Attendance?

Vespinae said:
I was in the band, and we basically had free reign to play whenever. All throughout the opponent possessions, some timeouts, some quarter breaks. Now it does look like the band is being given like half of 3rd downs, and a few timeouts. The band did play a lot on 1st and 2nd downs, so maybe they the feedback and are trying to find a compromise.
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When I was in school in the 60s, the band played ALL the time.
 
vapspwi said:
I think the PA, start time, etc. are just excuses for people who, at the core of it, just didn’t care that much about coming anyway. I wish we weren’t driving people away, but they had one foot out the door already.

I still believe that some of our drop off this year is Covid-related, either directly (people scared to come - I know a few of these) or indirectly (pissed off by policies, or just realized last year that they didn’t really need to come).

JRjr
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The excuse I hear a lot is that people simply don’t want to deal with getting in or out of Atlanta. Makes no sense to me. I’d much rather deal with a direct shot on the interstate than going through hooterville and East bumöööö to get to games in places like Athens.
 
savbandjacket said:
The excuse I hear a lot is that people simply don’t want to deal with getting in or out of Atlanta. Makes no sense to me. I’d much rather deal with a direct shot on the interstate than going through hooterville and East bumöööö to get to games in places like Athens.
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I am in Augusta, and I can get from my home to the parking lot where I tailgate in 2 hours and 15 minutes. I think it would take considerably longer to get to a parking lot in Athens
 
Also - not to defend our use of the PA (because I like hearing the band and crowd more too), but this is the trend for all colleges. The PA in Sanford is quite possibly the loudest thing I’ve ever heard and it plays about non-stop except for carefully scripted times their band plays one of their dumb cheers. You’re going to get the same thing at any of the colleges that have the money to afford the system and the screen. It sucks but it sort of is what it is because the millennials and younger (who are the ones we are recruiting) think it’s cool for some reason.
 
savbandjacket said:
The excuse I hear a lot is that people simply don’t want to deal with getting in or out of Atlanta. Makes no sense to me. I’d much rather deal with a direct shot on the interstate than going through hooterville and East bumöööö to get to games in places like Athens.
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Lol.... reminds me of a poster from years ago who used to claim to be some old-school superfan, and said with all seriousness that the stadium should be rebuilt in Gwinnett, because Atlanta was too dangerous to go to. I don't know that we have a greater number of these kinds of fans than other schools, but they seem to like exposing themselves with ridiculous excuses in threads like these without any shame at all for some reason. It's like they're disappointed that the stadium isn't full and rowdy because it takes away from their TV viewing experience.
 
vapspwi said:
The loud music hasn’t been as much of an annoyance to me this year. We still aren’t using it to our advantage (there was one time against UNC when the game situation called for like “Welcome to the Jungle” and what we got was like “Dancing Queen” - that’s infuriating.
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Dancing Queen is NEVER the right song.
 
I live 700 miles away. I schedule my Ravens games and away games months in advance. Tech games are becoming the last choice simply because I have a full schedule and have little interest to make the trip without tailgating, etc. (noon)
I have been saying this for years. The ACC better wake up and go after fans. Scheduling Duke v GT at times best for the home team does not affect tv ratings one bit. Even if they were both 8-0. Schedule the games, the teams that are winning are the most likely t agree to short term changes. And when your team is winning, the fans won’t care as much.
Fans in the seats do matter. Kids seeing a big game become fans for a lifetime. TV at home is a common every day practice. You have to get fans to the games!!! You have to invest for the long term (return).

Fans matter big time for programs. Bama brings in 100,000 folks, 7 games, average ticket of $50 or $35,000,000. Add in psl’s or donations to get good seats and food/beverage and you are talking at least $50,000,000. TV is not everything!
I miss the band, crazy college students,etc. And I like the occasional hot student fave song thrown in. But the constant, loud garbage… I can get that for an hour commuting both ways listening to XM.
 
savbandjacket said:
The excuse I hear a lot is that people simply don’t want to deal with getting in or out of Atlanta. Makes no sense to me. I’d much rather deal with a direct shot on the interstate than going through hooterville and East bumöööö to get to games in places like Athens.
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There's a Marta station 1/4 miles from the stadium. Most Marta stations have free all-day parking. Ignoring the pandemic, this is the best option in my opinion.
 
1982Jacket said:
I used to do that as an old guy . . . of 10. On my transistor radio. Circa 1970. Ear speaker in one ear; one ear free to hear the chants, the cheers, the band music, and the ambience.
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I also used to do this... but it got to be too much – trying to follow the radio calls, also hear the crowd noise, and occasionally even pay attention to the people I'm sitting with. In recent years I've just given up on the radio, especially with Wes and Brandon gone. I got nothing against Andy but for whatever reason his calls seem a little more forced to me. I think his voice needs to deepen.
 
Coach Collins had the fan base lurch away from him negatively after NIU loss. He still hasn't recovered from that, not sure he ever can at this point. Everyone should be listeneing to the 30,000 empty seats for a critical Coastal matchup. Beating UNC and being a close loser to Clemson didn't heal the NIU loss. If they handled Pitt like they did UNC then Collins would be clawing back ground. The Collins era might be coming to an end faster than some would like, but not for the 30,000 empty seats... those fans are ready for another coaching change. We can thank Coach Collins for the uptick in recruiting and now the AD needs to bring in a P-5 coaching staff to get us back to winning 7 games annually with a few 9 & 10 win seasons in between.
 
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18in32 said:
I also used to do this... but it got to be too much – trying to follow the radio calls, also hear the crowd noise, and occasionally even pay attention to the people I'm sitting with. In recent years I've just given up on the radio, especially with Wes and Brandon gone. I got nothing against Andy but for whatever reason his calls seem a little more forced to me. I think his voice needs to deepen.
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I think AD's problems are more style than anything. And it's just a reflection of current trends in broadcasting imo. A lot more forced inflection and "growls" in his delivery that some of us old fogies don't dig. The "excitement" just doesn't seem as genuine as Ciraldo's or Durham's. One of those guys was a legend and the other is one of the best in the business currently.
 
GTFLETCH said:
Coach Collins had the fan base lurch away from him negatively after NIU loss. He still hasn't recovered from that, not sure he ever can at this point. Everyone should be listeneing to the 30,000 empty seats for a critical Coastal matchup. Beating UNC and being a close loser to Clemson didn't heal the NIU loss. If they handled Pitt like they did UNC then Collins would be clawing back ground. The Collins era might be coming to an end faster than some would like, but not for the 30,000 empty seats... those fans are ready for another coaching change. We can thank Coach Collins for the uptick in recruiting and now the AD needs to bring in a P-5 coaching staff to get us back to winning 7 games annually with a few 9 & 10 win seasons in between.
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Collins is going nowhere for at least 3 years.
 
GT flunkout said:
This discussion is off the rails. Gametimes have been fickle because of TV for two decades. NIU was an evening start which only drew 34K. This is 100% about product on the field and it's silly to assume all these other arguments that go back 50 years when we averaged over 50K in 2015.

Sure, there's a negligible effect with some of these things, but most of you these are ridiculous excuses. If you prefer TV, that's fine, just own it.
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2015 definitely saw a bump. We sold out season tickets that year right?
 
GTFLETCH said:
Coach Collins had the fan base lurch away from him negatively after NIU loss. He still hasn't recovered from that, not sure he ever can at this point. Everyone should be listeneing to the 30,000 empty seats for a critical Coastal matchup. Beating UNC and being a close loser to Clemson didn't heal the NIU loss. If they handled Pitt like they did UNC then Collins would be clawing back ground. The Collins era might be coming to an end faster than some would like, but not for the 30,000 empty seats... those fans are ready for another coaching change. We can thank Coach Collins for the uptick in recruiting and now the AD needs to bring in a P-5 coaching staff to get us back to winning 7 games annually with a few 9 & 10 win seasons in between.
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No… Firing CGC would put us in a hole much like the ones FSU and Miami are in. You can’t just up and replace a coach every 3 years.
 
JJacket said:
Collins is going nowhere for at least 3 years.
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It will be a rough three years.... Hopefully we make a Bowl game. My son is a sophmore and the way this going it will be a real "win" to get to a bowl game before he graduates. The one thing for sure is the schedule in 2022 and 2023 doesn't get any easier... Coach Collins has now seen the Yellow Jackets through 27 games across 2.5 years and they haven’t yet won back-to-back games once. Success has always been followed up with failure. That’s a tough pattern that this program is going to need to break if we are going to make it to six wins and a bowl game in the Geoff Collins era.
 
GtFan021 said:
No… Firing CGC would put us in a hole much like the ones FSU and Miami are in. You can’t just up and replace a coach every 3 years.
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Coach Collins may be safe , we will have to wait for the season to play out. The same cannot be said of his coordinators and position coaches. Having NIU hand you your *** with a two TE overload that to this day you still look befuddled by isn't exactly a promotional bellringer. Secondary and WR still seem sketchy at best. The real doings behind the scenes are reflected accurately and succinctly here: https://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-...e-its-time-to-win/BBZCXUJG7RGITLXQ6YTXNZJJ2A/
 
So many reasons for declining attendance. Every game on TV is a huge reason. Starting times announced 12 days or occasionally less makes a difference for those who travel some distance or have other obligations to juggle on Saturdays. Noon starts hurt student attendance and make tailgating difficult. Tech fund made consecutive years as a season ticket holder much less an incentive. Conference expansion dilutes rivalries and simply has us competing against more schools for success and championships. It seems Tech just makes everything from parking to stadium entry more problematic. Upper North expansion was unnecessary - makes tickets easy to get and increases the number of opposing fans when we play our rivals, Georgia and Clemson. The return to losing seasons hurts some, but not as much as some of the reasons listed above. New football programs diminish the number of folks looking for a team - Georgia State and Kennesaw grads are not looking for a team to support anymore. I sat near and knew a good number of Georgia State grads who cheered for us. And, the widening distance between our program and UGA hurts. We have not seen a home win since my son was 11. He is in his 12th year coaching and teaching now. The series turned in the mid-sixties. We at least won 3 of 10 in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. That dropped to two wins in the 00’s and 10’s. That matters.​
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The stuff like music, PA volume, uniforms, etc. can make a difference to some. But there are bigger issues to address. And, except for the top tier programs, the issues we face with attendance and support are not unique to us.​
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