poor teams have hurt UConn. But I was in North Carolina, fortunately not for long, a few weeks ago and they had a piece in the local paper about attendance falling at NASCAR events. Last year Duke didn't sell out its home basketball games for the first time in who knows how long. For that matter, last year even UL, who, we're told is has this great football tradition, sold out exactly 1 game, the Kentucky opener. attendance trended down as the season went on. With the ACC invite and the Big East title on the line they had 45000 for UConn. Among the things that various commentators mention in looking at this situation throughout sports are the cost of tickets, virtually universal tv coverage which is better than stadium coverage in some ways (various replays, better views of the game, closeups of significant plays such as key blocks, commentary on controversial plays and so forth), stadium policies, and the overall experience, ongoing scandals, and finally just a general change in people's attitudes about these things. Over time, for example, the ability of "Dad" to take off for the entire day on Saturday has declined. Alternative activities also come into play. Finally, with the current tv scheduling, it is almost impossible to plan for a Saturday beyond next week, because you might find out that Saturday's game is at any time from roughly noon to 8pm depending on the needs and wants of ESPN. Fans in the seats are essentially treated as potted plants for tv background and especially when your team isn't very good, they don't bother making the effort.

Increased security, which I will never complain about, has detracted from the stadium experience as well. That happens to be on my mind because of this morning's memorial in Manhattan.

 

[cohenzone]

BTW, I think having so many uncertain game times doesn't help either. I have an extra Michigan ticket, which will be used, but friends who would normally jump at the chance have plans at certain times on that Sat. and didn't want to hang me up. We still don't have a game time with less than 2 weeks to go. If we are totally dependent on TV dictates based on week to week game results, it's a pain.

 

[freescooter]

BTW, I think having so many uncertain game times doesn't help either. I have an extra Michigan ticket, which will be used, but friends who would normally jump at the chance have plans at certain times on that Sat. and didn't want to hang me up. We still don't have a game time with less than 2 weeks to go. If we are totally dependent on TV dictates based on week to week game results, it's a pain.

Right. that was one of my points. You can't plan. You're treated like a liece of furniture by the Athletic Department, but the tv people, by everyone. You might be willing to put up with it when the team is good, but when watching them is almost a painful experience, fewer people will accept that treatment.

 

[rich1122]

We have never created a culture for college sports in CT. It just never happened. We have Sox Yankess Giants Pats Celtics Knicks Rangers and Bruins. . Growing up kids in Nebraska and OK know only one game. We are trying, but it never happened. The politicians just continue to drive everybody with any money out of the state with higher taxes regulations and an anti-business environment.

 

[scotty0330]

Never saw mike dimauro before but can honestly say the guy comes off as a tard. Can't imagine answering his questions or dealing with him on a daily basis. Makes JJ look tolerable or dare I say refreshing

 

[IMind]

I don't remember what stadium you've been attending, but even when were were "up and coming" we rarely had full sellouts. I always saw empty seats. Yeah, it's gotten worse, but I think part of it is the total lack of history and football culture here. You can't build these things overnight. Obviously we're moving in the wrong direction right now, but let's not just start pretending the past was all rainbows and sunshine, either.

I said sold out... we did sell out a fair amount... not attendance. In 2007 we had 4 sell outs, 2008 we had 3 sell outs and one 500 seats short of a sell out... 2009 two... 2010 3... we talk about the weak economy from time to time... but 2010 was in the middle of the recession and we still sold out three times. 2011 P shows up and the sell outs stop.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Right. that was one of my points. You can't plan. You're treated like a liece of furniture by the Athletic Department, but the tv people, by everyone. You might be willing to put up with it when the team is good, but when watching them is almost a painful experience, fewer people will accept that treatment.

You may have to cancel a dinner reservation.

 

[freescooter]

You may have to cancel a dinner reservation.

As if that were the only problem .If the teams is considered "worth watching" people would do it. But the point is that these little aggravations become bigger aggravations when watching your team is about as dull as watching the local Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency for a discussion of 50 foot buffers vs 35 foot buffers. So people say "the heck with it. I'll go to dinner." Or to a play or picking apples or whatever and catch the replay online. Hurts attendance.