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Message: [QUOTE="Shenexon, post: 1477658, member: 129"] Great post. It certainly seems that there is a lot of work for SU to do in making things right with long-term supporters like yourself and many on this board. I would say that SU has done a good job this year reaching out to fans. Fanfest & staff like Dan Bartlett are good signs. The issue appears to be infinitely complicated. They've ticked off those that have supported the program for a long time and have lost a lot of their market at the same time. I'm among the 32% of the population that left CNY during the economic struggles of the last 50 years. The region has had to absorb a lot of underutilized homes, businesses, infrastructure, and long-term maintenance expenses for entities that had been developed when the area thrived but were left to be supported by a much smaller group of people. The poverty rate spiked partially because the more affluent folks were able to relocate. The less successful SU sport suffered in finding support among a population that was shrinking and becoming less affluent as a whole. The weather doesn't help the football cause either. Upstate New Yorkers have a limited outdoor season in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. It's easier to commit to a consistently successful sport during a season when hiking, boating, wine-touring, swimming, fishing, vacationing, don't compete for weekend time. I'm hoping to be a football regular for at least this year and next. I have more CNY projects than I can complete this year. As JB says, CNY is the most beautiful place in the world 6 months a year. I think SU has a number of good options to get more people to the dome for football. Personally, I think free student tickets would help create a new generation of football fans, help make attending games more affordable for local families, and demonstrate that SU is serious about making football a community event. Giving free tickets to veterans or deeply discounting them would do the same. SU talks a lot about veterans and they could make a great statement of gratitude and increase attendance at the same time. Veterans have families. There is also a large population of snowbirds that migrate from CNY to the south and back with the changing seasons. It seems that packages that include early home games and later road games in the south could be good products. Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlottesville, Louisville, and other ACC cities are places we'd like to have some home field advantage, and do. SU could help that along. I think SU is working hard to improve the football program which will sell itself once SU can engage prospective fans, but they need to reach out to the demographics in the region. In order to fill the dome, SU needs to put about 10% of the population in the seats. Until they consistently have a better product, they'll need to be a better value for more families. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?