Are NC State fans bad fans? [UPDATE]

College Football Dave Doeren105

It’s been brought to my attention (h/t Greywolf) that what was presented in the N&O/Charlotte Observer wasn’t entirely what Doeren said at the news conference pertaining to the fans and the second half. Here’s the full statement by Doeren:

“The Walk of Champions was really special. I know our players were excited and I want to thank the fans for that,” Doeren said at his weekly press conference Monday. “The first half attendance was outstanding. I’d like to issue a challenge to them to help us out in the third and fourth quarter.”

“I think this program has a goal of being a national program and to have home games at a place as awesome as ours, with the number of tickets we sell and the passion that our fanbase has, we need them in the seats in the third and fourth quarter to be a great team,” Doeren said. “You win games in the third and fourth quarter. It’s great to start fast with a big crowd, but it’s better to finish with one. I think that’s an advantage we need to gain.

“I’m asking them to change their routine a little bit… come back into the stadium a little earlier and stay a little longer. Support our guys, something we need if our program is going to grow the way everyone wants it to.”

Seeing his entire quote, while it would have changed the tone of my opinion piece, it does not change my opinion or the reasoning behind my opinion. Maybe a different tone to my article would have had the desired effect of people actually debating the merits of my opinion and reasoning instead of attacking me and those who shared my opinion.

For instance, do you disagree that average price for tickets to NC State are ranked in the Top 25 in the entire country for college football? Do you disagree that the product on the field has been, for the majority, mediocre during the last 10 years? Do you disagree that the level of non-con opponents has declined over the years? Do you disagree that fans (paying customers) should be able to decide how they choose to spend their time at the games? Do you disagree that under the circumstances of this past weekend (weather, opponent, first game) that maybe it was a bad PR move for Doeren to make this statement? What if he had issued the challenge before the first game? What if he had issued the challenge halfway through the season after having a sample size more than ONE?

As I stated in the article football games are entertainment. If a show on TV isn’t entertaining people will choose to watch something else or do something else. If you step back and look at attending football games as more than just watching it live, you’ll see it’s an event to the majority of people who attend. They come to see friends, spend time with them, enjoy watching entertaining football, enjoy watching quality football against quality opponents. They aren’t lemmings who blindly support the team just because it’s their team. Fans attend games for a myriad of reasons but mostly they want to enjoy themselves and have a good time. If so many people feel the experience INSIDE the stadium (quality of NC State football team, quality of opponent, fan experience in their seats and on the concourse) is worse than the experience OUTSIDE the stadium then can you blame them, who have spent their disposable income and precious free time, to seek out the best place to spend it?

Here’s the question everyone should be asking, If roughly half the fans are not in their seats after halftime then what can the University do to bring them back faster or keep people from leaving? Why is it on the fans? They paid the ticket. They showed up to the game. What are they getting for their money?

Maybe you feel everyone MUST be in their seats at the start of the second half because you’re there? Maybe the answer is eliminating the halftime pass-outs? Maybe we should have re-education classes for ticket buyers so they can learn the proper way of attending games and be true fans? Maybe we should have Seat Monitors to record who’s in their seats? Maybe a system where they redistribute the tickets of those untrue fans to those who will follow the rules of being a fan?

Maybe you feel everyone should be able to spend their time as they see fit, considering they did spend their own money to buy the tickets and some driving hours away to be there. Maybe the University could plan ahead and put cooling/misting stations for games where there’s a high chance of high heat? That might keep people around longer. Maybe use that big giant screen in the endzone for more than deafening people with annoying commercials? Maybe have the marching band play something other than MUZAK? I’m not talking Drumline here but for the longest time I can’t find Valium that works better than our own marching band.

My point is argue the merits of my opinion, don’t get bent out of shape over the tone or just read the headline and attack. Speaking of the headlines, did I use quotes in my headline? Did it grab your attention to read the article?

As Sgt. Hulka would say, “Lighten up Francis.”

********ORIGINAL POST***********************************************

I’m not a big opinion writer, I usually let statistics do the talking for me because I can get a little over emotional but when I saw this article in the N&O I felt I needed to say something. (FYI, a heads up, I just wrote the entire article, read it, and yes I probably got a little too emotional about it but I don’t how else to say it) I understand this is Coach Doeren’s first game at NC State, this is mostly coachspeak to the fans, and he likely never heard of us before Yow came calling for a new coach, so this is as much directed at any coach, not just Doeren, who wants to call out NC State fans publically…think before you speak:

Doeren thanked the fans for their support during the pregame “Walk of Champions” and in the first half but said there needs to be more bodies in the seats in the second half.

“The passion that our fan base has, we need them to be in the seats in the third and fourth quarter to be a great team,” Doeren said on Monday at his weekly news conference.

“You win big games in the third and fourth quarter. It’s great to start fast with a big crowd but it’s better to finish with one. That’s an advantage that we need to gain.”

Too many times I’ve heard coaches complain about fans not showing up early or not coming back for the start of the second half, we especially heard this from TOB. NC State fans have put up with a lot of crap from local media to head coaches to athletic directors (present AD excluded) telling us how ungrateful we are or how part of the reason we’re not great is because we aren’t doing our part. Guess what, we haven’t been the reason we aren’t a great team. In fact I say NC State fans have been the only thing keeping us from being the doormats of the ACC because of our vocal presence and financial support. NC State fans always show up for games, we come early and IF you bring us a big game we’re always there to the end, just ask Florida State last year, or Clemson the year before, or heck even Boston College during Amato’s miserable final season, not to mention non-cons like South Carolina and Pittsburgh in 09, Louisville 07, Ohio State 04, Texas Tech 03, South Carolina 99, Syracuse 98. Even if the game isn’t big time we are there. The only exceptions to the rules are the horrible entry processes over the past several years, to which our students will decide to all try to enter the stadium at the same time going through 1 gate or miserable weather, just like we experienced this past weekend. I wasn’t personally there but I was there in 2007 against Clemson when it was even hotter and we were getting our butts handed to us. It was hot and miserable, with no relief from the sun and sold out of water before halftime. Needless to say my family and I beat feet to the car and drove home, where I was sick for the rest of the day due to the heat. One person who gets NC State fans is Yow:

N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow said Monday that Doeren has not asked her to change the policy. Yow said the heat (temperatures were in the high 80s) was more of a problem on Saturday than the halftime policy.

Yow said the school prefers to schedule games at night early in the season to avoid such scenarios, and will play Saturday’s game against Richmond at 6 p.m., but that the ACC’s television contract was the reason the game was scheduled earlier.

“It was brutally hot with a 12:30 start,” Yow said Monday. “I understand why Coach D would want our fans to be there and they usually are.”

I’m not trying to bash on Doeren, I think he is exactly what we need to get off mediocre, my point is Doeren really should have said nothing, especially since he’s only experienced 1 game in Carter-Finley. It was 12:30 on a scorching hot day in August against, let’s be honest here, a no name program Louisiana Tech. If Doeren wants butts in the seats come the start of the second half then schedule people who are worth watching the boys in Red/White play if the TV gods are going to dictate we play a non-con before 6 in September. Yes I know he had nothing to do with our current schedule but I remember reading his philosophy on non-conference scheduling is at most 1 named team a year. I hate to be the guy to reveal this to coaches but football is En-ter-tain-ment. You are the WWE. You’re the circus. You’re a Monster Truck Rally. If you don’t give people something entertaining to watch we’ll find something else to do and excuse us fans who chose to partake in the one thing we have had that’s been a positive the last umpteen years…tailgating. In case anyone at NC State hasn’t figured it out yet, tailgating is one of the main things that separates us from our fellow ACC brethren. What other schools in the ACC, besides the “football schools”, can put on the atmosphere we currently have outside of Carter-Finley?

There aren’t many fan bases out there who have given financially, all the time being told we need money in order to be a champion, and received only complaints of the fans in return. Forbes did an article about the average cost per ticket for each school. Guess what?!? NC State is in the Top 25 in something:

A total of 10 teams not ranked in the Top 25 by the AP are on the list of most expensive average home game tickets. The leader among the non-ranked teams is Iowa, with an average price of $166. Other non-ranked teams on the list include Washington ($151), Mississippi State ($146), NC State ($118) and Syracuse ($114).

21. Oklahoma State ($122)
22. NC State ($118)
23. West Virginia ($116)
24. Syracuse ($114)
25. Kansas State ($114)

Between the LifeTime Rights for seats, WPC dues, and Ticket Prices, I think it’s safe to say even the average NC State fan has given both his time and money and seen nothing but mediocrity for our return on “investment”.

Here’s the bottom line, if the product on the field is worth sitting in 90+ degree temperatures for 3+ hours then you’ll have the people there. We’ve proven that time and time again…we’ll be there. Until that time, can I make a suggestion to any coach out there that wants to take shots at their paying customers? Think before you speak.

Full Disclosure: I’ve been a season ticket holder for 15 years, a LTR holder for about half that time. When I attend games I tailgate for a few hours before kickoff, in my seats 30 minutes before kickoff, stay for halftime even though my reserved spot is about 5 minutes walking away, and usually stay to the end.

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

College Football Dave Doeren

105 Responses to Are NC State fans bad fans? [UPDATE]

  1. Adventuroo 09/03/2013 at 9:45 PM #

    Observations….

    Coach D’s comments were not as “dumb” as our buddy across the way about the SC massacre….but he did stir up a little bit of controversy.

    First, the heat was UGLY. We are LTR’s that moved over from the East Side to get away from the heat and some other issues. We were there about 45 minutes before Kick Off and used up most of our water quickly. Bought some more later on. We have a group of 8 LTR’s and the folks were calculating how much longer that we would be in the sun and when the shade of Vaughn Tower would cover us. SO I have empathy with the folks over there. I spent over 6 hours on a HOT August afternoon for a concert and it was brutal.

    Second, we are MEDIOCRE…and that is the problem. When we were HIGHER on the TV food chain (during some of TOB’s better seasons), we did not have this problem. When we were so low that the games were NOT televised, we could schedule them anytime we wanted…..SOLUTION…..be RANKED or RATED higher and you get better times. Anybody watch the Clemson game that night? SO….we need to improve and we will get better TV times.

    Third, it was interesting that AD Yow did not address the comment. Coach D was probably a bit premature in his comments. If he and the team were on the East Side, then they would understand the fan’s position a little more. They could also look over at the West Side and see all the HAPPY COOLER fans. Now remember, you can always put on MORE clothes, but you can only take off so much….so the West Side is cooler, but you dress for it.

    Lastly….this is all being hyped up by the media…and we know that it is time for State to be in the crosshairs…

    SO, we all need to calm down….

  2. packalum44 09/03/2013 at 9:50 PM #

    Jiggawatts: You prefer stats and empirical data…

    In 2011, we ranked 132nd in alumni gifting to academia (a proxy for athletic gifting) with a whopping 11% giving back.

    http://alumnilocators.com/Documents/2011USNWR.pdf

    In 2011 our athletics revenue were around 51 million, or 2/3 of UNC’s and the LAST in the ACC (public schools).

    Worse yet, “contributions” as a variable of “revenue” totaled $10.1 million….again LAST in of public ACC schools. UVA 34.5, FSU 19.3 and UNC 17.7 round out top 3. UVA’s alumni give on par with SEC/Big 10/Big 12 football schools, for anyone that is curious.

    Oh and if you’re both clever and have really strong cognitive dissonance…your gut reaction is to tell yourself that “contributions” can swing wildly year over year. You’d be wrong…we were dead last EACH year between 2006 – 2011. 2011 was our best year in that period. Put another way, it took us over 4 years to match UVA in 2011. Ouch. Good thing we have 20,000 strong WPC $20 gifters or we’d be in ECU territory of 4-5 million.

    http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-05-14/ncaa-college-athletics-finances-database/54955804/1

    This post is admittedly more like a rant…which is fine. NC State fans are used to patting themselves on the back and telling each other how great they are. My mom lied to me too and said I was the most handsome man in the world. But the a*% I pulled proved otherwise and the data I found does not support the assertion we are somehow special fans.

    Maybe you could empirically support us as good fans if you used a ratio…like $ spent or donated per win. But is that something to be proud of? UVA easily beats us there anyways.

    Basically all we can say with a straight face is that we fill up more seats for football games than UNC…but who cares? $$$$ is what matters and their alumni consistently give more back allowing them to outspend us on coaching staff and facilities.

    I only respond b/c I think we only fool ourselves about our special fandom. Special fans put their $$ where there mouth is. We have a long way to go.

  3. wolfpack95 09/03/2013 at 10:11 PM #

    Well put, choppack1 and packalum44.

    Doeren is on the money with his comments.
    Excuses are excuses. There were a lot of excuses as to why State fans were outnumbered 2:1 in Atlanta last year. There are a lot of excuses why 1/2 of our stadium was empty during the 2nd half against LT.

    There was a lot of aluminum in the stands by 2nd half. TV cameras and recruits don’t care what the individual fan’s reasons for leaving early, only that the seat is empty.

    Doeren is from Big 12 and Big 10 countries. Fans of those schools don’t usually leave early unless the home team is getting blown out. Having gone to grad school at PSU and attended football games there, I can attest to this.
    Maybe we are “bad” fans, or only “mediocre” fans.

  4. redcanine 09/03/2013 at 10:11 PM #

    “Well, ya see Matt, nobody was here to see your third touchdown because it was hot and everybody was thirsty. I don’t understand it either.”

    It may be an old NCSU tradition to leave at halftime and not come back in, but it’s an unexpected phenomenon to these new impact players and this new staff. DD doesn’t like it so much, and has the balls to tell everyone how he feels. Who said he was boring?

    I always went to the parking lot at halftime. Can’t understand why some folks don’t bother to re-enter.

  5. Wufpacker 09/03/2013 at 10:36 PM #

    I don’t think the tradition is necessarily to not come back. I do believe the heat and opponent combined would be more of an explanation for this in this particular instance.

    That being said, your overall point is well-taken, as for even big games the early 3rd quarter returns are straggling quite often.

    But the question remains, was DD prudent in making the comments he made, or at the very least the way he made them?

    If nothing else, it’s got folks talking.

  6. Greywolf 09/03/2013 at 10:46 PM #

    Our team played well due to Doeren’s attention to detail. With regard to recruiting a full house that stays til the end is one of the details. NC State needs every advantage we can create in order to be successful in the recruiting battles.

    Our (mine included) is like a player being criticized for jumping off-sides: but coach how many times did I NOT jump off-sides.

    Coach was blown away by the fan support during the Walk of Champions. Less so by the walk of half-time tailgating.

  7. 13OT 09/03/2013 at 10:52 PM #

    I don’t think this program is so mediocre that we have to accept local network games at noon hour against small-school OOC opponents. I seriously doubt that the money we get from the ACC Network games compares to ESPN. The money certainly isn’t worth putting the fan base at odds with our coach. It’s ridiculous to be reading criticism of this coach after only one game and one comment. Had this game been played at 3pm or later, when the sun wouldn’t be blistering half the crowd, we wouldn’t be discussing this right now. And starting times are the responsibility of school officials, not the coaching staff.

    Somebody up in the Vaughn Towers needs to realize that NCSU isn’t so desperate for tv money that they need to keep putting their fans through what we endured Saturday afternoon against Louisiana Tech. We simply don’t need heat-wilting noon tv games in early September when it drives paying customers away.

    Now if it’s an ESPN game against a conference or quality OOC opponent and they want the game shown at noon, I can understand and the fan base would understand why you go for the tv. But let’s bury these OOC noon games vs the La Techs, the Akrons, etc.

    If the ACCN wants us to play on their network, fine, but not at noon. Not again. And if the ACCN objects, then tell them to show Duke vs Central instead and raise that $35 ticket price to $40 to cover the tv revenue loss, then play the game at 6pm for our fans, not for the ACCN.

    The ACCN sucks, and I don’t need them. Neither does NCSU.

  8. MrPlywood 09/03/2013 at 11:06 PM #

    Temperatures rise – tempers flare…

    I must have missed the part where DD called State fans “ungrateful” and “bad fans”.

    I did read the part where he said “So I’m asking for them to change their routine a little bit and come back into the stadium a little earlier and stay a little longer and support our guys,” Doeren said. “That’s something we need if the program is going to grow the way everybody wants it to.”

    That sounds pretty fair to me. And I’m sure that by now he’s heard about the issues people had with the heat. I’ve got no problem with anyone leaving for health and/or safety reasons. That said, for my part, I left early once, when my ride wanted to go and I didn’t feel like hiking or hitching home.

    Perhaps this will spark some ideas about how to deal with the hot weather. Misters in the stands would be great, water and ice should be readily available, etc…

  9. redcanine 09/03/2013 at 11:07 PM #

    “But the question remains, was DD prudent in making the comments he made, or at the very least the way he made them?”

    Sure, he was prudent. Entitled? Yes.

    He didn’t post it on a tweet or spread anti-fanbase mutterings during the post-game interview. He approached this issue with kid’s gloves at an NCSU Football press conference. Timely, respectful, and relevant.

  10. Master 09/03/2013 at 11:13 PM #

    I only read the responses on the first page, but I’m calling Bravo Sierra on about 90% of those responses. Ya’ll act like this is the first time our fans have ever left a game at halftime and didn’t show up for the third quarter. You know it will happen again this year, you know it will happen against quality competition, you know it will happen when the temperature is about 70 degrees and you know it will be because an awful lot of our fans care more about boozing in the parking lot instead of watching the game.

    It is absolutely pathetic to blame the coach for asking the fans to try to get back in their seats for the 3rd quarter kickoff. He did not say you don’t have a right to go out, he did not say you can’t go home when you want to. He said the games are won in the 3rd and 4th quarter and the team needs our help – especially to start the 3rd quarter.

    What kind of damn coach do you want? Someone who says, “yeah, the other team kind of sux, so go get your keg on.” Really? I do think our fans need to be coached and our fans should not come up with lame excuses just because the new coach hasn’t had a chance to see you do it in the past. There were a bunch of games played Saturday by teams against worse competition in weather just as hot, but our fans are so insecure and afraid they’ll miss something important in the parking lot if they don’t drink a beer at halftime.

  11. BrownCAT 09/03/2013 at 11:15 PM #

    A bunch of you people sound like Tarhole fans who forgot their wine opener and have your panties in a wad. Lighten up on coach. He wants you to stay in your seats and support the team for the whole game FOR THE TEAM’S BENEFIT and he said so. Good for him!! Did you see any of the team walk out on YOU before the game was over because it was too hot? Nope!!

    You obviously don’t have to listen to coach and if you’re having legitimate health issues, nobody including coach would blame you for leaving, but either way, STOP WHINING LIKE A BUNCH OF TARHOLES!!

  12. PackerInRussia 09/03/2013 at 11:16 PM #

    All right, the stage is perfectly set for Doeren to go out and obliterate Clemson by 80 points, then stand out in the middle of the field after the game, look up in the stands at 1.21 Jigs and shout out Russell Crowe Gladiator-style (possibly with the tiger’s head in his hand): “Are you not entertained?!”

    And for the record, when I was still in the US and going to games, I stayed in my seat to the end of every game and that included some pretty scorching ones and some pretty wet ones against no-names. But, I completely understand why anyone would want to leave early in the heat; now that I’m not such a young man anymore, I might be more tempted to do so myself.

  13. TeufelWolf 09/03/2013 at 11:21 PM #

    As for me and my house, we pledge to continue to get there early, be there a the start of the second half, and stay until the end. Okay? (Although if you really want to fix the problem, get the student section to stay — just saying)

    Now, can you please do your part and fix the screeching coming from the ear-bleeding loud speaker, throw up a better pregame video and another motivational video or two or maybe some studend spirit spots, put “Thunderstruck” back on, let me hear more of the “World’s Most Dangerous Band”, and just basically get creative with encouraging more fan involvment (and no I don’t mean doing the Smithfield Sizzle more or guessing which Bailey’s box has the ring in it — there doesn’t have to be a sponsor for every single activity)? All of these are super cheap fixes. I’m not naive enough to think that concession prices are going to go down to a reasonable level so I’m not going to bother with that dream. Oh, and let me tailgate earlier…

    Do we have a deal?

  14. choppack1 09/04/2013 at 12:01 AM #

    On a personal note…my 5 year old son and I left at the half… bit that was because of work and even if I didn’t have to be available for work I probably would have taken us out because of the heat.

    But we all have excuses right? We are in an arms race…and the rules aren’t rational or fair.

    If we want to hang with the big boys we have to show up early and leave late.

    As someone who has grown to appreciate the comrodarie of the tailgate more than the results on the scoreboard, I don’t feel the need to be in the seat for every waking minute of action. I am sure the inconsistent results and a change in priorities have facilitated that.

    OTOH, if the boy wants to watch every minute, I will gladly accommodate that.

  15. Wufpacker 09/04/2013 at 2:12 AM #

    “He didn’t post it on a tweet or spread anti-fanbase mutterings during the post-game interview. He approached this issue with kid’s gloves at an NCSU Football press conference. Timely, respectful, and relevant.”

    A rather good point IMHO

    “A bunch of you people sound like Tarhole fans….”

    What do you mean YOU people????

    Sorry, couldn’t resist.

  16. tjfoose1 09/04/2013 at 2:18 AM #

    It’s Obama’s fault.

  17. JohnGalt78 09/04/2013 at 7:37 AM #

    Agree 13OT. And this horse is dead. Let’s move on and talk NCSU football or perhaps the wisdom of “outside” panel leader Hunter Rawlings of the Association of American Universities who yesterday called for “UNC to lead a national discussion of suggested reforms in administrative oversight, financial transparency and autonomy of university officials when it comes to admissions, tutoring, and other academic matters”. Wow….UNC to LEAD the discussion? Fox, meet Henhouse….Henhouse, meet Fox.

  18. baxter 09/04/2013 at 8:36 AM #

    I really don’t understand why folks got so butt hurt over DD saying in the most polite way I’ve seen that we are awesome pre game and during and he’d just like to see us stay throughout the game.

    If you get offended by your coach, in his first game, asking you to support his team for 4 quarters then you have pretty thin skin.

    I’ve been to a lot of home games in my time and you all are kidding yourselves if you think it’s just heat and scheduling that led to the stands to be vacant at the start of the third and on. If its not a prime time game that we are winning or close in that place is empty regardless. Hell, remember the VT game a few years ago we were winning? Half the east side was missing while VT smashed down the field.

  19. btownwolfpack 09/04/2013 at 8:49 AM #

    Love Doeren’s comments. First game I’ve been to in four years because I moved out of State. It was not that hot, and it was a sorry showing from the fans. It was like going to a Carolina game, except there were fewer fans at the end.

  20. TWolf78 09/04/2013 at 8:57 AM #

    Everyone needs to calm the heck down. This is getting blown way out of proportion. I applaude a coach for wanting to get the fans in the seats. Yeah, it was hot, but we weren’t dressed in pads and helmets and running around hitting each other. I think this was his effort to set things up for later down the road. We need to be in there before the second half starts against Clempson, against UNCCheat. I think he was trying to get the point out that we should look at every game the same, just like he tries to get his players to do. We need to be in there for the start of the 2nd half (think VT game…) Stay Calm and Go Pack!

  21. VaWolf82 09/04/2013 at 9:08 AM #

    Now, looks like unless you buy season tix or PSL, youre only going to the crap games.

    Sorry, but you’re not going to get sympathy from very many. It would be financially irresponsible to do anything other than sell as many season tickets as possible.

    There are any number of solutions available for your situation. You can avail yourself of one of those alternatives or not….your choice.

  22. 1.21 Jigawatts 09/04/2013 at 9:21 AM #

    Guess you haven’t written anything of interest until you’ve been called “thin-skinned”, not a “true fan”, “unsupportive”, “a tarhole”, “whiner”, “hypersensitive”, “oversensitive”, “race baiter” (loved that one btw CD), and have I missed anything else? I wear it as a badge of honor.

    All that for pointing out that the price for the average fan ranks in the Top 25 in the country while we’ve experienced average results; to a lot of those in attendance the fan experience outside the stadium is better than inside the stadium for most games; and that any coach who would make that statement (no matter how nicely it was put) after just one game on a very hot day to paying customers might not have been the best time to do it.

    If you demand that everyone be in their seats at the start of the second half then eliminate handouts, close all concession stands and restrooms 5 minutes before the players come back out of the tunnel, and make sure the Seat Police usher everyone back to their seats so they can be labeled True Fans.

    Or here’s a novel concept, give people a reason to come back on time or stick around, something a little more than the fate of the world rest on me being in my seat for an event I paid with my own money to see. There’s more to going to a game besides simply watching it. Everyone has their own reasons for it and guess what “yours” doesn’t make you a better fan than someone who holds a different opinion than you.

  23. redcanine 09/04/2013 at 10:47 AM #

    “Will you tell me how Katsumoto died?” “I will tell you how he lived.”

    Is DD the western, modern football influence that will bring an end to the ancient samurai bushido? Or is he the emperor that wants to unify Japan?

    He said what he meant. Get over it or don’t. Find a solution or don’t. The point is that he wants more people in the crowd all game long. If it wasn’t a big deal, he would have said nothing at all.

  24. WolfBlood 09/04/2013 at 10:50 AM #

    A lot of factors went in to the lack of fans in the stands in the 2nd half. Heat, the opponent, wanting to socialize in the parking lot, and labor day weekend.

    I left at halftime to go to the beach, it is what it is. Blow out game, too hot, and we were ready to get going.

    My parking spot is about 100 yards from the front door and its easy for me to go out at half to chug a beer. I LOVE that about our games as half of the fun is its a social event with your friends. If my spot was further I dont know if I’d try to make that walk, so I cant speak for others.

  25. lumbee wolfman 09/04/2013 at 11:32 AM #

    I’m 53. I sit in section 29 on the top row. I was hot!!!! Downed two $6.00 lemonades, after tailgating outside for 3 hours. Stayed the entire game. Have only left early once in the last 15 years for a religious service. Spent Saturday night, all day Sunday, and part of Monday recuperating from minor heat exhaustion.
    I’ve sat on the East side on numerous occasions and gotten scorched and fried from the sun.
    Yes I feel bad for the team when I look across and see all they empty bleachers. But having an August noon football game is unhealthy and dangerous!!!! I remember the Clemson game a few years ago when many suffered from heat exhaustion. We’ll support the Pack, but we should not have to choose between being in our seats or (1)s uffering heat exhaustion; or (2) spending an extra $30 per person for water!!!!!!!
    Solutions: No August or September Noon games; Misting stations; free cold water; discount water and/or ice. I’m sure there are many others.
    I’m sure DD doesn’t understand. It appears DY does.

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