Opener on Fox

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Good exposure, should be one of the 1-2 top games on opening night. Given the opponent and pent up demand I'm expecting a sellout and wild atmosphere at TCF if the authorities allow it.

edit: it will be the top game that night, unless you feel the gravitas of South Florida and NC State.
 
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BigGopher69 said:
will gus johnson call the game? love that guy great announcer
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One of the best! Hopefully he'll be considered.

Johnson was one of the top announcers in sports previously. He often uses signature phrases like "Hurt My Feelings!", "Oh my goodness!", "Rise and fire... Count it!", "Here comes the pain!", "He's got 'get away from the cops' speed!", "From the parking lot!", "And the runner... bang!", "Pure!", "BAM!", "Hot Sauce!", "Cold-Blooded!", "What a game!", "Down the Sideline!" and "HA-HAAA". Despite being known for his catchphrases, Johnson also utilizes silence at opportune times to let television viewers absorb the moment, such as d…
 

There's no doubt all the reasons are present for this game to match the excitement of 2019 PSU...from very different directions of course but nonetheless.

Fact is at the same time those attending will have to be motivated to go...it being a Thursday night, The Fair, Minneapolis typically unaccommodating for tailgating, Labor Day weekend...and so on.

President Gabel and AD Coyle could help by shutting the U itself down at noon...and opening all the University's typically non-designated employee lots to one-time game event parking on a first come, first served basis; choose a reasonable flat rate and just take the extra $$$.

To at least improve the atmosphere...establish a one-time opportunity for food trucks to set up in these same lots...not quite tailgating but getting close.

Still run the shuttles between The Bank and the Fairgrounds for those that double-dip their enjoyment for the day.

Metro Transit might figure out how to have a couple of more choo-choos working too.

Coming out of the panpacolypse, these are some things that can compensate for some of the special circumstances that always accompany these Thursday night openers.
 
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Boomtime said:
If you gotta play tOSU, opening game seems to be the best arrangement.
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Absolutely. All those guys OSU had drafted last week will be replaced by 4 and 5 stars, but game 1 at home is the best setup possible. For OSU it's new QB, several new guys on the OL, new guys in the secondary. The Gophers have a large amount of returning offensive talent and could be in better sync early.

Later in the season as injuries mount, the depth advantage of OSU starts to put them further ahead of the rest of the conference.
 



BilldGopher said:
There's no doubt all the reasons are present for this game to match the excitement of 2019 PSU...from very different directions of course but nonetheless.

Fact is at the same time those attending will have to be motivated to go...it being a Thursday night, The Fair, Minneapolis typically unaccommodating for tailgating, Labor Day weekend...and so on.

President Gabel and AD Coyle could help by shutting the U itself down at noon...and opening all the University's typically non-designated employee lots to one-time game event parking on a first come, first served basis; choose a reasonable flat rate and just take the extra $$$.

To at least improve the atmosphere...establish a one-time opportunity for food trucks to set up in these same lots...not quite tailgating but getting close.

Still run the shuttles between The Bank and the Fairgrounds for those that double-dip their enjoyment for the day.

Metro Transit might figure out how to have a couple of more choo-choos working too.

Coming out of the panpacolypse, these are some things that can compensate for some of the special circumstances that always accompany these Thursday night openers.
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Again, there is not an issue with gameday environment. Plenty of close tailgating (I go to a couple every game in the shadow of TCF). There already are food trucks at the games. Metro transit does add trains for game days, and added even more for the PSU game. More fans just have to go early and stay after to partake. I go 1-1 1/2 hours early and stay at least an hour after. I've never had a problem either driving and parking or riding the train to the games.

I find interesting (not aimed at you) those who want a full TCF, but also want to come a half-hour before kickoff expecting to zip in and park close, then expect to be able to zip out quickly right after.
 

Agree
PMWinSTP said:
Again, there is not an issue with gameday environment. Plenty of close tailgating (I go to a couple every game in the shadow of TCF). There already are food trucks at the games. Metro transit does add trains for game days, and added even more for the PSU game. More fans just have to go early and stay after to partake. I go 1-1 1/2 hours early and stay at least an hour after. I've never had a problem either driving and parking or riding the train to the games.

I find interesting (not aimed at you) those who want a full TCF, but also want to come a half-hour before kickoff expecting to zip in and park close, then expect to be able to zip out quickly right after.
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Agree with all you offer. Just believe these Thursdays before Labor Day starts presents some different issues. Good take.
 

BilldGopher said:
Fact is at the same time those attending will have to be motivated to go...it being a Thursday night, The Fair, Minneapolis typically unaccommodating for tailgating, Labor Day weekend...and so on.
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Don’t forget deer hunting!
 

I really don't like Thursday starts...

Traffic is horrible, not tailgating... just not the same as much fun.

But with the fair and other things ... I get it and there maybe isn't a great answer with what to do.

I just wish that the Thursday night game would also opt us out of the silly Friday home games and so on.... we did our bit for stupid start times and 'exposure'. Let the other teams take the others.
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I really don't like Thursday starts...

Traffic is horrible, not tailgating... just not the same as much fun.

But with the fair and other things ... I get it and there maybe isn't a great answer with what to do.

I just wish that the Thursday night game would also opt us out of the silly Friday home games and so on.... we did our bit for stupid start times and 'exposure'. Let the other teams take the others.
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Traffic is not horrible if you plan ahead and don't show up 30 minutes beforehand. I look at it as a perfect opportunity to take a half day off Thursday and all day Friday. Love the Thursday night opener, love it.
 

Prez Gabel said she'd take the idea of the U shutting down early that day to the planning committee.

All I can ask...plus responded within 30 minutes...nice.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Traffic is not horrible if you plan ahead and don't show up 30 minutes beforehand. I look at it as a perfect opportunity to take a half day off Thursday and all day Friday. Love the Thursday night opener, love it.
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We live in a society where everyone wants everything to be 100% convenient. Sometimes we just have to deal with little things to make it happen.
 

I'd like to see them try to make it into an all day event. Make a special ticket package that gives you parking, access to the state fair during the day, a voucher for an official tailgate or food trucks they bring in, a pregame event with the band and spirit squad, and the game. The U should go out of their way to encourage fans to get there and get in the spirit early and not just show up after work.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I'd like to see them try to make it into an all day event. Make a special ticket package that gives you parking, access to the state fair during the day, a voucher for an official tailgate or food trucks they bring in, a pregame event with the band and spirit squad, and the game. The U should go out of their way to encourage fans to get there and get in the spirit early and not just show up after work.
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All that already exists. Just plan to show up early to enjoy.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I'd like to see them try to make it into an all day event. Make a special ticket package that gives you parking, access to the state fair during the day, a voucher for an official tailgate or food trucks they bring in, a pregame event with the band and spirit squad, and the game. The U should go out of their way to encourage fans to get there and get in the spirit early and not just show up after work.
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I think the last marquee Thursday night game was when TCU came to town. I got to campus early and had plenty of fun. Leaving was a bit of a disaster but it was pretty late. Midnight or later. Granted I was trying to find an Uber. Anyway--I like Thursday night games. I've been to multiple. Syracuse was a Thursday night, right?

I don't like tOSU.
 

PMWinSTP said:
All that already exists. Just plan to show up early to enjoy.
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Not that they're hard to get on their own but I've never seen state fair tickets bundled with Gopher tickets. The closest thing to an official tailgate is the thing a McNamara and "tailgate" is a big stretch. There are sometimes a couple food trucks on Oak St but it's usually underwhelming. The band and spirit squad perform but the view isn't great if you're not in the first couple rows or tall, there are no tickets and people can push in front of you so it's not really first come first served, and it's late enough that it can be tight to get to your seats in time for the pregame show after it.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
Not that they're hard to get on their own but I've never seen state fair tickets bundled with Gopher tickets. The closest thing to an official tailgate is the thing a McNamara and "tailgate" is a big stretch. There are sometimes a couple food trucks on Oak St but it's usually underwhelming. The band and spirit squad perform but the view isn't great if you're not in the first couple rows or tall, there are no tickets and people can push in front of you so it's not really first come first served, and it's late enough that it can be tight to get to your seats in time for the pregame show after it.
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I don't think it is that big of a stretch tho as far as tickets and etc go.

State Fair has its own charter buss area:

Charter Bus Parking

Charter Bus Parking Groups arriving at the State Fair by bus may use the University of Minnesota Transitway to avoid traffic and park in a designated lot for free!
www.mnstatefair.org www.mnstatefair.org

Clearly they understand / accommodate larger groups arriving from other places.

State Fair seems to more care that people just get there in an organize fashion than filtering / worrying how they got tickets and so forth.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
Not that they're hard to get on their own but I've never seen state fair tickets bundled with Gopher tickets. The closest thing to an official tailgate is the thing a McNamara and "tailgate" is a big stretch. There are sometimes a couple food trucks on Oak St but it's usually underwhelming. The band and spirit squad perform but the view isn't great if you're not in the first couple rows or tall, there are no tickets and people can push in front of you so it's not really first come first served, and it's late enough that it can be tight to get to your seats in time for the pregame show after it.
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Yeah, the ticket bundle would be hard for them to set up, but it is super easy to buy both online.

Mariucci and the area in front is a tailgate by the U as is McNamara. There's usually around six food trucks there, plenty for me. A large majority of those who come to tailgate do it in the tailgate lots, so what the U does is meant to have something for those who don't. I think what U provides is about right. The band plays plenty early because it has to march around the outside of the stadium and regroup in the tunnel to do the pregame on field performance before the game. I have never felt rushed to get to my seats after watching the band.
 

The key to a win is going to be a circus of a tailgate. We will need ful commitment from gopher fans to pack the dinky town area. Shut down all parking lots of all businesses and make it a tailgate area. GO BIG! Beer bongs from the top stories of the frat houses. Frats we need you to go bananas. Gopherhole contributors start planning now.....set up the meat market and bar and get ready to put on like you have never before. Its time Minnesota to become one of those programs with those atmospheres.
 

alaska said:
The key to a win is going to be a circus of a tailgate. We will need ful commitment from gopher fans to pack the dinky town area. Shut down all parking lots of all businesses and make it a tailgate area. GO BIG! Beer bongs from the top stories of the frat houses. Frats we need you to go bananas. Gopherhole contributors start planning now.....set up the meat market and bar and get ready to put on like you have never before. Its time Minnesota to become one of those programs with those atmospheres.
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I duno. .. that sounds like a lot of work.

It's a night game.... don't want to fall asleep...
 

I wonder why Fox is putting a Thursday night game on broadcast? Also, from what I have seen, doesn’t Fox (and other networks) have a bit of a Ohio State bias? I know the last time the Gophers played Ohio State people found the bias announcing annoying.
 

amk8930 said:
I wonder why Fox is putting a Thursday night game on broadcast? Also, from what I have seen, doesn’t Fox (and other networks) have a bit of a Ohio State bias? I know the last time the Gophers played Ohio State people found the bias announcing annoying.
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They are putting it on broadcast to make money. This game will get far greater ratings than the normal garbage they'd have on a Thursday night.

Most of the major networks have bias of some form aside from BTN which usually does a pretty good job of playing it down the middle. ESPN and Fox are going to favor the helmet school in this kind of matchup.

Your best bet is buy a ticket and go in person, then you don't have to worry about the TV announcers.
 

amk8930 said:
I wonder why Fox is putting a Thursday night game on broadcast? Also, from what I have seen, doesn’t Fox (and other networks) have a bit of a Ohio State bias? I know the last time the Gophers played Ohio State people found the bias announcing annoying.
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IIRC B1G has a sort of weighted round robin system where they offer games to the various networks based on some deals and different networks get to pick in different orders.

The fact that the game was a Thursday wasn't likely to change, but Fox apparently picked this one.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I think the last marquee Thursday night game was when TCU came to town. I got to campus early and had plenty of fun. Leaving was a bit of a disaster but it was pretty late. Midnight or later. Granted I was trying to find an Uber. Anyway--I like Thursday night games. I've been to multiple. Syracuse was a Thursday night, right?

I don't like tOSU.
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It was a fun night with great atmosphere, but it was on a Saturday.
 

GoGophersUMN said:
I'd like to see them try to make it into an all day event. Make a special ticket package that gives you parking, access to the state fair during the day, a voucher for an official tailgate or food trucks they bring in, a pregame event with the band and spirit squad, and the game. The U should go out of their way to encourage fans to get there and get in the spirit early and not just show up after work.
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Bolded: I think that's a great idea. I'd love to get to campus for lunch and see how it looks, etc. Walk around my old stomping grounds, that kinda thing. Then I got to thinking, "kinda sounds like what Homecoming is supposed to be" lol. So then I thought - why do we have Homecoming in October anyways? Why not do it on the first Thursday game of the season when alumni might already be in town for the Fair, etc?
 

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