Schnauzer
Pretty Sure You are Wrong
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2009
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I brought this up at the start of the season and I will do the same at its conclusion. I have seen a marked improvement in the student section in recent years in terms of size and participation. I was getting worried in the Coach Kill years as the Brewster regime and/or the move to campus actually brought smaller student sections than what we saw in the Metrodome, off campus. I probably paid too close attention to it and was too bothered by it but a vibrant student section is one of the reasons why I enjoy big time college football.
I think the biggest turning point was the 2019 Penn State game, but in general it seems like heading over the bank for Gopher football is very much a cool thing to do among the students now. This is sooooo important because it builds memories and sells future season ticket packages. The overall attendance is sort of luke warm and has fallen off a bit. But the student section has been improving.
Aside from the eye test, just looking at the number of kids in the second deck end zone seats - I am seeing a LOT of evidence in social media. As the first game neared: I saw a lot of tik toks with coeds walking through the "fits" they intended to wear to opening night. Then after a full season of lots of tik toks from students having a good time at tailgates and the games, after Saturday's Axe win my feed was wall to wall student-perspective videos of the great time they had as well as lots more with sentimental themes of "can't believe I just went to my last game as a student, I am going to miss this so much."
Really fun to see. So much of college life is following each other around like sheep and it gets pretty dreary in athletic venues when attending games there falls off the radar of students. I cringe a little bit when the field gets stormed over a win over a team we have beaten 6 times in a row, or over a team as dreadful as Wisconsin was this season. But, I am learning to accept that. Perhaps it becomes "our thing" and kids definitely don't want to miss out on the opportunity, as exhibited by the huge crowd of students sticking it out in a game played in a frozen snow storm.
I think the biggest turning point was the 2019 Penn State game, but in general it seems like heading over the bank for Gopher football is very much a cool thing to do among the students now. This is sooooo important because it builds memories and sells future season ticket packages. The overall attendance is sort of luke warm and has fallen off a bit. But the student section has been improving.
Aside from the eye test, just looking at the number of kids in the second deck end zone seats - I am seeing a LOT of evidence in social media. As the first game neared: I saw a lot of tik toks with coeds walking through the "fits" they intended to wear to opening night. Then after a full season of lots of tik toks from students having a good time at tailgates and the games, after Saturday's Axe win my feed was wall to wall student-perspective videos of the great time they had as well as lots more with sentimental themes of "can't believe I just went to my last game as a student, I am going to miss this so much."
Really fun to see. So much of college life is following each other around like sheep and it gets pretty dreary in athletic venues when attending games there falls off the radar of students. I cringe a little bit when the field gets stormed over a win over a team we have beaten 6 times in a row, or over a team as dreadful as Wisconsin was this season. But, I am learning to accept that. Perhaps it becomes "our thing" and kids definitely don't want to miss out on the opportunity, as exhibited by the huge crowd of students sticking it out in a game played in a frozen snow storm.
