Attendance

[GOAPPS37]

Very disappointed in the announced attendance of 22,787 for Homecoming. I don't buy the excuse of iffy weather since all forecasts called for exactly what we had....cloudy skies with rain to come Saturday evening. The leaves are not at full color yet. Are we at the point where folks are simply not interested. There's no National Anthem boycott at the college level....yet. So why didn't we have 27k plus which is typical for a Homecoming game? Also, I don't believe we will ever be able to keep the fans in their seats throughout an entire game. If they didn't stick around for this past Saturday's nail biter, then they will never stay. I guess we just have to accept this.

[jorpaynoasu]

I just don't get it either. I don't understand why so many showed up for Wake and then we have a very important conference game and so many empty seats. And then, so many folks just leave early. I understand we didn't play our best especially in the first half, but at the end of the 3rd quarter, the game was tied at 17! I noticed the student section was really thin late in the game and many of those folks left early. However, the ones that stayed finally got loud and helped make a difference. I wish the athletic department could have some sort of incentive that would encourage students to stay until the end. Maybe a drawing for a pretty decent prize but the kicker would be you have to be present to win.....and the drawing would be at the end of the game!
Maybe those folks had a good reason to leave early - get in line at DBI or Makoto's, or maybe they wanted to get back to a TV so they could watch ECU !!

[Seattleapp]

We have unc type fans now. Lukewarm
to the outcome and are only there to be seen for a little while.

[bigdaddyg]

I believe that the only real solution will be conference realignment, i.e. a move to or creation of a more regionalized conference. I say this being fully aware that we have discussed and beaten this to death. In my mind it's simply a no brainer. How many fans from New Mexico were in attendance? How many come from Louisiana or Texas or Idaho? It makes a huge difference when we play a regionally close good opponent. That helps explain attendance. As far as leaving early..baffling! Why on earth even put in the effort to come at all when you leave at halftime or in the third or early 4th qtr in a tight exciting game??

[Rick83]

The attendance was disappointing. Having an opponent from New Mexico didn't help as they brought like 10 people instead of the 3K to 5K fans regional schools bring, plus no one knows anyone from NMSU so it doesn't breed any kind of rivalry excitement. So, there's that. However, a school of 18K with our fan base should be putting more in the seats. It always frustrates me to see the hill packed but plenty of aluminum open...not sure how to address that. There could have been some lingering disappointment by the one point loss to Wake, but that's ridiculous, Wake's got a good team this year. Our two losses this year are to the current 5th ranked team in the nation (who is in position at this point to be in the running for the 4-team FBS playoff), and Wake who has been receiving votes for the top 25 and out-played Florida State (but lost at the end) and who also gave Clemson, yes Clemson, a run for their money. So, if we want to attract big-time recruits, guess what? ...players like to play in front of large crowds, so showing up for games does help our program grow. I am so damn proud of our team and what they've accomplished the last several years and what they've done so far this year.

[HappyAppy98]

I believe that the only real solution will be conference realignment, i.e. a move to or creation of a more regionalized conference. I say this being fully aware that we have discussed and beaten this to death. In my mind it's simply a no brainer. How many fans from New Mexico were in attendance? How many come from Louisiana or Texas or Idaho? It makes a huge difference when we play a regionally close good opponent. That helps explain attendance. As far as leaving early..baffling! Why on earth even put in the effort to come at all when you leave at halftime or in the third or early 4th qtr in a tight exciting game??

BINGO! However, personally I disagree with leaving the game early. My 3 and 4yr old were toast! I am trying to stretch them out for tailgate & game. What about a daycare/kids club in the stadium....

[AppOrange]

Responding to multiple posts:

As for fans that complain all game about the play calling, that's everywhere, fans who love the football experience, but don't fully understand why the plays that are called get called.

As for attendance, and the students, most of them don't pay for the tickets, mom and dad do in that tuition check, so when the party calls, it's time to go. Unless you are a diehard student, and excuse my bluntness, the potential to party and "get some" comes along, you roll. Why not wait till after the game you say, I don't know, but seeing half dressed, bombed co-eds walk past our tailgate by the hundreds, its pretty obvious why young guys and girls are leaving early, keeping that buzz and hooking up.

As for the alumni who leave early, I'm sure some of it is legit, but most, lame fans who are trying to get a jump on traffic.

Sell beer at the game and have more toilets if you want folks to stick around.

[YesAppCan]

IMO, there were more than announced Saturday... If not, then there weren't 35,126 at Wake game. NO WAY a 13,000 attendee discrepancy.

[AppStateNews]

BINGO! However, personally I disagree with leaving the game early. My 3 and 4yr old were toast! I am trying to stretch them out for tailgate & game. What about a daycare/kids club in the stadium....

That is a valid reason. But, there aren't 10,000+ every game that have that excuse.. unless there really is something in the water in Boone!

[Rick83]

I wonder if they could figure out a way to empty the stadium easier and faster at the end if that would keep people in their seats longer. More bathrooms would help as well. I have left early before, if the game wasn't in question, but it's usually for a reason, like my son volunteers for the tech booth for our kids church service and has to get to the church super early on Sundays to set up for 3 services and we have a two hour drive home. So, there are sometimes legit reasons, but that should be the exception. The leaving early doesn't bother me nearly as much as not showing up to support your team. We can't grow the program as effectively if we don't have the fan support in the stands.

[huskie3]

Is too much tailgating "partying" a problem with people leaving early? If they are starting at 9am for a 3:30 game -that is 6 1/2 hours. Maybe they are tired already by 4:30 halftime. Some of the students I know are there for the party not the game.

[NewApp]

Is too much tailgating "partying" a problem with people leaving early? If they are starting at 9am for a 3:30 game -that is 6 1/2 hours. Maybe they are tired already by 4:30 halftime. Some of the students I know are there for the party not the game.

BINGO! Too, the traffic is horrible getting out of Boone after a game.

[AppScott89]

I have a question I hope someone can answer. Around me in section 215, there are several season ticket holders who have not been to but 1 game(guess which one). Only 1 pair seemed to have given or sold their tickets for the NMSU game. I'm thankful for the support, but if you aren't going to go please sell or give your tickets to someone who will. This would eliminate aluminum showing.

[NO.2]

Is too much tailgating "partying" a problem with people leaving early? If they are starting at 9am for a 3:30 game -that is 6 1/2 hours. Maybe they are tired already by 4:30 halftime. Some of the students I know are there for the party not the game.

There is no such thing as "too much tailgating"

[EastHallApp]

The fans you're addressing are, for the most part, probably not die hards. So these points apply to them, not the average YC poster.

-Nobody cares about New Mexico State. And nobody cares about the Sun Belt, so they don't care that it's a conference game.

-It's Homecoming, which means you're going to have plenty of people in attendance who don't normally come to games and probably don't even follow the team that closely. They're leaving early because they aren't really football fans; they're just there as part of their weekend of nostalgia.

-The point about people with young kids is legit. I don't know how many that accounts for, but speaking from experience, it can be tough for a little one to make it through a 3-4 hour sporting event. And again, that's probably a larger-than-usual proportion for Homecoming.

Students leaving early is a tougher question. I know they aren't all die-hard fans either, but it would be great to find a way to "change the culture" so that the norm is that you stay the whole game - at least if it's close - and make noise.

[EastHallApp]

I have a question I hope someone can answer. Around me in section 215, there are several season ticket holders who have not been to but 1 game(guess which one). Only 1 pair seemed to have given or sold their tickets for the NMSU game. I'm thankful for the support, but if you aren't going to go please sell or give your tickets to someone who will. This would eliminate aluminum showing.

The problem might be that there's simply more supply than demand. There were tons of people trying to sell those tickets here and elsewhere at discount prices - more sellers than buyers, I'd guess.

That, IMO, is a byproduct of the decision to eliminate half-season and flex packages and attempt to "force" people into buying full season tickets to get 1) parking passes and 2) tickets to one "premium" game (Miami/Wake).

Yes, that might increase your season ticket sales, but it's also going to mean people are buying lots of tickets for games they don't plan to attend, which is going to translate into empty seats.

[AppSt8Will]

We're season ticket holders in the Raleigh area, and admittedly can't make it to every home game. But when we can't we do our best to give or sell the tickets to other fans. One idea I thought was great that they did in the first game was to have an on field "fan experience" after the game, where fans can mingle with the players and coaches. Might give some fans incentive to stay around. Clemson does it every game, but of course they have no problem filling the stadium and sticking around.

[NewApp]

We're season ticket holders in the Raleigh area, and admittedly can't make it to every home game. But when we can't we do our best to give or sell the tickets to other fans. One idea I thought was great that they did in the first game was to have an on field "fan experience" after the game, where fans can mingle with the players and coaches. Might give some fans incentive to stay around. Clemson does it every game, but of course they have no problem filling the stadium and sticking around.

It was announced over the speakers that the SunBelt discourages fans from coming on the field after the game. When did they stop having the band come on the field and play after the game?

[HappyAppy98]

We're season ticket holders in the Raleigh area, and admittedly can't make it to every home game. But when we can't we do our best to give or sell the tickets to other fans. One idea I thought was great that they did in the first game was to have an on field "fan experience" after the game, where fans can mingle with the players and coaches. Might give some fans incentive to stay around. Clemson does it every game, but of course they have no problem filling the stadium and sticking around.

I like that idea...what about having a concert follow the game? Probably can't get it set up every home game but a Combs or Church concert following would keep folks in the stands.

[NO.2]

We're season ticket holders in the Raleigh area, and admittedly can't make it to every home game. But when we can't we do our best to give or sell the tickets to other fans. One idea I thought was great that they did in the first game was to have an on field "fan experience" after the game, where fans can mingle with the players and coaches. Might give some fans incentive to stay around. Clemson does it every game, but of course they have no problem filling the stadium and sticking around.

It was announced over the speakers that the SunBelt discourages fans from coming on the field after the game. When did they stop having the band come on the field and play after the game?

I'm pretty sure that's aimed at stopping field rushes, not calm meet and greets.