local perception, a long way to go

[tduconn]

Bob Diaco may be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a great college coach.

Unfortunately, what I heard yesterday form long time Connecticut residents at a 25 wedding anniversary party was not encouraging. At one point discussion turned to all sports....pro, college, high school.

I through out the question "What do they think about UConn's new head football coach and the direction the program may take?

To a tee almost no one had an interest. No one has been to a game except a family friend from California (Fan of Stanford and SF Giants football teams) who was the only one willing to talk about it. No one from Connecticut even watches the games on TV. For the family from the Boston and New Jersey area.......none of them care to watch UConn FB either.

Basically I was lead to believe I have been brainwashed about the future of the program. One said they have never recruited anybody of note and the majority of the years the best the so called "under the radar" recruits could do is preseason picks to finish in the middle of the pack of a weak FBS league formerly called the Big East, and a finish near the bottom of a weaker non P5 league called the AAC.

No one expressed an interest to go to games if I had spare tickets.

Forget about telling P5 conferences we carry new England and NYC markets. In football, it appears we have a long way to go just to carry the Connecticut TV market.......and perhaps even the same could be said for NE.

WOW....just WOW. Bob D. has a much larger, difficult job than he thinks.

 

[HuskyBlue08]

All of my friends like UConn football. Maybe you need new friends.

 

[BoatShow]

In a way the success of MBB, WBB, Sox, Patriots, Giants, Yankees, Bruins, Celtics, etc all racking up championships has hurt UConn football's ability to grow. Fans in this area are spoiled and want to root for teams that will immediately win titles. A lot of people hear "UConn football sucks" and then the notion just gets perpetuated throughout the state and region. However, this can also work to the program's benefit as they are always a couple big wins away from capturing the state's affection.

But yeah, get new friends.

 

[rich1122]

People never bought into College Football. The experience etc. The momentum lies on this board and that's about it. We open with BYU nd Boise. Ask anyone if they care or if they are going. Huh?? I'll be happy with 25K ST.

 

[coachcap]

td, what part of the state do you live in? Here in Southington, tons of people care about UConn football. (maybe it's because the town has attachments through the Vin Clements, Jon Wholley days). I see many adults, teens, & kids wearing UCONN tee & golf shirts. Even my out of state relatives & in-laws (Mass, N.C.) follow UConn football & other sports. Most seem upbeat about what news is coming from the new coaching regime. As for your friends, I would suggest that THEY are the ones who have been brainwashed by listening to the good old boy network & the imbeciles at Satellite U. in Bristol.(who are mostly Fruit U. Communications School grads)

 

[rich1122]

td, what part of the state do you live in? Here in Southington, tons of people care about UConn football. (maybe it's because the town has attachments through the Vin Clements, Jon Wholley days). I see many adults, teens, & kids wearing UCONN tee & golf shirts. Even my out of state relatives & in-laws (Mass, N.C.) follow UConn football & other sports. Most seem upbeat about what news is coming from the new coaching regime. As for your friends, I would suggest that THEY are the ones who have been brainwashed by listening to the good old boy network & the imbeciles at Satellite U. in Bristol.(who are mostly Fruit U. Communications School grads)

Not saying people don't like UCONN. Saying it will be hard to overcome the perception. I get more reaction like tduconn than new ST holders hopping on board. The number will come out soon. Reality will set in and we will see how much momentum we have gained.

 

[BNich]

You think everyone in Michigan watches Michigan football? I don't think so. Same with many other big time schools. Nothing to see here.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

People never bought into College Football. The experience etc. The momentum lies on this board and that's about it. We open with BYU nd Boise. Ask anyone if they care or if they are going. Huh?? I'll be happy with 25K ST.

You'll be happy with 25k?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

For a decade you've been miserable with 20%-25% above that number.

 

[Dooley]

A 25 year wedding anniversary probably puts this crowd in a older demographic (i.e. - 50s). Is that true? My guess is that most of the people at this party grew up with MBB or WBB success and support those programs. The best way to integrate the older MBB/WBB crowds is to market that they are supporting the SCHOOL, not a specific program. Supporting football supports MBB and WBB. If our segmented/divided fanbase would ever unite in support of football, then UCONN has a very real chance of growing beyond everyone's expectations.

But yeah, I'm in my upper 30s and all of my friends talk UCONN football fairly frequently. We all grew up with the Whalers and MBB so buying football season tickets when the Rent opened was a natural progression. I guess this is what it means when people cite RU playing football for 100 years as a reason why they were selected before UCONN. It's just going to take some time and patience to grow the fanbase...unless UCONN (and our fanbase) can figure out how to unite UCONN fans to support the school and not specific programs.

 

[Scoe]

Bob Diaco may be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a great college coach.

Unfortunately, what I heard yesterday form long time Connecticut residents at a 25 wedding anniversary party was not encouraging. At one point discussion turned to all sports....pro, college, high school.

I through out the question "What do they think about UConn's new head football coach and the direction the program may take?

To a tee almost no one had an interest. No one has been to a game except a family friend from California (Fan of Stanford and SF Giants football teams) who was the only one willing to talk about it. No one from Connecticut even watches the games on TV. For the family from the Boston and New Jersey area..none of them care to watch UConn FB either.

Basically I was lead to believe I have been brainwashed about the future of the program. One said they have never recruited anybody of note and the majority of the years the best the so called "under the radar" recruits could do is preseason picks to finish in the middle of the pack of a weak FBS league formerly called the Big East, and a finish near the bottom of a weaker non P5 league called the AAC.

No one expressed an interest to go to games if I had spare tickets.

Forget about telling P5 conferences we carry new England and NYC markets. In football, it appears we have a long way to go just to carry the Connecticut TV market..and perhaps even the same could be said for NE.

WOW....just WOW. Bob D. has a much larger, difficult job than he thinks.

Diaco knows exactly what hes stepping into, if he cares what people think then he should retire today he is here to help change that perception. If Jim Calhoun cared about what people thought about Uconn basketball back in 86 he wouldnt be in the HOF today.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

Bob Diaco may be knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a great college coach.

Unfortunately, what I heard yesterday form long time Connecticut residents at a 25 wedding anniversary party was not encouraging. At one point discussion turned to all sports....pro, college, high school.

I through out the question "What do they think about UConn's new head football coach and the direction the program may take?

To a tee almost no one had an interest. No one has been to a game except a family friend from California (Fan of Stanford and SF Giants football teams) who was the only one willing to talk about it. No one from Connecticut even watches the games on TV. For the family from the Boston and New Jersey area..none of them care to watch UConn FB either.

Basically I was lead to believe I have been brainwashed about the future of the program. One said they have never recruited anybody of note and the majority of the years the best the so called "under the radar" recruits could do is preseason picks to finish in the middle of the pack of a weak FBS league formerly called the Big East, and a finish near the bottom of a weaker non P5 league called the AAC.

No one expressed an interest to go to games if I had spare tickets.

Forget about telling P5 conferences we carry new England and NYC markets. In football, it appears we have a long way to go just to carry the Connecticut TV market..and perhaps even the same could be said for NE.

WOW....just WOW. Bob D. has a much larger, difficult job than he thinks.

I assume the event ended with a full-out riot and you' re writing from jail.

 

[Scoe]

Its easy to get people to go to games just bribe them with food and booze .

 

[Adios]

25 year wedding anniversary? If so, Notre Dame fans. Look at the kids from our own state committing to UConn. They seem to know better than these outdated minds.

 

[metsfan2323]

25 year wedding anniversary sounds like a major drag. Hooray you haven't killed each other yet.

You just might have been the only cool person there.

 

[CTMike]

Why do you think Diaco had been traveling around the state, going on every major media venue, meeting and greeting fans in person? He gets it. He's reaching out and I'm glad he is. Now people need to open their ears and hear the message.

 

[RMoore1999]

Not saying people don't like UCONN. Saying it will be hard to overcome the perception. I get more reaction like tduconn than new ST holders hopping on board. The number will come out soon. Reality will set in and we will see how much momentum we have gained.

BShat. Guessing you're too young or new to remember UConn hoops BC...

Winning over time is all that's required.

 

[Palatine]

That is a sample size of one. Coming off three horrible years it is not unexpected.

I was sitting next to a guy at a UConn football game last year and started to talk about the NFL. This guy thought that UConn only had one player in the NFL --and he was at a UConn football game. He was stunned to find out we had around a dozen players in the NFL.

Winning changes everything. So does losing. We won't break through until we break through.

 

[Husky68]

What do you expect as reactions from a sample set of people who would not even watch UConn on tv? So you expect a group of people who wouldn't even watch UConn/Oklahoma or more recently UConn/Michigan to have any insight or interest or accurate opinion on the state or future of UConn football? What did they want to talk about?

 

[rich1122]

What do you expect as reactions from a sample set of people who would not even watch UConn on tv? So you expect a group of people who wouldn't even watch UConn/Oklahoma or more recently UConn/Michigan to have any insight or interest or accurate opinion on the state or future of UConn football? What did they want to talk about?

I watched Bialasuknia. Winning will help but with our fan base don't expect miracles.

 

[specialisthusky]

People never bought into College Football. The experience etc. The momentum lies on this board and that's about it. We open with BYU nd Boise. Ask anyone if they care or if they are going. Huh?? I'll be happy with 25K ST.

I know of three guys who sit in my immediate proximity at the office who bought separate three game packages this year who had ditched the team the past two seasons. Were not going to fill a 60k stadium any time soon but diaco has fringe fans excited again...and that is all we can reasonably hope for until the huskies begin to win again.

 

[Pudge]

rich1122 ... you are a pip (as my Dad's generation would say). And tdc ... nice focus group.

You both make me laugh. We know the ceiling already: WE DRAW 40,000 regularly when the team is good and the spirit/marketing is in sync. We aren't regressing ... we are growing. The University is stronger than it was 10 years ago; it will be far stronger in 10 years. You can Wes Bialasuknia up ... and get into this century; or we will meet you at the nearest NE Common and discuss the Memorial of Korean War dead with you.

 

[businesslawyer]

rich1122 ... you are a pip (as my Dad's generation would say). And tdc ... nice focus group.

You both make me laugh. We know the ceiling already: WE DRAW 40,000 regularly when the team is good and the spirit/marketing is in sync. We aren't regressing ... we are growing. The University is stronger than it was 10 years ago; it will be far stronger in 10 years. You can Wes Bialasuknia up ... and get into this century; or we will meet you at the nearest NE Common and discuss the Memorial of Korean War dead with you.

Can I have my last 15 minutes back please? Our attendance is what it is. Our ratings are what they are. Our coverage is what it is. Is any of this changed because of the interest of a group of people at one event? So why are we supposed to care?

 

[bosco]

You think everyone in Michigan watches Michigan football? I don't think so. Same with many other big time schools. Nothing to see here.

If you mean "everyone" literally you are right. However if you are suggesting that the states populations don't support their teams you not even close. Look at most of the Big 10 or SEC teams. Many are in rural areas with small populations and very few eyeballs. Areas much less populated than Hartford and with lower ranked TV Markets. Most pack stadiums twice the size of the Rent. Yes, they have larger student populations. But I can tell you having lived in 3 Big Ten states and 3 SEC States, they aren't all students.

 

[junglehusky]

Can I have my last 15 minutes back please? Our attendance is what it is. Our ratings are what they are. Our coverage is what it is. Is any of this changed because of the interest of a group of people at one event? So why are we supposed to care?

Well, Thomas Friedman wrote a long book about globalization based on a conversation he had with a taxi driver, or something. Drawing sweeping (and usually wrong) conclusions from anecdotes is not a new thing.

 

[BNich]

If you mean "everyone" literally you are right. However if you are suggesting that the states populations don't support their teams you not even close. Look at most of the Big 10 or SEC teams. Many are in rural areas with small populations and very few eyeballs. Areas much less populated than Hartford and with lower ranked TV Markets. Most pack stadiums twice the size of the Rent. Yes, they have larger student populations. But I can tell you having lived in 3 Big Ten states and 3 SEC States, they aren't all students.

You're also talking about many states that are much larger than Connecticut and college football programs that have been around for over 50+ years (just throwing a number out there). These programs have also had many more years of success than Uconn has even had at the D1A level. Alot of these larger states also have other big schools within states lines. Also, think of the many large universities that surround Uconn in surrounding states. Many CT residents probably have graduated from these schools and still cheer for their alma maters. Just my thoughts, but I stand by my original statement.