College Football Encounters Its Biggest Rival: The Couch

[UCPusky]

Hold off on those stadium expansions.

"But increasingly, all signs indicate that more sports fans will be torn between the in-stadium experience—which is thrilling, but also expensive and laden with headaches—and the ease and comfort of watching from the couch, where there’s chips and dip on the coffee table, reliable Wi-Fi, and a bathroom with no lines down the hall."

http://business.time.com/2013/08/16...unters-its-biggest-rival-the-couch/?hpt=hp_t3

 

[ZooCougar]

I think our money is more well spent on improving and enhancing the gameday experience. Anything that can be done to improve the entertainment, convenience and comfort will be more cost effective

 

[Husky25]

Yup...same for all sporting events.

There was an article last fall about the NFL and how they are competing against themselves. The NFL Network, RedZone Channel, Sunday Ticket, and Hi-Definition are eating into ticket sales and concessions.

Gone are the days of the old fuzzy black and white with rabbit ears. Hello Fiber optics (in some places).

 

[SubbaBub]

There is only one area where Game day had the edge on TV, the shared crowd experience.

So do your part when attending the games this season by participating in that experience.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

 

[Husky25]

View attachment 3462

Where's that from the 50's?

Cute, but not exactly the same thing. It might just be my youth and naiveté, but I think there was a happy medium between the telecast and the in-game experience in the 80s and things started to turn in the late 80's early 90's. I'll use baseball as an example. My family first got wired for cable in the '85-'86 timeframe. At that time, Red Sox games were broadcast on Tv38 and on this new fangled cable station called NESN, which was not on basic package. In retrospect it seems odd that we could watch all the Mets (WOR) and Braves (TBS) games we wanted, but half of the local teams' games were virtually blacked out. Remember also, that TVs were still mainly tubes and the family TV was probably 19-24 inches on the diagonal and rounded in the corners, thereby adding further distortion.

This was the tail end of the era where the in-stadium experience was better than the in house experience by a significant factor. As we progressed through the 90's, Sports superstations migrated to the basic cable tier, televisions got larger, flatter, clearer, and (most importantly) less expensive. One other thing (which shouldn't be an issue in CT, but it most certainly is.), the cost of the in-stadium experience was relatively low 30 years ago. Roger Clemens held out of spring training in 1987 until the Sox reworked his contract for $2 Million (The Sox finished in 5th place even with his 20 wins. In retrospect they should have let him dangle). Teams give that to an 18 year old prospect before he finishes high school now. Rentschler's primary tenant is an amateur college football team. The XL Center's main tenants are an AHL hockey team (i.e. salaries are paid by someone else) and an amateur college program. Why am I paying $10 for watered down Coors Light with a funky taste due to improperly maintained pipes?

Its a matter of value. It really always has been, but it's been amplified since 2008. Not only did this mark the beginning of the Great Recession, but also the widespread availability of HDTV, DVR, and cheaper, larger, clearer flat screen TV, in front of which John Q. Sportsfan could enjoy virtually every aspect of the game for a fraction of the cost of being there...minus the crowd as Subba implied. But for many, that is a infinitely small price to pay in comparison.

 

[ctchamps]

I think our money is more well spent on improving and enhancing the gameday experience. Anything that can be done to improve the entertainment, convenience and comfort will be more cost effective

So if we take the article and your suggestion then stadiums and arenas that have couches instead of seats is the way to go.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

So if we take the article and your suggestion then stadiums and arenas that have couches instead of seats is the way to go.

Pure genius!! Reminds me of Michael Keaton's breakthrough idea in Night Shift. "Feed tuna fish mayonnaise."

 

[whaler11]

To me it's the amount of games I can watch at once. I'll never stop going to UConn football games.... But driving to Gampel for some outmatched opponent when I can watch 5 better games on TV is a tough sell to me now.

I go to a lot of Central games - the NEC rolled out a web product that shows every game. I used it in lieu of going a half dozen times at least last season.

I used to go to 2-3 Giants games a year. I have almost no desire anymore. Sunday Ticket is better. Only way I go is a free ticket and someone else driving. Free tickets are easy, drivers are not.

 

[Adios]

Central? Yale games are a lot of fun. That school is loaded on pride. The past hockey season speaks for itself. I was sitting right next to and talking smack with one of the players who scored in the championship game against Quinnipiac at a Quinnipiac ECAC quarterfinal game against Cornell. There were a bunch of Yale players at that game. That was also a classic series. QU scored a LOT of goals in the second game and the third game went into double OT, I believe. The series-winning goal was beautiful.

Going to games cannot be matched by watching any on a TV. You meet many very interesting people at games, too.

 

[TRest]

The problem with the shared crowd experience is that the crowd is often drunk and belligerent, making it difficult to bring families to the games (not specifically UConn football related, just crowds in general).

 

[bmayuc]

The problem with the shared crowd experience is that the crowd is often drunk and belligerent, making it difficult to bring families to the games (not specifically UConn football related, just crowds in general).

Having been to many uconn games at the rent, Ive only had a problem with belligerent drunks like 1 time. It cant be that big of.a.deal...

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2