Here we go: Why FSU-Miami is not â and probably wonât be â sold out âŠ
Reason No. 5: Florida State-Miami is more of a national rivalry than a local rivalry.
Bear with me here. Florida State-Miami is certainly an impassioned rivalry. One of the best in college football history. But, somehow, this is a bigger game nationally than it is in the state of Florida. The Seminoles and Hurricanes make for some great television, and great ratings, which is why ESPN so desperately wanted to broadcast this game on Labor Day night. Even when the programs arenât on top of the polls â and only FSU, at No. 18, will enter this game ranked â Florida State-Miami is still great on TV. But itâs somehow different in this state. For FSU fans, Florida is and always will be the Seminolesâ chief rival. Miami fans, meanwhile, are among the most fickle anywhere. Even when the Hurricanes were competing for national championships every season, the school still had a difficult time filling the seats. But the game still might be a sell out if it werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 4: The economy is still bad.
Itâs still a struggle out there for a lot of people. And even though Tallahassee-area hotels have become friendlier in these difficult economic times, itâs still an expensive venture for people to come to Doak Campbell Stadium. Letâs say, for instance, youâre driving up for Orlando. Thatâs about 230 miles or so. So throw in gas. A night at a hotel. Food. Tickets. It adds up. And suddenly, watching the Seminoles and Hurricanes at home on ESPN starts making more sense than spending hundreds of dollars to watch it in person. But the game still might be a sell out if it werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 3: Tallahassee is remote enough â but seems more so for a weekday night game.
Making it to Tallahassee is already a difficult trip. Itâs out there. Anyone who has spent a significant amount time on I-10, pulling your eyelids open during a late night drive down a dark, lonely stretch of road, knows as much. Tallahassee is a good four hours from Orlando and Tampa and Atlanta â all cities with a lot of FSU alumni and fans â and about two-and-a-half hours from Jacksonville. In short, Tallahassee is a ways away from any major population center. This is a problem all season long for FSU officials trying to fill Doak Campbell. But itâs even more of a problem for the Miami game, which comes on a Monday night. Youâre asking people to drive a long distance on a work night. Not good. It will be difficult enough for the Tallahassee natives to get up and make it to work on time on Tuesday morning. For those driving hours from out of town? Forget about it. But the game still might be a sell out if werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 2: Doak Campbell Stadium is too big.
It needs to be said. Doak Campbell is simply too big. With an 83,000-seat capacity, it has about 10,000 more seats than is necessary. When Bobby Bowden arrived at FSU in 1976, the capacity at Doak was 40,500. And as he built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse, stadium expansion followed. In less than 10 years, the capacity went from 40,500 to 60,519. It remained there through the 1991 season, and then Doak grew again, this time to 70,123 seats. It probably should have stayed right there. FSU last expanded the stadium before the 2003 season, which brought the official capacity to 82,300. That might be OK if youâre a top-5 program year and year out, or if youâre playing a rivalry game every week. But if FSU suffers any kind of slump â like it did during the consecutive 7-6 seasons in â06 and â07 â then it will be stuck with thousands of empty seats. Like there were last season. A smaller stadium wouldnât hurt demand and, in fact, might help it given that tickets would become scarcer. As it is now, though, the stadium is simply too big. But the game still might be a sell out if werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 1:Florida State isnât back. Not yet.
More than any other reason, the lackluster sales for the season-opener against Miami can be attributed to the fact that FSU isnât yet back. The Seminoles seem to be on their way, of course. Their 9-4 finish a season ago was their best since 2003. And FSU will enter the season ranked No. 18. But the program is still a ways away from what it used to be. If the âNoles were a national title contender, ranked in the top 5, this game would be sold out. And you wouldnât have to worry about the lagging economy, remoteness of Tallahassee or any other reason why there are still plenty of tickets remaining. Winning seems to take care of a lot of those issues.
Reason No. 5: Florida State-Miami is more of a national rivalry than a local rivalry.
Bear with me here. Florida State-Miami is certainly an impassioned rivalry. One of the best in college football history. But, somehow, this is a bigger game nationally than it is in the state of Florida. The Seminoles and Hurricanes make for some great television, and great ratings, which is why ESPN so desperately wanted to broadcast this game on Labor Day night. Even when the programs arenât on top of the polls â and only FSU, at No. 18, will enter this game ranked â Florida State-Miami is still great on TV. But itâs somehow different in this state. For FSU fans, Florida is and always will be the Seminolesâ chief rival. Miami fans, meanwhile, are among the most fickle anywhere. Even when the Hurricanes were competing for national championships every season, the school still had a difficult time filling the seats. But the game still might be a sell out if it werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 4: The economy is still bad.
Itâs still a struggle out there for a lot of people. And even though Tallahassee-area hotels have become friendlier in these difficult economic times, itâs still an expensive venture for people to come to Doak Campbell Stadium. Letâs say, for instance, youâre driving up for Orlando. Thatâs about 230 miles or so. So throw in gas. A night at a hotel. Food. Tickets. It adds up. And suddenly, watching the Seminoles and Hurricanes at home on ESPN starts making more sense than spending hundreds of dollars to watch it in person. But the game still might be a sell out if it werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 3: Tallahassee is remote enough â but seems more so for a weekday night game.
Making it to Tallahassee is already a difficult trip. Itâs out there. Anyone who has spent a significant amount time on I-10, pulling your eyelids open during a late night drive down a dark, lonely stretch of road, knows as much. Tallahassee is a good four hours from Orlando and Tampa and Atlanta â all cities with a lot of FSU alumni and fans â and about two-and-a-half hours from Jacksonville. In short, Tallahassee is a ways away from any major population center. This is a problem all season long for FSU officials trying to fill Doak Campbell. But itâs even more of a problem for the Miami game, which comes on a Monday night. Youâre asking people to drive a long distance on a work night. Not good. It will be difficult enough for the Tallahassee natives to get up and make it to work on time on Tuesday morning. For those driving hours from out of town? Forget about it. But the game still might be a sell out if werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 2: Doak Campbell Stadium is too big.
It needs to be said. Doak Campbell is simply too big. With an 83,000-seat capacity, it has about 10,000 more seats than is necessary. When Bobby Bowden arrived at FSU in 1976, the capacity at Doak was 40,500. And as he built the Seminoles into a national powerhouse, stadium expansion followed. In less than 10 years, the capacity went from 40,500 to 60,519. It remained there through the 1991 season, and then Doak grew again, this time to 70,123 seats. It probably should have stayed right there. FSU last expanded the stadium before the 2003 season, which brought the official capacity to 82,300. That might be OK if youâre a top-5 program year and year out, or if youâre playing a rivalry game every week. But if FSU suffers any kind of slump â like it did during the consecutive 7-6 seasons in â06 and â07 â then it will be stuck with thousands of empty seats. Like there were last season. A smaller stadium wouldnât hurt demand and, in fact, might help it given that tickets would become scarcer. As it is now, though, the stadium is simply too big. But the game still might be a sell out if werenât for âŠ
Reason No. 1:Florida State isnât back. Not yet.
More than any other reason, the lackluster sales for the season-opener against Miami can be attributed to the fact that FSU isnât yet back. The Seminoles seem to be on their way, of course. Their 9-4 finish a season ago was their best since 2003. And FSU will enter the season ranked No. 18. But the program is still a ways away from what it used to be. If the âNoles were a national title contender, ranked in the top 5, this game would be sold out. And you wouldnât have to worry about the lagging economy, remoteness of Tallahassee or any other reason why there are still plenty of tickets remaining. Winning seems to take care of a lot of those issues.
