Good post and true. Gotta love all these posts and threads about leaves and front runners and community support. There are so many differences between when we had decent crowds in the 90's and now, it's not funny. And many of the differences have been conscious decisions made by SU.
1. Winning, winning, winning
2. Lime OOC schedule/MetLife
3. Pricing structure of sideline seats
4. Parking has gotten worse.
5. Marketing
6. Economy especially considering #3.
People want to act like we are this huge state school with a large active alumni base. I'll use PedSt as an example. Even when they were down some for a few years, they packed the stadium. You think it's because Happy Valley is some large metropolis? No, it's because they are a STATE school supported by fans across the state with an alumni base that comes to games in droves.
I know everyone will pick on the personal favorite gripe above, but it's the totality of all of them that has made the perfect storm. It's a lot different playing a Florida in the 90's as a 9-3 program than it is playing Tulane as a .500 program.
I have 6 seasons, so I could easily blame the locals and not take shots at myself. But I see the reality and and it's not about leaves.
How many alumni does SU have in a 6 hour radius? I dare every single one of them to come back for at least one game a year, maybe more. Actually, if people want a big time program, there's no reason most of those alumni shouldn't come back for most games.