Well, I am still too angry to post about Saturday, and this is part of my post. Let me preface my statement by saying that my family has had the same four seats (in Stambaugh) since a year before the stadium opened. There used to be a faculty/staff section, and they were offered a chance to select the "choice seats". My father was faculty, and did just that.
I have to say that some of you people are dreaming:
1. If I pay for a ticket ...I can do what ever the heck I want. Furthermore; who are any of you to tell me differently? My seat, my team, my choice. Sometimes I wonder. I think it is completely awesome that a woman is so indoctrinated into the football life that she knits while watching a game! She probably has kids (maybe grandchildren) that play(ed) ...and no matter how bored she might be, she is there supporting her team (or family). Or maybe she is so nervous ...she is knitting as stress-relief. This is EXACTLY what makes makes YSU football so great ...it is "literally" a part of the fabric of our (and her) daily lives. Don't you guys see this?
I remember my only visit to McComb ...there was no-one at the game. I could not believe it. Then we found out that it was between quarters/semesters so the students were not on campus. So how would you like it if the guins made the post-season and fans did not show-up because of the Thanksgiving holiday? WIU was a truly great football team in those days. Tops in the Gateway.
2. Cheering etiquette: When my team takes the field on offense ...I expect to hear opposing fans. Ideally every Penguin fan would (in the words of my father) "keep their traps shut". Please whisper when Hess is "barking" out plays. When the opposing offense takes the field ...then I expect noise.
3. The players are not children. If they truly need to have cheers in order to play at 100% ...then tell you what ...I will bring a box of pacifiers next week, as they clearly have not grown-up. Hess and Cook have been racking up records, despite the poor teams they have been on. All fans will cheer when given something to cheer about. We have not had that for a few years now. (FYI: I am horse after every game). This year is even worse than normal, as it started out with such promise. Only to turn into, quite possibly, the worst team we have ever fielded ...and that is saying a lot, considering some of those "dogs" that Narduzzi and Heacock had.
4. Fan numbers: I estimate that YSU football has about 5k to 6k of core fans. Which truly is down from "the glory years" where we had 8k to 10k. This is to be expected, as the teams have not been performing at that same level. Now most people do not go to events by themselves; so I look for every Penguin fan to bring one additional person with them to enjoy the game (this is the purpose of buy one, get one).
This means an average of 10k to 12k in attendance on any given Saturday, of guaranteed "butts in the seats". So anybody that we expect get above this number has to be attracted here by other means.
Now these people are not necessarily going to be Penguins fans ...or even sports fans. So it takes a creative marketer to bring them to the games.
* Tailgating is the most common way to attract more fans. It makes the games more of an event, more festive. Which, in-turn, makes it feel more like a holiday ...as opposed to a game (which they may or may not care about).
* Student section is another, and better now that I can remember it ever being. The students are there for the comradery ...much more than the actual game.
* raffles.
*Band and Cheerleaders. Just think how many parents go see their son & daughter play at halftime ...many more that you might think. Local HS band parents load the stands to see their kids play at a big stadium.
*Visitors: Well I would be willing to bet my last dollar that we have the lowest fan attendance in the conference (our location), but in a normal situation, there would be opposing fans.
*There are many other things but it would just be more boring of a post.
Look back when Stambaugh held only 16k seating + about 1.5k standing. We had that 8k to 10k base (x 2) = 16k to 20k of people wanting to see a game, and upset fans at "Will-Call" was a common occurrence. SO what was the difference between then and now? A BETTER PRODUCT TO COME AND SEE.
When this team starts winning (and consistently), we are going to have upset people at will-call once again. Then you can complain when they don't cheer, or they "boo" the coaches, etc.
