A Cautionary Tale For All College Football

[NBHorn7]

The Link


Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it? The money giveth and the money taketh away. Which is better? Can their be a compromise between what is best for a University's coffers and what is best for the fans?
If not , what is the breaking point for fans as far as costs and more and more the loss of the "college atmosphere" that separates college football from the NFL? Really that goes for all the major college sports in comparison to pro sports.

 

[LonghornCatholic]

He's right about "raising prices just because you can". That's a risky model to use, and works for some universities more than others.

As far as t.v. and long lines, what - you don't want Michigan football televised?
We all have to live with long lines.

 

[accuratehorn]

This is brilliant.
Someone change every "Michigan" to "Texas," and nail the manifesto to Steve Patterson's door.
The part about paying fans feeling like suckers is right on the mark.

 

[SunBurntOrange]

Agree completely with Accuratehorn....

Interesting parallel going on in Cowboys stadium. Why season ticket holders are staying home and why there are so many seats available to visiting teams fans. I have been a season ticket holder for damn near thirty years. But I am sick and tired and pissed as hell at what game day at the stadium has become. And much like the Michigan situation, this one also starts with a idiot head honcho that quit giving a damn about the fan.

 

[notanative]

Can't disagree with the premise of the article and other posts. However, think back to all those fans who were joyous over the prospects of Godzillatron, until it became operational. While it generated revenue, it also seemed to be what the fans wanted; and they loved the bragging rights that went with it. You want beer at the games; but do you want to pay what it will cost for a beer to make it worthwhile to serve it? No one is going to serve beer at a price that is artificially low.

The fans may be getting exactly what they say they want. Sometimes you can't control the fact that you just didn't want it the way it came to you.

 

[GRGCPA]

I read an article recently on CNN.com about why attendance was down in church on Sundays. Said much the same thing. We are believers, not customers.

 

[accuratehorn]

Sure we were proud of Godzillatron prior to hearing it in action. We didn't know it would drown out the band, the PA, the game itself. We thought it would be a big video replay board that would give us additional views of exciting plays and controversial calls. Silly us.
Excuse me for not being proud of an 80 foot wide taco video.

 

[Vol Horn 4 Life]

#1: Native....bingo.

#2: Accurate.....bingo.

Godzillatron was great until the first GONG! The intro video was cool so some genius decides there should be a video for every occasion....ugh! Walter Cronkite was awesome "What starts here changes the world".....now just about every living player has something inspirational to say. There is rock music playing over the Longhorn band during breaks.

The atmosphere is ruined in my opinion.

I was a fan of a megastadium too, but now I regret it. They could have stopped at the East side upper deck and all would be fine.

 

[CedarParkFan]

I had season tickets for 18 years until 2012. They finally priced me out. I now hear that all parking garages are $20. I paid $7 a few years back. The food prices suck and the game day experience inside the stadium feels like a corporate cluster$&@/. Couple that with the fact that I've seen more enthusiasm at a wake and I'm certain I made the right decision.

So, last week I was given two tickets to the Baylor game. It was fun, but wouldn't be worth the price if I'd have had to pay face value and patronize the concessions. Our tickets got us into the club on top of Neuhaus Royal and we were able to fill up on Stubbs bbq. A top ten team comes to town and there are easily 5,000 empty seats. Winning may take care of that in future years.