Spring Break
Attendance for UK was horrid
The Sports Desk
Brandon Wright
After the Kentucky game, Bulldog fans should be ashamed. I'm certainly embarrassed.
I don't mean because the team is 3-6 (1-4), or that it lost to a depleted Kentucky team at home. I don't mean because State's field goal unit didn't show up on Saturday, either.
No, State fans should be ashamed because they only put 40,168 butts in the seats on Saturday. That's a whopping 72 percent of the stadium's capacity, for a crucial game.
We're talking about a game in which State was favored by three points against a conference opponent. A game the Dawgs desperately needed to win to cling to slim hopes of playing in a bowl game.
What makes the abysmal attendance figure even worse is the fact that conditions were absolutely ideal this weekend. The weather was perfect and there were extra factors surrounding the game.
I'm not sure how many of you noticed, but there was a new addition to the football stadium unveiled Saturday. Is a brand new $6 million HD video board not worth going to a football game to see? I feel certain that the party that signed the check for it thought it was.
Also, the baseball and basketball teams were in action this weekend, albeit not playing actual games. That should have been extra incentive for folks that might not have made the trip otherwise.
I of course realize that MSU has not performed very well this year. The Bulldogs haven't lived up to their billing this season. I know that attendance suffers when the team isn't winning. Fans from other parts of the state don't want to spend the time and, more importantly, money required to travel to see a struggling football team.
Yet, it sickens me to think that people have stopped coming just because the team is struggling. That practice is deplorable in general, not to mention the fact that our team is light-years ahead of where it was five years ago.
The curse of the fair-weather fan is no small reason why State is bringing up the rear in SEC athletic budgets.
Look at schools like Alabama. Alabama is a school we all love to hate, but there's no doubt that its fans support its football team. The last time Bryant-Denny didn't sell out for a home game? 1988. That's right, even when UA went 3-8 in 2000 and 4-9 in 2003, the school sold every ticket to every home game. That's with the highest ticket prices in college football.
For an example from this year, look to Tennessee. Make no mistake, the Volunteers are struggling. Tennessee has the same overall and conference record as our own Bulldogs, with a harder schedule and much, much higher program expectations. I read an article a few weeks ago chastising UT fans for not showing up due to the team's lack of success. UT's average attendance? A scant 101,651 fans. That's out of a possible 106,000, or 95 percent.
I know MSU is not Tennessee or Alabama. I'm not expecting 100,000 plus at every game. However, is half of that too much to ask? Should we not shoot for similar percentages of stadium capacity?
What degree of success must State maintain to keep the bandwagon fans in the seats?
Brandon Wright is the sports editor of The Reflector. He can be reached at sports@reflector.msstate.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 19
good point....
posted 11/04/08 @ 10:07 AM CST
Good article. It is ridiculous how people won't come to the game. I was there and sat through every minute. I have been to every home game this year and sat through every minute. (Continued…)
lildawg
lildawg
posted 11/04/08 @ 1:08 PM CST
Are you kidding - light years from where we were 5 years ago?? Are you talking about the product on the field or the athletic facilities because yes we have definitely upgraded in the facilities department, but not so much if any in the on field product. (Continued…)
StevoThomps
posted 11/04/08 @ 1:11 PM CST
The reason for the poor attendance is apathy from a terrible football team. People can only put up with losing for so long. Most alumni are not going to drive 2+ hours and spend hundreds of dollars on a weekend for a sub par product. (Continued…)
Joe
posted 11/04/08 @ 2:17 PM CST
Take a gander at the attendance at Tenneessee or Nebraska. They're playing to huge crowds while playing horrible football. And they're schools with tradition. (Continued…)
skeetah
posted 11/04/08 @ 6:11 PM CST
You are holding the fans more accountable than the coaches.
Knoxville is a city of 183k with over 680k in the Metro area.
Tuscaloosa is a city of 83k within 50 miles of Birmingham, with a metro area of over 1. (Continued…)
Charles
posted 11/04/08 @ 6:27 PM CST
Why should we be ashamed of ourselves? Maybe some students have decided to spend their time with family and friends. Maybe they realized that as students they wanted to study for finals. (Continued…)
b-rad
posted 11/04/08 @ 7:18 PM CST
When it comes down to it all; I hate to say it but Tenn. and Alabama have or had coaches that helped the fans get excited about the games because of the play calling. (Continued…)
TaxesareReal
posted 11/05/08 @ 3:15 PM CST
Go get a job, start a family, have priorities and then you might actually have some footing to stand on. Until then, stick to student stories.
Anony
posted 11/05/08 @ 6:03 PM CST
Here's my opinion on fans not going/leaving a game. I enjoy watching football, but it gets boring watching State play sometimes and lose. I PAY to go to the game, as does most everyone else there. (Continued…)
R U KIDDING!!
posted 11/05/08 @ 6:48 PM CST
I am a hardcore supporter of the Bulldawgs and yes we have come far but not enough--we as fans should not settle for less! You mention Tenn and Alabama--of course they are going to have packed stadiums --THEY ARE WINNING!! AND USUALLY HAVE WINNING SEASONS!--We want change-OR THIS WILL BECOME A COMMON SCENE! We played Tenn early this season--The stadium was fairly empty for them as well as they are going through what we are going through for once. (Continued…)
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