Sidewalk fan and occasional poster here.

Dcgt4542

Dcgt4542

Varsity Lurker
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
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I assume I am a sidewalk fan in that I did not attend but my daughter is a GT grad. I have been as loyal as possible and my family has attended games for 12 years. We have sat in the heat of Tulane and the frozen tundra of the Miami OB and North to BC and just about everywhere in between. Sat in the rain at Clemson last year and heat Saturday. We really like GT football.
Thanks for tolerating the background.

Back on topic - my perspective on fans and loyalty. I love to ask other fans about their back ground. Year round not just at games. I have met parents of GT grads and current GT students who have never attended a game. I have GT grads in my neighborhood that I cannot get to join my family on game day. I have offered tickets and tailgating. They simply were not interested. No amount of selling got them to the stadium. After more conversation the common theme was that they just did not like football enough and therefore too much hassle to attend. Not even curious other than TV. My conclusion is that all of this fan support agony has at least one dynamic that might be the biggest challenge. You either like or love football or you do not. As a sidewalk fan this love of the game keeps you invested through good and bad. This was my situation. Played HS football. Always loved the game. Daughter attended GT so bingo that’s my team. Made easier because I never was able to stomach the sound of humans barking. THWG. I already loved football so all in from day one. Over the past 12 years I have only really experienced CPJ and one year of CG but regardless of outcome I stayed and my passion for GT grew. I will be back regardless of who is coaching.

Contrast this to the factory sidewalk fan volume and in addition to the pure math of it the factory sidewalk fan probably has a much deeper love of the game. Always has and magnified in the south. Friday night lights. The whole nine yards. Cannot criticize this. What percent of GT parents are genuinely passionate about football? I sadly believe our numbers are shrinking? Who knows?

Anyway I am not happy with the current product on the field but oddly I sort of feel an outsider having not earned the stripes to complain too much ? Anyway I will go on record as believing an era is ending and this is the only era I know first hand. Doing nothing might not be an option?

Other sidewalk fans-what say you?
 
Impressive level of loyalty... you must love pain. I, too, have found it a struggle to give away tickets, mostly to graduates in their early ~30s like myself. You’re right, you have to have a real love of the game and the team to drag a young family out there in the heat. Most of my friends just stopped going... but I still go, and definitely don’t regret it!!
 
We let dumbass Poly grads bitch and moan on here, so feel free to partake in the complaint fest.
 
Sidewalk fan here as well, I’m a Kennesaw St. grad but I’ve been a Tech fan since I was a little boy in the 80s and fell in love with the Black Watch.....wasn’t easy up here in Dalton. 90 solidified me when I was a middle schooler and I’ve ridden the roller coaster since. I agree that a lot of Tech people don’t love football. That is why our fan base is small.....a lot of Tech people don’t get into it as much and for the unaffiliated it doesn’t seem as fun.

Your right though...I think it is the end of an era and I’m curious to see what’s next.
 
Dcgt4542 said:
I assume I am a sidewalk fan in that I did not attend but my daughter is a GT grad. I have been as loyal as possible and my family has attended games for 12 years. We have sat in the heat of Tulane and the frozen tundra of the Miami OB and North to BC and just about everywhere in between. Sat in the rain at Clemson last year and heat Saturday. We really like GT football.
Thanks for tolerating the background.

Back on topic - my perspective on fans and loyalty. I love to ask other fans about their back ground. Year round not just at games. I have met parents of GT grads and current GT students who have never attended a game. I have GT grads in my neighborhood that I cannot get to join my family on game day. I have offered tickets and tailgating. They simply were not interested. No amount of selling got them to the stadium. After more conversation the common theme was that they just did not like football enough and therefore too much hassle to attend. Not even curious other than TV. My conclusion is that all of this fan support agony has at least one dynamic that might be the biggest challenge. You either like or love football or you do not. As a sidewalk fan this love of the game keeps you invested through good and bad. This was my situation. Played HS football. Always loved the game. Daughter attended GT so bingo that’s my team. Made easier because I never was able to stomach the sound of humans barking. THWG. I already loved football so all in from day one. Over the past 12 years I have only really experienced CPJ and one year of CG but regardless of outcome I stayed and my passion for GT grew. I will be back regardless of who is coaching.

Contrast this to the factory sidewalk fan volume and in addition to the pure math of it the factory sidewalk fan probably has a much deeper love of the game. Always has and magnified in the south. Friday night lights. The whole nine yards. Cannot criticize this. What percent of GT parents are genuinely passionate about football? I sadly believe our numbers are shrinking? Who knows?

Anyway I am not happy with the current product on the field but oddly I sort of feel an outsider having not earned the stripes to complain too much ? Anyway I will go on record as believing an era is ending and this is the only era I know first hand. Doing nothing might not be an option?

Other sidewalk fans-what say you?
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You're all in fam.
 
Greatly appreciate your support of the Jackets. I think many share your disappointment that the CPJ era may be coming to a end. He led us to more significant wins than we had enjoyed under Gailey, but if this ends up being three losing seasons out of four, this indeed may be the end.
 
Diseqc said:
We let dumbass Poly grads bitch and moan on here, so feel free to partake in the complaint fest.
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You just got moved up the list. Yes, there is a list. You are higher on it now.
 
Fellow sidewalk fan here. I may have gone to Clemson, but I've been a Jacket since my dad (GT grad) started taking me to games when I was a little boy in the Joe Hamilton years. You have as much of a right to voice your opinion as anyone on here, given your loyalty over the years.

I loved the CPJ era. Our offense is my favorite in college football, and 2014 was the most fun year of football I can remember (and I was at both Clemson national title games), but I also think this era coming to an end. Even if he manages to turn things around this year and finish strong to earn another season, I think it's time for a change sooner than later. IIWII.
 
johncu said:
Fellow sidewalk fan here. I may have gone to Clemson, but I've been a Jacket since my dad (GT grad) started taking me to games when I was a little boy in the Joe Hamilton years. You have as much of a right to voice your opinion as anyone on here, given your loyalty over the years.

I loved the CPJ era. Our offense is my favorite in college football, and 2014 was the most fun year of football I can remember (and I was at both Clemson national title games), but I also think this era coming to an end. Even if he manages to turn things around this year and finish strong to earn another season, I think it's time for a change sooner than later. IIWII.
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I second this.

I'm a UofL grad, but grew up in GA and live here. My experience is almost identical, dad was a GT grad and started going to games in the Joe Hamilton era.
 
Regardless of where you went to college... if you buy tickets then you have a voice. If they don't listen then you stop buying tickets. Best fans I know, besides the ones on stingtalk, are sidewalk fans. They've been fans since before I started school.
 
GT'12 grad here. My father is a USC Gamecock grad. Went to at least 1 USC game/year with him from age 5 until I graduated HS, Gamecocks were mostly awful but had so much fun going to games with him. Wasn't a Tech fan until I started at GT in fall '08, same year as CPJ started. My father and I still go to at least 1-2 USC and GT games / year, for example USF this year. I guess we're both used to pulling for mostly bad teams, but... both teams have had their ups and downs, and you take the good with the bad, yada yada etc etc. In GT's current case, it is time for a change. Go Jackets.
 
I am a ‘sidewalk’ fan as well. Although I am a graduate of UGA with degrees in Statistics and Mathematics, I have been a GT fan since birth -my dad was responsible for that as he was an alum of O’Keefe HS and grew up a Tech fan.

I’ve been a season ticket holder since the O’Leary days, have been a supporter of CPJ and his offense, but it’s not lost on me that the program has been in a downward spiral since the injury-plagued season of ‘15.

As a Tech fan I am certainly frustrated right now, and can see where it may be time to make a change and replace CPJ.

While I don’t expect Tech to be a perennial 10 game winner, I also don’t expect to miss playing in one of 40 some odd bowl games either. Playing in the ACC, I expect to consistently compete for the Coastal title, and make the ACCCG every few years.

I will not be deterred in supporting the program, but I have grown weary of the bad play on ST, FG’s, and issues on both sides of the ball that are to lengthy to get into here in the fifth paragraph of this post.

That’s enough for now.
 
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My grandfather was a lifelong sidewalk fan and is the reason I decided to go. I’m glad I did and I was thankful for the opportunity he did not have.

It’s also hard being a Tech fan. I used to have my grandfather as an always ready travel companion for home games or a watch party for away games. There are no gatherings at homes for Tech games like there are for uga games and everyone around isn’t breathing Tech 24/7. That’s probably the worst part of cheering for Tech.
 
Diseqc said:
is it written in crayon?
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fark_zqk2RKSHWYuxO-zM47fnKIcRqs0.gif
 
Longestdays said:
GT is becoming MIT. The new students of GT are less sports orientated than ever. I know there are exceptions. I have no data to back this up, but I believe it non the less.
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Absolutely.....go visit campus on a non gameday and just walk around. I did this one day when I was in Atlanta one day back in the spring. The student culture has changed dramatically. I haven't been on the MIT campus but I've been told what it is like and that is pretty much what I saw at Tech. I wonder if 50% of the students are aware of our games/teams?
 
I swear Tech grads have zero interest in football. I work with a couple tech grads down here in Tampa and they don’t care at all. Zero.
 
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