Walrus - I don't think anyone is blaming the current season ticket holders. If we're going to blame someone, we can blame the U for its marketing efforts (or lack thereof). But, I think the real point is that not enough people are becoming new season ticket holders. It's been pointed out many times that the long-time fans like the Walrus are getting older, and there simply have not been enough younger fans buying season tickets and supporting the Gophers. When I've gone to games in the past (I live in outstate MN, and usually try to get to at least 1 game a year), it's painfully obvious that there's a gap in the fan base - plenty of fans in the 50-70 yr-old age group, but very few fans in the prize 25-50 age group, and a few younger fans that probably got in on discounted tickets.
Simply put, the Gophers have lost an entire generation of fans. There's no quick fix or easy solution to put bodies back in the seats. The Gophers have to play entertaining football, win games, qualify for some decent bowl games, and do some effective marketing. Then, and only then, will you see more demand for tickets, and maybe start to freeze out the visiting fans from gobbling up tickets. It's not going to happen in a year or two - it may take 5 or 10 years to build up the fan base to a point where the stadium is selling out every week with (close to) 100% of Gopher Fans. All the marketing in the world will not make up for the lack of a good product, and the Gopher FB program has just not put a good enough product on the field to make fans open up their wallets and pay for tickets.
Not a bad suggestion at all.
