Attendance Woes

[Class of 61]

Maybe because I've been around "just a bit longer" than you, I can tell you that there have been MANY worse losses in BG's history.
Perhaps the worst I saw in person was vs. WVU, the year they were in the top 3 in the country. We fumbled the opening kickoff, they recovered, threw a pass into the endzone and we were down by 7 within about 60 sec. or so.
On the next possession we threw a pick, they went in again and we were down by 14 within the 1st three minutes.... went downhill from there, if humanly possible. I was also at the FIRST Mich. game when we were blown out, again quite a few yrs. ago. It happens when you're in a rebuild mode, or just don't have the guns to compete with the "big guys" in any particular year.

I too was not happy with the overall performance on Sat. vs. Toledo...too many mental as well as physical errors got us in the hole...blew a chance for 7 with a false start...dropped several catchable balls including the Biggest one near the end of the game...and our young tackles got "handled" by the UT defensive line, especially on the right side. Too many "negative" plays...on the other hand, we finally generated a good rush, caused a sack and turnover that led to a score in the 3rd Q. It was only the FOURTH sack allowed by UT's o-line this season! What an amazing stat in today's football . Of course, UT's passing offense with short bubble screens , quick slants etc. can help account for that to a point...they help their QB a lot with that type of offense.

[Globetrotter]

I went to the OSU game this weekend. Watched the first half of BG then went to the tailgate and tried to follow on my phone but to be honest I wasn't that interested after watching the first half on ESPN3 on my computer. The difference between OSU Football and the game experience and BG football's game experience is further than BG football and my high school. I remember the Urban Meyer days and going to the Gameday game and being excited about where this program was going. The way college football is going I don't think there is any chance we ever build ourselves up to Boise St or even the success N Illinois has recently had by the time the powers that be kick us out of the party. The gameday experience at OSU is just an amazing event. We don't have to be OSU to be worth having a program but I hate OSU and I would much rather go to a game there then BG. And I love BG. The student and community apathy toward the program need to change or maybe there shouldn't really be a program. What's the point of pretending? I would bet there were more people in the stadium at OSU this weekend then actually care about BG's football program.

[Falcon Commander]

"We don't have to be OSU to be worth having a program but I hate OSU and I would much rather go to a game there then BG. And I love BG."

HUH?

[Globetrotter]

"We don't have to be OSU to be worth having a program but I hate OSU and I would much rather go to a game there then BG. And I love BG."

HUH?

I think that the people who post things like the above are just so completely isolated in the BG world that they don't realize how much better other things are. And this is the problem, the program isn't growing or evolving. It's just maintaining the status quo and catering to the die hards. Just like my high school football team would do. It's not an event, it doesn't draw in people who don't already care, and the lack of a tradition that people actual care about doesn't keep people coming back if they do show up. I don't have a friend from college who has watched a minute of BG football this year.

And the response is eye rolls, and this is a dumb thread and etc. etc. Essentially. Bullying on a message board because we don't agree with ideas. Not conversation on if it's fixable or even worth fixing. Doesn't get us anywhere and it becomes less and less worth people's time. I have been firmly in the anti-OSU pro BG football camp, even while I was a student at OSU. It's not really worth it when the product is so much more enjoyable.

[Falcon137]

BG is stuck in never never land as far as gameday experience.

I won't even mention the parking. It was never organized. Now it's just poorly organized.

Everyone within the athletic department keeps talking about, "Improving the gameday experience." I mean this very seriously. Has anything changed from years past?

The concessions are still terrible and horribly unorganized. The in game entertainment is still pretty much non existent. They've done the same kid races, putting on the football uniform as the past few years. What has changed? We keep giving Kingston all this credit about listening and changing and caring. But, what is different? I do walk away with Time Warner Cable pretty much burned into my brain every week.

Other than, Larry, Curly, and Moe running parking, I haven't noticed anything.

I love BG football as much as anyone. But, the experience at the Doyt is probably the worst of any school I have been to, not named Eastern Michigan. I used to get upset at the small crowds. Now, I can understand why a casual fan doesn't really care about coming to a game, here.

[hammb]

First of all, let me just state that college football sucks now. I mean as a whole, it really REALLY sucks. The only point of the sport nowadays is funneling money into the top 10 programs and serving as a minor league system for the NFL. The only real intrigue with the sport for me is as an amateur scout looking in on who I want to see at the next level. Any given Saturday it just feels like there are only 2-3 games worth paying attention to and it's 50/50 if those games will even end up compelling...

Now that I got that out of my system, I'll just reiterate what I've said in this thread before.

The BG gameday experience is ridiculous. For one thing that 1st down screech that we've had for 10 years has always been the most annoying sound on earth...so bad that I almost root against 1st downs. Beyond that the concessions are crap and the organization in the stands pathetic (I will say they're not alone on that though...the concession experience at Cleveland Browns Stadium a few weeks ago was just as bad). We haven't been able to get our damned sound system working properly in 15 years. We put lights in and we almost refuse to use them, unless it's for a game on a Tuesday night. The bench seats are bench seats, and those horrible faded plastic things are far worse.

Other than a passionate love for BG sports, which I do have, what is the draw out there? The product on the field is blah, a boring brand of football that only beats inferior opponents. None of the ancillary stuff does anything to add to the experience. The concessions are lousy. The game dates/times generally suck.

I don't know what the solution is, but there is definitely a problem here. Other than the tailgating, which is always a blast, there is nothing out there to get people that are on the fence to actually WANT to go to a game.

[Flipper]

BG football used to be a priority....it's been far enough down the list this year that I haven't even been to a game.

[hammb]

BG football used to be a priority....it's been far enough down the list this year that I haven't even been to a game.

I've been to 3 games this year. Went to only 1 last year.

And I was somebody who could count on 1 hand how many games I missed from 1999-2010ish.

Part of me misses it, but when I go out to the games I realize that there's a reason why I don't go out of my way for it anymore. If I've got nothing else going on I'll tailgate and take in the game, but the days of planning my fall around BG football Saturdays are long gone. I think it's been 3-4 years since I've been to a road game.

How in the hell are they going to attract and maintain casual fans when they can't even do enough to keep the die hards happy?

[footballguy51]

Kingston has been on the job for how long? He started July 15. You expected he would hear all of these problems and solve them all in 3 months? If so, then you're clueless!

The issues with parking, traffic control, concessions, security, seating, in-game entertainment, etc. have all existed for years and years. To think those could be solved so quickly is insane. Additionally, he was not in a position to make changes to things he had not personally witnessed.

Does the boss of a new company start making swift changes based on rumors (either true or false) of what the issues are/were? No. They collect data and then act.

My guess is that next football season, one or more of these issues will have been addressed. My guess is that easiest ones to address will be parking and traffic control, followed by the in-game experience. Concessions and security will probably be more difficult due to existing contracts with companies and the desire of the University to save money by outsourcing.