| FTBL Did Northwestern Pat Fitzgerald Nail Down the College Football Attendance Problem?

[BamaFan334]

You're saying it's value. That's the true reason. Let's see him speak that honest truth.

Pat is being master of the obvious on how people interact these days. Not really sure why you're giving him credit for this. Anyone with half a brain can see the pros/cons of mobile devices and the dependency that the vast majority of people under the age of 50 has with mobile devices

Point is, phones aren't the reason for the decline in attendance as he's suggesting. I doubt there is any data that backs up the point he's poorly making.

I'm not giving him credit for groundbreaking research, just giving him credit for stating an issue with society that a lot of folks fail to see. He sees it more than we do with a team of 100 guys walking around with them glued to their hands.

 

[planomateo]

I'm not giving him credit for groundbreaking research, just giving him credit for stating an issue with society that a lot of folks fail to see. He sees it more than we do with a team of 100 guys walking around with them glued to their hands.

I suspect you're saying that most realize the problem, but either don't care to change the habit or don't know how to.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

IMO, it all comes down to customer experience and the value it has. Think about what the average fan has to pay: ticket ($50+) + parking ($20+) + gas (~$10+) + food (inside or out of the stadium ~$20+) + time commitment. Most of these costs are multiplied if you take a friend/date/family with you. When they go into the stadium, WIFI access is limited so checking on other scores is spotty and communicating with friends in or out of the stadium is hit or miss to "share" the experience. Compare that to sitting at home in comfort with the ability to check multiple games live with access to food, drink, bathroom within seconds. Schools need to find a way to improve on the experience if they want to get and keep fans in the stadium.

All this is true.......but the excitement and thrill of being in that stadium with that crowd and watching an exciting event is really hard to describe....as you know...
Like going to the movies as opposed to sitting at home and watching a movie on the tv....
There really is nothing like Alabama football...when i sit there my memories of watching Joe or Snake on that same field... or seeing the BEAR leaning on the goal post...or being in that first ADAY crowd for Nick... or more importantly....the remembering the times sitting there with my dad watching a game,..
These are things that make going to BD different than attending other live events....
...

 

[TUSKtimes]

All this is true.......but the excitement and thrill of being in that stadium with that crowd and watching an exciting event is really hard to describe....as you know...
Like going to the movies as opposed to sitting at home and watching a movie on the tv....
There really is nothing like Alabama football...when i sit there my memories of watching Joe or Snake on that same field... or seeing the BEAR leaning on the goal post...or being in that first ADAY crowd for Nick... or more importantly....the remembering the times sitting there with my dad watching a game,..
These are things that make going to BD different than attending other live events....
...

That's a lot of investment and sentiment that you have built up over time. Plus you just love football for being football. Not many fans have that type of motivation when they watch a game.

Growing up and watching most of an Alabama schedule on my radio, it was a pure pleasure just to get to see them play and it really felt special. Trying to decide if I want to go to the game 30 minutes from my house or listen to the radio made going as often as I could afford it an easy decision. I would just take John Forney and Doug Layton with me and I was living the dream. These days you don't even have to ante up for that one pay per view game a year as we did just a few years ago. The product is saturated and some are starting to feel over-saturated, just by its TV availability.

 

[BamaFan334]

I suspect you're saying that most realize the problem, but either don't care to change the habit or don't know how to.

Sometimes it takes hearing from another source to understand. Hence interventions and how many times have we heard "if someone told you to jump off a bridge...". He isn't Nick Saban, but people will listen to him and it has made some headlines, pretty much doing exactly what he wanted it to do.

 

[OldPlayer]

All this is true.......but the excitement and thrill of being in that stadium with that crowd and watching an exciting event is really hard to describe....as you know...
Like going to the movies as opposed to sitting at home and watching a movie on the tv....
There really is nothing like Alabama football...when i sit there my memories of watching Joe or Snake on that same field... or seeing the BEAR leaning on the goal post...or being in that first ADAY crowd for Nick... or more importantly....the remembering the times sitting there with my dad watching a game,..
These are things that make going to BD different than attending other live events....
...

For people who grew up like we did, yes. Today's youth has a different priority list. Alabama football, and college football as a whole, has a broad appeal. How do you target the consumer when people in their 70s and people in their 20s are both in your target audience? People in their 70s don't want to hear rap music during TV timeouts (in addition to the band, dance groups and cheerleaders) and people in their 20s don't connect with the nostalgia of 1960s football championships.

 

[TUSKtimes]

In that we're discussing getting fans to the ball-park, I'm glad to hear that some of the ridiculous renovations for BDS have been scrapped. Getting rid of the student terrace that was going in the south endzone was a great rethink. Someone may be figured out that our student fans are one bi-polar group. Seems strange to put all those new seats in a few years back and tear them out so quickly.

And I might add that we already had a Megatron scoreboard and tore it down. Getting smaller scoreboards in both endzones is a better compromise if we must replace the smaller corner scoreboards.

 

[mando]

but the excitement and thrill of being in that stadium with that crowd and watching an exciting event is really hard to describe

Indeed... Being at games like the beating of Fat Phil with the Ronin Harper hit that forced the fumble, the Cody block, the 36-0 beat down of tubs where we shoved the thumb up his rear or even the game of the century with LSU that we lost, nothing compares with those experiences.

Another very memorable one was when we beat LSU in 2009 and on the play that Julio broke open the receiver screen and took it to the house when we were behind 15 - 13. I had my son with me who was around 8 years old. It was so loud we could not hear each other speak. He had never experienced anything like that. His eyes got as big as quarters.

Great experiences that cannot be duplicated watching TV.

 

[Elderfalsedemigod]

Indeed... Being at games like the beating of Fat Phil with the Ronin Harper hit that forced the fumble, the Cody block, the 36-0 beat down of tubs where we shoved the thumb up his rear or even the game of the century with LSU that we lost, nothing compares with those experiences.

Another very memorable one was when we beat LSU in 2009 and on the play that Julio broke open the receiver screen and took it to the house when we were behind 15 - 13. I had my son with me who was around 8 years old. It was so loud we could not hear each other speak. He had never experienced anything like that. His eyes got as big as quarters.

Great experiences that cannot be duplicated watching TV.

I was in stadium for these. I was also in stadium for many other truly memorable games etc. Have taken many first timers to BDS and I love the experience. But... I am 51 years old and the convenience of watching games on the 70" TV 25 feet from the kitchen and 40 feet from the bathroom has much more appeal these days. I still try and make a game or 2 every year but buying the season ticket package from stubhub and making the trips in the fall pretty much went away for me in 2015. I just don't do as well in crowds as I once did. My hearing is shot and that kind of noise just ends up disorienting me. Someone mentioned going to movie theater vs watching at home. I don't go to theater anymore. Don't like the crowds and can't hear 1/4 of the dialogue. I realize this is anecdotal and not the norm for why folks aren't attending overall.

As far as the smartphone/technology argument I think it is just the new norm. There are folks who are addicted to it. I remember when the over the air stations stopped signing off at midnight and began programming all night. I remember when we were able to get our own phone line as opposed to a party line. Air conditioning? We didn't have it until I was 15. All technology can be misused. It isn't going away. It is up to individuals such as those who have posted above to help younger folks understand how to handle it.

 

[mando]

I was in stadium for these. I was also in stadium for many other truly memorable games etc. Have taken many first timers to BDS and I love the experience. But... I am 51 years old and the convenience of watching games on the 70" TV 25 feet from the kitchen and 40 feet from the bathroom has much more appeal these days. I still try and make a game or 2 every year but buying the season ticket package from stubhub and making the trips in the fall pretty much went away for me in 2015. I just don't do as well in crowds as I once did. My hearing is shot and that kind of noise just ends up disorienting me. Someone mentioned going to movie theater vs watching at home. I don't go to theater anymore. Don't like the crowds and can't hear 1/4 of the dialogue. I realize this is anecdotal and not the norm for why folks aren't attending overall.

As far as the smartphone/technology argument I think it is just the new norm. There are folks who are addicted to it. I remember when the over the air stations stopped signing off at midnight and began programming all night. I remember when we were able to get our own phone line as opposed to a party line. Air conditioning? We didn't have it until I was 15. All technology can be misused. It isn't going away. It is up to individuals such as those who have posted above to help younger folks understand how to handle it.

Sounds like we had a lot of the same experiences at games as well as growing up. I will be 55 in August so I can relate to your list of technologies we had or didn't have. I have a son that is entering his senior year in high school and he is definitely growing up in a new world. It takes effort to not allow them to do what everyone else is doing for sure.