Will Wolfpack Nation show up in Orlando?

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There has been much discussion regarding the willingness of Wolfpack Nation to show up at the Dec. 28 bowl game versus West Virginia in Orlando.  This year will be especially scrutinized after 3rd place Maryland was relegated to the Military bowl, the ACC’s 8th (in preference ranking) bowl game.
Pundits have not been shy to compare the fan bases, primarily focusing on the Terp’s weak support.  For example, in the regular season, Maryland home games did not even average 75% attendance. That is what my dad would call “piss poor”.  In comparison, the Wolfpack had several sell outs resulting in almost 99% average attendance.
So, back to the question at hand, will our fan base live up to it’s reputation?
Eight days after the announcement that N.C. State would play in the Champs Sports Bowl, the school’s ticket office had sold more than 8,500 tickets for the game according to senior associate athletic director Chris Kingston said Monday.

N.C. State’s ticket allotment for the game is 13,500.

Kingston said 37 percent of the tickets sold directly through the bowl or Ticketmaster have been sold to North Carolina addresses. He said that has given North Carolina the largest percentage of sales through those venues of any state.
It remains to be seen. Below I’ve compiled attendance figures for the years since NC State’s first “Champs” bowl in 1998.  I do not know of these numbers in relation to possibly changing capacity (the bowl has been in Orlando since 2001). It would be nice to see these in a percentage format.
In this century, State has pulled around 28k total fans to the bowl against marginal traveling fan bases.  In 2006 Maryland played Purdue and brought in 40k together. This is also when the game shifted from a pre-Christmas game to a post-Christmas game (possibly accounting for some of the increased attendance).

Also below, top appearances since the bowl’s inception.

DATE GAME RESULT ATTENDANCE
Champs Sports Bowl
12/29/2009 Wisconsin 20, Miami 14 56747
12/27/2008 Florida State 42, Wisconsin 13 52692
12/28/2007 Boston College 24, Michigan State 21 46554
12/29/2006 Maryland 24, Purdue 7 40168
12/27/2005 Clemson 19, Colorado 10 31470
12/21/2004 Georgia Tech 51, Syracuse 14 28237
Mazda Tangerine Bowl
12/22/2003 NC State 56, Kansas 26 26482
12/23/2002 Texas Tech 55, Clemson 15 21689
Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl
12/20/2001 Pittsburgh 34, NC State 19 28562
Micronpc.com Bowl (Miami)
12/28/2000 NC State 38, Minnesota 30 28359
Micronpc Bowl (Miami)
12/30/1999 Illinois 63, Virginia 21 31089
12/29/1998 Miami 46, N.C. State 23 44387

Most appearances (Top 12)

Rank Team Appearances Record
1 North Carolina State 4 2-2
T2 Miami (Florida) 3 2-1
T2 Virginia 3 0-3
T4 Boston College 2 2-0
T4 Florida State 2 2-0
T4 Georgia Tech 2 2-0
T4 Clemson 2 1-1
T4 Wisconsin 2 1-1
T4 Colorado 2 0-2
T4 Michigan State 2 0-2
T4 Penn State 2 0-2
T4 West Virginia 2 0-2

About BAM

I grew up on Jones Franklin Rd with a Wolfpack banner hanging over my bed. UNCW class of 2001.

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22 Responses to Will Wolfpack Nation show up in Orlando?

  1. Daily Update 12/14/2010 at 3:09 PM #

    The 2006 game with Maryland was on a Friday night.

  2. WULF 12/14/2010 at 3:28 PM #

    I’m in for 4 for the game. Bought the tickets, got the hotel room and now we’re making a full vacation of it!

    GO WOLFPACK!!!

  3. BJD95 12/14/2010 at 3:34 PM #

    I will be in Puerto Rico, but will be there in spirit. And I will no doubt watch, even though it’s the final night of my long-awaited vacation. And I will probably prefer hearing the commentary in Spanish. And I will probably be pretty drunk. Go Pack!!

  4. WV Wolf 12/14/2010 at 4:21 PM #

    “37 percent of the tickets sold directly through the bowl or Ticketmaster have been sold to North Carolina addresses”

    Keep in mind there are a lot of transplanted West Virginians in the Charlotte area that took the I-77 Hillbilly Highway south. Just because it’s a NC address doesn’t automatically mean they’re a State fan.

  5. section2chuck 12/14/2010 at 4:22 PM #

    I think the egg we layed in Colleg Park,Md and the date of the game will keep most State fans away from this one…I dont think we will have a great showing.

  6. Prowling Woofie 12/14/2010 at 4:27 PM #

    Hard to make a Florida trip in the middle of the week – at least for me !

  7. coppertop 12/14/2010 at 4:57 PM #

    We live in Miami now so this was an easier sell for us. However as I have met a grand total of 1 other alumni/wolfpack fan in the area, it’s not exactly a hot bed for the wolfpack faithful.
    I’m glad we have close to 9,000 tickets sold, but am holding out hope for more.
    2ndchuck is correct though had we finished with more momentum this game would have better attendance.

  8. ShavlikLeague 12/14/2010 at 5:05 PM #

    Comparing the attendance of Maryland’s and NC State’s upcoming bowl appearances is apples to oranges. RFK is in Maryland’s backyard. Orlando is a bit of a hike from anywhere within a 250 mile radius of Raleigh. Plus, a Wednesday night game where you can drive to the game and drive back afterwards and still make it to work the next day is huge. That’s not really an option for most Wolfpackers for a Tuesday evening kickoff in Orlando. I’ve been to a good many NC State bowls in the last decade, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to get away from work for this one.

  9. wolfbuff 12/14/2010 at 6:17 PM #

    As for people buying through the bowl, a lot of people use this as a chance to increase their lot in life. Even I, in the 4000s in WPC priority have been kind of boned in the past with bowl seating. It may not be universally true that buying direct gets you a better seat. And, of course, you take the risk of not being with other State fans. But my guess is some folks are choosing to lock in their seats and not wait on the WPC to decide where they sit.

  10. Packfan28 12/14/2010 at 6:39 PM #

    Exactly what wolfbuff said. That’s why I didn’t buy through the school.

  11. leewolf 12/14/2010 at 8:38 PM #

    8,500 through the WPC so far, I would guess that number ends up around 10,000 when all is said and done. Add in another 5,000 or so through Ticketmaster, that is a good showing and far better than Maryland would have done IMO. In fact, the Terps will apparently be lucky to have that many at RFK.

  12. BladenWolf 12/14/2010 at 8:38 PM #

    I have two tickets. If I went to freakin’ Birmingham, Alabama, I know damn well I’m going to Disney World.
    I look at it this way. I believe we had a really good squad this year. Russell Wilson is special…and our receiving corps, defense (the return of Mr. Irving), and special teams made the case to be selected to the third best slot for the ACC in bowl game selections (after Va. Tech and Fl. St.). We play a good W. Va. team and can show a national audience (and potential recruits) that we are a top tier football program.
    That’s excellent.

  13. BamaPack 12/14/2010 at 9:20 PM #

    Bought 3 tickets on the 50 yard line directly through the bowl. Can’t wait!!

  14. OwenDorm83 12/14/2010 at 9:35 PM #

    Owen and daughter are in. We purchased throught he bowl and got really good seats.

  15. ADVENTUROO 12/14/2010 at 10:08 PM #

    I swore up and down that I would NOT go back to Orlando. Have been down there twice this year….but I subcumbed. Taking the Motor Home and spending 9 days down there. Going to Cape Canaveral and catching up on NASA History. I went to B’ham….but NEVER again.

    If you want to check attendance, then look at the Liberty Bowl in 1963. The largest group and the only ones making noise was the Thundering Herd (as we called the band then). We had 175 of us there and it was COLD. I do NOT remember seeing any fans in the stadium….myabe there were, if so, they were the “donated” tickets. It was colder that day than TODAY….

  16. choppack1 12/14/2010 at 10:50 PM #

    Been to Orlando twice. Geez, what an idea, build a tourist mecca in the center of Florida. This bowl game is pretty mediocre – there are definitely worse places to go in December than Orlando. However, I don’t really know if there’s a worse big city to be in Florida than Orlando.

  17. tractor57 12/15/2010 at 12:01 AM #

    For a number of reasons my bowl trip days are over.
    Sure wish I could go but I’ll just have to rant at the TV.

  18. BAM 12/15/2010 at 12:19 AM #

    I just realized the attendance numbers were running outside the allotted space. I adjusted the table width so they show up now. Sorry for that!

  19. drgreenhouse 12/15/2010 at 1:48 AM #

    Am I the only one who finds it ironic that many of our best players in recent history; Torry Holt, Levar Fisher, Koren Robinson, Philip Rivers, Jerricho Cotchery, and now Nate Irving and possibly Russell Wilson played their last games as a member of the Wolfpack in various incarnations of this game?

  20. PackFanInLA 12/15/2010 at 2:36 AM #

    dr greenhouse – you are EXACTLY right about that. Looking back to those games, man, it just seems disappointing. It would have been nice to get these players into the gator (back before Swoffy bungled that up), the Peach, and maybe occasionally the orange (hey, I can dream).

    Speaking of Swofford. Unreal that Michigan – yes 3-5 in the Big Ten Michigan is playing on New Years Day in the Gator. That’s total crap. How is the ACC with 12 teams stuck with our crappy bowl rotation. I know the Champs is a decent ACC bowl, but for a 12 team conference, the Champs should be the #4 bowl. We should have Orange, Gator, Peach, then champs.

    I am not trying to dog the Champs bowl, i am more and more excited about it – good opponent, guaranteed top 25 finish if we win… I like it. I am just dogging on UNC grad Swoffie boy.

  21. BJD95 12/15/2010 at 7:54 AM #

    Building off chop’s sentiments, I just don’t like Florida, period. The people are very rude, and I find the overall atmosphere tacky. I didn’t even like Fort Lauderdale.

  22. El Lobo Loco! 12/22/2010 at 8:42 AM #

    Ice and snow cancelled my flights and holidays in Orlando… enjoy the game!

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