Spring Football Attendance

General NCS Football53

NC State 15,000
UNC-CH (announced) 8,000

We proclaim “announced” because eye-witness accounts from Carolina’s message boards indicated a number closer to 2,500 – 3,000. Then the number got revised to 5,000. Then NC State’s attendance was announced and Carolina’s number suddenly got revised up to 8,000. Amazing! If you have seen any of the photographs from Carolina’s spring game you MAY be able to get to 8,000 appendages if you are lucky.

Same day.

Same weather.

Programs are in the same situation – both with new coaches.

In fact, Carolina hired the higher profile new coach who pieced together a much more ‘exciting’ recruiting class that signed in February. Therefore, anticipation in Chapel Hill should be at an all-time high.

Instead…NC State’s spring game attendance dwarfed Carolina’s by a total of 200% to 500% depending on what estimates that you choose to believe.

Any recruits out there paying attention?

We’ve got PLENTY on the Wolfpack’s spring football game by clicking here.

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General NCS Football

53 Responses to Spring Football Attendance

  1. gopack968 04/18/2007 at 11:22 AM #

    Of course the N&O coverage was primarily about UNC – big picture center of Saturday sports page. Slight mention of State in a margin and a 1-2 paragraph bit on about page 6.

  2. McPete 04/18/2007 at 11:30 AM #

    Gopack968: take a look at the Sunday paper. not only is the nc state recap above the fold on 1C, but there is a pic of J. Eugene on 1A above the header. i’d say it was pretty prominent on Sunday, though lacking on Saturday. But refer to the large piece on Friday about the team helping out at the shelter.

  3. DireWolf 04/18/2007 at 11:50 AM #

    Wolfonthehill… Sorry, live in upstate NY… where there’s still snow on the ground, and no coverage of ACC anything except on the web (So big props to SFN for the great site!). We’re less than 3 hours from Boston, and hear aboslutely NOTHING about BC except hockey. It’s all about Syracuse – which has always made me wonder if the ACC knew what it was doing by choosing BC… They got the Boston market, but they could have had the entire state of NY (and a much more adamant fan base) with Syracuse… At least I can make the trip to BC once every 2 years for a football game. This year should be rather interesting. In 2005, there were a ton of pack fans at the game.

  4. CaptainCraptacular 04/18/2007 at 12:03 PM #

    I don’t recall every seeing a Carter-Finley game broadcast from the old ‘student’ side / visitor sideline. Its always been done from the home side. Is there even a dedicated spot for a midfield camera on the visitor side? If not, that basically leaves the placement of fans as the only variable. Just speculating on reasons why fans were kept on the home side, but I can think of a couple of possible reasons: More shade on the home side? The Towers were open (not sure because I wasn’t there) and it was just a natural progression to keep all the fans/vendors on the same side instead of splitting them up? Not that these are great reasons, but they are reasons.

    It doesn’t appear anyone in the AD were thinking of the coverage angle and cameras picking up empty seats making it look kinda sad. But I don’t see it as *that* much of a negative. Perhaps a missed opportunity (an unfortunate habit in the AD), but there are plenty of pictures around showing the true attendance which somewhat mitigates the camera oversight.

  5. choppack1 04/18/2007 at 12:09 PM #

    CC – It’s a huge missed opportunity. The good news is that TOB and the team should have been impressed. The bad news is that the success of the game is pretty much a secret limited to those who actually went to the game.

    IMHO, it’s marketing 101. I’ll put it in the most basic sense. If I’m opening a restaurant or a store…folks are going to know when it’s opening. If press is going to be covering the event – and it’s crowded- I want that to be part of the photos – even if it’s in the background.

    We threw a party – a lot of folks came, but if you looked at the media coverage, you would think no one came. Is that an accurate message??

  6. bTHEredterror 04/18/2007 at 12:12 PM #

    “Did Duke have a spring game?”

    Yep, they’re 0-1.

    Redfred, almost fell out my chair. They’re so bad, they can’t even beat themselves.

  7. genefoto 04/18/2007 at 12:33 PM #

    Here’s a shot of the Carter-Finley stands about half an hour before the first snap of the spring game

    http://www.accfootballphotos.com/2007/70414ncsuredwhite/image042.html

    Mr. Wuf misbehaving while Mrs. Wuf is no where in site 🙂
    http://www.accfootballphotos.com/2007/70414ncsuredwhite/image124.html

    Stadium shot in the second half
    http://www.accfootballphotos.com/2007/70414ncsuredwhite/image107.html

  8. Trout 04/18/2007 at 12:42 PM #

    ^ Mr Wuf knows talent!

  9. joe 04/18/2007 at 12:46 PM #

    The Duke spring game is actually this Sat. , they are a week behind most other teams. They are holding it at Wallace-Wade, but I guess they are used to seeing that place mostly empty.

  10. choppack1 04/18/2007 at 12:49 PM #

    Yep – it would have been a shame for the local news to show stuff from that angle.

  11. noah 04/18/2007 at 12:50 PM #

    My wife and I were eating funnel cake and it was windy, so we sat away from everyone else. If you look at Gene’s photo that was taken an hour before gametime, we were in the upper stands, in that second section on the left. When I left at halftime, that section was full about halfway to the top.

    I don’t know how many people fit in the stands between the goallines, but I’d guess that particular portion of the stadium was 80 percent full. Obviously, no one on the other side or in the endzones (other than the former players)

  12. branjawn 04/18/2007 at 1:04 PM #

    Direwolf, I hear ya bout the snow, just dug myself out to go to the g-store. I’m in Ithaca.

    bTHEred, “almost fell out my chair”, you and me both brother!! haha

  13. BobLee 04/18/2007 at 2:27 PM #

    I was at the UNC Spring Game as I have been at the past seven UNC Spring Games. I have never attended a NCSU Spring Game.

    I would reasonably estimate 6-8,000. I spoke w/ the Sports Promotion AD on Monday and he confirmed there was no effort made to count spectators. Gates were opened all around the stadium w/ no “gatekeepers” anywhere.

    The North Side was quite full within the 30s in the lower level. South Side maybe 70% of North Side.

    Compared to past years, this seemed a heavier turnout than I can recall.

    As to The Football Letterman Reunion …. UNC has had a concerted effort in that regard for the past seven years. I was surprised that NCSU has not. This years FB Lttr Banquet was definitely the best attended of the seven I have attended …. 200+. That this year was stronger than for “a fellow teammate JB, surprised me somewhat. Lots of curiosity to meet Butch.

    If State fans wish to claim some “moral high ground” based on Spring Game guess-timates I think thats fine. I recall a loonie a few years ago claiming NCSU superiority by comparing Hugh Shelton to Rick Dees …. I still use that one in my speaking events! …. I then compare Pres James K Polk to Washburn …. always gets a big laugh.

    BobLee

  14. branjawn 04/18/2007 at 2:33 PM #

    I bet James Polk’s 50+ slaves would find that hilarious Bob. Talk about moral high ground…

  15. choppack1 04/18/2007 at 2:50 PM #

    Wait a second – I think Rick Dees went to State too! Maybe he was comparing Shelton to Dan Cortez.

  16. Trout 04/18/2007 at 2:51 PM #

    Not “moral high ground” – simply factual evidence of the passion of the fan bases for football.

  17. BobLee 04/18/2007 at 2:53 PM #

    Thanks branjawn … I’ll add that little bon bon to the story. Care to provide me any more “a State message board fan said…” material?

  18. branjawn 04/18/2007 at 3:10 PM #

    “a State message board fan said” must be code for “As we all know and hold to be truth”? I have a feeling you won’t be adding it to your story, doesn’t fit in with your propaganda does it?

  19. BoKnowsNCS71 04/18/2007 at 3:39 PM #

    Gene — I think your pics are reversed. Several reasons.

    First, I know in the first half there were more people than that in the upper level. I sat there.
    Second, I left after the first half, and
    third — I can see myself in your second half picture. I wore my black Wolfpack polo shirt and jacket and sat about 4 seats up near an enranceway in a sea of red and I stick out in the crowd (if you know where to look).

  20. Girlfriend in a Coma 04/18/2007 at 4:01 PM #

    Bob: You should at least compare Polk to someone with a State degree. And if you did that, Polk would lose any such comparison.

  21. redfred2 04/18/2007 at 4:37 PM #

    branjawn

    Thanks for that swipe at ol’ Bob Lee, you paid me back for my earlier humor.

  22. Primewolf 04/18/2007 at 8:10 PM #

    BobLee, somehow your estimates don’t jive with the still photos I’ve seen. No one in sight on the first 10 rows or so.

    I am sure you majored in math at Carolina and that is why you have to make your whimpy living as a lowpaid speaker at all the barbe’q joints in eastern NC.

    I think you have eaten too much vinegar laced pork in your day.

  23. WolfPup35 04/18/2007 at 8:18 PM #

    Bob Lee, please just shut your piehole. I can remember reports of crowd noise being piped in to Carmichael back in the day, so over estimating by the tarholes is really nothing new to me. Every fan in the ACC knows about the UNX crowds…you get support when you win and shunned when you lose. Let’s face it, UNX fans really don’t care about football regardless of who the coach is. The WHINE and cheese crowd live on…..

  24. Buddygreen 04/18/2007 at 8:36 PM #

    My CPA, a UNX grad, said the attendance was pitful no way 8K and you think he would he would know something about numbers. Plus UNX is woman’s soccer school anyway. And if you want to claim who’s who. Although Jim Hunt went to State and UNX, you can have him Bob.

  25. redfred2 04/18/2007 at 9:07 PM #

    BobLee says:

    “I spoke w/ the Sports Promotion AD on Monday and he confirmed there was no effort made to count spectators.”

    Well now, if that is the case, and the birthplace of spin itself, the five time national champs in BB, won’t even dare at a good ol’ fudged powder blue guestimate, then I’m guessing at fairly similar numbers,…around 6-8 hundred.

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