AWESOME Student Support!!

[footballguy51]

If there is some sort of "incentive" to having the BG-ID card swiped for Ziggy Points or what not, they should have that set up and allow students to swipe at ANY time not just when they enter.

Show the ID at the gate and get right in, then make their way to the Student Services desk or Guest Services to have their ID scanned/swiped at a later point- halftime, when they go to get a hot dog, or even when they are leaving.

Back in the day, when you received a sticker in the mail to put on your ID, people made fake stickers so they could go to football games for free. The main purpose of swiping the ID is that the scanners verify your enrollment status so alumni are not using their old ID to get in for free.

[Dayons_Den]

If there is some sort of "incentive" to having the BG-ID card swiped for Ziggy Points or what not, they should have that set up and allow students to swipe at ANY time not just when they enter.

Show the ID at the gate and get right in, then make their way to the Student Services desk or Guest Services to have their ID scanned/swiped at a later point- halftime, when they go to get a hot dog, or even when they are leaving.

Back in the day, when you received a sticker in the mail to put on your ID, people made fake stickers so they could go to football games for free. The main purpose of swiping the ID is that the scanners verify your enrollment status so alumni are not using their old ID to get in for free.

I certainly understand and know that and in this situation you have to weigh up the % of fans that would sneak in like this against the % of fans that would get annoyed with standing and waiting to have every I.D. scanned upon entry.

My feeling would be that if the fan is fanatic enough to come back to a game on an old i.d. then that is a person you want at the game and can allow that variance on paid admission especially considering the amount of "freebies" and ticket offers that are out there. For accounting purposes you would account for it move on.

[Falcon Fanatic]

Concession stand service is terrible. People working there move like they are low rate employees not interested it efficiency. Very annoying.

Not sure if all of the concession stands were run this way, but one of them had a parent group working them, which raises money for their high school athletic team. In this case it was for Maumee high school's hockey players' accounts. Honestly, the one I went to (this one, that I mentioned) had really good service. The long lines moved quickly too, so it wasn't just them serving me (because I knew them). Maybe they need a regular employee at each stand to ensure things run smoothly. Might be a suggestion to make!

[Falconfreak90]

Concession stand service is terrible. People working there move like they are low rate employees not interested it efficiency. Very annoying.

I have to agree 110%. BGSU MUST get the concession issues ironed out. I stood in line for a good 15 minutes to get two drinks. There had to be at least 8 workers and 6 would stand there and watch. No wonder the lines barely move. I bit my tongue (surprising, I know) while in line but you could tell a LOT of people were getting annoyed...and a good # of them were students. This is why I rarely buy concessions. A lot of people head out to the tailgates to grab a quick drink and food. 20 minute halftimes allow this.

Perhaps we need to rethink the concession stand layouts? Or add a couple more behind the scoreboard in back of the FC tent? Finally, are all the stands manned by volunteers?

I will send an email to C Kingston but make sure it's positive. I'm sure this guy will care about any improvements that can be made.

[FalconTurf]

Concession management is horrible. Out of hot dogs and pretzels before halftime started on east side. Very evident management was unprepared for a decent crowd that had little time to tailgate or go out to eat on a Thursday night. And the smell of burnt popcorn is becoming a regular feature at BG events - tough to get that flavor out of the kettle which is becoming good reason to skip the corn and no reason for anything to wash it down.

More money for BG gear and local pizza. Not all bad.

[Falco_peregrinusana]

Concession stand service is terrible. People working there move like they are low rate employees not interested it efficiency. Very annoying.
As far as student attendance goes: Of those hundreds of them that came probably 50 or 60 will show up for basketball games by mid January.

Amen to the concession stand issue.... last year, I think I saw three people starve to death waiting on a hot dog. It's a good thing the games are four hours long!!!

[zete]

It has SUCKED for years. I doubt anything will change.

[BGSU33]

As for the student turnout, and overall attendance for that matter, I have said it for years - it boils down to a few simple things: win, good weather and not head-to-head with OSU. If BG wins games and has good weather, we'll get decent crowds. But if we follow up the Tulsa win with a loss at Kent State, or have poor weather, it's going to affect our attendance.

[Falcon137]

As for the student turnout, and overall attendance for that matter, I have said it for years - it boils down to a few simple things: win, good weather and not head-to-head with OSU. If BG wins games and has good weather, we'll get decent crowds. But if we follow up the Tulsa win with a loss at Kent State, or have poor weather, it's going to affect our attendance.

To me, opponent matters more than anything else. In 2010 there were 20,000+ for a matchup of 0-2 Marshall vs 0-2 BG. It's hard for BG to have big crowds without 2 things - 1- opponents that don't bring fan bases and 2 - teams townies don't care about.

Look at the Kent game. Good student turnout, a weather day you dream of in mid November, East division title on the line, OSU played after BG and there was only 15,000 and change.

Tulsa was a good crowd (18,000+). But, it took HUGE student numbers and one of the best marketing pushes from the athletic department I have seen in the 10 years I've been following BG football. Although, student numbers always seem to be great on Thursday nights.

Attendance is what it is. If BG starts 3-0, I don't expect somewhere between 15k and 17k for the Murray State and Akron games and even with a 5-0 start I would be pleasantly surprised if there were 20k for homecoming vs UMass. I would be surprised if the UT game didn't sellout.

It used to bother me there weren't more people at the games. But, my group and I have fun (although, it's a lot more fun with big crowds). What bugs me is the majority of fans who you see at the games act like they are at a golf tournament. It's a football game stand up, cheer, and make some noise. It's what makes going to a big time stadium fun, every single person is into the game. Same goes for going to road games with BG. Love sitting with other fans at road games who I don't see at the Doyt. Last year for the UT game we sat behind an older couple who were up and cheering and into the game more than anyone. I found out later they were some of BG's biggest donors. I have a story like that from almost every road game I've been to. Also, the Falcon Fanatics group has been doing a great job, I hope that group continues to grow the next few years, love seeing them involved at home and at road games.

As a side note, have the people on the board ever thought about purchasing tickets in a block with one another? It seems the people who are there who don't get into it seem to be people who came and go or have freebee tickets given to them. I don't think anyone on this board would be against making noise.

[FortWayneFalcon]

As a side note, have the people on the board ever thought about purchasing tickets in a block with one another? It seems the people who are there who don't get into it seem to be people who came and go or have freebee tickets given to them. I don't think anyone on this board would be against making noise.

Hmmmm...might be fun. Maybe we could locate right behind the visitor's bench. They could use some noise over there. It might not hurt the rest of the folks in the west stands to hear cheering that isn't only coming from the southeast corner.

[Pete Segaard]

As a side note, have the people on the board ever thought about purchasing tickets in a block with one another? It seems the people who are there who don't get into it seem to be people who came and go or have freebee tickets given to them. I don't think anyone on this board would be against making noise.

Hmmmm...might be fun. Maybe we could locate right behind the visitor's bench. They could use some noise over there. It might not hurt the rest of the folks in the west stands to hear cheering that isn't only coming from the southeast corner.

Hey! One family can only make so much noise.

[jpfalcon09]

Mr. Kingston is taking suggestions through the Falcon View on the BG athletics website, so I encourage all of you to submit things through there that you believe needs improvement. He seems like the kind of guy who is going to be proactive and address these problems in a quick fashion.

[kdog27]

Seems like every year after the first game there is quite a lengthy thread about concessions and super long lines for students to get in. Seems like they should have learned something from the past but clearly not.

[FortWayneFalcon]

As a side note, have the people on the board ever thought about purchasing tickets in a block with one another? It seems the people who are there who don't get into it seem to be people who came and go or have freebee tickets given to them. I don't think anyone on this board would be against making noise.

Hmmmm...might be fun. Maybe we could locate right behind the visitor's bench. They could use some noise over there. It might not hurt the rest of the folks in the west stands to hear cheering that isn't only coming from the southeast corner.

Hey! One family can only make so much noise.

I know, Pete. You guys do good work over there.

[Falcon Fanatic]

Mr. Kingston is taking suggestions through the Falcon View on the BG athletics website, so I encourage all of you to submit things through there that you believe needs improvement. He seems like the kind of guy who is going to be proactive and address these problems in a quick fashion.

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