Brian Bennett: If TCF isn't full of Gopher fans vs UW, Minn can't complain about bowl

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highwayman said:
All box, loge, and indoor and outdoor club seats are sold out. Have been since day one. Not reported as season tickets sold.

All parking spaces in the lots around the stadium, including lot 37 are sold out.

It's not the dedicated fan, it's the "fan" who only goes if the team is good and the weather is in the 60's.

We watched hundreds of fan leave the lower bowl and halftime. The dome pussified people for nearly 30 years. It may take 10-15 to bring them back to real life.
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Bingo.

Plus the other football team in town still plays/will be playing in a dome.
 

josh087 said:
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because our team is never in title contention, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we aren't a nationally ranked team, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we can't string together winning seasons, think again.

We don't draw well to our own important home games, and we haven't ever drawn well to a bowl since 1960. Can you blame the bowl committees?
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Wow! Why didn't you post this info. earlier? This changes everything.
 

josh087 said:
On 10/18 2003, a Gopher team with only one loss, ranked inside the top 20 in the country, and a team who still controlled its own destiny in the Big Ten with just a handful of games left in the season, drew (a generous) 30,000 fans for a home game at the climate-controlled Metrodome against Michigan State. This season came after the Gophers had three bowl appearances in the last four years.

For those of you who think we don't draw fans because our team is never in title contention, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we aren't a nationally ranked team, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we can't string together winning seasons, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because of the weather, think again.

Bennett is right on the money. We don't draw well to our own important home games, and we haven't ever drawn well to a bowl since 1960. Can you blame the bowl committees?

Man, this board is delusional sometimes.
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I would look at Northwestern as an example, even being 5-0 and hosting Ohio State, the crowd was a good 35-40% Scarlet & Gray. That is still their only sellout this year and most crowds are under 40k(in a city of 9 million). I'm betting the Minnesota-NU game was 25% Gopher fans too. Northwestern is running on a false reputation because they made the Rose Bowl in '95 and sold a ton of tickets after one magical season. Let's hope this is our magical season with an upset of Becky next Saturday and the trajectory of our program continues to rise. I think Minnesota would be able to do just what NU did the year the went to the Rose Bowl and then live off that for 10-15 years, let's hope that happens! It may take 5-7 years of sustained success.

I went to the Houston last year with my wife and the stadium was about half full. We were on the Tech side (long story). I really wish we would have pulled that game out. The thing that bites you is the airfare that time of year, not the tickets prices. The airlines have us by the 'you know whats' and it's brutal getting anywhere south.
 

josh087 said:
On 10/18 2003, a Gopher team with only one loss, ranked inside the top 20 in the country, and a team who still controlled its own destiny in the Big Ten with just a handful of games left in the season, drew (a generous) 30,000 fans for a home game at the climate-controlled Metrodome against Michigan State. This season came after the Gophers had three bowl appearances in the last four years.

For those of you who think we don't draw fans because our team is never in title contention, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we aren't a nationally ranked team, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we can't string together winning seasons, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because of the weather, think again.

Bennett is right on the money. We don't draw well to our own important home games, and we haven't ever drawn well to a bowl since 1960. Can you blame the bowl committees?

Man, this board is delusional sometimes.
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This sums it up rather well.

Unless the bowl has no choice but to pick Minnesota the odds are the Gophers will be passed over for a team and their fan base that is known to travel well.
 



2nd Degree Gopher said:
Agree that more Minnesota addresses is better, but we all know that a large number of Badger fans who attend Minnesota-Wisconsin games "travel" from places like Lakeville, Woodbury, Eagan, etc.
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Or my house. Ugh. The axe I mae till has that ugly red side facing out and she displays it prominently.
 

josh087 said:
On 10/18 2003, a Gopher team with only one loss, ranked inside the top 20 in the country, and a team who still controlled its own destiny in the Big Ten with just a handful of games left in the season, drew (a generous) 30,000 fans for a home game at the climate-controlled Metrodome against Michigan State. This season came after the Gophers had three bowl appearances in the last four years.

For those of you who think we don't draw fans because our team is never in title contention, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we aren't a nationally ranked team, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we can't string together winning seasons, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because of the weather, think again.

Bennett is right on the money. We don't draw well to our own important home games, and we haven't ever drawn well to a bowl since 1960. Can you blame the bowl committees?

Man, this board is delusional sometimes.
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October 10, 2003 was the Michigan game (sold out Metrodome).

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...ball-10-years-ago-michigan-changed-everything

I think the fan base is in a much different place than it was back then, but that's my opinion. This is from someone who has been to every home game for the last eight years, that has left early for only, I think, three games (Ohio State debacle under the lights with three minutes left, and two non-con games that I brought my young kids too so that I could get them home for nap). I've seen fewer visiting fans this year (even Iowa). I see the majority of students sticking around for the entire game. I see more people wearing gopher gear around town, around campus.

Sure, it's easy to say, "Gopher fans will never change", but I personally don't believe that. I think the culture is changing now - not just with the team, but with the fans and even the media, and I think people will travel.

I think most people are thrilled already with how this year has gone. Wait until next fall - there is going to be a ton of excitement for next year. I think you'll see more season tickets sold next year, more student sales, and more sold-out games.
 

Some perspective from a (slightly) older fan:

MN fans are notorious bandwagon jumpers. I've seen it over and over again during the last 50+ years. A team gets "hot" and starts to generate some buzz, and the fans show up. It's happened for the Twins, the old North Stars, the Kicks (soccer), Gopher Men's and Women's basketball. But, when the team loses a few games and the buzz dies down, the bandwagon jumpers leave for the next "hot' ticket.

The Vikes have generally been the exception. (Although I am very interested to see what happens when people see how much they will have to shell out for the PSL's.)

My point: I'm not sure how large the "core" fan base is for each team in the Twin Cities. Without the draw of Target Field, or a winning team, the Twins core base seems to be in the 20,000 range. For Gopher FB, I would put the hard-core fan base in the 25- to 30,000 range. (add another 5,000 for students). to draw more than 40,000 for a game, the Gophers generally need a lot of "visiting" fans to purchase tickets, or a big walk-up from the curious TC fans.

IF - and that's a big if - the Gophers can string together 2 or 3 seasons where they win 8+ games and go to a respectable bowl game, then maybe we will see more consistent sell-outs at TCF. But, IMHO, those extra tickets will be purchased by bandwagon jumpers - not permanent fans. That's just how I see it.
 

josh087 said:
On 10/18 2003, a Gopher team with only one loss, ranked inside the top 20 in the country, and a team who still controlled its own destiny in the Big Ten with just a handful of games left in the season, drew (a generous) 30,000 fans for a home game at the climate-controlled Metrodome against Michigan State. This season came after the Gophers had three bowl appearances in the last four years.

For those of you who think we don't draw fans because our team is never in title contention, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we aren't a nationally ranked team, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because we can't string together winning seasons, think again.
For those of you who think we don't draw fans because of the weather, think again.

Bennett is right on the money. We don't draw well to our own important home games, and we haven't ever drawn well to a bowl since 1960. Can you blame the bowl committees?

Man, this board is delusional sometimes.
Click to expand...

The pain from the previous week was too much to bear. It was too much to expect 50,000+ to go watch them and cheer again the following week. In fact, some still haven't gotten over it 10 years later! :rolleyes:
 



highwayman said:
The dome pussified people for nearly 30 years. It may take 10-15 to bring them back to real life.
Click to expand...

Disagree. I'd argue more people are going to the games and have season tickets because we play outside. I didn't have season tickets for the last 6 years in the Dome, and purchased them again primarily because I wanted to go to outdoor football games.
 

Omega015 said:
The reason for constant attendance problems is simple. There are more sports options in the Twin Cities than the population can support.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-some-us-cities-may-have-too-many-pro-sports-teams-2013-11
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This with a caveat. If the Gophers have an extended (5+ years) string of excellence, more people will become fans and buy tickets. But we do have too many sports teams... most people don't have the time to follow 6 teams closely. They focus on 2-3.
 

John Galt said:
The pain from the previous week was too much to bear. It was too much to expect 50,000+ to go watch them and cheer again the following week. In fact, some still haven't gotten over it 10 years later! :rolleyes:
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This, seriously, this. The last 35 years the history books are filled with the Gophers losing the Big Game at Home and there are only a handful of exceptions. The state isn't completely full of masochists just yet.

They've made a nice start at turning that around this year with the Nebraska and Penn State victories, but the dismal display against Iowa just isn't far enough in the past. Beat the Badgers and win a Bowl Game and those "feelings" will start to turn around. Sweep all three of them and Season Tickets next year just might trend upwards even with the Huskers and Badger games being played on the road.

But first they need to beat Wisconsin.
 

Omega015 said:
The reason for constant attendance problems is simple. There are more sports options in the Twin Cities than the population can support.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-some-us-cities-may-have-too-many-pro-sports-teams-2013-11
Click to expand...

And that report doesn't factor in a big-time college sports program.

John Galt said:
This with a caveat. If the Gophers have an extended (5+ years) string of excellence, more people will become fans and buy tickets. But we do have too many sports teams... most people don't have the time to follow 6 teams closely. They focus on 2-3.
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And/or the money.

Individuals have disposable income and businesses/corporations have budgets. There is only so much to go around to all the different sports.

Just think of all the suites at TCF, Target Field and the Taj Ma Zigi.----then compare that to the suites at the Metrodome. A whole lot more suites to sell for the same amount of sports.

As a couple of the sports guys were saying the other day--the most popular sports in the TC market
1. Vikings
2. Twins
3. Tie-Gopher FB, Gopher BB, Wolves, Wild.......whichever one is winning.

More choices than butts = bandwagon fans

I was against the NHL and NBA coming back to MN. Apologies to those that are fans.
 



John Galt said:
Disagree. I'd argue more people are going to the games and have season tickets because we play outside. I didn't have season tickets for the last 6 years in the Dome, and purchased them again primarily because I wanted to go to outdoor football games.
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I'd say we have a better quality season ticket holder. Still, you have an abundance of STH that had never seen an outdoor game, or at least for 30 years. A large chunk leave early. A lot of them are older. It's those fans I spoke of. I watched 14 years out, 27 in, and now 5 out. I prefer out as well.
 

Minnesota hasn't been to a decent bowl game in 50+ years. It's chicken an egg. I have tried to go to every bowl game I could. So far it's only been Nashville, Tempe, and Houston for me.

I've also seen Murfreesboro, Los Angeles, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, and Syracuse, along with Iowa City, Evanston, and Champaign.

I can see how people would like something else, and "wait". I don't care where the game is, but I understand the why of people not going.
 

station19 said:
And that report doesn't factor in a big-time college sports program.



And/or the money.

Individuals have disposable income and businesses/corporations have budgets. There is only so much to go around to all the different sports.

Just think of all the suites at TCF, Target Field and the Taj Ma Zigi.----then compare that to the suites at the Metrodome. A whole lot more suites to sell for the same amount of sports.

As a couple of the sports guys were saying the other day--the most popular sports in the TC market
1. Vikings
2. Twins
3. Tie-Gopher FB, Gopher BB, Wolves, Wild.......whichever one is winning.

More choices than butts = bandwagon fans

I was against the NHL and NBA coming back to MN. Apologies to those that are fans.
Click to expand...

I always had the impression that the Wild were putting up pretty solid attendance numbers even in the bad years. I might be wrong.
 

station19 said:
And that report doesn't factor in a big-time college sports program.



And/or the money.

Individuals have disposable income and businesses/corporations have budgets. There is only so much to go around to all the different sports.

Just think of all the suites at TCF, Target Field and the Taj Ma Zigi.----then compare that to the suites at the Metrodome. A whole lot more suites to sell for the same amount of sports.

As a couple of the sports guys were saying the other day--the most popular sports in the TC market
1. Vikings
2. Twins
3. Tie-Gopher FB, Gopher BB, Wolves, Wild.......whichever one is winning.

More choices than butts = bandwagon fans

I was against the NHL and NBA coming back to MN. Apologies to those that are fans.
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sums it up completely.

/thread
 


GopherVotary said:
A lot of those outdoor club seats are empty because nobody bought them.
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Huh...well not according to the Gopher Ticket Office which doesn't have any available for Wisconsin and didn't against NE or IA at game time.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Some perspective from a (slightly) older fan:

My point: I'm not sure how large the "core" fan base is for each team in the Twin Cities. Without the draw of Target Field, or a winning team, the Twins core base seems to be in the 20,000 range. For Gopher FB, I would put the hard-core fan base in the 25- to 30,000 range. (add another 5,000 for students). to draw more than 40,000 for a game, the Gophers generally need a lot of "visiting" fans to purchase tickets, or a big walk-up from the curious TC fans.

IF - and that's a big if - the Gophers can string together 2 or 3 seasons where they win 8+ games and go to a respectable bowl game, then maybe we will see more consistent sell-outs at TCF. But, IMHO, those extra tickets will be purchased by bandwagon jumpers - not permanent fans. That's just how I see it.
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There are NEVER going to be consistent sell-outs at the Gopher's Stadium when fans can watch the games on TV. The only people who want to go to outdoor football games in Minnesota in November are the hardcore fans (25,000 to 30,000). The same would go for the Vikings if they played outdoors. I know more than a few people who describe themselves as avid Gopher fans who haven't been to a game in years and have no plans to attend one. They are perfectly content to sit in their TV rooms at home and cheer for their favorite college football team rather than pay the expense and go through the inconvenience of going to the games and freezing their asses off.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Some perspective from a (slightly) older fan:

My point: I'm not sure how large the "core" fan base is for each team in the Twin Cities. Without the draw of Target Field, or a winning team, the Twins core base seems to be in the 20,000 range. For Gopher FB, I would put the hard-core fan base in the 25- to 30,000 range. (add another 5,000 for students). to draw more than 40,000 for a game, the Gophers generally need a lot of "visiting" fans to purchase tickets, or a big walk-up from the curious TC fans.

IF - and that's a big if - the Gophers can string together 2 or 3 seasons where they win 8+ games and go to a respectable bowl game, then maybe we will see more consistent sell-outs at TCF. But, IMHO, those extra tickets will be purchased by bandwagon jumpers - not permanent fans. That's just how I see it.
Click to expand...

Times have changed. There are NEVER going to be consistent sell-outs at the Gopher's Stadium when fans can watch the games on TV. The only people who want to go to outdoor football games in Minnesota in November are the hardcore fans and students (35,000 to 40,000). The same would go for the Vikings if they played outdoors. I know more than a few people who describe themselves as avid Gopher fans who haven't been to a game in years and have no plans to attend one. They are perfectly content to sit in their TV rooms at home and cheer for their favorite college football team rather than pay the expense and spend the time and inconvenience of going to the games and freezing their asses off. That is the same reason why fewer students are attending the on-campus games than at the Metro Dome. It is the elephant in the room and it is too big to ignore.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Huh...well not according to the Gopher Ticket Office which doesn't have any available for Wisconsin and didn't against NE or IA at game time.
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Uh huh! He's the attendance/season ticket expert. There will be almost no Gopher fans at the game. Thousands of seats available.
 

highwayman said:
Uh huh! He's the attendance/season ticket expert. There will be almost no Gopher fans at the game. Thousands of seats available.
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Please explain why gophersports.com says that suites and club seats are still available this season, when you claim that they've been sold out since day one. Please explain why the U has hired an outside firm to help sell season tickets when the stadium is already sold out, as you've repeatedly claimed. And no, thousands of seats are not available for the Wisconsin game (like there was the week of the PSU game), thanks to Badger fans buying up bloacks of tickets.
 

I see some very valid points being posted here. As a transplant here (100% Gopher fan from WI) I have witnessed Minnesotans do the following:

- Complain that our (MN) fan base doesn't get respect, but make fun of other fan bases for being too obsessed
- Say that we (MN) have a cold weather advantage, but wuss out when it's cold
- Jump on/off the bandwagon for all 4 pro sports teams and the Gophers

This is not meant to make fun of Minnesotans, but over my 8 years of living here I have seen all of this quite often. I think in the case of the Gophers, winning will solve a majority of the problems, but it has to be consistent over a few seasons, not just one good year.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Times have changed. There are NEVER going to be consistent sell-outs at the Gophers Stadium when fans can watch the games on TV. The only people who want to go to outdoor football games in Minnesota in November are the hardcore fans and students (35,000 to 40,000). The same would go for the Vikings if they played outdoors. I know more than a few people who describe themselves as avid Gopher fans who haven't been to a game in years and have no plans to attend one. They are perfectly content to sit in their TV rooms at home and cheer for their favorite college football team rather than pay the expense and go through the inconvenience of going to the games and freezing their asses off. That is the same reason why fewer students are attending the on-campus games than at the Metro Dome. It is the elephant in the room and it is too big to ignore.
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Some thoughts from a Badger fan who lived in the Cities for a few years:

The Gophers have yet to develop a large enough "rabid core" to both sell out TCF and convince Bowl sponsors that they are desirable. I agree with another poster that a Rose Bowl breakout season would help, but you need a fairly large consistent core who travel, no matter what. Example: In my family, the family Christmas celebration has been moved because so many of us go to the Badger bowl game - wherever it is - every year. While some might think that is odd, with half the family going, the Bowl Game itself is a family event. Minnesotans haven't developed that culture.

As many here have noted over the years, Gopher football is not yet an "event" separate from the game. I think you have the ability to change this one more quickly than developing a larger "rabid core," but the Athletic Department must make it fun for the average fan and the corporate types. You need to make getting a Gopher ticket a hard-to -get commodity and making it part of a total Game Day experience should be a priority.

A program to give away unused corporate tickets to Boys & Girls Clubs or local youth sports teams would help put butts in the seats would help with the empty seats. [Not sure why UW doesn't have this issue, but those seats may all be inside.]

Winning will help, winning big will help a lot, but you really want a large contingent that will travel for the event, not the game itself. That is harder to build, but a Rose Bowl or similar game (realistically, what is similar?) would do wonders.
 

1. Google "empty seats at college football" and you'll find many hours worth of reading concerning gameday attendance woes nationwide.

2. Plenty of good seats available for today's game at Camp Randall. See Stubhub and other sellers. Take a close look on tv and see if seats are really full.

3. Seems home attendance is a general headache these days, even for many helmet programs. How to solve Gopher bowl travel is up for debate, but not going on a steady basis can't help. Let's hope we get a chance to see if regularlyplaying in a bowl makes a difference.

4. Let's not get too down on our fans and most importantly, let's stop giving Wisconsin credit for sellouts that don't actually translate to filled seats.
 

TAW said:
Some thoughts from a Badger fan who lived in the Cities for a few years:

The Gophers have yet to develop a large enough "rabid core" to both sell out TCF and convince Bowl sponsors that they are desirable. I agree with another poster that a Rose Bowl breakout season would help, but you need a fairly large consistent core who travel, no matter what. Example: In my family, the family Christmas celebration has been moved because so many of us go to the Badger bowl game - wherever it is - every year. While some might think that is odd, with half the family going, the Bowl Game itself is a family event. Minnesotans haven't developed that culture.

As many here have noted over the years, Gopher football is not yet an "event" separate from the game. I think you have the ability to change this one more quickly than developing a larger "rabid core," but the Athletic Department must make it fun for the average fan and the corporate types. You need to make getting a Gopher ticket a hard-to -get commodity and making it part of a total Game Day experience should be a priority.

A program to give away unused corporate tickets to Boys & Girls Clubs or local youth sports teams would help put butts in the seats would help with the empty seats. [Not sure why UW doesn't have this issue, but those seats may all be inside.]

Winning will help, winning big will help a lot, but you really want a large contingent that will travel for the event, not the game itself. That is harder to build, but a Rose Bowl or similar game (realistically, what is similar?) would do wonders.
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good post taw. i like having your perspective. fans like you make the mn/uw rivalry more fun.
 

We've an unbalanced ethnic group in this State. Too many Scandinavians, and not enough Irish, Polish, Italians, English, Aussies and French. I honestly believe that if we were playing a game at TCF
that would get us the too the BTT Game and there was a mega flea market at the Dome the same day. The flea market would outdraw TCF. Now, don't get me wrong, My mom's side of the family are
Norwegians , and my mom was extremely generous. My dad was Irish and would've given you his last
dime. But many-members on my mom's side were tight with the buck. They wanted "value " for what they spent. Forget the enjoyment part. We shop Flea Markets because we've a Vintage Picks business on EBay. Scandinavians soak up Flea Markets because they can offer .50
cents on a dollar item!! They're are giddy just because they saved .50 cents!
I would love to see the ethnic background of our season ticket holders. Good people?
absolutely. Great core values? Absolutely. Tight with the buck? A given. Now,
is that protocol for all Scandinavians ? No it isn't, but damn there are a lot of them
 

John Galt said:
Disagree. I'd argue more people are going to the games and have season tickets because we play outside. I didn't have season tickets for the last 6 years in the Dome, and purchased them again primarily because I wanted to go to outdoor football games.
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I'm in the same boat. Never considered getting season tickets at the dome but got them for the new stadium and still have them. However, for those who might consider buying tickets to a single game, 30 or 40 degree temps keep most of them away.
 

Ok. Keep your heads in the sand and allow badger fans to lecture us on what is wrong with attendance while chunks of seats sit empty today in camp randall. What are you people, into self torture? It's a college football problem not a minnesota problem. Sheesh! Do the research.
 

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