Defending the fans

[anomander]

Most people don't care about su football. It's just a fact. We are a basketball school. Period.

currently we are a basketball school, but on the national stage nobody cares about college basketball. you would think the overall larger interest in football would draw people. going back to the point front runners. goes the same for our basketball program as well. thankfully we are currently in the front though.

 

[wfschrec]

How many of those fans are in your situation and are now a half day car ride plus from CNY? Not to pick on you but people act like theres 200K local fans who love SU and refuse to go to games, trust me there isn't.

I know that ... but I am willing to bet a lot more would "love" them if they were 4-0 ... which is essentially my point. I am sure there are quite a few in my situation ... but I am willing to bet that it was a similar story 18 years ago when DNabb set foot on campus and the crowds then were fantastic.

 

[OrangeAl]

What you guys need to understand is the following I am not saying people on this forum are bad fans ... I consider most of the posters here to be the passionate segment of the fan base ... however a majority of our "fan base" is awful and there is really no way to defend that. There is no excuse. People act like I am calling them bad fans directly ... that is not it. There is no true justification to our attendance numbers other than the fact that we have a ton of fair weather fans ... that is it ... in a nutshell ... no other way around it.

Is there a constructive point to your meltdown from 15 hours away? We know that our stadium is half-empty. Hysteria isn't going to solve the problem.

 

[rrlbees]

My point about having large crowds in various decades ... (at least large by our standards) nullifies this state school vs private school garbage ... if that were a true issue we never would have had the attendance at all period ... so that doesn't even float ... the status of the school didn't impact us before ... that doesn't carry weight sad but true. Again being awful hasn't affected UK ... scheduling tougher teams has shown to help attendance since no one cares to watch us obliterate Wagner ... and if you cite a 0-2 start it once again goes back to having a bunch of band wagon fans.

True, We weren't a state school when we drew more fans. But we won and played top OOC teams in the Dome. Plus, all the other things I said in my other post.,


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[orange_in_VA]

I don't need to I have seen the discussions about who comes from where ... hell CuseTroop is in Alaska ...

You have repeatedly ignored the fact that I have stated that when we won attendance was not an issue ... and I know the same number of pro teams existed then that do now ... sorry but it isn't that hard to comprehend. If anything the only thing that changed since the McNabb years with regards to the size of our alumi base is that it has increased ... more kids are graduating each and every year ... its not an excuse ... there are 662K+ people in the Syracuse metro area ...

I didnt acknowledge the winning because thats an obvious statement, and I agree with that sentiment. My mom was in law school during the DMac years, and has told me of the raucous crowds at the Loud House. My argument is only for having poor crowds at a tulane game. If all the cuse fans I know of in Virginia Beach alone still lived in upstate NY, we would have about 50 more fans at every home game. Almost every single one of them moved here for jobs, and im sure its like that in a lot of southern cities. Im done arguing, no hard feelings. : )

 

[wfschrec]

True, We weren't a state school when we drew more fans. But we won and played top OOC teams in the Dome. Plus, all the other things I said in my other post.,

Does those things stop you from going to the games? I consider you a true fan ... but yet they don't stop you. It is a nuisance you tolerate to watch a team you love ... they are issues and need to be fixed no doubt but you watch them whether they win or lose?

 

[wfschrec]

Is there a constructive point to your meltdown from 15 hours away? We know that our stadium is half-empty. Hysteria isn't going to solve the problem.

Not a meltdown I am stating the obvious ... difficult to grasp I know ... people are trying to justify something that isn't justifiable ...

 

[HOFCeluck]

In this thread people take a simple issue and analyze it to death.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

You posted in a football forum about fan attendance and made a correlation to basketball ... what I am telling you is that even bad programs who don't win get people to show ... how hard is that to comprehend? I don't care about our basketball attendance you used it to justify that winning leads to attendance and my point is that we should have people showing up no matter what because other schools do ... if you want to strictly talk basketball attendance then go to the basketball forum ... you were defending our football attendance using a weak correlation ... honestly you are wrong no other way to slice it our fan base is awful.

Not private schools.

 

[wfschrec]

I didnt acknowledge the winning because thats an obvious statement, and I agree with that sentiment. My mom was in law school during the DMac years, and has told me of the raucous crowds at the Loud House. My argument is only for having poor crowds at a tulane game. If all the cuse fans I know of in Virginia Beach alone still lived in upstate NY, we would have about 50 more fans at every home game. Almost every single one of them moved here for jobs, and im sure its like that in a lot of southern cities. Im done arguing, no hard feelings. : )

I moved for a better job opportunity ... a lot of people do ... and having an extra 50 fannies in the seats is nice ... I would love to see more ... I have loved that program since I was about 6 and I hate to see a half empty dome since as a kid growing up I never saw that ... it is actually painful. I have so many amazing memories I have taken with me from the Dome .. and having a packed Dome makes them really special ... these kids on the field deserve the best support we as a community can provide and it isn't happening ... I still wear my Cuse gear and see people here time and again wearing some ... I watch all the games ... following the goings on here and talk trash to my ACC and SEC buddies here ... because I know this program can reach those heights.

 

[wfschrec]

Not private schools.

Per my previous comment you can throw the private vs public nonsense right out the window .. it isn't a valid argument ... if the attendance was this bad in the 80-90s then I would agree ... sorry that excuse doesn't work when its the only game in town for a 662K+ sized metropolitan area.

 

[wfschrec]

True, We weren't a state school when we drew more fans. But we won and played top OOC teams in the Dome. Plus, all the other things I said in my other post.,

Yep ... and people want us to bring in pasties like RU ... and I have said before we should avoid doing stuff like that ... this is a bi-product of doing so ... but bringing in pasties isn't the real root of the issue here I think we can both agree on that.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Per my previous comment you can throw the private vs public nonsense right out the window .. it isn't a valid argument ... if the attendance was this bad in the 80-90s then I would agree ... sorry that excuse doesn't work when its the only game in town for a 662K+ sized metropolitan area.

I dont know what to tell you then that you dont apparently already know. I know that when i was watching the Northwestern game, i saw plenty of empty seats during the telecast. That was a top 20 team, coming off of a top 25 season, in a power conference, with a dynamic young coach, located in a metro area of over 9.7 million people. I know that Miami, Duke, Wake Forest, Tulane, SMU, Boston College, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and even Stanford dont draw very well (none of the private schools, minus Notre Dame, USC and BYU).

I think you should adjust your expectations. This isnt 1988 anymore.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I know that ... but I am willing to bet a lot more would "love" them if they were 4-0 ... which is essentially my point. I am sure there are quite a few in my situation ... but I am willing to bet that it was a similar story 18 years ago when DNabb set foot on campus and the crowds then were fantastic.

That maybe true but Mcnabb's senior year was 15+ years ago, a lot of things have changed. There is entire generation that grew up with SU football pretty much being an after thought. There not going to game because SU was 1-2, there not going because they don't care.

 

[Cusefan95]

Sigh...I've hesitated to bring this up in all these "the fans suck" threads...but Buzz and Jake did a ton of damage to the program telling fans to get a life and that Syracuse is a one-horse town and all the other PR disasters from ten years ago. The OrangePAs and All4SUs argue against this any time anyone dares to point this out...but denial by die-hard fans doesn't make it any less true. By the time GRob was hired, fans were already on the fence - if GRob had worked out most of the PR messes would have been forgiven and forgotten - but it didn't work out. So fans started to find other things to do on Saturdays than watch a terrible college football team, and they consoled themselves by looking back at the Buzz statement that they were taking him up on his suggestion and getting a life.

Anyone suggesting that the local fans are horrible are overlooking just how god-awful horrible the previous administration was regarding the athletic department issues - and refusing to acknowledge the healthy dose of culpability that has for the attendance woes today.

PS OrangePA is on the clock to let us know what an awesome individual Jake C was and attempt his usual rewriting of history...

 

[wfschrec]

I dont know what to tell you then that you dont apparently already know. I know that when i was watching the Northwestern game, i saw plenty of empty seats during the telecast. That was a top 20 team, coming off of a top 25 season, in a power conference, with a dynamic young coach, located in a metro area of over 9.7 million people. I know that Miami, Duke, Wake Forest, Tulane, SMU, Boston College, Northwestern and even Stanford dont draw very well.

I think you should adjust your expectations. This isnt 1988 anymore.

Or 1998 apparently ... or 99 ... or .. how many were in the Dome when Freeney sacked Vick 4.5 times? I can tell you ... I was there ... and it was loud ... and Stanford had over 50K to watch them play San Jose State of all teams and it was a sellout since they met capacity in week1.

 

[wfschrec]

Sigh...I've hesitated to bring this up in all these "the fans suck" threads...but Buzz and Jake did a ton of damage to the program telling fans to get a life and that Syracuse is a one-horse town and all the other PR disasters from ten years ago. The OrangePAs and All4SUs argue against this any time anyone dares to point this out...but denial by die-hard fans doesn't make it any less true. By the time GRob was hired, fans were already on the fence - if GRob had worked out most of the PR messes would have been forgiven and forgotten - but it didn't work out. So fans started to find other things to do on Saturdays than watch a terrible college football team, and they consoled themselves by looking back at the Buzz statement that they were taking him up on his suggestion and getting a life.

Anyone suggesting that the local fans are horrible are overlooking just how god-awful horrible the previous administration was regarding the athletic department issues - and refusing to acknowledge the healthy dose of culpability that has for the attendance woes today.

PS OrangePA is on the clock to let us know what an awesome individual Jake C was and attempt his usual rewriting of history...

I don't doubt for a second Shaw's get a life crack hurt attendance ... I know a lot of people were turned off by it. At the same time I think a lot of people let their love for the program win out in the stay or go argument ... but a more casual fan was definitely turned off.

 

[wfschrec]

That maybe true but Mcnabb's senior year was 15+ years ago, a lot of things have changed. There is entire generation that grew up with SU football pretty much being an after thought. There not going to game because SU was 1-2, there not going because they don't care.

Why do you think I had two kids that I can mold into SU fans?

 

[All4SU]

.

I need to question your sanity if you thought we'd have a good attendance showing at 12:30 against Tulane sitting at 1-2 with some of the worst football I have ever seen played in Games 1 and 2. Games 1 and 2, against big name opponents, those were the games I guarantee you the "casual fan" watched and then turned off at halftime of the NW game to say "Here we go again, can't wait til Basketball season"

You can question my sanity if you like. But that's between me and my therapist to decide. I expected a bigger crowd for Tulane than for Wagner. Better opponent. Coming off a win. A chance to get to 2 - 0. A chance to see a dynamic new QB. An offense that showed it could put points on the board. A defense that played hard. Five game home winning streak. Coming off of a good bowl season. (You can call it a crappy little bowl if you want to. But WVU was a good opponent, not some MAC school.). And a first season in the ACC.

I agree 100% that winning cures all. But I have said repeatedly, and I will say it again. The folks who show up for SU vs. Tulane when the team is 1-2 are the SU fans. The folks you are talking about are something otherwise. They may be college football fans. They may have a passing interest in Syracuse or football. But they are not SU football fans. Not by my standard. I sincerely hope SU can win enough to stimulate their curiosity and interest, to drag them off of their couches, or get them to fork over a few bucks for a ticket. Maybe if they come to a few games they will become SU fans. As for right now, I just wish there were more than 25,000 SU football fans.

 

[goodroc]

i was a student from 86-90 --- some very good years for football-- most of my friends who were wildly into basketball barley cared about football even though they went to games -it was never a priority--- after we graduated even during the graves- mcnabb years-- my alumni friends knew more basketball recruits than actually guys on football team--

we are a basketball school -- hopefully our fan base will grow but we have a long way to go -- we should be playing as many thursday night-- friday night and sat night games as possible-- a crowded dome for football is a HUGE home field advantage - with a blitzing d like we have -- scary thought for any opposing coach.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Why do you think I had two kids that I can mold into SU fans?

Your one of the good fans/diehards unfortunately there simply isn't enough of us.

 

[wfschrec]

Your one of the good fans/diehards unfortunately there simply isn't enough of us.

No but when this team really gets rolling I hope that changes ... I had my first beer with my dad over an SU football game ... wasn't quite 21 but who was paying attention ... For a lot of the people on this board you can't replace the memories the university and their football and hoops programs give us ... I was 9 when I decided I was going to school there ... went ... got my degree ... saw as many games as possible before and after graduation and loved every minute of it and wouldn't trade it for anything. Someone posted that it isn't the communities responsibility to sell this program and I agree ... but for me ... I will sell the hell out of it to my children ... my family and my friends ... SU was more than I ever could have asked for when it comes to life experiences and the more people that share that sentiment the better.

 

[CuseOnly]

Yep ... and people want us to bring in pasties like RU ... and I have said before we should avoid doing stuff like that ... this is a bi-product of doing so ... but bringing in pasties isn't the real root of the issue here I think we can both agree on that.

I am not a big fan of pasties, they cover up the best parts

 

[OrangePA]

Every team in every city has casual fans and yes, they are usually front runners. That's why winning is so important. Even a team like USC will have bad attendance numbers if they keep floundering by USC standards. Look at Miami's recent crowds in the past few years, they make yesterday look like a sellout.

True, but Syracuse is a real front running town.

Worst I have ever seen.

 

[All4SU]

You can't measure your fan base in your best years or your worst years. Measure them in your mediocre years if you want an accurate view. We have an 8-5 team who won a bowl game against a good team, an we have 25,000 fans. I don't want to hear excuses about the economy, or starting 0-2, or the offense being bad, or the parking, et al. We need more fans. We better start cultivating them. Because right now it's not that they are staying home. They don't exist.