Attendance Problems

[Bassdrummin]

I think it all comes down eventually to marketing. Outside of the stadium I have only seen one example of bg football marketing in the six years i've been around this school. That was last year's Josh harris billboards. I'm starting to feel that if BG does not want to market for the games, on and off campus, someone else needs to step in and do it. Blowout or not, having a lot of people in the stands makes that stadium electric. Until we as a university can create that electric feeling consitantly, the game will be boring to those fairweather fans in the stands. People dont flock to tOSU and U(suck)M just to watch football. The go there to be part of something bigger than life. They come whether they are playing a bottom dweller or a top ten team. BG football can be the same, but only after we have created the "whole" experience for everyone in attendance. That electric feeling is what brings people to the stands and it is that electric feeling that keeps people coming back year in and year out. I remember the blackney era... aka.. "run it up the middle." Those games sucked. The reason... Not just the football-mostly the fact that nobody showed up to watch the game. On the other hand, the NIU-BG game with gameday and a sell out.... that was the best time I've ever had at a game. Not just because of the football or the T.V.- mostly because the stadium came alive that day. As fans, we need to develop the same concept of game time as the football team implements. Every game counts, every game is special. That's how falcon football should be approached.
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[NWLB]

For the record, my freshmen year, I say somebody take Tampa Bay to the superbowl in a Tecmo Bowl tourney in Khol Hall. Of course they still lost, but they got there!

I have see these arguements about wanting "out of the MAC" and how "there isn't any competition" before. It was in 1994 as we ground up the MAC until we were beaten by CMU.

Lets put the pipe dreams of new conferences aside, because its not going to happen.

I think the perception of the MAC is starting to reach a point where the blowouts are going to have a net-negative effect. Yes you have NIU, BG, MIami, Marshall, and UT. Those games people expect a tight game, or lots of offense on both sides. But after awhile, waxing the cupcakes reaches a point of negative returns. Even Marshall has problems with this, and has seen crowds wane over the years. They still draw darn well, but not the gonzo sell-outs they used to have.

We need to recognize the lower half of the MAC must gain some ground. Comments by our own Paul Krebs indicate that this very problem is in the sights of the conference leadership. They are talking of "membership standards" which is the first time anybody has spoken publicly about holding all members to a baseline standard of competitiveness.

Meanwhile, we are seeing progress at EMU, Akron, Ohio, and even Kent, BSU, and UB. We just aren't seeing enough of it yet.

The REAL problem is the same as it has been. We need to improve and add entertainment value to these games. (improving the gameday experience) How that isn't happening has many expamples.
Lets consider my feeling that we have about 8,500 hard-core local fans, who turn-out no matter what. Add the recent average of students attending, give or take some light turn-out for homecoming, and you have a good breakdown of that games attendance.

Now look at a 10,000 person turnout for EMU, and you can figure a few things. Assume half of fewer of the normal student turn-out came to the game. (most likely less than that) Add a nearly non-existent non-local turn-out, and figure the rest as being hard-cores. (This figures to be at best, 3,000 students, 6,500 locals, and maybe 500 visitors.) The result is that not only did the students not buy EMU being worth seeing, even some of the hard-core fans didn't think the wind was worth braving, for a certain blow-out with no impact on the MAC races.

Take this into account and you can point to what isn't working right now.

People from beyond the local area are not making plans to attend BGSU football games. People beyound and in the area don't feel there is enough traditional draw, or entertainment value represented by the game itself to attend. People local and beyond don't feel there is enough traditional draw or entertainment value to thigns surrounding the game or seperate from it, that makes eitehr travel to BGSU worthwhile. The weather only hurts matters, it does not help. There isn't anything convincing anybody among any of these groups that any of the above isn't true. There isn't enough happening to change the basic truth to most of the issues. The solutions to these issues are complex and are not strictly in the hands of the athletics department.

I will say this again: we focus too much on single game homecomings. We need to enhance the gameday experience. And related to all of this, the marketing effort must be improved.

How many tents were at this weeks game? Three? Talk about a buzz-kill there. Since most departments blew their homecoming effort weeks ago, I don't expect we'll see many until Marshall. I'll pile it on by saying the tents are becoming unoriginal and often make it clear people are just "going through the paces."

There is some kind of "orange crush" stunt being promoted for the Marshall game. I only know about it because I saw it at the check-out of Meijer. I have no idea what it means, and I'm sure next to nobody has heard of it outside of maybe a couple of thousand people.

They had a "take a kid to the game" promotion this week. Did they actually do anything special for the game, or simply slap a label on the day, cut some discounts on tickets, and hope people show up? And did more than a few thousand locals know about it?

Did the kids zone deflate and leave before the game was over again?

Is there a single changing table in any bathroom at Doyt Perry Stadium?

I'm really not interested in kicking a dog while its down. Markting is a voodoo science, undoing decades of institutional inertia is hard, and finding money to do it........

My feelings would be the same if we drew 25,000 every week. I would feel that way because I don't want to see BGSU waste the good times, and have nothing to stand on when they aren't. As it applies here, we are subject to too many stars being lined up for a good crowd to show. If the foundation were better, we would have a more solid crowd every week.

Its like having a christmas tree with all the lights and bulbs on it, without having put it in a stand with water. Sure it looks good, but without the stand, it falls over and eventually dies.

[Warthog]

for a certain blow-out with no impact on the MAC races.

No impact on the MAC race? What are you smoking? EMU was in the exact same position as us, having lost to one of the co-leaders and yet to play the other one. If they win out, they would have had one loss, with a victory over NIU and a loss to UT. At worst, they finish second, if UT wins out (unlikely with road games at NIU and Miami and BG at home yet) . At best, they are playing in the MAC championship game. The loser of the game Saturday kissed their championship hopes goodbye, while the winner, especially EMU, held their own fate in their hands. There was much at stake Saturday. :duh:

[Bassdrummin]

My argument depends on one important aspect I forgot to mention, getting fans into the stands. It is well known that the best form of marketing is word of mouth. As die-hard fans of falcon football, it is up to us to bring in new eyes to the stadium. I'm not a browns fan for my own sake, i am a browns fan because my dad is a browns fan. When i think of browns football, i dont think of "the best" football around. I think of the times i've spent with my dad. I'm sure falconfreak has a great time at the games, not just because of falcon football, but mostly because of the time spent with his family. The gameday experience can be enhanced by the company you bring to the game. Either way, we can yell about attendance all we want... but the only way to fix it is to look back and see what made us fans of BG. Then do our best to recreate that effect in others.

[Flipper]

There is a changing table in at least one of the men's rooms at the Doyt. At least I HOPE that was a changing table I put my kid on...

[Warthog]

There is some kind of "orange crush" stunt being promoted for the Marshall game. I only know about it because I saw it at the check-out of Meijer. I have no idea what it means, and I'm sure next to nobody has heard of it outside of maybe a couple of thousand people.

I haven't herd (spelling intentional ) anything about it.

They had a "take a kid to the game" promotion this week. Did they actually do anything special for the game, or simply slap a label on the day, cut some discounts on tickets, and hope people show up? And did more than a few thousand locals know about it?

Kids 12 and under got in free. I took my son and two of his friends. The kids just walked in, no ticket. So I guess we were supposed to sit in the GA section. But given the crowd, we were able to sit about three rows from the top, on the 45 yard line. And had no one even near us.

Did the kids zone deflate and leave before the game was over again?

Take a kid to the game promotion and the Kid's Zone wasn't even set up!!! My guess it was due to the wind, but the kids were still disappointed.

And to rant a little bit here: Can some please explain to the people in the ticket booths that my Falcon Kids Club card gets me a RESERVED ticket. Everytime I show up at the game to get the tickets, the person looks at me like I have three heads and that I somehow printed this card up at home as a scheme to get free tickets. Guess this week I will print out the application and take it along so I can show them the I get a free RESERVED ticket for each Kids Club member. :rant: Another example of the promotions people and the ticket people not communicating.

[NWLB]

The EMU game meant nothing to the MAC race in the east. It was a game that short of an act of god, BGSU should not have lost and public expectations reflected that. We can talk of EMU being in the race, but nobody on earth believed it. The same is true of the coming WMU game. No, WMU isn't in a race, and yes, technically we are trying to stay in a race. But nobody expect us to lose, or to win by a small margin.

I agree that word of mouth is a great thing. However I think that has distinct limits locally. I don't think hashing out issues here online has an impact on this by-the-way. I'm sure somebody is thinking that. Ultimately most folks are going to want to hear about more than just the game, and it gets back to the same core issue: improving the entertainment value/gameday experience.

What am I going to tell people about BGSU football aside from the team on the field. We have all the trappings of a nice football experience. Tent city? Only on the good games. Kid Zone? Only if the weather is good. Alumni events? Oh, I'm sorry, homecoming was two weeks ago, there was a tent. Fun for the kids before the game? Fun for the singles after the game? Campus tours to see what changed? Some kind of really cool marketing hook before, during, after gametime? I laughed when Toledo had the car-eating robot, and laughed harder when they couldn't get it in the stadium and they had watch it in the parking lot outside. But it got people there. They kept the stunts rolling until the trainning wheels weren't needed. Their team wasn't AS good as the hype, but it wasn't bad, and typically won at home.

BGSU isn't far from the solution. Not blowing it against NIU would have fixed a lot of problems. But things still arn't far from being what we want. It is buffing out the kinks that remains.

[NWLB]

There is a changing table in at least one of the men's rooms at the Doyt. At least I HOPE that was a changing table I put my kid on...

Well I wasn't speaking from experience, my wife mentioned it. You know, the whole diaper thing, football game, faking a stroke that leaves me unable to take the baby to the bathroom personally, stuff happens.