Alabama punishes students for showing up late/leaving early

[Cayman]

http://espn.go.com/college-football...ma-crimson-tide-punish-students-leaving-early

As a Gopher fan, leaving early during a blowout victory kind of confuses me. "We're winning by too much, this isn't fun anymore, let's leave." The Purdue game last year, Nelson's second start, he threw for nearly 250 yards and three touchdowns and we beat a conference opponent soundly. The entire group of probably ten or more people that I went with left at the end of the third quarter. I was dismayed, but I stayed for the rest of the game by myself because why would I want to leave early during a game like that?

As much as I'd like to see fans stay for the entirety of games, I'm not sure that punishing them for not doing so is really right. I've said it before, but I don't believe that most students love college football and their team as much as people like us do. They go to football games because it's a fun environment and a place to hang out with friends, not because they're diehards who know the names of the entire third string offensive line. Maybe student ticket demand is high enough at a successful program like Alabama that they can afford to purge their stadium of sub-par fans and good ones will take their place, but I would bet most programs couldn't afford to institute a policy like this.

 

[imthewalrus]

http://espn.go.com/college-football...ma-crimson-tide-punish-students-leaving-early

As a Gopher fan, leaving early during a blowout victory kind of confuses me. "We're winning by too much, this isn't fun anymore, let's leave." The Purdue game last year, Nelson's second start, he threw for nearly 250 yards and three touchdowns and we beat a conference opponent soundly. The entire group of probably ten or more people that I went with left at the end of the third quarter. I was dismayed, but I stayed for the rest of the game by myself because why would I want to leave early during a game like that?

As much as I'd like to see fans stay for the entirety of games, I'm not sure that punishing them for not doing so is really right. I've said it before, but I don't believe that most students love college football and their team as much as people like us do. They go to football games because it's a fun environment and a place to hang out with friends, not because they're diehards who know the names of the entire third string offensive line. Maybe student ticket demand is high enough at a successful program like Alabama that they can afford to purge their stadium of sub-par fans and good ones will take their place, but I would bet most programs couldn't afford to institute a policy like this.

When groups such as frats, etc are given special perks such as having their own little "group seating space within the student section" and the team and the coach are going for their third National Championship in succession AND football is ALL THAT on campus, I say "GOOD FOR YOU..." University of Alabama and Coach Nick! IF those fraternities don't value their space and leave early, give it to some organization that will VALUE the space. It would seem to me that the organizations that are given the special seating areas are being told:" love it or lose it..." I'm sure there will be plenty of groups that would LOVE the opportunity those foolish groups just take for granted. It is just fine to let them know that there are EXPECTATIONS for student groups that are granted special rights over just the common, individual student ticket holders. It sounds as though Coach Nick has a LOT of influence on that campus. Power Coaches can dictate pretty much what they want to dictate. THAT is part of the price of having a National Championship Football Program running the University....and IF they want to hang on to Coach Nick in Alabama, they had better honor his every wish and his every command about every aspect concerning the Football Program and the Game Day Saturday Script for home games. Check out the amount of clout that Urban is packing at tOSU. I'm sure it will grow if he is ever able to bring multiple, back to back to back National Championships to them in Columbus.

Take advantage of your status Coach Nick Saban! Give 'em hell IF they don't act the way you want them to act. Those frats and "special groups" probably do need to be "put in their place" in the grand scheme of GAME DAY SATURDAY in the stadium of the reigning NATIONAL CHAMPION football program. Those special groups who act as though they were "born on third base and think they hit a triple..." do need to learn to "toe the line..." They are messing with the wrong National Championship Coach when they try to mess with Coach Nick's stadium behavior standards and the University of Alabama will obviously back Coach Nick up. Those early leaving frats may think GREEKs are special, but in the student section at Alabama, IF you leave early the geek, common, ordinary student section ticket holder who comes EARLY and stays LATE will be HONORED! I think that's a good enough message...

 

[BleedGopher]

"My sense of it is, I always say the fans are a part of the team," Saban said, according to the Anniston Star. "Everybody else should have the same sort of commitment. You don't have to do the work all week, you don't have to practice, you don't have to come in at 7 in the morning and leave at 11 at night, you don't have to do any of that stuff.

"All you have to do is come to the game, drink beer, do whatever you want, party in the parking lot. I've never been at a tailgate in my life. All I'm asking is that you just come and have fun and stay for the whole game."

The university's guidelines for the block seating lists "excessive tardiness or early departure from the stadium" as "unacceptable behavior," according to the Birmingham News.

Go Gophers!!

 

[hungan1]

I am a little off topic here, but if the rumors about Nick Saban moving to Texas after this season are true maybe JC Hassenauer should revisit the prospects of playing for the hometown team.