whats to blame for fan apathy

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As I sat there at the spring game yesterday I couldn't believe how quickly the excitement for the new stadium has left and how Brewster has but a loyal following of die-hards in his corner. I realize it wasn't a great weather day, but if it had been a great weather day the excuse for poor attendance would have been the beautfiul weather and that Minnesotans have other things to do in nice weather. The allure of seeing a shiny new stadium for free obviously didn't bring in many non-season ticket types, the average local sports fan laughs at Brewster as he hardly captivates them and the product and excitement of the team isn't enough to bring in more than the usual amount of die-hards. So where are we at? I just can't see 7 wins getting anyone excited except for us die-hards. this isn't a fire brew/don't fire brew post, just the reality of where we are at. The program is stagnant and us celebrating incremental improvement without more wins on gopherhole won't translate into more local excitement.
 

I am going to solely put the blame on the University and its horrible marketing skills. It's obvious that getting people into the spring game is not important to them. I heard more promoting of the Vikings draft party at Jimmy's or wherever they had it.

Secondly, holding the spring game the same weekend as the draft is not a wise thing to do either. I would make an arguement that the Gophers should always make the weekend BEFORE the draft their permanent spring game date. Hold the game after the draft or on the same day I believe people will have their fill of football.

Thirdly, the weather was horrible yesterday morning.
 

I think it is pretty obvious what's to blame for fan apathy: a lack of wins. I would guess that most of us on the board have not been alive for even one good season of Gopher football. Most people are going to stop following a team after a decade (or two, or three) of disappointment. There were numerous reports/discussions on this site about dwindling attendance in year one of the new stadium. People may show up once or twice to see the shiny new stadium, but if the product is the same as before, they won't continue to show up. The program needs to have a season like Wisconsin, Northwestern, or Iowa did when they shocked everyone by going to a Rose/Orange Bowl.
 

I'm not sure what it is... I've been a season ticket holder for 3 years (just signed up for my fourth), spend hours watching all kinds of sports each week, troll this board more than I'd like to admit, and feel like a really big gopher supporter. I should be one of the "die hards" however, I couldn't have cared less about the game other than to find out who played well. For me, I think it is Brewster. I tried to support him when others were calling him a blow hard, but I just can't anymore. The final straw came after his second year, when the offense was cooking and he got ticked that we couldn't make third and short and abandoned the spread. Weber was great in the spread and look at the year he had last year. Plus we had just recruited one of the best spread qb's available and had suffered through a 1-11 season getting a grasp of the new offense. Last year the defense looked great and the offense couldn't get going. I just feel like he doesn't have a plan and it bothers me he can't keep a coordinator. Honestly, I renewed my tickets begrudgingly so as not to miss out on the next coach. Sorry for the attitude. I love the Gophers and I'd love to see them succeed under Brew... It just doesn't feel like it is going to happen.
 

Marketing probably is the culprit here. Anybody that needs W's to be a fan isn't a fan of either the University of Minnesota or College football.

When you have one of the largest universities in the world, in one of the greatest sports conferences in the world and you can't find fifty thousand loyal alumns or college football fans in a state that boasts a population of 4 million+ there is really no excuse. We could be the crappiest team in the big ten and we should sell out. But we're in the middle. It's all marketing boys and girl.

you'd think that there is enough talent in the student ranks to run a decently consistent marketing campaign. I can't even recall one memorable year of gopher marketing. Pathetic when you think about it. And we're talking big money at stake, you'd think they'd be on this like badger on suck, or hawkeye on stink.
 


To blame this on marketing is absolute idiocy. I doubt Nebraska or Alabama needs marketing to bring out fans. I've long since given up my season tickets even though I had them for 35 years. The blame for less than 1,000 fans at the spring game falls on Brewster. You guys can defend him all you want. His b.s. has worn out, friends, the over use of "fantastic" and "very" has gotten old. The product on the field is mediocre at best and there is no sign it's getting any better. I will never go to another spring game because Brewster has 2 guys on the kick return team and zero players on the team rushing the field goal kicker. What the hell is that? And that announcer shouting, "Another Golden Gopher....." has got to go. In the spring game? Come on!!!!
We may beat the team west of us, but I don't see many wins this year.
 

GoGophers2005 said:
I am going to solely put the blame on the University and its horrible marketing skills. It's obvious that getting people into the spring game is not important to them. I heard more promoting of the Vikings draft party at Jimmy's or wherever they had it.

Secondly, holding the spring game the same weekend as the draft is not a wise thing to do either. I would make an arguement that the Gophers should always make the weekend BEFORE the draft their permanent spring game date. Hold the game after the draft or on the same day I believe people will have their fill of football.

Thirdly, the weather was horrible yesterday morning.
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I've probably been to a dozen spring games or so. I believe this game had less fans than any game I ever attended at the Metrodome. I never thought the luster of a shiny new stadium would wear off so quickly. It's hard to admit that there were so many empty student seats in their inaugural season.

The Gophers should never take into consideration the three day NFL draft. Win some games against Wisconsin or Iowa. Get to a January bowl. I'm so ready.
 

Yesterday's poor attendance was 100% the weather. It rained all morning and was overcast all day. I know 7 people who were planning to go to the game but scrapped the plans around 11 o'clock because of weather. There were probably many, many more who chose not to go because of rain. If yesterday morning's weather was like it was on Wednesday (70s and sunny), then there would have a much better number.

Heck, last year they had the spring game at St. Thomas and drew 8,000+.

As to general fan apathy, that's a whole other discussion.
 

EG#9 said:
I think it is pretty obvious what's to blame for fan apathy: a lack of wins. I would guess that most of us on the board have not been alive for even one good season of Gopher football. Most people are going to stop following a team after a decade (or two, or three) of disappointment. There were numerous reports/discussions on this site about dwindling attendance in year one of the new stadium. People may show up once or twice to see the shiny new stadium, but if the product is the same as before, they won't continue to show up. The program needs to have a season like Wisconsin, Northwestern, or Iowa did when they shocked everyone by going to a Rose/Orange Bowl.
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Great take - my son counted 800+ people there and add 150 hanging in the concourse/food to make approx 1000...disappointing

Gray is a talent but in a pro-set offense will be lost so Weber will start for sure...I'm smelling a 6-6 type season given the marginal offensive line, 9 new D starters, and difficult schedule
 



Special teams are where injuries are most likely to happen so it shouldn't be rocket science to figure out that's why they were not live. No use getting anyone hurt going into the offseason.
 

Halsey Hall said:
To blame this on marketing is absolute idiocy. I doubt Nebraska or Alabama needs marketing to bring out fans. I've long since given up my season tickets even though I had them for 35 years. The blame for less than 1,000 fans at the spring game falls on Brewster. You guys can defend him all you want. His b.s. has worn out, friends, the over use of "fantastic" and "very" has gotten old. The product on the field is mediocre at best and there is no sign it's getting any better. I will never go to another spring game because Brewster has 2 guys on the kick return team and zero players on the team rushing the field goal kicker. What the hell is that? And that announcer shouting, "Another Golden Gopher....." has got to go. In the spring game? Come on!!!!
We may beat the team west of us, but I don't see many wins this year.
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Exactly!! The constant apologizing, boasting and crowing is nauseating at best. What the 10% here don't get, is that the 90% everywhere are sick of it. Now we are going to the next level with player misconduct and giving it the TN treatment....ya, that will have parents excited about taking kids to see Gopher football.
 

tjgopher said:
Yesterday's poor attendance was 100% the weather. It rained all morning and was overcast all day. I know 7 people who were planning to go to the game but scrapped the plans around 11 o'clock because of weather. There were probably many, many more who chose not to go because of rain. If yesterday morning's weather was like it was on Wednesday (70s and sunny), then there would have a much better number.

Heck, last year they had the spring game at St. Thomas and drew 8,000+.

As to general fan apathy, that's a whole other discussion.
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Apologize. Apologize. Apologize. You are in lalaland if you believe there were 8000+ at UST last year.
 

being a meaningless program for the last 40+ years is the biggest problem IMO. this town is a front runner's crowd for the most part and the program has not given anyone a reason to be interested.

for the die-hard followers yes there is interest but for the casual viewer 10 years of the same under Mason followed by Brewster's schick and back to back 6-6 seasons with loses in a bowl game nobody cares about and more of the same expected this year no wonder there is so much fan apathy.
 



I turn 40 next month. And in my lifetime, the Gophers have never played in a Jan. 1 bowl. I don't think they have ever won 10 regular-season games. They are probably at least 50 games under .500 in Big Ten play.

I care enough to pay attention. But there are a lot of people in this state and alums around my age who don't even have the Gophers on their radar.

A shiny new stadium does not make up for four decades of below-average to average football.
 

MNGophers11 said:
Apologize. Apologize. Apologize. You are in lalaland if you believe there were 8000+ at UST last year.
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WTF are you talking about? I'm not apologizing. There is absolute apathy. I said the overall apathy is worth a whole other discussion. I'm not apologizing for anything. Our fan support is at times pathetic.

Specifically to yesterday, 100% of the lack of people was because of the weather. There were 1000 people at the stadium. With nice weather there would have probably been 10,000. That isn't anything great and I'm not saying it is. Just saying weather probably kept most away.

As to last year's spring game, can we call it 7000 people? The stadium seats 5500 and there wasn't an empty seat. There were at least 2500 people surrounding the field (several deep all the way around). The weather was georgeous last year. But, hey, if you want to be a dick and crap on the program, go ahead.
 

I am amazed every time this question comes up about why the Gophers football fans are enthusiastic. Isn't it obvious? No team, in any sport draws well after 40 years of mediocrity. Not one conference championship in 40 years and people wonder why the fans don't fill the stadium for a spring game? Win and you won't be able to get a ticket to TCF. Simple as that.
 

tjgopher said:
WTF are you talking about? I'm not apologizing. There is absolute apathy. I said the overall apathy is worth a whole other discussion. I'm not apologizing for anything. Our fan support is at times pathetic.

Specifically to yesterday, 100% of the lack of people was because of the weather. There were 1000 people at the stadium. With nice weather there would have probably been 10,000. That isn't anything great and I'm not saying it is. Just saying weather probably kept most away.

As to last year's spring game, can we call it 7000 people? The stadium seats 5500 and there wasn't an empty seat. There were at least 2500 people surrounding the field (several deep all the way around). The weather was georgeous last year. But, hey, if you want to be a dick and crap on the program, go ahead.
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It didn't rain during or 2 hours prior to the start. Saying it was 100% the fault of the weather is #$$inine at best. No one is crapping on anything but feel free to continue trying to buff that turd...
 

minngg said:
I am amazed every time this question comes up about why the Gophers football fans are enthusiastic. Isn't it obvious? No team, in any sport draws well after 40 years of mediocrity. Not one conference championship in 40 years and people wonder why the fans don't fill the stadium for a spring game? Win and you won't be able to get a ticket to TCF. Simple as that.
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Right, or when the MC keeps promising the hottest chicks in town at his party and you keep going and finding nothing but duds, how long are you going to keep going?
 

MNGophers11 said:
It didn't rain during or 2 hours prior to the start. Saying it was 100% the fault of the weather is #$$inine at best. No one is crapping on anything but feel free to continue trying to buff that turd...
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Normally I wouldn't comment in a thread like this but thats total BS. I showed up at 1:15 and it had JUST stopped raining. In fact, I had the wipers going on my car on the way to the game and I live in Maple Grove (I commented to my son that I hope it lets up soon). Please don't lie to try to support your agenda. Also, people make a decision on whther to go to the game or not either very early on Saturday or even the night before (based on the weather forecast). It was obvious from looking at the sky and the forecast that it was iffy at best if it would rain or not. Many people (including 6 people in my group) chose to do something else that didn't involve possibly getting soaked. These same people gladly sit through all weather for real games but chose not to do this for a glorified practice. Oh and thanks for the comments PH (or a PH wannabe). You've made around 40 posts so far on this board and I believe all of them are of a trollish nature.
 


And the No. 1 Answer is: Fans of big time football in Minnesota have had a much more successful team than the Gophers to support for the last 40 years - the Vikings. There are not more than a handful of Division I football programs in the entire country that have had to compete in the same town with one of the most successful NFL teams since the 1960's. If the Vikings had the Lions record of futility the Gophers would have had a much easier time gaining the attention of the media and the loyalty of the fans.

Furthermore, the few Division I schools that have been able to compete head to head with NFL teams have made winning conference and national championships an important part of their mission (for better or for worse). Since the 1960's the U's Administration and Board of Regents have not shown the necessary desire and commitment that it takes to win football games year in and year out. It is an absolute disgrace that Wisconsin and Iowa have been allowed to surpass the U during the last 25 years. Most fans would feel much better about the Gophers despite the lack of Big 10 Championships if at least they could compete with the the Badgers and Hawkeyes on an even basis.
 

I think it's the culture of the "woe is me" attitude of the modern Gopher fan. You get a new coach that actually attracts better talent to the program, and when things aren't immediately better you hear more of the old "it's tough to be a Gopher fan" crowd than you hear optimistic outlooks.

Now is the time for Gopher fans to rally around the program. Brewster's talent will start to see the field and it's now or never.

Unfortunately, I think if Minnesota drops more than one game against their first five opponents next season, the culture will stay the same. They've got to beat Middle Tenn. State, South Dakota, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern while being competitive against USC for the fans to start believing things may turn around. If the Gophers drop one to USC and another to someone like Middle Tenn. State or NW the fans will surely believe the program is doomed. It's essential that the Gophers get off to a good start next season. They'll need the crowd support for the second half.
 

I just don't think it is that big of a deal. Look at this thread. You have some blaming weather (which is what kept me from making the 3 hr drive with my 1 and 3yr olds), others blaming marketing (which is a fair point considering that only us die hards probably even knew about it), consistant mediocrity (which no doubt is an underlying issue for the casual fan, but for the amount of alumni and the fact that the U is the only D1 school in the state, we shouldn't have to rely on bandwagon poseurs), a guy who supposedly held his tickets all through the dome era but is blaming Brewster for "first down" thing that was started way before Brewster took the job.

It doesn't matter. The Gophers will win, and will win sooner than later and the place will be full of people who will say things like "I'm a die hard, I was there through the (insert wacker, dome, mason, Gute, etc) era, I was at (insert Nebraska meltdown, UM 2003, UW 2005, NU 2008, etc) and have had tickets in my family for 473 years". And I will roll my eyes and play along.
 

tjgopher said:
WTF are you talking about? I'm not apologizing. There is absolute apathy. I said the overall apathy is worth a whole other discussion. I'm not apologizing for anything. Our fan support is at times pathetic.

Specifically to yesterday, 100% of the lack of people was because of the weather. There were 1000 people at the stadium. With nice weather there would have probably been 10,000. That isn't anything great and I'm not saying it is. Just saying weather probably kept most away.

As to last year's spring game, can we call it 7000 people? The stadium seats 5500 and there wasn't an empty seat. There were at least 2500 people surrounding the field (several deep all the way around). The weather was georgeous last year. But, hey, if you want to be a dick and crap on the program, go ahead.
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I do agree with the weather being the most influential, unfortunately. I had a big group going to the game and a majority ducked out, not so much because it wasn't pouring rain at the time but because they didn't want to take the chance of being dumped on like it was earlier on that morning.

This whole thread sounds like one giant moping session. I don't know about some of you guys, but I don't read or post here for therapy. Try to be a little more positive and not dwell on past mishaps.
 

Last year there was excitement about the program. New stadium, people were hopeful to see more improvement, and the marketing was better because of the move outdoors. This year there just isn't much excitement or optimism in the general population about the upcoming season, people dislike Brewster, the schedule is brutal and it doesn't look like many wins are on the horizon. Meanwhile the Twins are playing awesome and in a new park, and the Vikes had a great season and people are interested to see who they are taking in the draft.

Next year will be better for the spring game. After we go 5-7 and Brewster is canned people will show up to check out the new coach and see how he does things.
 

If Minnesota had more than a couple thousand dedicated fans (like 20 X more) the program would not have been allowed to wallow in mediocrity for 50 years. Winning would help that, but Minnesota is Minnesota. Even on this board with the better fans there is a lot of apathy.
 

Also, it was spring jam weekend and most students were either drinking or watching the battle of the bands competition behind coffman. I was at the football game, but from what I've heard there were far more people behind coffman than watching the game. Poor planning on the U's part to put two major events at the same time.
 

Well, I'll probably get ripped, but my family and two others (12 people total) bailed on it because of the rain (or at least that as of 11AM it looked like we were in for a very wet day). We all have small kids (hard to entertain them to begin with) and the thought of keeping them happy in cold/rainy weather wasn't too appealing. We had all been planning on attending for weeks. I am a season ticket holder and if it was an actual game I would have for sure gone, minus the little kids.
 

Fans were legitimatly excited when Holtz was here. He bails and it's a huge letdown.

In 1994 the U led by Pat Forceia got people on board and packed the dome for Penn State. 56-3 and a huge letdown.

Coming off a great 1999 season, the Gophers lose to Ohio at home in 2000. Huge letdown.

2003 against Michigan....ultimate letdown.

Even 2005...Maroney and Barber and unbeaten heading to Penn State. Obliterated on the field...casual fans tune out.

If you're not a diehard, why would you invest a second of time before that ultimate breakthrough.
 

Tiresome topic...

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Go Gophers!
 

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