Student Section Attendence: who is ultimately responsible for this problem?

[imthewalrus]

As is noted in a previous thread, the Student Section and student attendance at Football games is pathetic.

I would like to know who people feel is ultimately responsible for establishing a thriving, energetic, always filled student section in TCF BANK STADIUM?

Some examples might be:

Football Coach?

Athletic Director?

President of the University?

The Students themselves?

Other Group, Person or reason: (please be specific...)



Who do some of your Gopher Fans think is ultimately responsible?



Thanks...

; 0 )

 

[tinyarch]

If you provide the students with ticket prices that are within their budget and a football experience that they find enjoyable, then the student section will thrive. Make the opportunity more exciting than any other choice for their time and you'll see the student body swell at TCF Stadium. That is the responsibility of the University and their marketing team.

 

[imthewalrus]

But, who would be responsible for making that happen tinyarch? We need to know where to go...who to go to and where we think the ultimate responsibility should lie...

; 0 )

 

[Ole]

If you provide the students with ticket prices that are within their budget and a football experience that they find enjoyable, then the student section will thrive. Make the opportunity more exciting than any other choice for their time and you'll see the student body swell at TCF Stadium. That is the responsibility of the University and their marketing team.

Without beating the bloody horse I've beaten again and again.
The issue is plain as day: The TCF Bank Stadium experience is NOT catered to college students gathering and having a good time.
It's catered to old and rich donors many of whom have no interest in staying at the game past the third quarter, much less show up at dawn with a tailgate crew ready to party.
Add in the administration's aversion to all things alcohol and fun.
Mix in a slap from the city of minneapolis keeping streets and open places off limits, and private lots unable to charge for parking and tailgating around campus and you have what you have. a situation where students stay home to pre party off campus, and lazily walk towards the stadium 15 minutes late if it's a nice day and the team is doing ok.

Make the entire campus "party capable" and young people will come in droves.
Suggestions:
A limited number of first come first serve affordable tailgate passes in every lot.

A "don't ask, don't make an idiot of yourself" alcohol policy CAMPUSWIDE as far as drinking age and carrying cups goes.

Open up spaces around campus for pre-game revelry, allow students to run these at dorms, parking lots, and in frat areas.

Slap the bejeezus out of the Minneapolis City Council, go to war so to speak against their private parking restrictions and open lot tailgating policies. It's killing the atmosphere.

Add in a winning team(no this isn't a cure ALL), and you'll see the kids come, be loud, and help the program build and win.
/RANT

 

[xoxoemilyanne]

As a student I had student season tickets all four years. And I still ask this question all the time. The price is a steal compared to other Big Ten schools. I have friends at Penn State who said their student season tickets are $200 more than ours. I absolutely love going, then again I'm planning on having a career in athletics. A lot of students I have heard do not want to attend games for a team that isn't doing well. But they don't realize that the players absolutely feed off of the fans. I have a few friends on the team and they wonder why students won't come and are disappointed by it. So I do think it is on the students.

 

[gophmeister]

Everyone whose fault it is has either retired or been fired. I think the discussion should be around how to change things rather than assigning blame.

 

[Rescooter]

As a student I had student season tickets all four years. And I still ask this question all the time. The price is a steal compared to other Big Ten schools. I have friends at Penn State who said their student season tickets are $200 more than ours. I absolutely love going, then again I'm planning on having a career in athletics. A lot of students I have heard do not want to attend games for a team that isn't doing well. But they don't realize that the players absolutely feed off of the fans. I have a few friends on the team and they wonder why students won't come and are disappointed by it. So I do think it is on the students.

I have offered to sit on a volunteer Marketing Committee, but none have taken me up on it. They need to hear from the fans through an ad hoc committee, but so far, to no avail.

I have worked with MANY students and this is what I've seen - the U of M does a really nice job during Freshman Orientation to get students excited about the Game Day experience. They get their Gopher paraphanalia, tickets, and schedule and bring in a lot of excitement. What they find in the older students: apathy and a "who cares" attitude. Even though Freshman are on their own and making their own decisions, they take the cue of the upper classmen that the U of M college football game experience isn't "cool"and is boring (we all know that is not the case!!). But impressionable freshman are just that....impressionable. Once they jump off the band-wagon, you lose them for the next 3 1/2 years. They won't come back because the initial experience didn't equal the hype.

Again....Marketing Department....TAKE NOTE: Find a way to deliver the product that was promised at Freshman Orientation and you've got them forever.

Here's what I would do - cater to the Freshman through a event called the Freshman Experience. Give our Freshman an exclusive experience that includes a meet and greet with Kill and the Players - allow the Freshman to walk in to the entrance of the stadium with the players and coaches as part of the victory walk for the first game or two. It would be a memorable experience and I can guarantee, the excitement would take care of itself. Have a stand inside the stadium (for Freshman only) where they get free food and other free stuff. The trick is to deliver more than what was promised and to personalize it.

Each year, if successful, they could expand the "experience" to student season ticket holders.

Hopefully this makes some sense - I'm typing this on work break.

 

[Schnauzer]

This has come up countless times and I used to really, really care about it. It took a while but I finally gave up and found the countless threads dedicated to student and overall attendance to be simply too frustrating to read. I haven't even looked at the last few that have come up, and I'm making an exception here because I noticed only a few responses so far.

Ole hits the nail on the head. He is 100% correct.

The students actually had better oppotunites to gather and party near the Metrodome, and their attendance was better there than it has been on campus. I would never have guessed this if you had asked me through the summer of 2009 but the lack of an ability to gather and party is killing student attendance. Ole is correct.

It used to bug me more, but I decided to just control what I can control and have fun. I'm looking forward to getting a spot on a private tailgate lot nearby this year for some regular every-game tailgating. If the student section is empty again, I'll be sad but at least I will have a tummy full of grilled food, maintaining a nice buzz when I enter the stadium each Saturday.

 

[Gopherprof]

Seriously?

We haven't had a winning Big Ten season in 10 years! That was also, not coincidentally, the last time we beat Wisconsin.

I'll never understand the needless finger pointing that goes on in these threads. The fan support isn't there because the team isn't very good. It's not that complicated. You can't sell a turd sandwich.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Don't want to be a buzz-kill, but I just want to remind everyone that there's a fine line between "letting the kids have fun," and having things get out of hand. I have no problems with some type of student tailgating area - providing there is enough supervision to prevent underage drinking and drinking to excess. All it would take is 1 case of drunken stupidity, and the U would crack down even harder.

I would hope the U will look at all ideas to promote student attendance, but in the end, the students have to want to go to the game. And that, in large part, is up to the team to make Gopher FB games a must-see attraction. If they're winning games and playing an exciting brand of FB, the fans will follow.

One idea on my part - a sliding scale for student season tickets or single-game tickets. Lowest price for Freshmen, and the price goes up each year for Soph, Juniors and Seniors.

 

[Ole]

Don't want to be a buzz-kill, but I just want to remind everyone that there's a fine line between "letting the kids have fun," and having things get out of hand. I have no problems with some type of student tailgating area - providing there is enough supervision to prevent underage drinking and drinking to excess. All it would take is 1 case of drunken stupidity, and the U would crack down even harder.

I would hope the U will look at all ideas to promote student attendance, but in the end, the students have to want to go to the game. And that, in large part, is up to the team to make Gopher FB games a must-see attraction. If they're winning games and playing an exciting brand of FB, the fans will follow.

One idea on my part - a sliding scale for student season tickets or single-game tickets. Lowest price for Freshmen, and the price goes up each year for Soph, Juniors and Seniors.

Who cares? It's college.
That's the thing though, when the students had to go to the dome, the U admin was hands off, because it wasn't their jurisdiction. Students grabbed a tailgate spot for $20, even $50, called their friends and made a heck of a time out of it.

Now, it is their jurisdiction and they hold an attitude similar to underlined, even though MOST college football campuses don't. You think they give a crap about underage drinking in Alabama? Oregon? Heck how about insert random football program with any tradition and tailgating scene ? ANYWHERE!

And yes, no doubt should something happen the U would kill their football atmosphere even further.
Unfortunately we have some very stupid and out to lunch people making decisions at the U.

 

[imthewalrus]

Don't want to be a buzz-kill, but I just want to remind everyone that there's a fine line between "letting the kids have fun," and having things get out of hand. I have no problems with some type of student tailgating area - providing there is enough supervision to prevent underage drinking and drinking to excess. All it would take is 1 case of drunken stupidity, and the U would crack down even harder.

I would hope the U will look at all ideas to promote student attendance, but in the end, the students have to want to go to the game. And that, in large part, is up to the team to make Gopher FB games a must-see attraction. If they're winning games and playing an exciting brand of FB, the fans will follow.

One idea on my part - a sliding scale for student season tickets or single-game tickets. Lowest price for Freshmen, and the price goes up each year for Soph, Juniors and Seniors.

It seems as though so much of the blame, the need to change, the frustration and the hopelessness that results from having no ONE person being accountable for this situation at the Univrsity of Minnesota has resulted in lack of satisfaction In the Game Day Environment.

To me, the person who is the "buck stopper" would HAVE to come from this group of three: prexy k, our new norwood OR Coach Kill.

It would seem to me that the most logical choice would be our new norwood: that's right...the ATHLETIC DIRECTOR should be the go to contact person. He answers to prexy k and Coach Kill aswers to the ad.

If anyone feels it should fall on the shoulders of prexy k OR Coach Kill rather than our new norwood, please state your case/cases. But, this "they" or "the U" should be in charge is entirely too general for my tastes. I want to know if ANYONE is in charge....and if someone IS in charge, I want to know exactly who is in charge.

What do you folks think? In your opinion who is in charge of Game Day Saturday?

One of my biggest gripes is that we have NOT had a "football guy" as our AD since Tom Moe. An almost $300 million stadium has been brought to campus and while the Stadium is WONDERFUL...Game Day Saturday is not what it could be...should be...would be IF someone at the U WAS in charge and was really passionate about creating a REAL B1G GAME DAY ENVIRONMENT.

I think our new norwood should be working NON-STOP on this issue. I know he considers himself to be a basketball guy...BUT...he NEEDS to be a football guy to fix the problems over in TCF BANK STADIUM on Game Day Saturdays.

Just WHO do each of you think needs to be our "go to...stand-up...get the job done...the buck stops here..." individual at the University of Minnesota?

Perhaps, if we tell them who SHOULD be in charge and we put some pressure on, they will have to at least name the person who actually IS in charge. But, we NEED to have someone who is named as the person IN CHARGE and IS accountable. Without that...we just have a lot of "buck passing..." going on over there....

; 0 )

 

[Dr.Don]

Wren, you are spot on when relating to everyone thinking "someone should do something." When everyone thinks "someone..." No one steps up and does it.

If I was not so damned old, was independently wealthy instead of dependently wealthy, I would do it. You will hear more from me about this, along with the new and updated facilities we need, when I win the lottery. I would then step up to the plate.

 

[imthewalrus]

Everyone whose fault it is has either retired or been fired. I think the discussion should be around how to change things rather than assigning blame.

So, are you saying no one is in charge and no one is responsible over there?

That is all that blame is, after all. It holds the person in charge to be accountable for what happens. IF there is no one to blame, that means that there is no one who is accountable.

Often times it seems as though no one IS accountable at the U. That is a real problem. The U needs to name the names of the people who ARE accountable , exactly what they are accountable for and to whom they answer re: their accountability. You are describing a "blameless administration..." Maybe that is comfortable of the administrators, but it is NOT good public policy and it does NOT produce very positive results.

At least that's the way I feel about it. Perhaps you could shed more light on your feelings about having a blameless administration at the University of Minnesota, gophgmeister...

; 0 )

 

[imthewalrus]

As a student I had student season tickets all four years. And I still ask this question all the time. The price is a steal compared to other Big Ten schools. I have friends at Penn State who said their student season tickets are $200 more than ours. I absolutely love going, then again I'm planning on having a career in athletics. A lot of students I have heard do not want to attend games for a team that isn't doing well. But they don't realize that the players absolutely feed off of the fans. I have a few friends on the team and they wonder why students won't come and are disappointed by it. So I do think it is on the students.

Just who could get the students involved and how could that happen?

; 0 )

 

[Gopherprof]

Ok I'll bite.

Walrus (or anyone), how do you build a "thriving, energetic, and always filled student section" for a team that is a perpetual loser? Under what scenario is that ever possible?

Or, put another way, where else is there a program that hasn't won its division in 46 years that has strong fan support?

 

[pointman99]

From my seats in the stadium...attendance goes up when we win regardless of the game day atmosphere.

Let Kill coach. Let Kaler run the school.

Teague or whomever he delegates to would be the one to address game day experience concerns, etc.

 

[imthewalrus]

I have offered to sit on a volunteer Marketing Committee, but none have taken me up on it. They need to hear from the fans through an ad hoc committee, but so far, to no avail.

I have worked with MANY students and this is what I've seen - the U of M does a really nice job during Freshman Orientation to get students excited about the Game Day experience. They get their Gopher paraphanalia, tickets, and schedule and bring in a lot of excitement. What they find in the older students: apathy and a "who cares" attitude. Even though Freshman are on their own and making their own decisions, they take the cue of the upper classmen that the U of M college football game experience isn't "cool"and is boring (we all know that is not the case!!). But impressionable freshman are just that....impressionable. Once they jump off the band-wagon, you lose them for the next 3 1/2 years. They won't come back because the initial experience didn't equal the hype.

Again....Marketing Department....TAKE NOTE: Find a way to deliver the product that was promised at Freshman Orientation and you've got them forever.

Here's what I would do - cater to the Freshman through a event called the Freshman Experience. Give our Freshman an exclusive experience that includes a meet and greet with Kill and the Players - allow the Freshman to walk in to the entrance of the stadium with the players and coaches as part of the victory walk for the first game or two. It would be a memorable experience and I can guarantee, the excitement would take care of itself. Have a stand inside the stadium (for Freshman only) where they get free food and other free stuff. The trick is to deliver more than what was promised and to personalize it.

Each year, if successful, they could expand the "experience" to student season ticket holders.

Hopefully this makes some sense - I'm typing this on work break.

Sounds GREAT! Just which administrator at the U would have enough clout to help organize and make your ideas work? What level of administration do you think it would take to put your ideas into action...oversee them to insure they are happening? The thing is: you would need a committed point person in the administration. Do you have any ideas about that?


; 0 )

 

[imthewalrus]

From my seats in the stadium...attendance goes up when we win regardless of the game day atmosphere.

Let Kill coach. Let Kaler run the school.

Teague or whomever he delegates to would be the one to address game day experience concerns, etc.

I vote our new norwood...but SOMEONE needs to be accountable and someone NEEDS to listen to the FANS when they take into account all the things that they must take into account.. Some one NEEDS to be responsible that holds a position within the administration.,,,I think.

; 0 )

 

[Ole]

Ok I'll bite.

Walrus (or anyone), how do you build a "thriving, energetic, and always filled student section" for a team that is a perpetual loser? Under what scenario is that ever possible?

Or, put another way, where else is there a program that hasn't won its division in 46 years that has strong fan support?

Make it a party. All of campus. Let the kids have fun unmolested.

There is already a thriving gameday atmosphere for the students, it just resides in garages, basements, and living rooms off campus where an 18 year old can drink his hot100 and busch light in peace. The same hot100 and busch light he'd be more than ok having within eyesight of the stadium, or walking through campus from party to party looking for a 5$ cup of icehouse and some jello shots in frat row.

One scenario has a freshman sitting on his couch contemplating whether it's worth walking a half mile to the Bank to get breathalyzed and felt up, lose his buzz, and enjoy the game.

The other has him around other fans, getting revved for the game, meeting groups of his classmates and freinds he didn't know had tickets, and following the crowds up to the stadium to enjoy the game.

Which would 18 year old you choose?

 

[Gopherprof]

There is already a thriving gameday atmosphere for the students, it just resides in garages, basements, and living rooms off campus where an 18 year old can drink his hot100 and busch light in peace.

No there isn't, and that's the problem.

It's not that students love the Gophers but don't want to make the effort to attend the games. It's that they are entirely apathetic because they assume the Gophers will just suck again like they do almost every single year. It's not cool to give a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# about the football team and hasn't been for as long as I've known.

That's something that a lot of posters on here find hard to believe because we're so invested in the team, but the vast majority of the student populace doesn't care at all. They'll show up when tickets are free and it's nice outside, but even then a lot of them will stand around and text/talk about something unrelated to the game. Ask the average student to name three players on the football team; I'd bet no more than 10% could do it.

 

[imthewalrus]

Ok I'll bite.

Walrus (or anyone), how do you build a "thriving, energetic, and always filled student section" for a team that is a perpetual loser? Under what scenario is that ever possible?

Or, put another way, where else is there a program that hasn't won its division in 46 years that has strong fan support?

Well, it would seem to me that you put the new norwood type of ad directly in charge of FOOTBALL. Why do we still have ad's who consider themselves to be basketball guys? And then, you hold that ad JUST as responsible as you do the football coach. The ad can do some game-day stuff that might help in the short term. IF the quality of football isn't improving, the ad needs to distinguish IF the problem lies with the coaching OR if there are things the ad can do to assist the coach. IF the coach fails it is because the ad has failed as well. IF the ad has extended or hired the coach, IF the ad fires the coach, that ad should also submit his/her resignation, because the ad has failed just as much as the coach that ad EXTENDED or HIRED.

We need an ad who carries just as much water for the football program as the football coach does. An ad who fires a coach he/she extended/hired should NEVER hire the new football coach.

When an ad retires: that ad should retire and no longer be on staff in any capacity.

Our new norwood KNEW what the situation with the Football Program at the U has been and KNEW about attendance issues. At least he has the new stadium to work with. Now it is up to HIM to get the fan base going and he ONLY has 50,000 fans to sell tickets to. About 10,000 of them are reserved for the student section. He has to do what he needs to do to fill the student section...fill the 50,000 seat stadium and then work with the coach to win more B1G games OR be out on his ear. He NEEDS to be a football guy in the worst way to make those problems he accepted when he accepted the job here go away...

Being the Ad should be MORE DIFFICULT than being the football coach...in MANY ways. NEVER give an ad a free pass when it comes to the Football Program...

; 0 )

 

[Gopherprof]

That was the most vague and worthless answer I could possibly imagine. I asked you what they should do and you said the AD needed to be a football guy. Ok....and? Then what happens?

People don't care because the team is bad and it's been bad forever. That's it and that's all. There's no program in the nation that would continue to receive support if they were as historically awful as we've been.

 

[Schnauzer]

Gopherprof, your point isn't totally off base. The students would show up in greater numbers if the team won more games, no doubt. That being said, I find your argument off in a couple important ways: First the Gophers have been more mediocre than they have been "suck every single year." It always irritates me when Gopher "fans" incorrectly bash the lack of success. There hasn't been as much success as we'd like to see, but some Gopher fans incorrectly characterize this as Macalester and that can unfortunately take on a life of its own as a myth. We'd all like to see the team play better, but for the most part their level of success in TCF Bank Stadium has been very similar to what they achieved in the Metrodome in the 00's. Yet there were a lot more students going to games OFF CAMPUS at the Metrodome than there now is ON campus at TCF. If this were all due to to the simplistic "play better" argument you are making, student attendance would be an exact match to their season record, reglardless of the home stadium. Ole nails it when he suggests other issues surrounding the fun level for students is in play here.

 

[Gopherprof]

Gopherprof, your point isn't totally off base. The students would show up in greater numbers if the team won more games, no doubt. That being said, I find your argument off in a couple important ways: First the Gophers have been more mediocre than they have been "suck every single year." It always irritates me when Gopher "fans" incorrectly bash the lack of success.

And it always irritates me when Gopher "fans" think that beating MAC and FCS teams is a cause worthy of celebration. Nobody outside of this small circle of diehards gives a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# when we limp towards 6-6 with half of our wins against teams like New Mexico State.

We'd all like to see the team play better, but for the most part their level of success in TCF Bank Stadium has been very similar to what they achieved in the Metrodome in the 00's.

1) No it hasn't.
2) Even if they were, those years, outside of '99 and '03, were nothing to get excited about either.

If this were all due to to the simplistic "play better" argument you are making, student attendance would be an exact match to their season record, reglardless of the home stadium. Ole nails it when he suggests other issues surrounding the fun level for students is in play here.

I love how you call it simplistic like it's an insult; it's simplistic because it actually is a really easy answer that some people seem to just be in denial about. It's going to take multiple consecutive years of success to change the attitude towards Gopher football. Since that hasn't happened in almost 50 years I don't know how you can really judge that.

People look at Mason as if he was this great success, but 32-48 against your peers is bad by almost any standard. Yes, we've been really awful. This isn't the MAC, and if it was, take a look at their attendance figures by comparison.

 

[imthewalrus]

That was the most vague and worthless answer I could possibly imagine. I asked you what they should do and you said the AD needed to be a football guy. Ok....and? Then what happens?

People don't care because the team is bad and it's been bad forever. That's it and that's all. There's no program in the nation that would continue to receive support if they were as historically awful as we've been.

Now Gopherprof: I would beg to differ. Give me am ad who is a FOOTBALL MAN and the Game day Environment will improve AND, the program will become MORE competitive within the B1G Conference. THAT will help everyone realize that it will need to be determined what to do with the student section IF they still refuse to show up when the Game Day Environment improves and the team becomes MORE competitive within the B1G Conference.

IF the students still fail to take advantage of the incredible deal they are being offered, you give notice that the student section size will be cut in half. With a better game day environment and a more competitive team, it should be easy to sell those extra 5,000 tickets to the general public and corporate Minnesota. You try to work with the students...but...if they don't care enough to come...you start taking away from what is being offered to them. Perhaps THAT strategy might get their attention. But, that would be only if the students force the issue by failing to take advantage of what is offered to them. It would at that point in time be their own choice.

Oh, there are LOTS of things to do IF someone in the administration is willing to take charge...

; 0 )

 

[SPEGOPHER]

As a diehard Gopher football fan and a member of the Greek community, I would say that the biggest problem is the lack of tailgating experience for the students. We get in trouble for basically everything alcohol related to the point where we can't even have beer cans visible on row. I have been to Greek tailgates at Michigan and Wisconsin and their administrations let their students do so much more as far as partying goes. With that being said, I have heard Teague is trying to get a reserved spot for Greeks to tailgate.

In addition, there is a general feel of apathy towards the football team, but I think that as we get better things will change.

 

[Hates Monikers]

Seriously?

We haven't had a winning Big Ten season in 10 years! That was also, not coincidentally, the last time we beat Wisconsin.

I'll never understand the needless finger pointing that goes on in these threads. The fan support isn't there because the team isn't very good. It's not that complicated. You can't sell a turd sandwich.

I was at Iowa State this weekend with my daughter, who was touring the school. About a half-dozen students there (all women -- I think that's significant) talked about football games being "a blast," "a lot of fun," etc. Granted, those were tour guides who may be told to say that sort of thing. I tried to find information on student attendance at ISU and didn't have much luck. However, they do have 7,500 seats in the student section and 11 of the past 15 home games have had overall attendance in excess of 100%. Students must be going to games there.

Their record? Starting with last season and working backward, 6-7 (3-6), 6-7 (3-6), 5-7 (3-5), 7-6 (3-5). Better than us by a game or so, yes. But filling 7,500 student seats and having students say the games are "a blast" is still far ahead of where we are. There must be more than wins involved in their success.

 

[Gopherprof]

I was at Iowa State this weekend with my daughter, who was touring the school. About a half-dozen students there (all women -- I think that's significant) talked about football games being "a blast," "a lot of fun," etc. Granted, those were tour guides who may be told to say that sort of thing.

I'd say that's probably a safe bet.

Their record? Starting with last season and working backward, 6-7 (3-6), 6-7 (3-6), 5-7 (3-5), 7-6 (3-5). Better than us by a game or so, yes. But filling 7,500 student seats and having students say the games are "a blast" is still far ahead of where we are. There must be more than wins involved in their success.

For Iowa State that's actually an improvement, but fair enough. I'd guess that if they are still at 6-7 over the next 4-5 years, any potential enthusiasm from their "improvement" will have died away. It's also probably worth pointing out that we're talking about Ames, IA here, where competition for the entertainment dollar is between Iowa State sports and bingo night at the local retirement community.

 

[Schnauzer]

All that cutting and pasting and you managed to continue to miss the point. Student attendance was decent at the Metrodome after a tailgate culture was created by the students. Even in 2007 when the team went 1-11 there were decent crowds in the student section. Common sense would say that with a new stadium ON CAMPUS, if everything else being fairly equal, student attendance would go way up in comparison. It has gone down. What is the difference? Success on the field?

The difference is all the things Ole pointed out. Nobody would argue team performance can't help or hurt student attendance. It would certainly help to have the team win every game. If you walk around the tailgate lots, with the small exception of lot 37, the things kids are looking for are just too far and few between to motivate them to come. That has much less to do with the scoreboard results in the stadium than you apparently are capable of seeing.