Gopher Things to Ponder

[Iceland12]

- Is there really no music or PA sound in the Upper Deck student Section? How can that happen at least during days games?
- KFAN is the only sports station in the Metro, but if their audience is what, 70-80,000 why get upset that some of their hosts are Anti-Gopher trolls? Turn it off after the Power Trip and you'll feel better about life.
- Is rushing to judgment perfectly exceptable? I mean some Gopher players have even admitted and been punished for their misdeeds haven't they? If the player is a Tow-Arnett though, we can't be so hasty? Shouldn't that work for everybody or at least players without any history of trouble?
- North Dakota State was a better team then Minnesota, at least the last time they met. Many of us said so before the game. Forget about Divisions, back then the better team won. South Dakota State isn't a better team. That will be apparent on Saturday.
- Why did they pass on second and one?
- How can they consistently take the ball so far away from the line of scrimmage on short yardage downs?
- How can an Offense just disappear for two quarters nearly every game?
- How can Weber in his third year, look so lost for much of a game and then become the "old" Weber in the Third or Fourth Quarter?
- Shouldn't Iowa fans be happier about this season even if it doesn't end well for them?..and honestly don't we all want it end very badly for them next week?
- Why can't a QB take-off and run if no one is open?
- The Administration has offered-up 10,000 Student Tickets to reward the students for helping to fund the stadium. That number apparently was to large. Why can't it be lowered for next year?
- After 40 years of futility broken-up by three or four good years did anybody honestly expect that to be turned around with two full recruiting classes.
- Will people now at least forgive Mason for saying in 2006 that he was looking at " another rebuilding job" with the Gophers?
- Sadness and anger at the Gopher's off-field problems are to be expected, but the out-right glee is rather hard to understand?
- With the amount of fraud in the mortgage and housing industries, in Denny Hecker's empire, in Petters financial dealings, crime problems Downtown,a looming massive state deficit and all going on while both newspapers and all four local TV stations have been spending inordinate amounts of time trying to find another "Gangelhof" story at the U. Well, they have stumbled onto a few misdemeanors and some bad behavior but could they have stopped some felonies and saved people thousands of dollars by using a big chunk of those resources elsewhere? Just asking.
- Iowa fans complain that the Des Moines papers are always "out to get the Hawkeyes" so we're not the only Big Ten school being shadowed and the Gophers HAVE been bad guys more then once. It would be nice though, to only have to worry about The Capitol Times .
- It would also be nice to see Brewster, Lee, Cosgrove or Fisch come out of the bunker once and awhile and answer some questions. Even if the questions are coming from some weasels.
- It won't help breakfast but a BIG MARGIN victory Saturday will help lunch and dinner go down a lot better won't it?
- If they hammer the Jackrabbits and beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa, will you be happy with the season or still fuming over lousy Halfs versus Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State?

 

[PlayHosea]

To your last point: I'll take a 7-5 record with a win over Iowa over a 7-5 record without that win anyday, but I'm still going to be disppointed in the season no matter what happens. To elevate this program, Brewster needs to figure out how to consistently beat teams he should beat (Illinois) and occasionly beat teams they shouldn't (OSU, PSU). Until that happens, the squad's going to wallow in mediocrity.

 

[awag777]

-The Administration has offered-up 10,000 Student Tickets to reward the students for helping to fund the stadium. That number apparently was to large. Why can't it be lowered for next year?

Absolutely not. I know many are angered by the students' attendance, or lack thereof--MYSELF BEING ONE OF THEM, but the answer is not taking tickets away from students. Oversell the student section maybe, create a ticket exchange program perhaps, but absolutely do not punish them for not coming out in droves. Give it a few years for it to become a campus custom to "roll out of bed really early" and camp in line for spots. Right now it's still taking some getting used to. Students attendance was shoddy at best in the Dome as well, but I don't recall any cries for a reduction in student ticket sales.

 

[ButchNashGuy]

Absolutely not. I know many are angered by the students' attendance, or lack thereof--MYSELF BEING ONE OF THEM, but the answer is not taking tickets away from students. Oversell the student section maybe, create a ticket exchange program perhaps, but absolutely do not punish them for not coming out in droves. Give it a few years for it to become a campus custom to "roll out of bed really early" and camp in line for spots. Right now it's still taking some getting used to. Students attendance was shoddy at best in the Dome as well, but I don't recall any cries for a reduction in student ticket sales.

Agreed. Keep it with the students. Find a solution (winning is obvious) but that is not going to get solved before next season.

 

[Chadypu]

creating an official online ticket exchange without service charges (Penn states has service charges AFAIK) would really help student attendance.

 

[Iceland12]

Absolutely not. I know many are angered by the students' attendance, or lack thereof--MYSELF BEING ONE OF THEM, but the answer is not taking tickets away from students. Oversell the student section maybe, create a ticket exchange program perhaps, but absolutely do not punish them for not coming out in droves. Give it a few years for it to become a campus custom to "roll out of bed really early" and camp in line for spots. Right now it's still taking some getting used to. Students attendance was shoddy at best in the Dome as well, but I don't recall any cries for a reduction in student ticket sales.

It's not a punishment of students and I'm NOT angry about it. I just don't like things going to waste if there are really buyers out there.

It would be an acknowledgement that 10,000 was to many. 10,000 out of 64,000 at the Dome would have been 15.6%. With crowds over 54,000 being very rare at the Dome there shouldn't have been any outcry. 10,000 seats out of 50,800 is 19.6% That would have been 12,500 seats at the Dome, 3,500 better then the best year.

There are all kinds of reasons that have been beaten to death around here on the "whys". It could be as simple as many students thinking they could sell their tickets at a big profit to the public. "Public" might even be read as "Badger fans".

I think it was either an award or using roughly 20% of enrollment numbers. Either way, visual evidence looks like the number was a mistake. What's wrong with admitting that it was a mistake? Lord knows this board was FULL of posts from people talking about mistakes made at TCF a few months ago. Taking it down to 7,500 to 8,000 would be around 15%. If the extra 1,500 or 2,000 couldn't be sold to the General Public as Season Tickets next year then they should be offered as Student Season tickets before they are sold on a single game basis. It's just a thought.

Setting aside 15% of the tickets for students doesn't seem like a much of a punishment or even a minor flogging to me awag, but like everything surrounding this issue it's really just a guess.

 

[Winnipegopher]

Seems to me they could go down to 7000 student season tickets and then sell the rest as single game student tickets or rush seating the day of game (or day before game).

 

[dwminn]

Let me start by saying I have no idea if this is correct or not, but it seems reasonable to me that many (some) students purchased tickets expecting that there would be a big demand and they might be able to sell them for a tidy profit. As it turned out rules requiring a ID probably limited this practice. If this is so, then it could be possible that "the scalpers" won't buy tickets next year because they can't make any money, and that 10,000 real student fans might buy the tickets and use them.

 

[Gopher Bandanna Guy]

- Will people now at least forgive Mason for saying in 2006 that he was looking at " another rebuilding job" with the Gophers?

No. Because he's the reason that even happened.

 

[50PoundHead]

No. Because he's the reason that even happened.

I don't want to pile on Mason because he's gone and he did some good things while he was here, but I really agree with Bandana Guy on his point. It was aggravating watching Mason's teams the last two three-year cycles, because he just seemed to build for "one big season" when the core players were seniors and then go back to square one the next year.

 

[tato2001]

I'll pile on Mason.

Here's the question I'd like to ask him:

You got Maroney and Barber, possibly the two best athletes in Big Ten football at the time, and they're NEVER ON THE FIELD AT THE SAME TIME? WHY?

 

[tato2001]

^same question for Childress pre-Favre with Taylor and Peterson. Huh? There's gotta be at least a couple plays where that would be good.

 

[Gophers4Life]

- Is there really no music or PA sound in the Upper Deck student Section? How can that happen at least during days games?

I decided to take a walk up there during the band's pregame show before the last game and couldn't hear much of anything. This is something that definitely needs to be improved for next year.

 

[Gopher Bandanna Guy]

I don't want to pile on Mason because he's gone and he did some good things while he was here, but I really agree with Bandana Guy on his point. It was aggravating watching Mason's teams the last two three-year cycles, because he just seemed to build for "one big season" when the core players were seniors and then go back to square one the next year.

Yes, it did seem like everything was built up for one decent season on about a 3-4 year cycle (1999 are 2003 are the seasons that come to mind). I understand there will be ebbs and flows in recruiting, but come on. And part of the problem had to be related to the fact that Mason couldn't recruit MN worth a damn. Wisconsin and Iowa were pilfering players from us left and right. Getting more of those players not only would have helped the Gophs, but forced Ferentz and Alvarez/Bielema to look elsewhere to unload that scholarship.

 

[StPaulHawkeye]

Shouldn't Iowa fans be happier about this season even if it doesn't end well for them?..and honestly don't we all want it end very badly for them next week?

Once the regular season is over, I think Hawkeye fans will be happy with the season, whether Iowa finishes 11-1, 10-2, or 9-3. A loss to the Gophers at home would sting, as you well know, but I think most Hawkeye fans will look back and say, "In September, if you would have told me that Iowa would finish with 1 or 2 or 3 losses, I would be extremely pleased."
The problem is, at least for me going into the biggest game of the season, it feels like it's the first game of the season. I have no idea what to expect. RS FR QB making first start of career, true FR 3rd string running back, etc. I can't predict the MN/IA game yet because my Hawkeyes are really an unknown quantity. We'll learn and know more after Saturday's game.

- Iowa fans complain that the Des Moines papers are always "out to get the Hawkeyes" so we're not the only Big Ten school being shadowed and the Gophers HAVE been bad guys more then once. It would be nice though, to only have to worry about The Capitol Times .

When bad things happen to a player or a team, it's easy to be angry at the messenger. I don't like reading about the citations/arrests of players on the Hawkeye BB or FB team, but it is news and people want to know. I think the outcry would be worse if the papers swept them under the rug and didn't cover them.
The DM Register or CR Gazette or any other paper in Iowa (outside of Ames maybe ) is not "out to get the Hawkeyes"; they are the biggest gushers when things are going well for Iowa.
As an outsider who reads both the ST and the PP, I don't think that either paper is "out to get the Gophers." They are just reporting the news as they should.
Certain columnists or sports-talk radio DJs? Well, that's a different story and those people have been discussed at length in other posts on this site. Anyway, just my humble opinion. Good luck on Saturday...

 

[Iceland12]

"When bad things happen to a player or a team, it's easy to be angry at the messenger. I don't like reading about the citations/arrests of players on the Hawkeye BB or FB team, but it is news and people want to know. I think the outcry would be worse if the papers swept them under the rug and didn't cover them.
The DM Register or CR Gazette or any other paper in Iowa (outside of Ames maybe ) is not "out to get the Hawkeyes"; they are the biggest gushers when things are going well for Iowa.
As an outsider who reads both the ST and the PP, I don't think that either paper is "out to get the Gophers." They are just reporting the news as they should.
Certain columnists or sports-talk radio DJs? Well, that's a different story and those people have been discussed at length in other posts on this site. Anyway, just my humble opinion. Good luck on Saturday.."

Agreed, however the Iowa Rivals board constantly complains about the Register which in light of the Gopher fans complaints and Madison's newspaper's constant "WHAT happened!" I just found it all amusing.

 

[Southpaw]

Seems to me they could go down to 7000 student season tickets and then sell the rest as single game student tickets or rush seating the day of game (or day before game).

They should still sell 10,000 student tickets but eliminate the end sections in both the lower (Sec 119 and 131) and upper decks (Sec 220 and 230) from student seating; seats in those sections should be made available to the public. Because the students tend to cram together much tighter than the regular public, 10,000 students could easily be accommodated in the reduced size student section.

 

[RedPoo]

They should still sell 10,000 student tickets but eliminate the end sections in both the lower (Sec 119 and 131) and upper decks (Sec 220 and 230) from student seating; seats in those sections should be made available to the public. Because the students tend to cram together much tighter than the regular public, 10,000 students could easily be accommodated in the reduced size student section.

Can't say for sure, but I'd guess that's against the law...fire codes and whatnot.