Jeff Jacobs: Mizzou Grad Wonders Where The UConn Fans Went | The Boneyard

Jeff Jacobs: Mizzou Grad Wonders Where The UConn Fans Went

I read it this morning in the Courant. All the reasons were on the Boneyard, he says he put out a tweet asking.
 
Alum86 said:
I read it this morning in the Courant. All the reasons were on the Boneyard, he says he put out a tweet asking.
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Sometimes it’s one and the same... there are BY’ers in his timeline.
 
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Jeff get a new head shot. You look like you are dropping a deuce in this one:
jeffpic_400x400.jpg
 
The article is right on.

No excuses not to have 30k at the game.

We as a fanbase are prolonging our stay in the AAC.

I give AD Dave and HCRE alot of credit for this year. They have both worked very hard to try and rekindle interest in the team.


The interest is just not there. Overall I think the perception of the AAC has worn a lot of people down.

It has finally done the same to the MBB program. People have little to no interest in AAC conference play. Oh they will show up for the big games in both football( think Michigan) and basketball but not Tulsa and ECU.

Several families have told me they are not paying $30 a ticket to watch teams that they have no interest in seeing.

It's just sad. The hearty 15k( like my group of 9) that always go will always be there but the others will pick their spots.
 
Don't underestimate the impact of the general economic and emotional malaise and psyche of this state. GE. Aetna. Bond downgrades. Massive future deficits. Tax increases. Major out movement of population. Hard to get excited to cheer for old State U when the clown show in Hartford is sucking the life out of the state and people associate Uconn with state government
 
My question is will The Courant, ESPN, NY Times, SI and other media do cover stories when Randy Edsall once again transforms UConn football into a top-ranked program. It is happening -- though may be a slower process than some of us want. When prominent media give UConn sports the attention it deserves, the Connecticut fans will come. They just need a little nudge.
 
Two wins, three total, isn't gonna bring the fans back. CT is the real show-me state. It was the same with the Whalers.
 
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UConn football has only recently become more competitive and fun and to watch in person...or for that matter on TV for those who can’t attend.
During the recent past, we’ve played “predictable” football ...lacking imagination and , at times, the needed “unexpected”. There’s times when we simply don’t match-up very well with the competition. To gain an edge, we have to resort to the unorthodox in play calling. To “steal” a score and change the momentum. That’s starting to come back with our new offensive coordinator.
Today’s game against Missouri is extremely meaningful. If we can steal a win , the excitement will continue to build and fans will respond. ( Probably not the way for a fan base to act ....but it’s reality in this and in most other sports). Go Huskies!!!
 
RSTuthill said:
Two wins, three total, isn't gonna bring the fans back. CT is the real show-me state. It was the same with the Whalers.
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I always thought the Whalers were a Hartford-focused team. Fairfield County, New Haven and Eastern CT did not seem to be part of the fan base. When UConn men's basketball was tops, and with UConn women's basketball now, the fan base is statewide and extends into New England and New York. This is what the football program can do if it gets ranked in top 25 again. That is also the key to ACC or B10 admission.
 
I agree. If Jacobs went to those games in the last year of PP and the entire Diaco era he wouldn't be asking this question. It was so far beyond, "Not Fun," that it crossed into Stockholm syndrome. Was literally sitting at the Tulane and SMU games wondering how stupid am I to spend my time on attending. The words non-competitive are being kind. The giddiness over a 3-4 record with losses to UVA and ECU are only the latest exhibit of how bad it became.

Fans don't show up on Wednesdays or any other day when games are not being played, getting what we got when the level of play was only slighting better than a cancellation is the correct perspective on the last 6 years. The fan base is starting from scratch again. You have an entire graduation cycle of students and alumni who only remember embarrassing FB.
 
They have to fix the student transportation situation. The kids that do go dont stick around because they need to get a bus back before they get stuck waiting. This has a ripple effect with parents and friends not showing up. It's funny because if you have been to enough games, you'll notice the band actually puts friends and family in seats. Rarely is there not someone sitting in vicinity that is not saying " I know so and so in the Marching Band or a cheerleader, etc..". Just last week a family sitting afew seats away said "oh, we came because my nephew is in the marching band." The school needs to close the loop with average students and needs to get inventive. They need to create a distinctive identity and benefit of being a dog pound member. Maybe they create a club and they get special benefits if they show up... maybe they allow a 12th man on the sideline...need to get creative...
 
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I won't be buying tickets for any collegiate sporting event anytime soon. UNC getting a pass was the last straw for me after watching 15 years of conference realignment hell and an ethical cesspool from Kentucky rewarded. UConn basically acting like a Jeb! Bush pushover during it all doesn't help morale either.
 
Calhoun's Court said:
The article is right on.

No excuses not to have 30k at the game.

We as a fanbase are prolonging our stay in the AAC.

I give AD Dave and HCRE alot of credit for this year. They have both worked very hard to try and rekindle interest in the team.


The interest is just not there. Overall I think the perception of the AAC has worn a lot of people down.

It has finally done the same to the MBB program. People have little to no interest in AAC conference play. Oh they will show up for the big games in both football( think Michigan) and basketball but not Tulsa and ECU.

Several families have told me they are not paying $30 a ticket to watch teams that they have no interest in seeing.

It's just sad. The hearty 15k( like my group of 9) that always go will always be there but the others will pick their spots.
Expand ...
I’ve had seasons tickets since before the Rent. I only miss if I have to be away. We have great seats, low upper deck, midfield. A few obvious problems, definitely compounded by having become unwatchable over 6 years. The AAC isn’t a horrible conference. But we have zero natural rivals. Every game feels like an OOC game. But I think the more deep rooted problem is that the ticker point system UConn uses emphasizes revenue over loyalty. And coupled with a shallow football tradition and now a league like ours and poor performance, it’s deadly. When I say the policy favors revenue, it is obvious in my section and similar ones around the stadium. A ton of sold seats have nobody in them almost every game. They are corporate owned, they write off the seats and the required donation and half the time they can’t find takers. We can spot the few regulars easily. At the Michigan game, we were at least 50% UM fans in our section and around the stadium. Add that to crappy support from students, who get lousy seats anyway, and you don’t get a loyal fan base.
 
Skiblets said:
Don't underestimate the impact of the general economic and emotional malaise and psyche of this state. GE. Aetna. Bond downgrades. Massive future deficits. Tax increases. Major out movement of population. Hard to get excited to cheer for old State U when the clown show in Hartford is sucking the life out of the state and people associate Uconn with state government
Expand ...
If I had a nickel every time "bond downgrades" came up in conversation, I would have exactly zero nickels.

Seriously though, it's not the state. It's the economy for the whole country aside from the richest 1%. CT is not unique.
 
ASweet3781 said:
I won't be buying tickets for any collegiate sporting event anytime soon. UNC getting a pass was the last straw for me after watching 15 years of conference realignment hell and an ethical cesspool from Kentucky rewarded. UConn basically acting like a Jeb! Bush pushover during it all doesn't help morale either.
Expand ...
I agree with all but your last sentence “ Uconn acting like a Jeb Bush pushover “ I’m curious as to what exactly you expected UConn to do ....and what difference you feel it would have made .
 
Winning cures everything, but with an SEC team coming in the fans should show up and support UConn.

Still hoping for 25,000 plus and a lot of noise
 
High school sports playoffs are in full swing. I know a number of season ticket holders attending their own kids events. As much as I love UCONN, my kids' activities will always come before UCONN games.
 
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I agree with those who think the sports ticket buying public don't have the dough anymore, not with other things ramping up in cost (tuition, youth sports, etc.)
 
Part of the problem is East Coast snobbery ... lots of people looking down on schools like Houston, SMU, UCF, USF, and Memphis. Those non-Florida schools have been playing Division 1-A FB for a long time. Houston and SMU played in the Southwest Conference for many years. They've played in many big-time bowls. Heck, SMU used to play in the Cotton Bowl (their home field) for decades. They had a national championship. The two Florida schools don't have that same history, but they're both ranked and they'll be ranked often with that Florida talent.

I understand the butt hurt from losing Syracuse, BC, Pitt, and Rutgers as conference rivals. They are our peers and we should be with them. But the AAC doesn't suck. It's gained respect nationally. The debate about which "G5" conference is best is over; it's the AAC by a mile. We're probably a "fringe" P6, and the only thing preventing us from being a real P6 conference is our attendance.

The ball is in our court. The people of Connecticut, alumni, fans, and students need to step up, whether we want to get into a "bigger" conference, or if we just want the AAC to be taken seriously. Stop with the regional prejudice and fill the stadium.
 
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Redding Husky said:
Lots of the problem is East Coast snobbery ... lots of people looking down on schools like Houston, SMU, UCF, USF, and Memphis. Those non-Florida schools have been playing Division 1-A FB for a long time. Houston and SMU played in the Southwest Conference for many years. They've played in many big-time bowls. Heck, SMU used to play in the Cotton Bowl (their home field) for decades. They had a national championship. The two Florida schools don't have that same history, but they're both ranked and they'll be ranked often with that Florida talent.

I understand the butt hurt from losing Syracuse, BC, Pitt, and Rutgers as conference rivals. They are our peers and we should be with them. But the AAC doesn't suck. It's gained respect nationally. The debate about which "G5" conference is best is over; it's the AAC by a mile. We're probably a "fringe" P6, and the only thing preventing us from being a real P6 conference is our attendance.

The ball is in our court. The people of Connecticut, alumni, fans, and students need to step up, whether we want to get into a "bigger" conference, or if we just want the AAC to be taken seriously. Stop with the regional prejudice and fill the stadium.
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But this does seem to be a national problem.
 
Jacobs follow up article tomorrow. 'Never mind. I get it now'.
 
Ticket prices need to drop until the stadium is full--that is called meeting the market. If the stadium ever gets full then raise the ticket prices.
 
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