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MSN - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: College Football Attendance Slipping

Horned Toad

Active Member
As the University of Pittsburgh football team was down in South Carolina upsetting No. 1 Clemson last fall, Andrew Bukowski watched it unfold at his house in Oakland with a group of friends. They ordered food, drank beer, and had a great time, he said.

“I think what you find is that you end up enjoying some of the away games more,” Mr. Bukowski, a senior this fall, said.

He has attended nearly all the home games with his student season tickets the past three seasons, but when he graduates and is no longer eligible for such cheap tickets, he anticipates going to one, maybe two games per year.

Therein lies a major problem for the Pitt athletic department.

Mr. Bukowski, 21, calls himself a big-time Pitt fan, but his attitude toward live sporting events are shared among younger generations. Many feel it can be just as enjoyable to watch at home or in a sports bar with friends, and often it’s less expensive and more convenient.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nca...all-attendance-declines/ar-BBE2Mtg?li=BBnba9I
 

Frog DJ

Active Member
Good article.

We live four hours away from ACS, but I make the drive to almost every home game because I was born and reared in FW, and it's good to see Cowtown and TCU in person. It makes for a very long day (especially if it's a night game), but well worth it as far as I'm concerned. My 6-year old grandson doesn't always agree, but he loves being there - it's just the travel back and forth that makes him weary.

As the article described, I purchased season tickets immediately after I got out of TCU, so maintaining them from year to year has just become automatic. My son is also a TCU alum, and it's a great adventure for three generations. Plus, we get to spend some quality conversation time in the car during the road trip. All-in-all, it's a major investment of time and money, but one that we all relish.

Can't wait for football season!

Go Frogs!
 

LVH

Active Member
I havent been to a college football game in person since we last played UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2010.

I'd rather sit on my butt and watch multiple games at once than have to go out to the stadium, deal with traffic, deal with parking, deal with the weather, deal with drunks, deal with bad seats, etc.
 

BABYFACE

Full Member
I havent been to a college football game in person since we last played UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2010.

I'd rather sit on my butt and watch multiple games at once than have to go out to the stadium, deal with traffic, deal with parking, deal with the weather, deal with drunks, deal with bad seats, etc.

I would have probably kept that post to myself on a board of diehard TCU fans.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
I havent been to a college football game in person since we last played UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2010.

I'd rather sit on my butt and watch multiple games at once than have to go out to the stadium, deal with traffic, deal with parking, deal with the weather, deal with drunks, deal with bad seats, etc.

I would have probably kept that post to myself on a board of diehard TCU fans.

Especially because it leaves us wondering what he sits on when he does go to the stadium.
 

Wexahu

Full Member
It definitely takes a certain level of commitment that most people don't have to regularly attend games, especially if you have a wife/girlfriend who isn't as crazy about it as you are. I go to all of them, but I have to admit sometimes I look forward to road games so I can stay home and watch on TV without feeling "guilty". Advances in technology have made the TV watching experience pretty dang tough to beat.
 

stbrab

Full Member
We make a 640 mile round trip to all the home games...my wife and I always look forward to it. But, I must admit, for the away games, its nice to sit in front of the TV and chill...except SMU, we travel for that one.
 

f_399

Active Member
I am all for watching TCU home games, love the game day atmosphere.

But I do look forward to home games I can watch from home as well.
 

jake102

Active Member
However, the increasing long time outs for commercials and the playing of games during the heat of the day in September and October is eventually going to turn fans off.

This. Especially the bolded.

For the first time in my TCU fan life, I was happy when last season was over. So many home games (+SMU) and the product was garbage most of the time. Looking forward to less home games and hopefully a much better product on the field. I'm trying to not get too discouraged about the SMU 2:30pm start, but it's going to be brutal.
 

tcumaniac

Full Member
It's pretty interesting what TV has done to college football.


On one hand it's taken one of America's favorite passions, and made it infinitely more accessible. Thanks to TV, college football has exploded over the past few decades... and schools like TCU have greatly benefited from the exposure it has provided. Think how much our school's brand has improved thanks to our nationally televised football team.


On the other hand, TV has ironically started to destroy the game day experience, which has caused many fans to reconsider attending particular games.

  • Games are way longer than they should be and the flow of games are severely hindered due to TV time outs.
  • It’s difficult to make travel plans because you often don’t know the time of a game until the last second.
  • 11am starts are absolutely miserable.
  • Playing football games in Texas during the heat of the day in September should be banned.
  • Why would anyone other than a diehard fan feel compelled to go sit in the blazing heat against a mediocre opponent, when you can casually watch the game (and many others) in the comfort of A/C, food, and unlimited beverages?

I don’t know many great fixes to this problem. It kind of is what it is. TV also happens to be one of the primary revenue drivers.

It sure would be nice if 11am games and dangerously hot games in the heat of the day could be minimized. Alcohol sales would also help (Cannot understand why TCU refuses to do this).
 

DannyAdelante

Active Member
I don't think anything can beat a good gameday atmosphere at a well located stadium. I loved TCU's setup when I lived in Fort Worth. Made every home game for the season and a half that I lived there.

I do understand why people would not want to go to games in person for some teams - I'm in NYC, where it's an hour and a half trek on the subway + train out to MetLife Stadium, which is just a soulless stadium and a parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and then wait almost an hour trying to get on a train along with about 30,000 other fans. I would much rather spend the day watching at home with friends than head out to New Jersey in the freezing cold.

But if you have a good on-campus stadium like TCU have, I don't think there's an excuse for not wanting to go to games.
 
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