In an epic radio interview several years ago, I suggested to The Swoff a way for UNC / Wake and State / Duke to resume regular FB meetings. Simply count the out-of-rotation games as non-conference while helping all schools involved schedule more appealing opponents. So much for THAT idea.
Saturday’s UNC v Wake game revealed playing longtime rival Wake Forest is no more successful at filling Kenan’s empty corners than McNeese State or Fresno A&M.
I was not there but my spies reported “plenty of aluminum” watched the latest Larry/Gene offensive explosion versus the Deacons.
A special Blue Zone PA announcement even tried to lure the Fat Cats out in the open. You can imagine how well THAT went over !!! YIKES!
If the entire 4,000 WFU undergraduates had showed up, would it have mattered? Only a smattering of WFU students show up in their own stadium.
Excusifiers are saying it was Fall break so the students were all gone. W
hich would explain The Tar Pit End Zone but not the ever-expanding empty upper / lower corners that haven’t seen a fan butt this season and may not all season. Hopefully “for Duke”…. Maybe.
Those same excusifiers will use “it was Labor Day” or “it was too hot” or “it was too cold” or “it was rainy” or “what’s a Blue Hen” or “it was a noon – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM kick-off” or “it’s Damn Dan Kane’s fault” or “Mary Willingham’s birthday” or ….. or ….. . It’s always something.
And, of course, that old standby…. “We’re a basketball school”. Kenan seats 60,000 but only sells 40,000. Dean’s Dome seats 20,000 and fills for “most” games. Are those the 20,000 not coming to Kenan?
For whatever combination of real or contrived reasons, Duke has about 20,000 care-enough-to-come Football fans and Carolina has about 40,000 care-enough-to-come Football fans. NC State certainly seems to have more…. at least lately.
Can “State fans” not afford Big HDTVs…. OR did John Swofford purposely put them in a division with more attractive opponents…. OR is it Eeeeevil Art Pope and Those Koch Brothers’ fault? Can we can link “Trainwreck” Fennebresque in here somehow.
…. Is it Carter’s acres of festival parking being more conducive to tailgating? If State continues to be mired in ACC-mediocrity despite The Hindenburg Hangar AND “lots of charging stations”; will Wuff loyalists (not named Kennel) begin opting for alternative Fall Saturday afternoon delights?
This website was among the first to sound the clarion call 3-5 years ago when HDTVs dropped below $1,000 so that EVERY FAN can now afford a very comfortable seat to watch his team pretty much every game. That seat comes with private restroom, stocked refrigerator, private parking and total control over atmospheric conditions…. And the ability to switch channels to watch Expendables I, II, or III if the game gets boring for any reason.
The creation of ESPN3 – “computer TV”- certainly did NOT help sell “seats in the corners”. Try the “at-home” alternative two weeks in a row. It becomes addictive.
Marketing staffs all across BTCF are scrambling to counter all those competitive disadvantages. Thus far noticeably unsuccessfully.
That reality is NOT “Carolina’s fault”. How the institution chooses to adjust to socio-cultural evolution is how its marketing expertise will be measured over the next 3-5-7 years.
Band Day and Everyone Shorter Than Carol Folt Day and Identify As A Druid Day and Buy a Big Gulp – Get Two Free Tickets Day probably are not Long Term Answers.
If TGU Fatique is a factor (and I believe it is although not a MAJOR factor) that will either increase or decrease if TGU is ever resolved…. and HOW it is resolved.
The product on the field is certainly NOT a problem these days. High-octane offense should appeal to partisans. Aficionados might enjoy “defense” but Touchdowns especially a lot more by our team than the opponents is what excites home fans. Larry/Gene are supplying that.
I will use this forum in the weeks to come to propose a few solutions or, at least, stop-gaps.
Book a Taylor Swift Concert “amid the pines” …. and play Football during Intermission. ???
Print pics of Kate Upton on game tickets. Hey, it worked for me.
Attach “charging stations” to every pine tree. That would be “a lot of’em”???
As you eagerly await other similar proposals, I leave you with this thought.
In that grand ol’ cul-de-sac parlour game of:
“I am a better human being than you are BECAUSE…. my alma mater (fill in with any/all whys you believe to be relevant).”
What, if anything, does matter? Is it a Fool’s Argument?
The infamous “General Hugh Shelton versus Rick Dees” Comparison has been proffered but rejected by all who possess double digit IQs. No offense intended to either Hugh or Rick.
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