ESPN Mag: Carter-Finley’s student section among five most spirited

Fans General NCS Football Rankings & Lists65

I know this article is old. But, this is why I save old links so as to not forget them! You can click here to ESPN The Magazine’s ranking of student sections in college football stadiums across the country. The only two ACC programs that gain a mention in the rankings are NC State and Virginia Tech.

As a follow-up to the enormous attendance of the Wolfpack’s spring football game, I thought it would be a good time to highlight another positive mention for North Carolina’s most loyal fan base. (You should click on that link)

Related:

  • ESPN’s Road Trip @ Carter-Finley (Link)

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    Fans General NCS Football Rankings & Lists

    65 Responses to ESPN Mag: Carter-Finley’s student section among five most spirited

    1. choppack1 04/27/2009 at 12:26 PM #

      wolf2003 – that’s absolutely insane. I feel bad for the current crop of students. Part of the reason people like me are such loyal NC State football fans was the experience of going to the games.

      We got block seating, we tailgated, and we went in the game. Granted – at times, it took us a while to get in there sometimes – but to have as part of your overall documented seating plan – a process which results in huge caverns of unfilled seats and needless delays – is absolutely insane. Unfortunately, I think it’s a microcosm of the type of “leadership” and vision we see from the top these days.

      Are y’all doing something about this?

    2. Greywolf 04/27/2009 at 1:02 PM #

      Chop,
      I didn’t realize you were only 2 years out of school… I need all the help I can get in learning about the C-F experience from the students standpoint. Not much transfer knowledge from Riddick Stadium. If you didn’t have a splinter in your ass from Riddick’s wooden seats, you probably didn’t go to many games.

      `
      Can you cut through the horseshit in the policy and point to what needs fixing and how to fix it. Something has got to be done about the 15 minute after kickoff thing. I’d rather see it 15 minutes BEFORE kickoff than after. That 15 minute thing fooled me last year and I wrote LF about it. Then I followed up by checking out the entrance to see what the hold-ups were. In the big picture I see it’s more reaction to something than proactive policy to cause something.
      `
      I will put something together and send it to Oblinger with copies to LF if you and others do some of the leg work and tell me what you want that works and what specifically doesn’t work. (Not just p&m)
      `
      I sent J-LO (that would be James L Oblinger, not Jennifer L-opez) an email Saturday about Armed Forces Game and got a response less than 24 hours later on Sunday acknowledging that he had read it and promising to get back to me after he talked to those who he needed to talk to about it. Complaining about stuff to someone other than who can make a difference is like pissing your pants in a dark suit — it does give you a warm feeling but nobody notices it and not much good comes from it.

    3. Greywolf 04/27/2009 at 1:09 PM #

      “We’re not talking a major project here, but rebuilding the east side entrances, replacing the bathrooms and other upgrades really should be “what’s next” for CFS before anything else.”
      `
      “We will continue to look into ways to enhance the East concourse” per Dick Christy, Associate AD/External Operations

    4. Alpha Wolf 04/27/2009 at 1:28 PM #

      Grey, thanks for the Christy comment. If they need to look into things they can walk around the stadium to the west side and see the entrances, concourse and also a very important part, the bathrooms there and then replicate them.

      Of course, “look into” is code for “figure out how to pay for” and that’s what the missing construction ingredient is…money.

    5. Greywolf 04/27/2009 at 1:35 PM #

      “Interesting why they are going to a model that makes the fanbase look apathetic on national TV.” — Choppack1
      `
      This kind of statement is what gets us dismissed as a bunch of internet loonies. I haven’t seen us on National TV in C-F but that is not what ESPN is saying in the links above.

    6. Noah 04/27/2009 at 1:38 PM #

      Defined, ticketed seating ought to be a priority for student seats. If it doesn’t work because you can’t sit with your friend…well s**t, get in line. What do you think the rest of us do?

    7. ryno84 04/27/2009 at 2:30 PM #

      The peeing in the stands was a product of the Student Gov’t and Administration trying a new ticketing system. The lower stands got so full that security wouldnt let you back in to your section until someone had left. Thus the students would pee in the stands instead of leaving to go use the bathroom. General Admission seating allows the ones that get there early to get the better seats, but it also causes overcrowding in the lower levels. In the student section there are too many people on each row to the point where it becomes SRO. I think that something should be done like a card swipe to get into the stadium and the sections in the stands. How the students actually enter is a totally different topic. I was there from 02-07 so most of this stuff is still fairly fresh for me.

    8. Alpha Wolf 04/27/2009 at 2:32 PM #

      Watching the Canes game last night got me thinking some more about the RBC – and how we are really “guests” in this arena.

      I realize that RBC is not the ideal college environment, but State has an incredible sweetheart deal that makes the RBC the best option for hoops.

      Reynolds, great as it was, was well past its time in terms of getting in and out of the building, getting in and out of parking, concessions, bathrooms, etc. To bring it up to modern standards, it would have had to essentially rebuilt and replaced. Sure, the women’s team uses it now, but in its reconfigured state it is far smaller than it was in its heyday.

      That’s why the intertia for Centennial Center (now known as the RBC, formerly known as ESA) got going. State owned the land and in the government and the Gale Force (Hurricanes) folks, they found two well-heeled partners that when all three were put together, a state-of-the-art facility would be affordable to all. Thus the Centennial Commission was formed and it oversees the arena complex.

      One thing about the RBC that State folks forget is that the Canes organization runs it (through Gale Force Holdings) — and is responsible for the operating loss or profit the arena generates. That’s good news for NC State and for Wake County’s taxpayers because it gives both a financial certainty where operations costs are concerned. Arenas by and of themselves are rarely profitable, and require a staff to promote, maintain and operate the building. With GFH doing things, none of that is necessary from NC State or Wake County’s point of view, and additionally the arena avoids being mired in state and local politics. Wake County gets the economic and prestige impact of the building, State gets a very nice and extremely affordable new building and neither are holding the bag if the building loses money or worse, gets damaged by a hurricane or tornado (GFH has to insure the place too.)

      Were the Hurricanes to leave, NC State would no doubt be on the hook for the building’s losses at least partially, and those funds would almost certainly impact the Wolfpack Club and the cost of tickets — across the board. Not to mention they would have to fund many new positions and carry them on their books as part of the ops staff.

      Compare and contrast that with Smith Center, which the state has paid for the operating losses of for some time. You and I pay for Smith Center’s ongoing existance, despite what the well-to-do Rams Club folks would have you believe. Notice how they always point out they built the building and gave it to UNC…but never mention that they haven’t paid for it to remain open ever since then?

    9. choppack1 04/27/2009 at 2:32 PM #

      Grey – I’ve been out of school for more than 15 years. Yes my statement about making our fans look apathetic is an exaggeration – but your remark irks me somewhat. You mentioned in your first post that you see students heading the wrong way – and I provide you w/ a link that pretty clearly explains what you’re seeing – and how it’s a direct result of university policy.

      The empty seats when a game begins looks terrible..and it is part of their planned policy. And if that’s possible to avoid – I’d like them to aviod it.

      Don’t think about this from the perspective of a state fan – think about it as a potential college student or student athlete or parent of kid considering a school. It’s noon or 3:30 or 7:00 pm – you’ve got a few games you can choose from…as one kicks off – you see an end zone that is almost totally empty. In the other, you see a full stadium…Which game do you watch?

      As always – it’s about the details. To use a simple dinner analogy, you’ve bought the food, you’ve cooked it, you’ve got everyone at the table – then you do something little that impacts the end result – if only slightly. But, those paper cuts add up don’t they?

      I’d really like to see feedback from our current students on the current process on this one.

      Noah – there ways to work that seating arrangement out like block seating so that people can watch games w/ groups of their friends. I really don’t see why it can’t work out.

    10. packpigskinfan23 04/27/2009 at 3:00 PM #

      As a student(for a few more weeks), this is what is going on:

      The past two years has been the new ticketing system. It was extremely flawed when they didnt allow for any wavering for students to change sections so that they might be able to sit with friends. By fixing this, they have the system that all students will get their hands stamped upon entry, and then would be able to sit where ever they can or want to in that section.

      Chop- The problem is not so much the 15 minute after kick off rule. That actually improves the chances of sections being full before kickoff. It allows students who didnt get tickets to take the seats of those who want to sit out side and drink a few more beers(or like many i know, not even enter at all till the second half). This is suppose to encourage people to enter as early as possible to the game. It has actually worked to some extent but…

      THIS IS THE PROBLEM- The student gate entries are physically the farthest possible from the student parking section, and there are not enough people to search, scan tickets, and the hands of students. This causes the first of two major traffic jams. The second would be all of the people who enter at the same time, are directed to the same section at the same time. First section being the most popular 7/8, which happens to be ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STADIUM AS THE STUDENT ENTRANCES. They over stuff 7/8 with only one entrance into the section which causes another major traffic jam. Then they move on to NEZ and SEZ sections and then to 14/15.

      I dont really know any great solutions other then they need to find a way to allow students to enter into all the other gates that the regular customers enter. Fork out the money and buy more scanners. Then you find a way to section off student from there. At some point you could have some student or professor to come up with some software that lets the scanners know how many tickets have been scanned, and when to switch the sections of availability or something. I dont know…

    11. bb1983 04/27/2009 at 3:06 PM #

      As for students entering the game late, one contributing factor is the squeezed tailgating time. It takes me a minimum of 5-6 hours to cook my ribs, and a hot grill in the back of a pickup truck is a bad idea driving down blue ridge. I rarely see the first quarter.

      The other thing that I believe could help get students (people) inside earlier is to give them a reason to go. Sure, we all want to watch football. But much like baseball, the game itself has become a feature of the day, not the feature of the day.The first quarter just isn’t as exciting as that last game of cornhole.

      Have a short concert or something on the field, or some attraction that gets advertised and that people want to witness. Maybe put a local band on stage in an endzone for a few minutes and let students watch from the field. Flyovers typically get me inside early. Could have music or other attractions out on the concourse. I don’t know specifically what would work, but some sort of attraction.

      And yes, the student entrance should be moves from its current location at the far end of the stadium from the student lot. And if interest in pre-game activities is built up, the mad rush that causes the lines to back up will be eliminated.

      Addition: What is up with pass-outs? Why are they needed in addition to a ticket stub? And why do they restrict them to one entrance?

    12. ncsu0812 04/27/2009 at 3:07 PM #

      SWPC is allowed to enter at the south end zone gate. Why aren’t all the students allowed to enter at this gate?

    13. Texpack 04/27/2009 at 3:23 PM #

      In ancient times, like when we won our last ACC Championship in football, you picked up your assigned seat tickets from Reynolds during the Tue-Thu or Fri student ticket distribution period. I don’t recall there being any restrictions on the gates you could enter either. I guess I don’t understand why that kind of system wouldn’t work now, but I’m sure someone here will be able to point out the flaws in it.

    14. LKNpackfan 04/27/2009 at 3:39 PM #

      ^ Well, because that caused students to campout at Reynolds in order to get the best tickets, and we all know student campouts are an abomination. (note the sarcasm)

      Campouts were and are the best method, but the assigned section/seat-distributed-at-the-gate method seems ok too. It still rewards those who want it most, and encourages students to arrive before kickoff. But, apparently the logistics of distributing the vouchers require all students to enter through the same gate, a very far-away and inconvenient gate, which, when coupled with our TSA-like security, causes massives lines resulting in upper-level students sections remaining empty under 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter.

      IMO the ticketing policy is ok, it is the chosen gate and the security overkill that is the causing all the problems. The solution seems pretty obvious to me.

    15. bradleyb123 04/27/2009 at 4:10 PM #

      Very much off-topic:

      Why is there no blog about the new basketball recruit yet, the 7-footer from Australia?

      There’s nothing about him at gopack.com, either. Whether or not you think this guy is a good recruit for us, isn’t the story at least newsworthy? I haven’t seen anything about him on WRAL, either.

      Sid needed a big man BADLY. Is this not newsworthy?

    16. Greywolf 04/27/2009 at 4:41 PM #

      “Grey – I’ve been out of school for more than 15 years. Yes my statement about making our fans look apathetic is an exaggeration – but your remark irks me somewhat.”
      Chop, About the 2 year thing: I thought you were out much longer than 2 years but my old eyes missed the period in your words that follow: “but obviously it’s changed from when I was in school. 2 years ago, we had students peeing” so I was questioning the 2 years as much as saying you were.
      `
      Hey, I’d be irked too. Making a smart-assed remark like I might to one of my friends is difficult in writing. How about I apologize and then ask you to think back to some of my other commmunications with you so you can get it wasn’t intended as shitty as it sounded, OK?

    17. Greywolf 04/27/2009 at 4:49 PM #

      Alpha Wolf
      April 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
      “Grey, thanks for the Christy comment… Of course, “look into” is code for “figure out how to pay for” and that’s what the missing construction ingredient is…money.
      `
      Alpha, You think? From Christy, “Thanks for following up. The East concourse continues to be a topic of discussion but at this point it is not a financially feasible project. That doesn’t mean we will not continue to evaluate it so when resources are available we can move quickly.”
      `
      I’m not saying anything ’cause I doubt Christy has a damn thing to say what gets built when. Besides, he is Dick Christy’s grandson, and that buys him something in my book. 😉

    18. Noah 04/27/2009 at 5:36 PM #

      Whether or not you think this guy is a good recruit for us, isn’t the story at least newsworthy? I haven’t seen anything about him on WRAL, either.

      Sid needed a big man BADLY. Is this not newsworthy?

      He’s 7-0, but I don’t think most people consider him to be an immediate contributor. He might play here just because we’re so thin in the front court.

      I say this having NEVER seen him play a single second of basketball.

      But those who have seem to think he’s more of a “two years down the road” player.

    19. packbackr04 04/27/2009 at 5:59 PM #

      we do need the height, i just get more and more concerned with Sids scholarship allocation. Assuming he knows he is on his way out after another miserable year, it appears he is just signing guys that will sign in some last chance effort to throw something out on the court that can save his job. (throwing $hit at the wall and hoping something will stick kinda thing)…

      all the while he could be completely hamstringing the program for years to come by giving scholarships to kids that have ZERO other offers from ACC programs. Hell, whoever the next coach is, his first duty might be to tell some of the kids on the team their schollies are not being renewed so he can get some acc caliber players on the team.

      is anyone else as scared as i am about the mens bball team next year?

    20. packbackr04 04/27/2009 at 6:01 PM #

      the way i see it, we have one acc caliber starter on our team. and tracy smith has some serious gaps in his game.

    21. pakfanistan 04/27/2009 at 6:03 PM #

      is anyone else as scared as i am about the mens bball team next year?

      No.

    22. Pack Leader 04/27/2009 at 6:24 PM #

      http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/i-m-outie-five-keep-it-sleazy-1.1733335

      Great Article from the Technician about his time at NCSU…..

    23. wolfpackdawg 04/27/2009 at 7:50 PM #

      ^Pack Leader….brilliant article…Pretty much sums up what is wrong with our athletics. I graduated in 91′ and need to read the Technician more often.

    24. 61Packer 04/27/2009 at 8:08 PM #

      When State fans look at Carter-Finley Stadium, the first thing that comes to their minds is happy times- fall tailgating and Wolfpack football. But when these same people, many who helped NC State achieve #4 on the above list, look at the RBC Center, the first thing that comes to their minds is Carolina Hurricanes hockey. If you ask them what makes them think of basketball, they’ll say Reynolds Coliseum. Who wants to be reminded of the misery that Wolfpack basketball has inflicted on its fans for the past decade? Not me!

      We may yet be good again in basketball someday, but I don’t think it’ll ever come in the RBC Center, which for me has become a house of pain. And despite it being a superior fuh-cility when compared to Reynolds Coliseum, I’d still rather have my bad seat in Reynolds watching the Pack feeding off its sellout home crowd and winning instead of my current stadium-style lower level view of the absolutely atrocious product that the BOT and other Wolfpack officials are trying to push as big-time college basketball.

      And speaking of basketball, someone on here noted that Sid has recruited a 7-foot Aussie but nobody’s seen him yet. Are we sure he’s not a kangaroo?

    25. choppack1 04/27/2009 at 8:51 PM #

      Grey – apology not accepted – now that I know the context, it’s cool.

      Even though I’ve passed judgement (in placing some blame w/ the people who formulated the new policy) – I’m still interested in finding out more about the process and the holes in it.

      It’s been interesting getting the various feedback – even from one poster who cannot be serious. I just don’t see why you can’t get tickets before hand. Then again, maybe that’s not the root cause.

      I do know this – it sounds a lot like the traffic situation I encountered when I lived in GSO and was commuting to Winston. If I didn’t leave my office @ 4:30 – there was no point in leaving until after 5:30 – because you’d be stuck in traffic and wouldn’t get home much earlier than 6. These kind of bottleknecks actually encourage straggling since the punishment is such that you’ll miss the first quarter if you don’t get to your seat by a certain time.

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