JeremyCuse
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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- Aug 15, 2011
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No one should be suprised about the lack of predicted turnout or tickets sold to date for Thursdays home opener. At this point I think its been well documented by several posters and admins from this board on why attendance continues to be an issue. I know some contribute it to ticket prices and such but I think thats really not a large issue. I think a few of the issues below are some of the biggest hurdles SU is facing.
1. A small % of the fan base is simply never coming back, period. These fans right or wrong got burnt out under the Old regime with Buzz, Jake, and Coach P and thew in the towel that he was not let go before he was terminated. Some of these fans made there way back for Robinson and even more under Marrone but I know there hundreds if not thousands in this area who still have not come back since the whole "get a life" statement or whatever Buzz said, Its sad but some of these fans are lost forever.
2. Anti-hometown sentiment. This to me is the biggest problem and the most dumbfounding. Syacuse has by far the biggest number of local anti hometown fans I have ever seen. It is mindblowing. I know a lot of football fans on or around my age range that simply have zero interest in going to a Syracuse game and actually openly root for SU to fail. This area is the opposite of what I imagine Penn State, Ohio State, Florida..etc have regarding football support. What is even odder is that a lot of these fans actually like the basketball program but for some reason are fans of FSU, Miami, Penn State, ND anyteam besides SU. There are literally thousands of local college football fans that just hate Syracuse for being Syracuse and arent comign to a game no matter what promotion, price, or opponent the Syracuse administration tries. I know this sounds overblown but its really a problem and under Robinson was an epidemic.
3. Promotion - I know the administration is trying but they really do a horrible job with PR and advertising. I think I have seen maybe a handful of commericals for the opening SU game this year and they are poorly directed. There not only hard to watch but they dont appeal to anyoen other then us diehards who had tickets months ago. With the money this school generates gettign a couple primetime ads on the major sports networks and local affiliates should be a no brainer. We have local ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and other affiliates that should be bombarded with ads and notifications of ticket deals and specials. Instead we have a commercial with Mike Hopkins, Desko, and Floyd Little that the casual local fan has zero idea who 2 out of 3 are. I cant tell you how many times someone has asked me about how season tickets and parkign passes and single game tickets and other things work at the Dome because they have no idea.
4. Parking - I know OrangeExtreme wont like this paragraph but the parking situation at the Dome is a nightmare. For us diehards we could care less but again im talking about the local "casual" fan the Admin is trying to attract not the regulars on this board. I wont re-hash this to death has the issues are well known. There is little to no room to tailgate around the dome and for that matter with the new construction of the law school there is less and less to park. I know some will say Skytop and the shuttle service are the answer but I disagree. Most casual fans who havent been attending games or go to maybe 1-2 a year have no clue about the parking at Manley and shuttle service or simply dont want to/refuse to park there for whatever reason. With the weather and other issues most fans want to be somewhere in the vacinity of the stadium. With the pay lots SU has now and the two parking garages VA/Public SU is meeting some of that demand. But with the current construction makign the roads a mess and lots dissapearing for new building construction the amount of spaces are slowly shrinking and is making it harder to park somewhere in the vacinity of the dome. I hope Dr. Gross really takes a look at perserving some of the pay lots especially the Fine Lot and the surrounding lots as they offer a great tailgating experience and helps the Athletic Dept raise a good chunk of money. As TexanMark noted the finelot is allready sold out this year.
5. Diehard fan base is at its max. - I find it funny when posters come on here to complain about the lack of attendance or Axeman or Marrone will metion it in a radio interview or on TW sports inside syracuse sidelines. Who do you think watches, listens, and comes to these sites = the diehard fan, were not the ones who aren't showing up or opting to watch it on TW sports or ESPN. Your not going to increase attendance by bitching on a post here at Syracusefan.com or having Bud P write some article in the Post Standard as again 95% of that audience is the diehard fan who is allready going to the game and pushing everyone they know to go to. I dont claim to have the answers to solve the attendance problem but please stop posting messages here telling everyone to get to the game. All the local diehards are at the game trust me.
If anyone else has other issues they feel are a factor I would love to hear it.
1. A small % of the fan base is simply never coming back, period. These fans right or wrong got burnt out under the Old regime with Buzz, Jake, and Coach P and thew in the towel that he was not let go before he was terminated. Some of these fans made there way back for Robinson and even more under Marrone but I know there hundreds if not thousands in this area who still have not come back since the whole "get a life" statement or whatever Buzz said, Its sad but some of these fans are lost forever.
2. Anti-hometown sentiment. This to me is the biggest problem and the most dumbfounding. Syacuse has by far the biggest number of local anti hometown fans I have ever seen. It is mindblowing. I know a lot of football fans on or around my age range that simply have zero interest in going to a Syracuse game and actually openly root for SU to fail. This area is the opposite of what I imagine Penn State, Ohio State, Florida..etc have regarding football support. What is even odder is that a lot of these fans actually like the basketball program but for some reason are fans of FSU, Miami, Penn State, ND anyteam besides SU. There are literally thousands of local college football fans that just hate Syracuse for being Syracuse and arent comign to a game no matter what promotion, price, or opponent the Syracuse administration tries. I know this sounds overblown but its really a problem and under Robinson was an epidemic.
3. Promotion - I know the administration is trying but they really do a horrible job with PR and advertising. I think I have seen maybe a handful of commericals for the opening SU game this year and they are poorly directed. There not only hard to watch but they dont appeal to anyoen other then us diehards who had tickets months ago. With the money this school generates gettign a couple primetime ads on the major sports networks and local affiliates should be a no brainer. We have local ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and other affiliates that should be bombarded with ads and notifications of ticket deals and specials. Instead we have a commercial with Mike Hopkins, Desko, and Floyd Little that the casual local fan has zero idea who 2 out of 3 are. I cant tell you how many times someone has asked me about how season tickets and parkign passes and single game tickets and other things work at the Dome because they have no idea.
4. Parking - I know OrangeExtreme wont like this paragraph but the parking situation at the Dome is a nightmare. For us diehards we could care less but again im talking about the local "casual" fan the Admin is trying to attract not the regulars on this board. I wont re-hash this to death has the issues are well known. There is little to no room to tailgate around the dome and for that matter with the new construction of the law school there is less and less to park. I know some will say Skytop and the shuttle service are the answer but I disagree. Most casual fans who havent been attending games or go to maybe 1-2 a year have no clue about the parking at Manley and shuttle service or simply dont want to/refuse to park there for whatever reason. With the weather and other issues most fans want to be somewhere in the vacinity of the stadium. With the pay lots SU has now and the two parking garages VA/Public SU is meeting some of that demand. But with the current construction makign the roads a mess and lots dissapearing for new building construction the amount of spaces are slowly shrinking and is making it harder to park somewhere in the vacinity of the dome. I hope Dr. Gross really takes a look at perserving some of the pay lots especially the Fine Lot and the surrounding lots as they offer a great tailgating experience and helps the Athletic Dept raise a good chunk of money. As TexanMark noted the finelot is allready sold out this year.
5. Diehard fan base is at its max. - I find it funny when posters come on here to complain about the lack of attendance or Axeman or Marrone will metion it in a radio interview or on TW sports inside syracuse sidelines. Who do you think watches, listens, and comes to these sites = the diehard fan, were not the ones who aren't showing up or opting to watch it on TW sports or ESPN. Your not going to increase attendance by bitching on a post here at Syracusefan.com or having Bud P write some article in the Post Standard as again 95% of that audience is the diehard fan who is allready going to the game and pushing everyone they know to go to. I dont claim to have the answers to solve the attendance problem but please stop posting messages here telling everyone to get to the game. All the local diehards are at the game trust me.
If anyone else has other issues they feel are a factor I would love to hear it.
