OT: College football experienced largest attendance drop in 34 years this season

Submitted by UMxWolverines on
Even though most in charge don't want to listen to us, it's pretty easy to see the problem...ticket prices and game time length. Then add in all the bullshit rules stadiums have come up with like no bringing in your own water, food, or anything like beach balls, toilet paper, marshmallows, flag poles, or cowbells. Oh, and no push ups for touchdowns either. So, you're expected to come and stay for 4 hours while standing there doing nothing for most of the game. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-heads-…

Occam's Razor

February 13th, 2018 at 4:54 PM ^

NFL is sterile af. They finally let touchdown celebrations back this year b/c they know that the product is suffering. 

Add in the combination of cord cutting plus TD/FG-commercial-Kickoff-commercial and you get a bunch of people who would rather do something else for 4 hours. Not to mention Goodell is a god awful commissioner who doesn't know what to do when it comes to doling out punishments. 

This also reminds me of how horribly conservative NFL coaches are when it comes to gameplanning. The Superbowl was the first game in a long time that was exciting due to the Eagles playing to win for a change. 

NFL peaked a few years ago. The NBA and college is filling in that space in terms of viewership. 

m_go_T

February 13th, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^

I mean they wanted to make people uncomfortable and talk about issues. People, mainly old "traditional" sorts, were offended, which caused owners to listen and use their positions of influence (as billionares) to step up and do something. Now I don't know if the owners were able to really bring about any changes, but the ball is rolling. Had Kap not knelt, that would have never happened.  

severs28

February 14th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^

for protesting.  For the most part that is the point of a protest is cause disruption to get your point across. (although things like blocking a highway so John Doe can't go to work seems a bit too disruptive).  The issue was disrespect, not disruption.

Wolverheel

February 14th, 2018 at 9:15 PM ^

You stopped watching because people wouldn't hire a guy that would anger half their fan base? That's just logic, not hate. I mean the dude continuously praises Fidel f***ing Castro, he wore socks with cops as pigs in a game, and his girlfriend called the Ravens' owner a slave trader or something when he was still considering signing the guy. They're not blackballing him because he kneels, many NFL players did/do that and are still on teams. They're blackballing him because he's a complete jackass. 

reddogrjw

February 13th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^

Big Ten

66,227

66,151

76

0.01%

Student attendance had decreased 7 percent since 2009, Wall Street Journal found in 2014.

Despite leading the nation in average attendance each year since 1997, Michigan has had issues recently selling student tickets.

 

1 - B1G didn't decline

2 - Michigan's student section issues were RR/Hoke era

The Mad Hatter

February 13th, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^

is a huge pain in the ass now.  Can't bring anything in with you, concessions are grossly overpriced, and the damn games take forever because of all the TV time-outs.

A day at Michigan Stadium is still a treasured experience for me, but it's not what it used to be and I do it a lot less often.

Arb lover

February 13th, 2018 at 3:01 PM ^

Honestly they should just make it a 1 minute clock every first down, to make sure the chains are right, with a minimum of 35 seconds before ball spot. Throw a 30 second commercial in each first down and not only will people be more likely to stick around and actually watch it, (more views), they could remove some of the 4-5 minute tv timeouts. You are still going to get the called timeouts, end of quarter, injuries, halftime, etc. 

M-Dog

February 13th, 2018 at 3:22 PM ^

Keep the game moving. 

Why does the clock stop for an incomplete pass?  It doesn't stop when a player gets tackled.

Limit the commercials and their placement.  After scores/change of possession, or at the end of each quarter only

No referee's TV time outs.  No TV time outs after kickoffs, etc.

 

Robbie Moore

February 13th, 2018 at 4:58 PM ^

...by the almighty dollar. The endless commercial interruptions, concession monopolies, ads on the big screen, ridiculous ticket prices for a game where the players are paid only tuition, room and board etc. Kind of like the game has sold its soul for money. And what exactly do they have to show for all this money? Multi-zillion practice complexes with every possible amenity (simulated rain forest anyone?), coaches paid millions (and millions and more millions), bloated athletic departments, stadiums with luxurious sky boxes for rich alums blah...blah...blah...

 

crg

February 13th, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^

Normal game stoppage due to things like going out of bounds, getting first downs, and incomplete passes are perfecctly fine.  It's been that way for the better part of 100 years and has nothing to do with recent attendance declines.  The more recent change is the intrusion of media timeouts and replays that extend the total time without adding to the game progress (whereas the aforementioned stoppages are typically quite brief per occurance, just  enough time to huddle up and get the play straight without needing to rush to the line.

Wolverine In Iowa 68

February 13th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^

When you have TV timeouts at home, you can run to the bathroom and be back in under 2 minutes.  You can run to the kitchen and grab a beer or a bag of snacks in under a minute. 

 

You can't do that at a stadium.  A bathroom trip is going to cost you at least 5-7 minutes just to walk up and back down (not to mention if there's a line).  Going to the concession stand is a good 15-20 minutes depending.

You're stuck, sitting there, staring at the doof with the red sleeve waiting for him to lower his arm.

WolverineHistorian

February 13th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^

It's hard not to notice this trend with the commercial breaks...

*Team A scores a TD.

*7 minutes of commercials.

*Team A kicks off to team B.

*Immeditely back to 7 more minutes of commercials.

You can also stop going to commercials every time a team goes 3 & out on offense. Pretty soon these games are going to last 6 hours.

UMinSF

February 13th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^

MH, I agree with almost everything you said, but have one frequently-experienced exception: SF Giants baseball.

AT&T Park is right downtown, very transit-accessible, has beautiful views and a great atmosphere. Concessions are outrageously priced, but there is a good selection and high quality. Most significantly (for me, at least), they let you bring in your own food and water. 

Living in town, I walk to the ballpark and pick up a sandwich or burrito along the way with some water.  Backpacks are allowed, so bringing things in is a breeze.

Pro tip for anyone visiting SF and catching a game - go to the Public House bar attached to the ballpark pre-game. Good beers are $7, and you can request plastic cups to enter the stadium right through the bar. Also, view level seats are pretty cheap, and offer - you guessed it - magnificent views of the SF bay and Oakland hills in the distance.

It's no surprise the Giants sold out every game for a decade prior to last year. Good team, great in-game experience.

IvyLeague

February 13th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^

If the issue is ticket prices that wouldn't affect the Giants since San Francisco has the highest salaries in the country with most people in the city pulling in $125,000+ and most folks going to baseball games probably making much more than that. Having lived in San Fran for a couple years a few years back, I can attest to how awesome all the bars around the stadium are but if salaries weren't what they are that place would have significantly lower attendance. Also, AT&T Park is unique in that it is one of the few sports venues that's walking distance to a very wealthy residential area.

Kermits Blue Key

February 13th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^

I've never lived in SF, but it was my understanding that living expenses are commensurate with salaries in the area. So although the average person living in SF makes more, they also spend a lot more. You may still be right in general, but $125k in SF is not the same as $125k in Detroit.

JamieH

February 13th, 2018 at 5:31 PM ^

How many of those people making bank in San Francisco are mortgaged out the wazoo?  As you know, home costs in SF are crazy.  Might not leave a ton of extra cash for expensive season tickets. 

UMinSF

February 13th, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^

Yes, the Giants are fortunate to have a very affluent fanbase, and many tickets aren't cheap. However, as I said, "view level" seats are pretty affordable, and if you walk or take a train to the game and bring your own food and water, it's not expensive at all.

SF has no shortage of entertainment options, and west coasters typically aren't as passionate about spectator sports as midwesterners. For example, Stanford and Cal don't draw for squat. It's also notable that when the Giants played at Candlestick they didn't draw, and came thisclose to relocating.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/10/23/mark-purdy-giants-almost-left-sa…

The Giants draw because they deliver a great experience, relatively conveniently.

A direct contrast in fan experience lies just across the bay bridge - the Oakland A's. Sure, SF is wealthier than Oakland, but there's pleny of money in the east bay. The Oakland Coliseum is a complete dump, located in the middle of nowhere. Even when the A's are good, they don't draw. I've walked up to buy playoff tickets there several times.

 

Kevin13

February 13th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^

ticket prices have gotten just as ridiculous. Couple of good tickets, pay for parking and have something to eat and drink at a game anymore costs a weeks pay for many people. It's just like most sports it's becoming cost prohibitive to go to a game. Then add in the time to get there, length of game and getting home and it's an all day affair.  Most can just watch it at home for free and be comfortable in front of their TV.

Arb lover

February 13th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^

Other than going to the game to see your team, many go for the experience, tailgating, etc. I'd look hard at that as a potential for root cause if this is true at Michigan as well as nationally. You have to be a hardcore fan now to attend games, wading through security, waiting through tv timeouts, and missing a whole possession if you simply need another beer. 

It's also possible that some of the loss in attendance is because games are becoming more enjoyable to watch from home as well. I've been known to occasionally throw a home party for a football game, and with all the camera action going on now, I can even get the wife excited for a party and she generally knows what's going on when watching the TV. In person, it's sometimes a little more difficult absent really good seats. 

UMxWolverines

February 13th, 2018 at 3:00 PM ^

I get the HD tv argument, but how many of us even 15-20 years ago would have rather stayed home instead of being in the stadium? Now it's the opposite, because it's not as fun of an environment and the game takes forever.