Some folks just don't get it.

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GopherRock

GopherRock

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Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We were watching the miserable Lions game when someone brought up the fact that the game was being played inside, and that the Gophers are going to be sorry for wanting to get out of the "nice warm Metrodome." I tried to explain that the times where we wanted to be outsie vastly outnumber the times where we wanted to be inside, or that the atmosphere at Camp Randall during the second half of the Axe game was electric despite everyone being frozen six different ways from Sunday, or that the Gophers get virtually no money out of the Dump, to no avail. Instead, the discussion was focused on how the Gophers folded in the stretch, Iowa 55 Gophers 0, and how they don't deserve a new stadium. Sigh.

Keep in mind that my brother (the prime instigator) has been to one Gopher football game and sat in the press box for it.

Anyone else have this problem?
 

GopherRock said:
Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We were watching the miserable Lions game when someone brought up the fact that the game was being played inside, and that the Gophers are going to be sorry for wanting to get out of the "nice warm Metrodome." I tried to explain that the times where we wanted to be outsie vastly outnumber the times where we wanted to be inside, or that the atmosphere at Camp Randall during the second half of the Axe game was electric despite everyone being frozen six different ways from Sunday, or that the Gophers get virtually no money out of the Dump, to no avail. Instead, the discussion was focused on how the Gophers folded in the stretch, Iowa 55 Gophers 0, and how they don't deserve a new stadium. Sigh.

Keep in mind that my brother (the prime instigator) has been to one Gopher football game and sat in the press box for it.

Anyone else have this problem?
Click to expand...

This problem will be easily fixed when you do not allow him to go to a game next year and it turns out to be the most impossible Minnesota ticket to get.

7 games a year... that is it. It will be the only outdoor football for years in this state.

I'll take it your brother has not been to an outdoor football game period.
 

There are a lot of people that don't care about gopher football except when they suck. It's symptomatic of the negative media, or maybe it's the other way around.
 

Playing off campus in a warehouse was a bad idea from the get go. Another storied program did not see the problem, and abandon there stadium and moved to The Carrier Dome. Viola, they suck. Now, we have Miami, perenial powerhouse moving to Dolphins Stadium. They will rue the day. Bad karma, curse, bad mojo, funk, you name it. There is a law of nature, Football is played outdoors on campus. If you mess with the law, it messes with you.

The on campus stadium, is just part of the solution. The other is the support and vision of President Bruinix. He is the first president in over 40 years that realized the The Law of College Football, is very competitive, and loves to win.
 

Has a similar conversation with my mother yesterday. She's about 65 and said that she was going to miss the warmth and comfort of the dome. I reminded her:
1) Every game except Iowa was played outside in nice conditions.
2) She's lived in MN her entire life so I'm confident she can find an extra couple of layers to wear.

Doesn't matter. It's amazing how quickly people turn soft with modern "comforts".
 


If people think that Minnnesota weather in November is any different than the rest of the Big Ten schools they just don't pay attention. The Iowa game had a 35 degree temperature outside for a night game while Penn State was 32 degrees with snow on the field for a day game. From my memory the cold spell that we had in November this years was much colder than it has been in the past few years but I still haven't had to break out the outershell of my winter coat--although tailgating and going to a game for 3 hours probably would have made me do that.

I think most people just think of how cold it can get in January and what it looks like at Lambeau field in the playoffs and think an outdoor stadium can't work in the Minnesota. But the college season doesn't go as long as the NFL and there is a reason the Big Ten season ends 1-2 weeks before the rest of the conferences.
 

Yeah, we really have the perfect football climate for the college season. Not so much for the pro season.
 

grunkiejr said:
I think most people just think of how cold it can get in January and what it looks like at Lambeau field in the playoffs and think an outdoor stadium can't work in the Minnesota. But the college season doesn't go as long as the NFL and there is a reason the Big Ten season ends 1-2 weeks before the rest of the conferences.
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Exactly. This pro-centric town always thinks about how late the NFL season goes. The two things I always tell people that seem to hit home are:

1) The gophers regular season ends BEFORE Thanksgiving
2) Average game time temp for the past twenty years > 60 degrees
 

Being old enough to having attended games at Memorial Stadium, I agree wholeheartedly that the move to the Dome (thanks a lot Sid!) was a pox on the program. If anything, they should have moved to the Dome for a year in the early 1980s and up-dated Memorial Stadium. Tearing down Memorial Stadium was a total travesty (and to have it replaced by just about the most butt-ugly example of cock-eyed architecture only adds insult to injury).

There are going to be games when it's cold and/or wet, but that's part of the atmosphere of college football. There are plenty of golden-agers at Augsburg, St. John's, and Concordia games and they don't seem to mind when the temperature dips. As for younger fans, a pre-game at Stub and Herb's and a half-time sprint over there will keep them all nice and toasty.

I may not be able to score a ticket, but I will certainly welcome a return to outdoor football for the Gophers. It is long past overdue.
 



I live this too

I have handed out many tickets over the years to guys like your brother. Now that my kids are back from college, they will be using the tickets, they have been going to games since toddler years and are rabid Gopher fans. My pals who have had the benefit of my free tickets in the dump are realizing those days are over. Still, they didn't buy season tickets for TCF because they figure there will be free ones again. As I explained to them, I am doing the priority seating and I will never ever give another ticket away again and I don't sell to scalpers. I will eat the cost before giving tickets to my friends who "figure there will be free ones again". My parents who are in their seventies, already are assembling their cold weather gear and looking into some cool looking shades.
A solution to the brothers and friends filled with apathy is to give your ticket to a young kid who you can teach the excitement of outdoor football all at TCF.
 

Most I have spoken to are pretty excited about the Gophers getting back to campus and being outdoors. The Vikings and Gophers have lost identity moving to a bland McStadium. Unfortunately they have that same old Gophers after we lost the last 4 games. Man, a bowl win would help.
 

gopherjay said:
As I explained to them, I am doing the priority seating and I will never ever give another ticket away again and I don't sell to scalpers. I will eat the cost before giving tickets to my friends who "figure there will be free ones again". A solution to the brothers and friends filled with apathy is to give your ticket to a young kid who you can teach the excitement of outdoor football all at TCF.
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AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!

I know several people who won't attend a sporting event unless they get free tickets and even then sometimes they, "have to think about it." THESE ARE NOT THE PEOPLE WE WANT GOING TO GOPHER GAMES!!

I too will vow to give my tickets away to a rabid fan or kid before I give any seats to these bozos.
 

gopherjay said:
I have handed out many tickets over the years to guys like your brother. Now that my kids are back from college, they will be using the tickets, they have been going to games since toddler years and are rabid Gopher fans. My pals who have had the benefit of my free tickets in the dump are realizing those days are over. Still, they didn't buy season tickets for TCF because they figure there will be free ones again. As I explained to them, I am doing the priority seating and I will never ever give another ticket away again and I don't sell to scalpers. I will eat the cost before giving tickets to my friends who "figure there will be free ones again". My parents who are in their seventies, already are assembling their cold weather gear and looking into some cool looking shades.
A solution to the brothers and friends filled with apathy is to give your ticket to a young kid who you can teach the excitement of outdoor football all at TCF.
Click to expand...

Right on!!!! When I went to Europe for Oktoberfest I gave me ticket to a friend I graduated college with. It didn't seem right giving it to a non-Gopher.

And I can't wait for the first rivalry game that is unusually cold for November, or even better, the rare occassion that we get a legitimate snow fall in November (like the Halloween blizzard). The fact that people know what I mean when I say Halloween blizzard tells you how rare it is to get snow that sticks on the ground before Thanksgiving.
 



stevedave23 said:
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!

I know several people who won't attend a sporting event unless they get free tickets and even then sometimes they, "have to think about it." THESE ARE NOT THE PEOPLE WE WANT GOING TO GOPHER GAMES!!

I too will vow to give my tickets away to a rabid fan or kid before I give any seats to these bozos.
Click to expand...

Not sure if the U is still doing this, but I'm pretty sure that you can give your seats back to the U for a single game and then they'll give them to the United Way or some other group so that youth can go to a game. For those who are unable to find "worthy" recipients of their tickets this is an option worth looking into. Make a kids day by giving him/her a chance to see a game in brand new TCF (forget if they become a fan...just doing something good for a kid is enough) sounds a lot better than getting them into the hands of a quasi-fan.
 

I grew up in Houston watching Astros, Oilers and Cougars in a dome. I will miss my climate controlled experience.
 

A solution to the brothers and friends filled with apathy is to give your ticket to a young kid who you can teach the excitement of outdoor football all at TCF.
Click to expand...

I too will vow to give my tickets away to a rabid fan or kid before I give any seats to these bozos.
Click to expand...



If you ever have any tickets to give away, let me know! I'm a 19 year old college student at MSU who doesn't have a lot of money but make it to a few gopher events every year whether it's basketball or football. I always do my best to rep the gophers here, but usually just end up getting made fun of (especially after that 55-0 drubbing by iowa which i decided to watch instead of going to a party). Things will change in the next couple years and i'll be the one who's laughing then.
 

monk......

...do you REALLY miss watching UH in the Dome?

Granted, the Astrodome is a grand old lady that I pass every day
on my way to the office, but really?

The last game I went to at the Astrodome for the Coogs was a
few years back. UH ran the run-and-shoot, and they were playing
unbeaten and ranked Wyoming (might have been coached by Tiller).
Two ranked teams. And I believe that was homecoming! The after
party was the one thing about the game I DO remember, and what does
THAT say on many fronts? LOL

There was MAYBE 10,000 people in that Dome. It was like a 2nd-tier
HS game, only without the atmosphere. A good HS game can create
atmosphere almost anywhere.

The happiest day for almost any UH alum was the move back to
Robertson. My brothers went there and love going to games now.
Back on campus, hot or cool, dry or wet, its college football the
way it should be.

Those of us who remember really do know better. You might miss
the climate controlled atmosphere right now, but just give outdoors
football a try.

Once you've stuck it out in bad weather, sharing the elements and
the fun with thousands of others as well as the players and coaches,
once you watched a squall line rumble in from the west or north, wondering
how that will affect the game or any coaching decisions, and once you've
been able to sit in your seat and capture the sights and sounds of the
campus, with the MPLS skyline in the background, I really think you'll
come around. I have faith in you!

Granted, Houston can be oppressive for baseball. I was once informed that
in 1962, when the Cubs came to Houston to play at Colts Park in June,
Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, the one who coined the phrase "Let's play two today",
ventured to the dugout, was crushed by the heat and humidity, and
blithely said, "Let's just play one today".
 

The only thing a little cold weather will do is force the fans to get into the game even more. The more you're cheering, the warmer you are. The weather will also weed out some of the average fans that like to sit on their hands all game long.

I lived out east for 5 years and attended many ACC games at places like Maryland, Wake Forest, and North Carolina. Outside is so much fun. The Maryland game was pretty cold (mid 30's I beleive) and that didn't matter. It was a night game and everyone was tailgating by noon.
 

husker70 said:
Playing off campus in a warehouse was a bad idea from the get go. Another storied program did not see the problem, and abandon there stadium and moved to The Carrier Dome. Viola, they suck.
Click to expand...

At least the Carrier Dome is on campus and it replaced an out of date, horrible outdoor stadium. And while Syracuse sucks now, they had a nice run while playing in the Carrier Dome. They were a national title contender a couple of times with Don McPherson and Donovan McNabb at QB. They were unbeaten in 1987.

That situation is different from the Gophers in that the Metrodome is someone else's building and off campus. The Carrier Dome is on campus, owned, operated, and controlled by Syracuse University, for the sole purpose of benefitting Syracuse University.
 

I played WR in high school during the era of A. Ware and D. Klinger. The air raid was going off non-stop. I loved it. However, I was an NFL fan first, so I always made time to watch NFL over college.

I'm with Cupito. Who wouldn't want to play in an offense when you know you will be throwing/catching the ball in a consistent condition?
 

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