Where are the fans?

[JTApps1]

If people view the OP as shaming, I think you're being a tad defensive.

It's an honest assessment of our fanbase and its demand for home games. The demand for tickets isn't as high as I personal thought it would be given the situation, nothing more, nothing less.

I think we should have kept the half season plan for the opener, homecoming and the last game of the year. Fewer tickets for the opener would drive "demand" for later games as a sense of urgency.

I did not consider your post to be shaming at all, but I'm sure you remember that it used to be a common practice on the MMB. It is a problem and we have to address it. I, too, think the loss of the half-season option is driving some of the lower numbers.

Do we know if the lack of half-season package really is hurting since we saw an increase season ticket sales this year? Maybe it is and maybe it's not, but that is going to be hard to figure out.

[EastHallApp]

Do we know if the lack of half-season package really is hurting since we saw an increase season ticket sales this year? Maybe it is and maybe it's not, but that is going to be hard to figure out.

I don't know but I have a feeling it will show up in a lot of unused tickets from the people who bought season tickets mainly to get the Miami game. I've notice a number of postings here of people trying to unload ODU tickets; I expect that will continue to be the case for the remaining home games.

Then again, maybe we beat Miami and that creates a spike in demand.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

DG has us moving in the right direction, and promoting the game day experience will attract more people IMO. The play can be seen at home on television, but the overall experience you have to be there to feel. We all know it, but the casual fan doesn't realize it. I sell my friends on the experience of visiting Boone/High Country, the tailgating, the game day atmosphere; not just the game. Some of the best times I have had in Boone on gameday came against opponents we blew away. We all have to do our part and promote App State. Not to this board, because we all know and love App, but to co-workers, friends who made the mistake in attending Western and UNCC, etc. Living in Northern VA, App State isn't as well known as it is in NC, however every friend or co-worker I have brought to Boone, begs me to come back.

[Yosef84]

I have been one who has leaned towards explaining our decline in attendance away. I've never completely discounted the "trend" aspect but trends generally change and things go through cycles. Yes, I'm concerned about the attendance for our home opener but I'm not quite ready to conclude on the season yet. I still think we will have a nice increase in average attendance (even if you want to exclude the Miami game). I don't know that we will get back to the 27K average we once had, but I think we will flirt with 25K. I have no crystal ball, so I could be completely wrong but I certainly hope not.

[hotrod2001]

People aren't necessarily camping out for Old Dominion tickets...chances are the bulk of the fans are aware of this and will buy a pair of tickets Friday night and print them off before heading up the mountain.

[AppinATL]

Driving up to Boone and back to ATL on Saturday. Simply don't want to miss this one....and yes we'll be there for Miami too!

Same here. The older I get the more odious the six trip home is after leaving the house at 6 o'clock that morning and getting home at 1am. Notice said the trip home, because the trip up there is always great in anticipation of enjoying my time in Boone. At some point in the next few years though, I'm not going to be able to pull off a day trip up there and won't be able to afford a hotel stay for every home game and then I'll have to make some tough decisions.

For now though, count me in for this weekend. Looking forward to making it a long weekend in Boone for the UM game.

[ASUGoose]

To me, the point is that if your stadium isn't full, the answer isn't to try and shame more people into attending. It's to figure out how to make the product appeal to them so more people choose to attend. I think our administration is taking some good steps in that direction, but it's obviously still a work in progress.

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

[weavneerfan]

Can we change the damn record in that record player? This has been discussed ad nauseam. We get die hards and students the week before Miami. This is the nature of consecutive home games at a destination stadium.

Ad nauseam, yes. But I say keep playing that record it until we convert as many die hards as possible.

That's partly why Chuck and I do the Black & Gold Podcast. We want the die hards in our fan base to grow.

Count me in with those that aren't satisfied with empty seats for a great peer-school matchup.

As for me and my crew, I'll see you at the Rock on Saturday!

Well said! I am all about the Miami game myself too but if we want to continue to play with the big boys at this level, the fans have got to fill those seats! See you guys Saturday! And by the way....don't leave at halftime!

[ASU84]

If I could get someone to work for me Saturday for 12 hours and my niece wasn't getting married I would sure be there!!

[CocoApp]

I have been going to App games since I was five years old which is 58 years worth of games. I always found that if I really wanted to be there then I figured out a way to get there no matter what. If I did not I made an excuse and did not show up. I think it is the same with everyone. Fans that really want to be there they will figure out a way. If not they will do like I did from time to time and make an excuse. To grow as a fan base folks have to really want to be there no matter what. When we get enough of those folks we will fill the stadium every weekend. Also it is too easy to get a ticket to most games. When tickets are hard to come by like Miami everyone wants to be there. It is human nature to not want to be left out. Also I remember watching a Clemson game on tv last year and it was raining "cats and dogs" and the stadium stayed completely full the whole game. Our stadium halfway empties out if it drizzles for two minutes. We will get there someday but we as a fan base have a ways to go in terms of fanatical and committed. it is easy to be a good fan when we are winning, the weather is good,and the schedule works out in our favor. We jut need to remember the players are out there even when they are not winning, the weather is not good and with no say in the schedule. That is probably when they need our support the most. We are either there or not. Unfortunately there is no in between.

[appbio91]

So we pack the stadium with "true fans", then by halftime it looks like a Georgia State type crowd. How true are those fans at that point?

This is the one thing I bitch about on a regular basis. I hate that shit. Of course there are legitimate reasons to leave early, beating the dinner crowd does not make my top 100.

[97grad]

I was a half season ticket holder for almost 10 years prior to this year, and I'm on record as opposing the removal of them. Only the administration has the data to know whether or not their gamble to get people to upgrade paid off. We did our part though, and although our seats for ODU will have butts in them, they won't be ours. We will get to 3, possibly 4 games this year because that's all we can do. Whether we purchase full season again next year will likely depend on how much of our costs we can recoup for the games we can't attend.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

So we pack the stadium with "true fans", then by halftime it looks like a Georgia State type crowd. How true are those fans at that point?

This is the one thing I bitch about on a regular basis. I hate that shit. Of course there are legitimate reasons to leave early, beating the dinner crowd does not make my top 100.

All the press photos almost have to take place in the first half or it will look like nobody attended the game. I enjoy staying to see the back ups and future starters, but that's just me.