YSU Penguin Athletics > YSU Penguin Athletics
Attendance this year for YSU football?
Tigertown Big J:
I think a big problem is that casual fans, even after more than a decade, still don't know/don't care who these Gateway/MVFC teams are. There are no natural regional rivalries. Most people hear a school's name once a year when the football team plays them. I don't know what the answer is, but I think that's a big part of our problem.
Personally, I don't care for the 1pm start. I think that hurts attendance a bit as well. That, on top of being a middle of the pack/down program for a long time has basically maken people apathetic towards it. If they get a free ticket, it's something to do. But it is NOT a destination. Somehow the University needs to make it a destination again.
The giveaways haven't been all the spectacular lately either. For the diehard that means nothing....but the stadium replica, the penguin bobblehead, those things will draw some casual fans.
There is no quick fix. Winning will obviously help. But it can't be the only solution.
Pizza:
No disrespect.....but I'm planning MY weekend (s).....around the LSU vs Alabama game.....and others' like it.
Few 1-AA teams have great attendance unless they are championship teams (or exist in a cow pasture). Because most knowledgeable football fans would rather watch OSU/ND/Alabama/ Florida/Oklahoma/Nebraska....at home on a "Lazy Boy" with a "clicker in their hand......than be at Stambaugh paying $3 for a cold hot dog and bad "unappreciative", non-smiling service crew.
ItalianPenguin:
ElPenguin has a good point about crowd getting older. When you look around the stands you see the same faces for the last 20 years and none of us are getting younger. Which leads to another problem--little or no student involvement. Student section for homecoming was pathetic, bad weather or not. Save the commuter school rhetoric as well. Still should be more kids there. It was friends, family, and die-hards only on Sat.
Wick250:
All of these points are valid, especially those about the small number of fanatics and the vast sea of casual fans. I really started to detect a buzz after the Illinois State game, but the horrible first quarter at Indiana State (televised) and the disgusting home performance against a mediocre South Dakota State team turned off the casual fans almost completely.
I also feel that it is insane to televise football home games FOR FREE even on a tape-delayed basis. Far too many casual fans, and I personally know a few, just watch the replay at 8:00 and will not come out regardless of the opponent or the weather. Sell the game live on the internet for $10 and give alumni that live far away a big discount (verified by sending a password through snail mail.)
Our promotions are old, tired, and ineffective. We could really use an ambitious marketing director who will spend eight hours each day on the road "selling" our programs to businesses, organizations, clubs, and schools. We should have about 50 different groups in attendance for each game. Right now we probably get somewhere between 5 and 10. Some of those "guests" would evolve into paying customers.
Pita:
I for one do not understand why there has to be any FREEBIES.
When people pay $40-50 to see a rock concert, what FREEBIE
is handed out. Most FREEBIES handed out at the games you
can readily see in a stadium trash bin. That in itself is disgusting.
Fan base dwindles for ever so many reasons. It's a different
world today than it was 10 years ago.
Win or loose, I'll always be there. Sorry IP, no omelets this year.
GO PENGUINS
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