That crowd really surprised me!

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Ope3 said:
Additionally, the Stripe Out looks sharp, especially under the lights.

I was skeptical these things would ever catch on, but kudos to the Marketing Dept or whatever for getting the word out and the fan base going along with plan.
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The Stripe Out was very noticeable on TV and looked cool. Matched the student’s overalls too.
 

TeeBee said:
I will say during the pre game march to the stadium, the USC band was lined up in the street, blowing their instrument off-key and generally acting not cool. There aren’t any “rules” per se that I’m aware of for visiting bands. And really most opposing bands exist in a state of congenial competition and borderline comradery. Saturday was parent day and we watched USC band practice with the Pride for the national anthem. That was fine. Things turned funky right before pre game. Not a fan, and honestly I’m ok with the fact they had to fly home with an L.
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My kid is in the U band. I asked them about it and they just shrugged their shoulders and said, "We really couldn't hear them and really didn't care."

The W erases all kinds of issues.

Have to admit their uni's were pretty cool. When they play Michigan State, both bands should be in full force and recreate a scene from the Trojan War.
 

DarthGopher said:
My kid is in the U band. I asked them about it and they just shrugged their shoulders and said, "We really couldn't hear them and really didn't care."

The W erases all kinds of issues.

Have to admit their uni's were pretty cool. When they play Michigan State, both bands should be in full force and recreate a scene from the Trojan War.
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Half time PA:

The bands will now fight to the death, anyone caught not fighting will be subject to decimation!
 

A couple KFAN tidbits from today: During the morning show, their Twins guy John Bonnes mentioned he had been at the Gopher game Saturday night and had a blast. He went on for quite a while how the fan attendance, and atmosphere has improved quite a bit since PJ Fleck became coach. Fleck himself also went on at length about how great the fan support was Saturday night during his weekly radio show over lunch hour.

From my experience in the stadium, I too have noticed the improvement in atmosphere through the past few years. I used to really notice how bad the student section attendance was and it was particularly confounding to me that it had become worse than at the metrodome despite having the stadium on campus with no need for shuttle busses, etc.

Now, the student section is regularly full (still improvement needed to KEEP them there for a full game). Every game like 2019 Penn State, 2021 Wisconsin, and 2024 USC builds the atmosphere and has a way of raising the floor in terms of what to expect going forward. The stadium has been around for a while now. There have been some great games and some great memories. People have found their way through where to park, where to pregame party, what tailgate or bar to attend, etc. and these are some of the things that grow the base level of attendance and make it "loser proof" - still drawing fans even if the team isn't competing for a B1G title.
 

maroonfive said:
The only thing obnoxious about them is the 2 songs they play over and over and over. Grateful Minnesota has several fight songs.

Go Gophers !!!!!
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Don't ever invite the Oklahoma band....they play the same damn song after every down....
 


Schnauzer said:
A couple KFAN tidbits from today: During the morning show, their Twins guy John Bonnes mentioned he had been at the Gopher game Saturday night and had a blast. He went on for quite a while how the fan attendance, and atmosphere has improved quite a bit since PJ Fleck became coach. Fleck himself also went on at length about how great the fan support was Saturday night during his weekly radio show over lunch hour.

From my experience in the stadium, I too have noticed the improvement in atmosphere through the past few years. I used to really notice how bad the student section attendance was and it was particularly confounding to me that it had become worse than at the metrodome despite having the stadium on campus with no need for shuttle busses, etc.

Now, the student section is regularly full (still improvement needed to KEEP them there for a full game). Every game like 2019 Penn State, 2021 Wisconsin, and 2024 USC builds the atmosphere and has a way of raising the floor in terms of what to expect going forward. The stadium has been around for a while now. There have been some great games and some great memories. People have found their way through where to park, where to pregame party, what tailgate or bar to attend, etc. and these are some of the things that grow the base level of attendance and make it "loser proof" - still drawing fans even if the team isn't competing for a B1G title.
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I rarely went to games in the Dome. I remember going to a couple games early in the Wacker years (Utah and Iowa), and the student section was about one-and-a-half sections -- tops. I went back for the first time later in the Mason tenure and the end zone was full of students in gold -- lower and upper levels. I was shocked. It made me interested in going to games again.

Brewster blew it with students and we had to start over. Kill built it back up, and it's been outstanding with Fleck. The students turn out, and they have fun; it's the rest of the stadium we need to keep working on to fill it consistently.
 

My entire college career we were at the Dome...I rarely missed a game and we had to take the stupid bus!
 

Schnauzer said:
A couple KFAN tidbits from today: During the morning show, their Twins guy John Bonnes mentioned he had been at the Gopher game Saturday night and had a blast. He went on for quite a while how the fan attendance, and atmosphere has improved quite a bit since PJ Fleck became coach. Fleck himself also went on at length about how great the fan support was Saturday night during his weekly radio show over lunch hour.

From my experience in the stadium, I too have noticed the improvement in atmosphere through the past few years. I used to really notice how bad the student section attendance was and it was particularly confounding to me that it had become worse than at the metrodome despite having the stadium on campus with no need for shuttle busses, etc.

Now, the student section is regularly full (still improvement needed to KEEP them there for a full game). Every game like 2019 Penn State, 2021 Wisconsin, and 2024 USC builds the atmosphere and has a way of raising the floor in terms of what to expect going forward. The stadium has been around for a while now. There have been some great games and some great memories. People have found their way through where to park, where to pregame party, what tailgate or bar to attend, etc. and these are some of the things that grow the base level of attendance and make it "loser proof" - still drawing fans even if the team isn't competing for a B1G title.
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I really think the student section is because of PJ. They like his energy and youthfulness. If my daughter who isn't into sports talks about PJ like he's some celebrity, he's doing something to make casual student-fans pay attention.
 






Dave H said:
My entire college career we were at the Dome...I rarely missed a game and we had to take the stupid bus!
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Student tickets were dirt cheap and the seats were great! $55 for the whole season in the late 90s (I think) and it came with a free shirt. My seats were lower deck in the south end zone. There was a Leinie stand right at the top of my aisle that never had a big line. As much as I hated the Dome in comparison to TCF/Huntington, that setup was sweet.
 

Just checked current student ticket prices. $166 for football season tickets. $277 to include all football, basketball and hockey. That's a helluva deal. I'm glad to see it.

Driving past frat row before a Saturday game on a nice day is still a favorite thing to do. I love that campus games are an event nowadays, unlike the Dome days.
 



Panthadad2 said:
Just checked current student ticket prices. $166 for football season tickets. $277 to include all football, basketball and hockey. That's a helluva deal. I'm glad to see it.

Driving past frat row before a Saturday game on a nice day is still a favorite thing to do. I love that campus games are an event nowadays, unlike the Dome days.
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I was saying something similar to this yesterday but in general, it took a little while for the gameday experience to get its legs under it at the Bank (no thanks to the Brewster years). But, enough time has now passed that people have found places to pregame and postgame hang out, tailgate, favorite bars, parking gymnastics, etc. and the result is all these things have combined to raise the bar in terms of a baseline gameday environment. The students, more than anything else, now can be counted on to show up in decent numbers and that is critical for a fun in-game experience for everyone. College football wouldn't be college football without the students, of course.
 

Schnauzer said:
I was saying something similar to this yesterday but in general, it took a little while for the gameday experience to get its legs under it at the Bank (no thanks to the Brewster years). But, enough time has now passed that people have found places to pregame and postgame hang out, tailgate, favorite bars, parking gymnastics, etc. and the result is all these things have combined to raise the bar in terms of a baseline gameday environment. The students, more than anything else, now can be counted on to show up in decent numbers and that is critical for a fun in-game experience for everyone. College football wouldn't be college football without the students, of course.
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Yeah, the first couple years at The Bank were a clusterf...
 

Schnauzer said:
I was saying something similar to this yesterday but in general, it took a little while for the gameday experience to get its legs under it at the Bank (no thanks to the Brewster years). But, enough time has now passed that people have found places to pregame and postgame hang out, tailgate, favorite bars, parking gymnastics, etc. and the result is all these things have combined to raise the bar in terms of a baseline gameday environment. The students, more than anything else, now can be counted on to show up in decent numbers and that is critical for a fun in-game experience for everyone. College football wouldn't be college football without the students, of course.
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There were a lot of small changes after Coyle & Co arrived that have helped a lot.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Student tickets were dirt cheap and the seats were great! $55 for the whole season in the late 90s (I think) and it came with a free shirt. My seats were lower deck in the south end zone. There was a Leinie stand right at the top of my aisle that never had a big line. As much as I hated the Dome in comparison to TCF/Huntington, that setup was sweet.
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I think it was about that yeah...and the best part was you could get a second student ticket (guest pass so no id needed) for the same price. (that changed in later years) My father had student season tickets my entire time in college. Saw more games in those 5 years than he did when he went to the U in the late 60s!

Hockey had that rule too...lots of older fans who could not get regular season tickets either due to price or the waiting list would take out ads in the daily or post on message boards and offer to buy both tickets so they could have the guest pass. I am pretty sure I let them do that through me one year and lots of people I know from back then did as well. Great deal to watch the Lucia Era begin.

Of course when my dad went to the U you could buy the "Activity Pass" for all sports for like a peanut butter sandwich so...
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
There were a lot of small changes after Coyle & Co arrived that have helped a lot.
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Whoever put in the "Freshmen Free Tickets to Game 1" idea is really what did it. Get them to an early game, make them feel a part of the team when they first get to campus and cultivate a fandom. It takes years to get there but slowly it becomes a passion for more and more people. And it is organic, like a rock band taking their time to become big 1-2 fans at a time.
 

Dave H said:
I think it was about that yeah...and the best part was you could get a second student ticket (guest pass so no id needed) for the same price. (that changed in later years) My father had student season tickets my entire time in college. Saw more games in those 5 years than he did when he went to the U in the late 60s!

Hockey had that rule too...lots of older fans who could not get regular season tickets either due to price or the waiting list would take out ads in the daily or post on message boards and offer to buy both tickets so they could have the guest pass. I am pretty sure I let them do that through me one year and lots of people I know from back then did as well. Great deal to watch the Lucia Era begin.

Of course when my dad went to the U you could buy the "Activity Pass" for all sports for like a peanut butter sandwich so...
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I was a grad student and married, so that extra cheap ticket went to my wife. She learned really quick the hard way to hate Iowa.
 

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