Calling All Fans

[Bleeding Orange]

I haven't been to a game since last year, basically because of a bad wheel and my inability to sit in a car for more than an hour, but I feel like I've got to say something that a lot of people here aren't going to like. I don't mean any offense to anyone, but I kind of feel like it is the proverbial elephant in the room.

Watching the game on Sunday, the biggest thing that jumped out at me about the crowd was the fact that there were very few students in the student section. I know that a lot of you alumni (including me) enjoy sitting in the student section...and I don't even realy know how to say this without offending anyone. All I'm saying is that I remember going to games and tripping over students stacked three deep along the sideline, and this was just a couple of years ago. Sunday it looked like there were more alumni and townies in the student section than students. ESPNU showed clips of the 2005 UT game on Sunday, and there was a stunning contrast in the crowds from then and now.

I realize that student attendence is down because we haven't been very good for a couple of years, but we are getting better, and more students will start coming. I guess I'm just kind of worried that younger students coming to AA are going to get the wrong idea of what name "The House That Roars" really means. I certainly don't mean any of this as a personal dig at anyone, so please don't take it as such. I'm just throwing it out there for discussion.

[falconmama2007]

What is the difference between the student of a few years ago verses the student of today? Do you think its the winning? I know the Browns have been loosing for so many years I don't even count them any more, but I remain a Cleveland Brown fan even though they are loosing.

[Bleeding Orange]

What is the difference between the student of a few years ago verses the student of today? Do you think its the winning? I know the Browns have been loosing for so many years I don't even count them any more, but I remain a Cleveland Brown fan even though they are loosing.

I don't know what the difference is. It does seem to be a progressive trend, though. Hammb has told me before that I wouldn't believe the difference in the student section when he was there just before I was, and now I don't think today's students would believe the difference between now and when I graduated in '05. I can only venture to guess that a couple of years of bad play has decreased student interest in attending games, and fewer students means less student atmosphere.

I think you have to remember, also, that college sports and professional sports are very different in terms of fan bases. People love the Browns because they represent Cleveland. Most students at BG and other non-urban commuter schools haven't necessarily grown up around BG and loving the Falcons. I think most students, including myself, have to go through a process of developing affection for the U. and it's sports teams. Plus, most students are only at BG for 4-6 years, so there is constant turnover in the student fan ranks.

I'm tired and talking myself in circles, I fear. Just to keep TG on his toes, i'm going to shut up now.

[hammb]

What is the difference between the student of a few years ago verses the student of today? Do you think its the winning? I know the Browns have been loosing for so many years I don't even count them any more, but I remain a Cleveland Brown fan even though they are loosing.

I don't know what the difference is. It does seem to be a progressive trend, though. Hammb has told me before that I wouldn't believe the difference in the student section when he was there just before I was, and now I don't think today's students would believe the difference between now and when I graduated in '05. I can only venture to guess that a couple of years of bad play has decreased student interest in attending games, and fewer students means less student atmosphere.

I think you have to remember, also, that college sports and professional sports are very different in terms of fan bases. People love the Browns because they represent Cleveland. Most students at BG and other non-urban commuter schools haven't necessarily grown up around BG and loving the Falcons. I think most students, including myself, have to go through a process of developing affection for the U. and it's sports teams. Plus, most students are only at BG for 4-6 years, so there is constant turnover in the student fan ranks.

I'm tired and talking myself in circles, I fear. Just to keep TG on his toes, i'm going to shut up now.

BO, no doubt the student section right now is COMPLETELY different than it was when I was in school. Of course remember that when I was in school we watched the all time scoring record fall, we had multiple 20 win seasons, and watched absolute stars like Stacey, Esterkamp, McLeod, Pardon, and Matela. We haven't had players on that level, and our team hasn't been that good in the 5 years since, and our student support has waned because of it. Don't forget that Dan Dakich was still beloved at the time as well. He had come in and put together a stretch of good years. Much tougher to get fan support after 5 years of dismal play.

Still, you're right that the makeup of the student section has changed. There are more townies & alumni in that section than their used to be, but I don't think that's a problem, it's a SYMPTOM of the problem. There aren't any students at the games to sit in the student section, if there were no doubt that many of those townies would migrate away from the rowdiness and take up seats at the higher levels. My senior year you actually had to show a student id and get a wristband to sit in the student section...sure some die hard non-students found out ways around it, but it was mostly just students. It was rowdy. The sideline squad was in full force. The Kegs'n'Eggs crew was still a group of funny drunks and not what they deteriorated into. I routinely arrived right as the doors opened to get my spot in the front row. Those times were fun.

But, to comment on your point, I don't think it's the townies keeping the students out. There just doesn't seem to be much student interest. The athletic department could go back to requiring student IDs to sit in that section, but then you'd most likely just have a completely empty looking section. Personally, I think that'd be far worse.

At this point I don't think there's anything going on in that section that would drive students away if they came to a game. Nobody is yelling at them to sit down or watch their language. There are still plenty of great seats available, even with the townies there. The biggest problem with the student section is a lack of students. I don't think us alumni/townies are even close to the cause for that problem, it's merely a symptom of it. I'm hopeful that as we continue winning the student support will be back, driving the alumni/townies back out of the student section. Although to get me out of there they're probably going to need tasers

[factman]

Another reason for the "townies" sitting in the "student" section is that they closed the south end bleachers for the 10-12 Falcon Club members that use it, in one of the stuppidest moves of the current administration!
If they would have put as much time,effort, and money into promoting and improving the crowds (especially students), as they did doing that, the crowds would be much better. Many townies used to sit in that section, especially those with elememtary school age kids, as well as high school age kids.
If you take a close look, they have also lost alot of the people in the "prime" seating (orange chairs), and some of those have gone to other areas or just don't come to games anymore. The "orange" seats are barely half full at any game, including TU, nor are they even sold. We do a great job of "dropping parachutes and shooting fouls" at every time out, but maybe we should put some effort into good old fashioned marketing, hit the streets and sell tickets!! Get in the dorms, the fraternity and sorority houses, get some attendance incentives going for campus groups, and fill it up. When I was leaving the game Sunday, I drove by old fraternity row, and a couple of the houses were having functions with full houses, that were obviously going on during the BB game. That should never happen in my way of thinking

[JoeFalcon]

We have a large, Division I athletic department with several full-time administrators and employees. We have a nationally renowned Sport Management program with a couple hundred enrolled students. You'd think there would be some way to channel these considerable assets into trivial little things to an athletic department, like, I don't know, GETTING PEOPLE OUT TO GAMES?

Student leaders, Sport Management students/faculty and the athletic department need to put their collective heads together and get serious about student attendence. It's not rocket science, it's creativity and effort.

[JoeFalcon]

We do a great job of "dropping parachutes and shooting fouls" at every time out, but maybe we should put some effort into good old fashioned marketing, hit the streets and sell tickets!! Get in the dorms, the fraternity and sorority houses, get some attendance incentives going for campus groups, and fill it up. When I was leaving the game Sunday, I drove by old fraternity row, and a couple of the houses were having functions with full houses, that were obviously going on during the BB game. That should never happen in my way of thinking

Amen, factman.

[Bleeding Orange]

Hammb, I understand what you are saying completely, and I do agree that student attendence is a symptom of the quality of play on the court. Watching the game Sunday, though, I was absolutely shocked that there were only students along the north half of the sideline for a TOLEDO game! I guess for me, who had some of the most fun I've ever had along that sideline, I can't imagine any reason why students wouldn't want to be there, and I'm kind of afraid that they are being told that they can't stand there because people in the stands behind want to sit down. Having not been to a game this year I can't say that is actually happening, but it would be an absolute tragedy if that was a part of it.

And Factman, you are dead on. When I was in school the BG Greek community was an absolute joke in terms of supporting athletics. Sure, there are individuals within the community that come out to games, but organizationally, they make no effort to encourage their members to go to games, and most of them schedule socials and other events during football and basketball games. It never ceases to amaze me that the one football game the Greeks turn out for each year is Homecoming, but they never make it inside the gates. Rather, they stay outside the stadium getting s**tfaced with their alumni. I guess I've always thought the purpose of the Greek community was to serve as leaders among the student body and to set an example of community service and school spirit. They do a very good job of the first part at BGSU, but an abysmal job of the second, in my opinion.

[Flipper]

factman is on the money again...the south grandstand was the PERFECT spot for families with younger kids to sit. It gave them a space to hang out and play without blocking anyone's view...Frieda and Freddie would often be up there with a big clump of kids.. Does the falcon club really need the space so a few people can sit in lawn chairs or whatever and knock back a brew?

[The Niz]

Its obvious to me that this is a hockey school and people just don't care about basketball, maybe we should cut the hoops program



The falcon club is usually about as full as the rest of AA. Against slUT there were probably a good40-50 people up there.

[hammb]

Hammb, I understand what you are saying completely, and I do agree that student attendence is a symptom of the quality of play on the court. Watching the game Sunday, though, I was absolutely shocked that there were only students along the north half of the sideline for a TOLEDO game! I guess for me, who had some of the most fun I've ever had along that sideline, I can't imagine any reason why students wouldn't want to be there, and I'm kind of afraid that they are being told that they can't stand there because people in the stands behind want to sit down. Having not been to a game this year I can't say that is actually happening, but it would be an absolute tragedy if that was a part of it.

If I ever heard someone telling students to sit down I assure you I'd be the first to tell the complainer to either stand up or move out of the student section. I'm with you that it'd be a tragedy if that were happening. It should not happen, and to my knowledge it is not currently happening.

If we could start getting 1000+ crazy students to every game the atmosphere would be much better. I know that I personally will stand for every second of the game and jump around and yell and scream with all the students if that's the nature of how the section is going. It's a blast when it's like that. It's up to the students to get that going though. We need a large contingent that get into the game.


Remember too BO, that my time and your time as students came at the tail end of a pretty darn good run for BG hoops. We were pretty good all 4 years I was in school. The Daniels era was followed by the Stacey era, which melded with the McLeod era. That was a stretch of 7-8 years where we had one of the best players in the League each season, and were among the best teams in the league for most of those years. Student support was definitely at one of it's peaks when I was there, but I wonder how long it took to build that support since the previous down time had been?

It's sad that we've struggled to get support this year when we've been playing so well at home, but I'm convinced that if we make winning a habit, so 20 win seasons are again in our sights the student support will return. It might take it longer than us die hards would like, but if we win they'll be back.

BG sports is seriously one of the most fairweather fan bases I've ever seen...so much so that it takes a longer stretch of success before the fans respond.

[Bleeding Orange]

I'm really glad to hear that isn't happening, and you have no need to explain yourself. I know you, and I know that you are just as immature and crazy as most freshmen.

It just saddens me that students aren't taking advantage of being involved in BG athletics. Between football, hockey, and basketball, I don't think I have ever had more fun in my life than I had in those student sections. I would be thrilled if everyone could experience the '03 NIU football game and the '05 UT hoops game, just once. Those were absolutely unforgettable experiences. In fact, just thinking about them, I'm sitting here contemplating popping a bottle of aspirin and coming to the game Saturday. Hmm...

[jg4242]

Well, I just created a Facebook event advertising the games, and invited over 200 people. That'll probably grow pretty quickly, esp. since it's early in the week. I also remember standing in the student section when I was a kid, and those were some of the rowdiest and loudest student sections I've seen. Now it's just pathetic. We need to find a way to get more students involved in BG athletics. I'm tired of just waiting around for the teams to start winning again. It's time to be proactive in our support of the Falcons, rather than reactive.

[factman]

Its obvious to me that this is a hockey school and people just don't care about basketball, maybe we should cut the hoops program



The falcon club is usually about as full as the rest of AA. Against slUT there were probably a good40-50 people up there.

.......but if you take the administrators and their kids away, plus the people that were checking attendance, and the coaches that were "ask" to be there, you have about 10-12!!

[Globetrotter]

Just got tickets, second level behind BGs bench. I will be with my dad, a Tall 60 something bearded man, I myself am a ruggedly handsome 27 year old. JK. Say hello, my real name is Ryan