Who thought it was a good idea?

[uconnell]

I know it happens. Having 10 thousand Michigan fans getting fired up singing along was pretty frigging annoying.

I'm glad all the Michigan fans had fun. Their enjoyment of the festivities is very important.

10,000 fans Really? No more than 6,000 and who cares if they were singing.

 

[SubbaBub]

8k at the absolute max.

 

[whaler11]

If you think there was 6 or 8k Michigan fans at the game it's not even worth discussing. That is so far underestimated it's a joke.

 

[StoweD210]

I don't know about my estimate, but I notice yours keeps getting larger...

If this thread gets to 4 pages, there will be claims of 38k Michigan fans at the game.

 

[LIUCHusky]

If you think there was 6 or 8k Michigan fans at the game it's not even worth discussing. That is so far underestimated it's a joke.[/quote

What the hell are you smoking? Michigan fans bought 5,000 tickets through MI. You said earlier that 13,000 to 14,000 were in attendance. There are approximately 23,000 season ticket holders. That would mean that Michigan fans would have bought 8 to 9 thousand of the remaining 14,000 seats. There is no way that happened. I sit in a chair back section. There weren't 15 Michigan fans in my section nor more than 20 Michigan fans in the section to my left. 8,000 Michigan fans max and that might be pushing it.

 

[whaler11]

My 12-14 might be high but it's closer than 6-8. I walked the entire stadium at halftime - they were everywhere. My section was 60/40 UConn at best.

 

[minidarren]

x

My 12-14 might be high but it's closer than 6-8. I walked the entire stadium at halftime - they were everywhere. My section was 60/40 UConn at best.

You started at 10 thousand, then went to 12 thousand. Now you are at 14 thousand?

 

[whaler11]

x
You started at 10 thousand, then went to 12 thousand. Now you are at 14 thousand?

Working off 42,700: 30 to 33% is between like 12k and 14k. 6k is an absurd number.

 

[Fishy]

I know it happens. Having 10 thousand Michigan fans getting fired up singing along was pretty frigging annoying.

If you say so. Maybe watching 12,000 visiting fans singing their fight song in our building doesn't bother other people. I found it infuriating.

I'm most concerned with the rate that these Michigan fans are reproducing!

By God, Michigan will be the new China if this keeps up.

 

[SubbaBub]

3k traditional visitor section seats + 2k temp visitor seats + the pockets of M fans around the stadium = about 8k

They were almost none near the students and a few dozen in most sections not a few hundred. 50 × 40 avg = 2000.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Michigan had 5,000 seats to distribute and returned something like 100 of them. The entire new bleacher section was Michigan fans, and they had filled up the corner for visitors.

There were a lot Michigan people dispersed around in other sections. Lots of UCONN fans dumped their regular tickets for this game. Everyone is free to do what they want, and if people bought extra tickets, and sold others, that's just good business sense, but anybody that dumped tickets to this game and stayed home? That's just crazy, and I'm glad they missed it, and the people that did that, make me wish we had won even more.

My rough estimate would be about 8,000 Michigan fans in the house - the 5k allotted + another 3k dispersed around the bowl among the other 35,000 UCONN fans.

I'll say this - West Virginia fans were louder and more engaged, in the past, than Michigan fans, in their numbers. I miss playing West Virginia.

 

[John]

Michigan had 5,000 seats to distribute and returned something like 100 of them. The entire new bleacher section was Michigan fans, and they had filled up the corner for visitors.

There were a lot Michigan people dispersed around in other sections. Lots of UCONN fans dumped their regular tickets for this game. Everyone is free to do what they want, and if people bought extra tickets, and sold others, that's just good business sense, but anybody that dumped tickets to this game and stayed home? That's just crazy, and I'm glad they missed it, and the people that did that, make me wish we had won even more.

My rough estimate would be about 8,000 Michigan fans in the house - the 5k allotted + another 3k dispersed around the bowl among the other 35,000 UCONN fans.

I'll say this - West Virginia fans were louder and more engaged, in the past, than Michigan fans, in their numbers. I miss playing West Virginia.

I was going to say the same - for having the numbers in the stands, they were a quiet bunch - definitely not as loud as the smaller WVU contingents that used to show up. I thought the Midshipmen were louder too that day they visited.

 

[ASweet3781]

What an outrage!

 

[Doggie Style]

What an outrage!

Awesome!!!!!!!

 

[Woof 101]

Michigan had 5,000 seats to distribute and returned something like 100 of them. The entire new bleacher section was Michigan fans, and they had filled up the corner for visitors.

There were a lot Michigan people dispersed around in other sections. Lots of UCONN fans dumped their regular tickets for this game. Everyone is free to do what they want, and if people bought extra tickets, and sold others, that's just good business sense, but anybody that dumped tickets to this game and stayed home? That's just crazy, and I'm glad they missed it, and the people that did that, make me wish we had won even more.

My rough estimate would be about 8,000 Michigan fans in the house - the 5k allotted + another 3k dispersed around the bowl among the other 35,000 UCONN fans.

I'll say this - West Virginia fans were louder and more engaged, in the past, than Michigan fans, in their numbers. I miss playing West Virginia.

Have to agree as I miss the hillbillies. I will say for anyone to be pissed about our band playing the oppositions fight song it must be the first time they got to their seat early. It has been the practice and cordial sportsmanship of Dr Mills and the UCMB for quite some time. This at every home game.

Not surprised by the number of M fans but the amount that were in money seats down low on both sides. Our crowd sucks at singing the fight song as a matter of fact when promted even singing along with our national anthem is weak as hell. One can only hope as a fan base we get it sooner rather than later.........

 

[uconnkelly]

I hope that the Temple and UCF bands play our fight song this season-- I'll be at those games, singing it loud and proud.

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

We should be more mad about the fact that they were selling Michigan t-shirts, hats and pennats at the "HUSKYmaina" fan shops inside The Rent. I'm sorry but WTF??!!

 

[J187Money]

Sure fine. It's classy. A lot of people made money selling tickets to Michigan fans. Glad we could accommodate them with a serenade and handing the game over on a silver platter.

Hey Big 10 - we were nice enough to give you the wind in the fourth quarter. Invite us and we can make a rule that we go into the wind for four quarters in all home games.

While you guys are towel snapping after a loss their fans bragging about how they overran the building

Most people here would give up 10 years of TV money to get out of the AAC.

I don't care if we were a top 10 team. The only difference would have been the amount of money people made selling tickets.

 

[uconnell]

Working off 42,700: 30 to 33% is between like 12k and 14k. 6k is an absurd number.

Whaler you are absurd.

 

[Alum86]

No, Whaler is right. Glad I got to my seat at 8 and did not have to hear that sh&t.
I did see the Huskies come out of the tunnel so don't criticize for not being in my seat at 7:00 like old ladies.

And why do we come out first? Why can't we make the visiting team come out first so that they can then hear the crowd as we take the field?
I seem to recall big time programs do it like that.
We do nothing right.

 

[Nostical]

And why do we come out first? Why can't we make the visiting team come out first so that they can then hear the crowd as we take the field?

Well Alum86 I agree it would be preferable for us to come out 2nd so the visiting team can observe and hear the roaring UConn fans as our Huskies take the field. The only problem is that there are normally so few fans in their seats to cheer at that moment it would be an even bigger embarrassment for us to highlight the moment. Getting our fans in early to create the frenzy that is so prevelant at other stadiums is one of the biggest challenges for our program. I sent WM this email some time back and it illustrates the point.

Warde,

I was surprised at the headline the media attached to your recent comments about conference expansion. It appears (not surprisingly) that the writer missed the point. I understand that it’s not easy to control how the media chooses to shape our image, but we fans can have an impact on that image by showing up in large numbers and cheering loudly. Sadly, in recent years, we haven't done so well.

Here's the TV image all the viewers in North Carolina and throughout the ACC saw at kickoff of our home game last season vs NC State.

https://www.dropbox.com/l/1ATJooSLB1xp4UItJ3lqVb

Images like this create negative impressions and make it easier for those who don't favor UConn’s interests to label our football program (fairly or unfairly) as “not ready for prime time” and our fans as indifferent and apathetic. Would the visual image have looked any different if our team had been winning in an exciting fashion? Perhaps. But we can’t wait to test that theory. Despite our rather dismal record the past few years, fan support needs to increase now.

These games are in many ways UConn's version of a job interview. We’re "interviewing" with conference commissioners, TV networks, media pundits and the public. Any decision maker or opinion crafter tuning into the start of our NC State game that afternoon would have concluded that we came to the interview with unpolished shoes and unbuttoned shirts. In short, we haven't been making a very good impression.

Look at these 10-second videos. The first is from the Rent during the aforementioned UConn vs NC State game and the second was taken at NC State when they played Virginia Tech a few weeks’ later. They were both taken at the same time—at the end of pre-game activities and just before kickoff. Keep your eye on the stands and notice the stark difference.

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/987504

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/987488

This is all about demonstrating passion for and interest in a football program. Let's remember that NC State is not Alabama or Michigan--far from it. In fact, they're a lot like us; labeled as a basketball school and hardly world-beaters at winning football games. Yet, somehow, their fans manage to show up in droves and in their seats by kickoff. Rentschler Field needs to be similarly full and rocking at kickoff, especially for spotlight games like Maryland and especially Michigan. But we can’t just wish it so.

There’s no easy fix here, but we need to find ways to get incrementally better at getting our fans in their seats earlier. The challenge is in determining the reasons why they aren’t, and addressing ways to solve the problem squarely and quickly. While we may lack the depth of football culture that permeates the lives of folks in other regions, this should be a correctable situation given the right creative strategy. While a slow economy might affect attendance generally, it still can’t account for fans already on premises and yet still arriving late to their seats. Some possible fixes could be lengthening tailgating hours, loud warning signals, or early seat arrival incentives.

While I'm sure the last thing you need are inmates running the asylum (lol) several fans have actually expressed some surprisingly rational ideas. Here are merely a few examples.

INVENTIVES: All fans that are in their seats 15 minutes prior to kickoff can be entered into a raffle to win one of several prizes. First prize could be something tangible like an "i-Pod" or “Dr. Dre Beats earphones”. Other prizes could be season tickets. I’m sure there are lots of other possibilities

HUSKY FAN CARD: All UConn students, alumni and fans could sign up online to get a Husky Card (which could even be an app in a mobile phone device). Fans would swipe their card before selected purchases allowing them to build up “Husky Points”. Those points would count toward the purchase of Husky merchandise. Accumulated points could become a factor in the student ticket lottery system giving the most deserving and loyal supporters earlier access to tickets. A cardholder’s friends and family could also add value to the card through the website at holidays and birthdays. Since the point value on the cards would essentially be spent on UConn related purchases from approved vendors, the University should reasonably be able to recoup its investment.

One important way in which UConn Football could benefit from the Husky Card is getting people into their seats prior to kickoff. Any fan whose card is scanned at least 15 minutes prior to kickoff would receive a "bonus deposit" on their card to spend on merchandise, food and/or beverages. It may be just enough incentive to get more fans in their seats earlier.

If technical and contractual details can be worked out, it's not a stretch to believe that social media, word of mouth, and UConn’s own promotion department would generate a buzz about this membership incentive. It should at least be explored.

Warde, I really don’t know if these are viable ideas or even creative ones but my experience in business is that whenever you encourage participation of the troops to help solve a sticky problem it gives them some skin in the game, and helps them support whatever path is ultimately chosen. Might you consider and encourage participation by a select group of fans in seeking ways to improve our game-day image and experience? Our athletes deserve it and our University needs it—especially now.

All the best,

 

[pj]

I don't know about my estimate, but I notice yours keeps getting larger...

There were 76,000 Michigan fans and that's my final estimate!