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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Got invited to tailgate at the Clemson v State game at the Valley a few years back. Host was a very successful grad and big IPTAY’er. He founded a couple of companies you’ve heard of. I think his tailgate spot was #4. That was pretty cool. Now that was a Great setting for tailgating. Kinda fun to get to be a big wig when you ain’t. Parked directly across the street from the gate where the Tigers get off the bus to go touch the rock. That was a good day; the Pack got our butts kicked but had a… Read more »
FWIW… our own BK and Lobo have single-digit parking spots at The Carter. BK’s is closer to his seats than my front door is to my mailbox. … I recall a guy in the VIP area at Dowdy-Ficklin who had turned his RV into a pirate ship complete with a plank to walk. …. I’ve never been to The Grove at Ol Miss but would like to some day.
A very religious Georgia Bulldog fan was asked once if he attended all the football games. He said “No, God made fall of the year for golf.” Fall is a good time to do many other things than watch people run into each other and jump on each other.
Certainly no shortage of alternatives. The #1 being “watch from the comforts of home”.
WOW, Short time….many comments…..MANY longer than my tomes. You have hit on many salient points…..and I’m sure….that if (or when) Ms. Spellings is introduced as the new Prez, that the N&O and Binky (powered by Super Limo Lib Jimmy G) will uncover facts that indicate that she personally hand carried legislation, whilst serving as the head School Marm for W, that resulted in Kenan’s large “Aluminum vs. Skin” ratio. Having vented….and successfully linked Johnny F. to UNC’s Aluminum plague, a simple thanks is all I need. BUT, suffice it to say that when the ACC Championship game, now sponsored by… Read more »
Hopefully the Charlotte Sports Commission learned their lesson. Frau Yow needs to crack down on’em to prevent a repeat of that rip-off.
Couldn’t resist putting my two cents in on this one. Actually nice to take a break from the antics of last week and focus on football. Speaking only from the State-Carolina standpoint, the entire game-day experience is just so much better in Raleigh. I really enjoy watching college football games in person, and occasionally go to one where I have no “rootin’ interest”. But I really, really enjoy tailgating with friends old and new before and after the game. Ask your buddy Henry Hinton about our tailgates – lots of food (which tastes better standing up!), lots of appropriate beverages… Read more »
Good Lord !!! Do BOG Guys ever get carpal tunnel syndrome. You wore out your keyboard with this one. Cannot / will not refute one syllable of your commentary. TruBlues yapping about “the fairgrounds” is their only retort. The “charm” of an on-campus stadium does have some merit to some… show Junior your old dorm room, etc etc. But the negatives of parking and convenient access are well-documented. . I should get you with Chansky. He has a ten minute rant about “The Concrete Monstrosity on The Fairgrounds”. I doubt Art’s opinion will affect the 60,000 Wuff loyalists too much.… Read more »
Agree with BOG Guy that tailgating in CH is pretty dreadful and though the parking lot at CF is better it is still an unremarkable parking lot experience for the casual observer. If you’re into tailgating – I can take it or leave it- it’s probably more about being around friends, like minded people, and familiar faces with common interests in your team’s success and being a part of the game day experience. Game day in Pirate Land is different (some might say better) due to the fact that ECU has an on campus facility, and businesses, churches, schools, and… Read more »
The phrase you are searching for is “constipated”. It is often used to describe “folks in Chapel Hill”. …. I don’t have any feelings one way or the other re: “Tailgating” but I know many claim to really enjoy it so I’m glad for them. Having “tailgated” in the Pirate Club lot next to D-F I can attest to the pleasantness of the experience. “Cute coeds in cowboy boots” roaming around is a nice touch. Those who do have “their personal private parking spots” for Chapel Hill tailgating do have “the experience”. “Doing it” inside a concrete parking garage is… Read more »
PS to BOG Guy: BobLee’s kryptonite for accepting or declining tailgating invitations is Brunswick Stew. Mention that and he’ll at least pause before declining outright. A Proper Brunswick Stew will contain squirrel but really any marsupial will do. At lower form of the stew may contain chicken or pork cuts since many marsupial’s tend to avoid parking lots due to the stigma of being classified as roadkill. ?
BOG Guy doesn’t need “squirrel” if he invites BK. As the weather starts to chill I may have to drive down to Ken’s Grill in LaGrange for his Fish Stew !!!!
Ken’s Fish stew! YES PLEASE with poached eggs on top.
What is the Shelton -Dees story ?
It is a Board Monkey Classic. About ten years ago a Wuff Loonie declared to the world that NC State was a much better institution than UNCCH BECAUSE…. NC State alum Gen Hugh Shelton is a greater American than UNCCH alum / LA DJ Rick Dees. It became a first ballot entry in the Board Monkey Hall of Dumb. …. …. Of course, InsCarol nitwits immediately countered using James Taylor, Alexander Julian, Thomas Wolfe and Charles Kuralt versus Amphibious Shackleford, Washburn, et al.
I visited College Station this weekend for the Texas A&M/Alabama game and I was struck by several things, but what stood out most was how they seemed to try to replicate your home experience on the jumbo-tron instead of creating distraction. In timeouts, they actually would show other games…in real time. So, instead of a 5 minute commercial for hot dogs, we actually watched Michigan/Michigan State (and, they still made room for some ads). They also had real -time stats running, showed multiple replay angles and my cell phone worked perfectly with 105,000 people there. It was like they understood… Read more »
FWIW… Texas A&M’s AD is Eric Hyman. Eric is a UNC grad who played for Bill Dooley in early 70s…. AND worked in NCSU AthDept during the Todd Turner regime. …. Schools that “get it” will be more successful than those who assume “our fans” will endure whatever we force on them.
Marketing departments at most colleges are finally starting to scratch their heads about attendance issues, even with the student body who have always been a given for attending. Not ever school can be Michigan and go from 80-90% capacity to standing room only in one season with a Harbaugh hire. Or can they be Ohio State with a Green Bay Packer like waiting list for season ticket slots to fill the >105K foremer horseshoe. The marketing personnel have a very common problem of selling ad space on video boards and signage based on expected attendance numbers which are not accurate… Read more »
Excellent analysis and far too complicated for any trolling board monkey to understand. 🙂
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The rank-file “Joe Fan” who by choice or circumstance is not “a Fat Cat” is at the bottom of the list of concern. Improving his / his family’s Gameday experience is not anyone’s priority. He / his have been taken for granted for many years. Those chickens are coming home to roost.
BL, you are ahead of the curve. Today’s Wall St Journal has short article on Sports page (D6) predicting Media Rights will surpass gate receipts in sports by 2018. Quote “An industry built on ticket sales will empiracally become about eyeballs watching the action on television or a mobile device, as leagues and sports federations collect $19.9 billion from media rights fees compared with $19.7 billion from gate revenues” by 2018. This is forecast is based on current media rights at $16.4 billion and annual growth rate of 7.4%. As mentioned, continuation of growth is questionable as the “younger consumers… Read more »
I will continue to go to every single State home game (and not leave at half time or before the final whistle) but last year was the first time in about twenty that I did not take the family to Chapel Hill. Part of the reason is the insane ticket prices ($70 each two years ago – may be better now that they are begging for fans) and part is just as you say – you can see it better on TV (I’ve never had a good seat over there) and you don’t have that god awful drive back from… Read more »
In general, sports fans’ traditional habits are “in flux”. No one is really sure how it will shake out over the next 5+ years.
I invented wine. Cheese, too.
sez you. 🙂
Maybe Kenan at 48K capacity, as it recently was, is about the right size after all. I’ve recently been tuning in to ESPN Goal Line. Instead of switching channels you instead watch highlights of several different games on one HD channel like with NFL Red Zone. Maybe that’s part of the future of BTCF viewing. The Wake-UNC, oldest rivalry in NC, 106th renewal story line apparently means little to the prized 25-34 (or whatever the numbers are) demographic nowadays and even less to potential recruits. The once comfy and familiar ACC is now a awkward and dysfunctional. TV markets rule… Read more »
You can find a lot of agreement on that reduced Kenan capacity idea. Champagne Wishes / Caviar Dreams have been the downfall of more than a few.
BL, stick with simple thoughts. UNC-CH is historically a basketball school catering to the appropriate number of whine and cheesers. It overbuilt among the lofty pines with Aluminium and endzone blue. TGU wil damage both venues but is just so slow in reaching a climax. In any case UNC-CH has only itself to blame for both the origin of sins and the long term expensive cover-up. NC State will just keep plodding along doing better than middle of the pack with hopes for better, but the right way :+))
So, if UNC would bulldoze down The Blue Zone and rebuild “The Alamo” / “Taco Bell” then everything will be OK? Works for me. I will submit that suggestion for their consideration. Terminal institutional delusion re: one’s place in The Universe can indeed be a hindrance. 🙂
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Meanwhile “da Pack” better get busy with 1-2 ACC Ws to even be “middle of pack” this season.
So you are saying MaryAnne Foxe’s infamous GUARANTEE may not come to fruition in our lifetimes ??
“NC State will just keep plodding along doing better than middle of the pack with hopes for better, but the right way.” Will Ferrell playing GWB on SNL “Strategery” ?
I never edit anyone’s comments. 🙂
It would have been a blast to be part of the decision making process at a BTCF or BB wannabe program to justify spending bookoodles of $millions on various “stuff” with the stated goal of “plodding along doing better than middle of the pack with hopes for better.” Sounds about as much fun as is allowable whilst still having your clothes on.
EXCELLENT OBSERVATION! Methinks Mr Purcell and his WPC “sales staff” likely used more glorious objectives as they “dialed for dollars” among the Wuff Faithful. Write us a check for $10,000 so we can get back to the Beef O’Brady Bowl… so we can finish in the top 4-5 in our division… OR simply SO WE CAN BEAT CAROLINA. …. when all is said and done THAT is how one spells S-U-C-C-E-S-S on The Brickyard. …. not to imply that it is any different along “beautiful Franklin Street”.