In-state fan base question & Gopher Road Trip

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I think students who go to UMD, MSUM, SCSU and Bemidji all dislike the U. It is culture at those schools.

I transferred from SCSU and I hated the U before I got in. It's just how it is. We cheered anytime the U lost in anything.

Graduates from these schools graduate and move to a surrounding area and they keep disliking the U. They teach their kids to dislike the school or they steer their kids away from actually liking the school. They don't encourage their kids to be gopher fans. Most of these kids attend some state school and the process continues.

Hockey is the only sport these schools have, so the fans are intense. The rivalries go past hockey. Think of how crazy we would be if we just had football.


Now lets contrast this with UW Madison, they don't actively compete against any of their in state teams in any sport that matters besides Marquette in basketball. People who are apart of the UW system or other schools in Wisconsin actively cheer for the badgers and teach there kids to do the same. The culture is different, Wisconsin is unified for the badgers because it's the only school that matters to them. Minnesotans are more separated because they cheer for other teams.

I'm posting from work so let me know if you need clarification.
 

fraternity2017 said:
I think students who go to UMD, MSUM, SCSU and Bemidji all dislike the U. It is culture at those schools.

I transferred from SCSU and I hated the U before I got in. It's just how it is. We cheered anytime the U lost in anything.

Graduates from these schools graduate and move to a surrounding area and they keep disliking the U. They teach their kids to dislike the school or they steer their kids away from actually liking the school. They don't encourage their kids to be gopher fans. Most of these kids attend some state school and the process continues.

Hockey is the only sport these schools have, so the fans are intense. The rivalries go past hockey. Think of how crazy we would be if we just had football.


Now lets contrast this with UW Madison, they don't actively compete against any of their in state teams in any sport that matters besides Marquette in basketball. People who are apart of the UW system or other schools in Wisconsin actively cheer for the badgers and teach there kids to do the same. The culture is different, Wisconsin is unified for the badgers because it's the only school that matters to them. Minnesotans are more separated because they cheer for other teams.

I'm posting from work so let me know if you need clarification.
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Precisely.

Go Gophers - Minnesota's original football team.
 

fraternity2017 said:
I think students who go to UMD, MSUM, SCSU and Bemidji all dislike the U. It is culture at those schools.

I transferred from SCSU and I hated the U before I got in. It's just how it is. We cheered anytime the U lost in anything.

Graduates from these schools graduate and move to a surrounding area and they keep disliking the U. They teach their kids to dislike the school or they steer their kids away from actually liking the school. They don't encourage their kids to be gopher fans. Most of these kids attend some state school and the process continues.

Hockey is the only sport these schools have, so the fans are intense. The rivalries go past hockey. Think of how crazy we would be if we just had football.


Now lets contrast this with UW Madison, they don't actively compete against any of their in state teams in any sport that matters besides Marquette in basketball. People who are apart of the UW system or other schools in Wisconsin actively cheer for the badgers and teach there kids to do the same. The culture is different, Wisconsin is unified for the badgers because it's the only school that matters to them. Minnesotans are more separated because they cheer for other teams.

I'm posting from work so let me know if you need clarification.
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It's all hockey's fault;)
 

This makes some sense. All those schools mentioned have D-1 hockey programs that compete not only against the Gophers, but at the highest level. So, when I think of a Duluth school like St. Scholastica, a big hockey school but one that never sees themselves as a rival with the U, I'm guessing those students and alum don't "hate the U" in the same way. This would parallel your point about the WI culture where, except for Marquette, there are no real rivalries with Madison.

I do know that the local media does cover the Gophers some (both print and tv). Gopher football at least, and basketball too, are talked about on radio and tv. But, it is this hockey rivalry thing that to a large degree prevents pervasive, contagious Gopher fandom.

Keep winning and this will change. How much? Not sure. But, win with a classy competitor like Jerry and he will eventually win a bunch of hearts. Even his blue-collar, non-mainstream persona should resonate deeply with the MN outer-lands' sense of not being at the center of MN culture, like MSP.

That's why (the reason I started this thread) I think it so important for the U to make sure to include places like Hibbing, Duluth, I-Falls, Grand Rapids on their road trips.
 

WestTexasGopher said:
This makes some sense. All those schools mentioned have D-1 hockey programs that compete not only against the Gophers, but at the highest level. So, when I think of a Duluth school like St. Scholastica, a big hockey school but one that never sees themselves as a rival with the U, I'm guessing those students and alum don't "hate the U" in the same way. This would parallel your point about the WI culture where, except for Marquette, there are no real rivalries with Madison.

I do know that the local media does cover the Gophers some (both print and tv). Gopher football at least, and basketball too, are talked about on radio and tv. But, it is this hockey rivalry thing that to a large degree prevents pervasive, contagious Gopher fandom.

Keep winning and this will change. How much? Not sure. But, win with a classy competitor like Jerry and he will eventually win a bunch of hearts. Even his blue-collar, non-mainstream persona should resonate deeply with the MN outer-lands' sense of not being at the center of MN culture, like MSP.

That's why (the reason I started this thread) I think it so important for the U to make sure to include places like Hibbing, Duluth, I-Falls, Grand Rapids on their road trips.
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Gophers need to do a much better job of marketing to out-state MN. The road trip is nice but it is a one time thing. They need to get the Gopher Face out there on a daily basis. Every bar, convenience store etc...has Vikings posters, schedules and the likes. The Vikes are in your face on a daily basis.

Market the Gophers as the 'Minnesota's Original Football Team'. 'The Real Minnesota Football Team'.

Go Gophers!*
 


WestTexasGopher said:
I'd wondered if it might be some sort of spill-over effect from the UMD-Gopher hockey rivalry. That and it seems there is a lot of pro-WI sentiment in the area, thus perhaps dampening potential for Gopher fandom. Though HS football is not a huge thing, UMD has a decent following. And, as you note, Vikings fans are in high numbers.

But, as the old story goes, two shoe salesmen return from a remote third-world county. The first one reports, "Boss, forget it. Complete lack of market. No one there wears shoes." The second one busts in the office-"Boss, this is great. What a market! No on there wears shoes!" Looks to me like a great market opportunity! And the Range too.
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Pro-Wi? So in other words there are lots of ignorant people in Duluth? Who would be pro-Wi in anything? Seriously? Sad to see that part of the state dumbing down.
 

I wish we had the Wisconsin system for college sports, the flagship being the only D1 program in the state and everyone else D3.
 

station19 said:
Gophers need to do a much better job of marketing to out-state MN. The road trip is nice but it is a one time thing. They need to get the Gopher Face out there on a daily basis. Every bar, convenience store etc...has Vikings posters, schedules and the likes. The Vikes are in your face on a daily basis.

Market the Gophers as the 'Minnesota's Original Football Team'. 'The Real Minnesota Football Team'.

Go Gophers!*
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Agreed. I know many places back at home to get a Vikings schedule. Much tougher to find a Gophers one.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Agreed. I know many places back at home to get a Vikings schedule. Much tougher to find a Gophers one.
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Speaking of back home, did you catch this?
http://www.echopress.com/news/3760737-brandon-evansville-boys-head-state

image_44.jpg
 






But they never play each other and besides Marquette, the other schools are basically at a lower level.
 




fraternity2017 said:
But they never play each other and besides Marquette, the other schools are basically at a lower level.
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dpodoll68 said:
The Badgers played both UW-GB and UW-Milwaukee in 2014.
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Whether they do or not, they are D1, whereas Mn is the only D1 in the state. It is the official team of the state. Start promoting that better.

Same as football. The University of Minnesota is a state institution............the racketeer from New Jersey is not.

Promote the state and the U together.

Gopher Marketing needs to get back to the basics. Put the name out there in front of people every day. Doesn't have to be elaborate, just put the name out there continuously.

Go Minnesota!
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
I wish we had the Wisconsin system for college sports, the flagship being the only D1 program in the state and everyone else D3.
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The WI State University system results in most students from the D3 football programs identifying with UW-Madison and by extension fans of that program. They're all University of Wisconsin at (fill-in-the-blank) and each school feels like a member to that system including and especially Madison. I could be wrong but I don't think the University of MN at Crookston or any other state school in MN feels that same way toward the U. There are certainly fans of the U that come from those schools but I don't think there is a culture like that of the smaller state schools in WI.
 



Right, metro area. And, because a pretty big chunk of that metro area (40,000-ish) is from Superior, WI, just over the bridge, you get the WI influence in Duluth. So, the tv and media will always cover Packer scores/news, usually Brewers stuff, though rarely do you get Badger coverage/news. You do get some UW Superior coverage but that's about it on the college level.
 

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
I could be wrong but I don't think the University of MN at Crookston or any other state school in MN feels that same way toward the U. There are certainly fans of the U that come from those schools but I don't think there is a culture like that of the smaller state schools in WI.
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Crookston and Morris definitely do.
 

I have plenty of friends that went to the smaller schools. Most are huge Gopher fans. Only don't like hockey if their school is a rival
 

It would be interesting to see what the TV and radio ratings are for Gopher sports in Duluth. If Duluth is indeed lacking Gopher fans, then by all means, have Coach Kill visit Duluth.

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk
 

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