SFN is ‘Pulse of the Fan Base’

'09 Football 09-10 Basketball AD & Department Fans General On the Record Site News117

accsportslogo2SFN would like to thank the great folks from the ACC Sports Journal for inviting us to partner with them on their weekly ‘Pulse of the Fan Base’.

They posted the feature to their website last night and it can be read by clicking here.

Over the last 12 months the blog has generated more than 3.5 million page views from 1.5 million visits of over 280,000 unique visitors originating from 164 different countries and U.S. territories.

That includes 104 visits from Malawi. Yes, Malawi.

We are going to have more detail behind the Q&A here on the site in the coming days, so we hope that you keep checking in and share your thoughts with us.

Start by defining the ‘fan base’ as the fan base that actually forms opinions on these topics. Realize that a large majority of any fan base are just folks who went to school or like a team and all they want is for their team to be successful; they don’t really form opinions or take the time to educate themselves on ancillary issues.

The next level of fan is one that has a level of ‘vestedness’ that goes beyond just wanting the team to win. Here is a very general profile of some characteristics of a ‘vested’ fan.

1. Some form of membership and/or financial commitment such as the Wolfpack Club, Alumni Association, annual fund, etc.
2. If they don’t have season tickets or lifetime rights, then they attend at least a few games in person every now and then.
3. Take the time to generally know the football and basketball schedule and make time watch the majority of games when televised.
4. At least occasionally read articles and try to gather information from sources like the ACC Sports Journal, The Wolfpacker, the internet, etc.

The ACCSJ’s introduction mentions an article featuring SFN that ran in the NC State Alumni Magazine in late 2007/early 2008. Clicking here will take you to the original entry (written at the time of the article) that includes some interesting history of the site.

These recent developments and focus on SFN serve to be very timely as we are currently working on a site re-design on which we hope to flip the switch in the coming weeks. If you have any computer/creative skills we encourage you to check here for a request to contribute to our efforts. In addition to new banners for the site, we will happily accept any original/unique logos, pictures, graphics files that would be good fits for the next generation of the site.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

'09 Football 09-10 Basketball AD & Department Fans General On the Record Site News

117 Responses to SFN is ‘Pulse of the Fan Base’

  1. GAWolf 05/06/2009 at 8:09 AM #

    One last thing I will point out: Being well-informed on any topic comes with some sense of skepticism and concern. Blind acceptance is always an easier way to support any cause, agenda, platform or entity. Most of the people that have been long-term or regular readers of this site seek to know more about a topic they are passionate about: NC State Sports. With knowledge and deep-rooted understanding always comes the good and the bad. We as a group are more aware of what is going on than the vast majority of NC State alums and fans. As a result, we have the ability to better analyze the good and the bad. I see that in my line of work as well. Most criminal defense attorneys who work in the court system everyday are very critical of the system and it’s many, tragic flaws. At the same time, we’re the guys who most recognize the importance of the pillars of Constitutional protections and we’re the guys who give and fight for them on a regular basis. It doesn’t make us anarchists to want reform in our criminal justice system. Rather we’re just much more informed than the average citizen or politician who willfully or of no fault of his own has his head buried in the sand about what’s going on around him. That guy, in my opinion, who might have the authority to act and does not, is the most dangerous player in a democratic society.

    Here, like it or not, we’re more informed than most fans/alums. We criticize because we know enough about what’s going on in our Administration and Athletic Department to know there are problems at times that can be corrected. That doesn’t make any of us lesser fans of any of those who choose to blindly accept that people at NC State are doing all they can to help us succeed. Some of us know that’s just not true.

    And truthfully, this forum is a much more civilized way to discuss our opinions than confronting the individuals at dinner with their loved ones. While we disagree with their professional opinions and actions, I think most of us here are willing to realize they are entitled to carry on with their personal lives free of unnecessary and meaningless conflict.

  2. Keg Man 05/06/2009 at 8:47 AM #

    Alpha and GaWolf (Geez an Attorney but that’s ok) good points. I am not knocking the site. Good discussion is healthy and fun when you have a passion for the topic and you not the defendant in court.

    My question about the sutdents is a curious one. I went to school way before the internet age. Every Student has a lap top and internet these days. I guess school, dating, partying etc. still dominate the current students thinking as it did mine back then.

    I have found that High School kids are more diverse in their interest. I don’t see near the kids going to the HS Bball games like when I was young. Seems to be so many more different things for them to do.

    Anyway thanks for the info. Although I think the pecking order of informed Pack fans is different than GAWolf’s version. I would say the big WPC donors and the caravan would be the best informed, frats, then the on campus students, then the season ticket holders (witnesses to the actual events) cause you know so much more by being there than by reading about only a small version of it, premium subcribers to Wolfpack sites/publications, and then the disconnected long distance fans that can’t be season ticket holders that seem to dominate blogging here.

    Just my take. GO PACK.

    Alpha: KM, thanks for the reply and you make some very good points. Keep coming and jump in to the conversation, that’s what we’re really all about here.

  3. Noah 05/06/2009 at 8:48 AM #

    Me, I place NC State before any coach, AD, SID, and at times player. If that’s an agenda, then I am proud to push it. — Alpha

    *applause*

  4. bradleyb123 05/06/2009 at 8:49 AM #

    Are BrentRoad.com and TheWolfWeb.com the same site?

    Or some kind of mirror of each other?

    They look identical to me.

  5. Bubba 05/06/2009 at 9:43 AM #

    I find it nice to have at least 4 different venues to peruse for my daily Wolfpack fix.I find Pack Pride Premium and to a lesser extent The Wolfpacker sites the best during the sports seasons because they are “in the lockerooms” getting interviews etc.James seems to be the most factual in his reporting a story.

    The newest addition, Wolfpack Hoops, is just a good site for unique looks at recruits and future wolfpackers.Given more time,that site will be a huge success IMO.

    I do read Statefans because it offers a different view of my Wolfpack. Though it is highly opinionated,variety is the spice of life. For the most part,SFN is like the other sites in that the same 40-50 people post comments on every topic.

  6. ryno84 05/06/2009 at 10:12 AM #

    BrentRoad and Thewolfweb are the exact same site. Many students and former students do post on the site under the various sections, some posters and sections more serious than others. As stated above there are few to no rules on posting and things can be very offensive albeit entertaining. Its not something that you’d want to browse at work. While some posters are informed and have a vested interest in some topics, most threads turn into pissing contests where users try to flex their e-muscle. Other than for a laugh it’s not worth spending much time on there.

    OTOH
    I appreciate this site for the efforts that mods put into governing what is posted. I know one big donor that I have the chance to talk to every once and a while, he seems to be on the same page as this site. However I’m not sure how much he uses the internet. That being said, seeing the opinions and variety of views on here is a great way for me to see what is going on in the NC State sports world. I find out stuff that I otherwise wouldnt know until the local news outlets choose to mangle the stories.

  7. SouthernWolf 05/06/2009 at 10:13 AM #

    “My only concern about this and other Wolfpack blogs is Where are the Students? Do the students care so little about sports anymore?”

    I am a current student at NC State (a rising junior actually) and I regularly read this blog but post sparingly. To answer your question about where are the students; I know a good many students who regularly read this blog but do not post. For one thing we students have a lot to do, and by and large we do not have access to inside information. Also conversations at our tailgates are not usually centered around the state of NCSU athletics…

  8. whitefang 05/06/2009 at 10:28 AM #

    Two comments – I went to the thread in ACC Journal. I was frankly surprised at how SFN’s inclusion there stirred up so many negative comments of this site. The State fans I know think a lot of SFN. I have a Carolina grad who works for me who reads SFN sometimes. He has commented that he wished UNC had a site that was more like SFN.
    Secondly I was interested in SouthernWolf comments as well as the question about Where are the Students. 30 years removed now, but when I was at State, sports were our main daily topic of conversation. We fought over the sports page in the N&O every morning and usually any mention of State in there was read aloud at breakfast. We argued over Casey’s job performance, argued over Sloan departure, were generally pissed for months over the loss of Holtz and then Rein. The state of our football and basketball programs was everything to us in those days.

  9. choppack1 05/06/2009 at 11:04 AM #

    whitefang – Obviously that wasn’t the NC State Oblinger and Monteith wanted. I say that only half tongue/cheek.

    I do think the level of sports at the university has a great variation. Do you think that students at MIT or Harvard or Louisburg or WCU or UCSB or UNC-G spend a lot of time talking about those schools’ football and/or basketball or catching up on it? I can guarandamntee you they don’t.

    And one thing about the commuter school certain people are rumored to want – sports aren’t really an important part of such an institution.

    I’ll never forget when I was a Senior at NC State. I went back to Gso for one Saturday evening. Went to the local college bars (and believe it or not, UNC-G actually had/has several)…I got nice internal chuckle as the males in the bar were talking smack about their favorite college team: One guy was saying “Whoosh, whoosh -got some Canes here”, some other person was doing the florida Gator thing, another person was bragging about Michigan and yet another was bragging about the Heels.

    That could very well be the direction this ship is headed – especially if a certain football coach doesn’t stay long and/or the current administration cracks down further on tailgating.

  10. LRM 05/06/2009 at 11:19 AM #

    I think it’s interesting how different the perspectives and agendas are between Pack Pride and SFN, and at least (in my experience), how few people frequent both.

    I contributed many years ago to the original statefans.com and enjoyed it at its onset; a very close friend of mine was integral in running that site, but it quickly evolved from a raw grassroots site with a populist pulse similar to this one into the business that is now PP(recruiting) — it’s no longer a proper medium for exchanging opinions and triggering discussion. Since I could care less about recruiting — I think it’s fickle and far too much emphasis is placed on it — and could care even less about message boards, I find little value in PP and so I rarely ever go to PP for any reason (in fact, it’s probably been over two years since I’ve visited it).

    On the contrary, most of my closest friends either do not like SFN or rarely visit SFN because of its opinionated agenda (anti-Fowler rants, particularly), but frequent PP. It makes no difference at all to me; I prefer the platform and discussion on SFN, they don’t.

    I’d be interested to have a little more insight on how many people frequent both, just out of curiosity.

  11. wufpup76 05/06/2009 at 11:37 AM #

    Needless to say, great job SFN.

    “I’d be interested to have a little more insight on how many people frequent both, just out of curiosity.”

    ^I rarely visit PP. I do visit the other wolfpack-centric blogs linked here on occasion.

  12. Alpha Wolf 05/06/2009 at 11:37 AM #

    Chop, sadly, you are correct…

  13. choppack1 05/06/2009 at 11:41 AM #

    LRM – I frequent PP at home, usually once a night. In general, I execute a “mining” strategy. There are some valuable “nuggets” there – good articles and good info – but you’re going to have to sift through a lot of crap to find it.

    I probably haven’t posted there in a couple of months. The last time I posted there w/ any kind of regularity, it was right around the time when the APR scores and the wrestling team losing a scholy became public. I wrote a couple of posts criticizing Fowler – and was attacked by some of the message board bullies who frequent the site – modlin and hubman (I think.) I didn’t back down from that fight, but it really told me that the tone of PP had changed. No longer was it possible to have a civil disagreement on that board – and life’s too short to have your blood pressure raised by a bunch of cowards hiding behind a keyboard.

    Finally, PP also has ads that are blocked by my employer – so I avoid it at work – even for breaking news, latest info,etc.

  14. old13 05/06/2009 at 11:51 AM #

    The PP “policing” IMO is nearer a gestapo approach than merely keeping the site clean. After a couple of my posts were deleted a few years ago because of the opinion I stated, and not of how it was stated, I permanently vacated PP premium. I pass by now-and-then to see what prospects might be interest in NCSU, and sometimes follow free board threads for baseball games, etc. But SFN is the place I go to read differing opinions and gather whatever “insider” information about NCSU athletics may be available.

    BTW BobLee seems to think that we are no longer patiently waiting for the exit of Foulup from NCSU (go to the bottom of the link):

    http://www.bobleesays.com/archives/all/Lots-of-Hair-and-Teeth-but-no-Appendix.aspx

    If what he says is true, i.e. the “’Wuffs That Matter’ remain in Lee’s corner,” I’m done. It’s bad enough for them to ignore the many embarrassing public gaffs and the insulting of NCSU fans and alumni by Foulup. But for them to support all the fund-raising that has been done over the last several years in the name of Wolfpack athletics facilities, and then not do anything beyond that to put those facilities to good use and improve the on-the-field results, to me borders on the criminal, and certainly violates the trust that contributing Wolfpackers placed in giving the money to ultimately have competitive athletic programs at NCSU. They either cannot recognize a failed department when they see one, lack courage (or are just too lazy) to take action if they do recognize one, or they just don’t care, either of which I think is symptomatic of deeper problems in the management of the university in general.

  15. Alpha Wolf 05/06/2009 at 12:24 PM #

    “Lee Fowler Update ….. the embattled NCSU AD has emerged triumphant from his recent skirmish with RabidPackLoonies. “Wuffs That Matter” remain in Lee’s corner. There will be more assassination plots in the months to come. RabidPackLoonies have declared a Jed Jihad. – BobLee”

    That particular battle was and is never one of the “loonies” (I suppose that means the masses) and was and is always an internal power struggle in the top echelons. Those folks are hardly crazy and are more than willing to bide their time — on both sides of that issue.

    It’s all too easy as characterizing it as something that was created in the fanbase itself, but that would be inaccurate. You don’t have to watch NC State politics long to know that even moreso than is normal, the regular Joes are irrelevant where decisions are made.

  16. highstick 05/06/2009 at 12:24 PM #

    A “Jed Jihad”? First we were lunatics, now we’re lunatic jihadists!

    Alpha: I certainly hope that phrase does not catch on because I don’t care for the minimization nor the connotations of it. I do worry about it a bit because BobLee invented the phrase ‘F-Bomb Alley.’

  17. WolftownVA81 05/06/2009 at 12:27 PM #

    Congratulations SFN. I really appreciate what you do. I liked your definition of a vested fan. Today, I am still emotionally vested. One day, after some significant changes are made with NCSU leadership, I hope to be financially vested again.

  18. Alpha Wolf 05/06/2009 at 12:27 PM #

    Chop, listen carefully to the end of any Wolfpack Network broadcast to identify who “modlin” is.

    That should tell anyone everything about why he carries the official waterbucket with the vigor that he does.

  19. Cardiff Giant 05/06/2009 at 12:40 PM #

    I’d have a little more respect for BobLee’s grasp of the facts on this one if he hadn’t confused the surname of a certain turncoat senator from Pennsylvania with the name of an espionage and extortion operation headed by the late Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

  20. choppack1 05/06/2009 at 12:58 PM #

    Alpha – I think his response and attitude is very telling.

    My point was given that wrestling’s score was already “low” – it didn’t take a genius to figure out if a shoe were to drop – it would drop on that sport.

    You know, I’d rather it be some other party than someone working for the network. It speaks volume of “customer service” skills of some in our athletic department.

  21. SouthernWolf 05/06/2009 at 1:05 PM #

    Whitefang, my comment about tailgating was meant to reflect the fact that (in my experience anyway) student tailgating conversation is generally more about perusing the opposite sex and catching up with friends than on the finer points of the game itself.

    On the other hand if we are talking about the “pulse of the student fan base” there is quite a lot of *Fatalistic Defeatism* among current students. Meaning that they think NC State will lose most of the games before they even play them and that things are not likely to change for the better. If NC State were to say have a breakout football season and win the ACC championship, I think we would see more school spirit and sports interest in general from the student body.

  22. ruffles31 05/06/2009 at 1:19 PM #

    I just want to say thanks to the best blog on the internet. Those were very good remarks Jeff and you took the high road when the opening was there to be more biting.

    The comments section on the ACCSJ was interesting as I don’t know of anyone who is happy with the place of NCSU athletics. Please let me know who these people are.

    Case in point. WV Wolf and I bought tickets to Friday night’s State-UNC baseball game months ago. Now, Game 4 of the Bruins-Canes series is Friday. We have tickets to both. Which one should we go to? Honestly, much discussion wasn’t needed. We will be at the RBC Center.

  23. Alpha Wolf 05/06/2009 at 1:36 PM #

    ^ Even if State’s baseball team was top 20, it would be difficult to miss an important playoff NHL game live.

  24. choppack1 05/06/2009 at 2:09 PM #

    “The comments section on the ACCSJ was interesting as I don’t know of anyone who is happy with the place of NCSU athletics.”

    I don’t know Lee Fowler or Oblinger – but evidently, they are just fine w/ it.

  25. PackerInRussia 05/06/2009 at 3:12 PM #

    First, I appreciate the site. Thanks for the good work.
    I read SFN quite frequently, but post rarely mostly due to living overseas now (I’m responsible for 4 or 5 non-US countries although probably not solely) and having a less-informed POV from which to comment. I generally read with hopes of learning more and enjoy the varied opinions. I attended NCSU from ’99-’03. Before that I couldn’t have cared less about NC State (or the other triangle schools for that matter). So, as I began to attend games and quickly became a fan, my perspective on NC State sports began in the fall of ’99. I had no reason to believe that State’s sports goals should be very high. The thought of competing with Duke and UNC was laughable. I used to buy Fowler’s similar statement hook, line, and sinker. For someone like me, the last 5 Sendek years were the “glory years.” Only after becoming more knowledgeable about NC State’s history and hearing and reading the great memories of years past is the pitifulness of that statement truly understood. However, after reading the many entries that are critical of LF and that are supported by data, you can color me converted.
    Regardless of whom you blame or how you think we got here, the fact remains that while NC State basketball has descended into the abyss over the past 20 years, UNC and Duke have risen to seemingly unattainable heights. At this point, sadly, it is what it is. For me, the question is, with the situation being what it is, what kind of leader do we need to help us rise to such a level (if we are still trying to compete for anything meaningful)? Descriptions such as “visionary,” “bold,” “passionate,” come to mind. In a conference where our closest rivals’ dominance is the status quo, we need someone who will rock the boat. I just don’t see LF as that kind of guy. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve read his press statements, heard interviews, etc., so I do think I know how he projects himself. I don’t hate the guy or anything. It reminds me of the movie Gods and Generals (sorry my knowledge of the Civil War is limited to poor public education and movies). The South had two excellent generals. The North, with all of its resources just needed someone who could lead and wasn’t tied down by politicians and bureaucrats. Who would you choose to stare down Lee and Jackson? I wouldn’t want Lee Fowler in charge of finding the man to do so. But it seems that’s what we’re up against.

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