One NYC take on the SU/PSU game...

[cto]

What this article says to me ...

I think Daryl Gross has the right idea with the "New York's College Team" marketing program. But the problem seems to be ... no one cares about college football in NYC. Providence?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/s...s.html?emc=edit_tnt_20130830&tntemail0=y&_r=0

 

[edowd26]

i don't understand people. Pro sports are great and all. BUT THEY AREN'T HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. And you can be a fan of both the college brand and the NFL brand. I blame all the hipsters and other terribles in large metro areas

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Zach Schonbrun is an SU and Columbia grad.

 

[All4SU]

The problem is the NYC market has been fragmented for too long. Had the east figured out how to put together and all sports conference back in the 50s and 60s, regional rivalries would have exploded. Instead, the big10, and pac10 and southwest And southeast markets embraced college football. And the colleges in the northeast stubbornly held onto their precious independence WAY too long. I don't know if it's too late now or not. But I don't think so. But I believe SU is doing the right thing by establishing a regular presence in the metro area. It is not going to happen overnight now. But the populace of NYC, Boston, Philly, have to relearn how to follow big time football. And it's going to take a regular buffet of "regional" teams to accomplish that. And that includes syracuse, penn state, Pittsburgh, and yes, ND and Boston college, and maybe even (gag) Buttgers.

It's still a shame that this conference doesn't exist. The NE corridor is still being fragmented between the ACC and the B10. But perhaps, just perhaps and inter-conference rivalry will light a fire under this market.

 

[HastingsCuse]

Is the Walt Hameline from Wagner College quoted in the article originally from New Hartford HS (Utica area)? There was a Walt Hameline that played football and basketball for New Hartford in the early 70s.

 

[Opus]

Hell this might be off topic and apologize if it is. I am a Mets fan. For years I had the Saturday 13 game plan at Shea. I got to know all my *neighbors*. (Pro sports fans) I lived (still do) in CNY and drove down early Saturday for the games. None of them really had a clue exactly where Syracuse was. I am not kidding. They knew it was in NY but...they def were not college fans and def not SU fans. Ok I'm only talking about a 14 person sample but...

Side note: I stopped getting the Saturday package when they went to Citi Field. Just couldn't afford it.

 

[Col. Bleep]

What this article says to me ...

I think Daryl Gross has the right idea with the "New York's College Team" marketing program. But the problem seems to be ... no one cares about college football in NYC. Providence?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/s...s.html?emc=edit_tnt_20130830&tntemail0=y&_r=0

The last line in the article is - unfortunately - right on the money:

“Syracuse is Syracuse,” Hameline said. “But if you’re a New Yorker (meaning resident of NYC), you think upstate is Westchester.”

"New York's College Team" is a clever slogan that means nothing in NYC except to the many alumni.

Haven't heard a word about the football game on NYC TV or radio. Not a word.

 

[Faegan]

I think that this program of downstate games needs to gain momentum. More of my alum friends are going this year. It takes time. Next year with ND should hopefully be even better.

 

[Doctor44]

Its also tough when we're down. I think we could get momentum if we were a top 25 team again, opening the season playing tennessee or north carolina at giant stadium. We need to continue to build the excitement of watching our team. If we can continue to do that, i think continuing to recruit, having summer camps, and playing games down there will help.

However, like was said above, the fragmentation hurts. There's ND fans, Penn State Fans, Syracuse fans and a myriad of other fans. Theres no real identifying default - like the Yankees. This is our town, our team. Theres no large consistency just supporting syracuse just because . . . yet. Hopefully we can get that going.

 

[Bayside44]

A bit of a side note, shame the Dolans and the West Side crowd killed a West Side Stadium. Going to the Meadowlands pretty much sucks as an experience.

 

[cto]

A bit of a side note, shame the Dolans and the West Side crowd killed a West Side Stadium. Going to the Meadowlands pretty much sucks as an experience.

Especially from Connecticut... And any other suburb on the east side of the Hudson. The prospect of spending a lifetime on the Cross Bronx Expressway and/or the George Washington Bridge... and then dealing with NJ traffic... is a huge turnoff. I will drive to Syracuse before I'll drive to New Jersey. In fact, I literally will not drive to New Jersey. Nothing but bad experiences. At least people in NYC can take public transportation to get there..

 

[Phillymoose]

A bit of a side note, shame the Dolans and the West Side crowd killed a West Side Stadium. Going to the Meadowlands pretty much sucks as an experience.

Damn straight. I still can't imagine the magnitude of awesome it would have been ..

 

[Faegan]

A bit of a side note, shame the Dolans and the West Side crowd killed a West Side Stadium. Going to the Meadowlands pretty much sucks as an experience.

Even as a NJ resident I don't like going to the Meadowlands. I'd vastly prefer going to the city. Not even close. Train in, Train out. So much easier and the surroundings are infinitely more desirable.

 

[Bayside44]

To expand, coming from the south, the Amtrak doesn't get you there. Get off in Newark then some combo of local trains if they're running, cab from Newark, etc...then try getting home. West Side stadium, Penn Station then out. And driving there sucks a tad less than FedEx (and that place blows).

 

[kcsu]

The last line in the article is - unfortunately - right on the money:

“Syracuse is Syracuse,” Hameline said. “But if you’re a New Yorker (meaning resident of NYC), you think upstate is Westchester.”

"New York's College Team" is a clever slogan that means nothing in NYC except to the many alumni.

Haven't heard a word about the football game on NYC TV or radio. Not a word.

He is a fool and Doc is a genius. Perception is reality and Doc didnt advertise Syracuse as NY team to New Yorkers. His goal was to create the perception for outsiders. Namely the other leagues

 

[JSOrange97]

Even as a NJ resident I don't like going to the Meadowlands. I'd vastly prefer going to the city. Not even close. Train in, Train out. So much easier and the surroundings are infinitely more desirable.

This is true only if you live near one of the NJ Transit lines with overhead electric as these are the only trains that actually go into the city. Otherwise you end up driving for a while anyway. As far as driving goes, the Meadowlands is convenient, though definitely not a desireable destination by itself. The good thing about the city is there are bars and restaurants...

 

[Toga]

Especially from Connecticut... And any other suburb on the east side of the Hudson. The prospect of spending a lifetime on the Cross Bronx Expressway and/or the George Washington Bridge... and then dealing with NJ traffic... is a huge turnoff. I will drive to Syracuse before I'll drive to New Jersey. In fact, I literally will not drive to New Jersey. Nothing but bad experiences. At least people in NYC can take public transportation to get there..

I have never not gotten lost driving in northern New Jersey. I can usually find my way anywhere, with or without map. Not northern NJ. Horrible signage. Packing a brandy new GPS. Fingers crossed.

 

[Scooch]

The allure of the NY market, of course, is it's sheer volume of population. Proportionally it's a lousy college football market, but as the article stated, in terms of a raw count of fans and viewers, there are still millions more than hotbeds like markets in the south and midwest.

Plus, a small amount of media attention in NY goes a lot further than a ton in, say, Birmingham.

In terms of the games at MetLife I've come full circle. I totally understood why Gross cut the deal, and supported it. Now that we have ACC revenue, and after seeing the paltry fan turnout we got last year (and will get today), I'd prefer SU find a way out of it after the ND series ends.

On MetLife Stadium, I've driven there a few times from CT and it wasn't terrible. Driving anywhere in the NYC area is a crapshoot. Might take me 75 minutes to get there today, or 3 hours. Same for getting to Queens, LI, etc. A west side stadium would've been sweet though.

 

[Crusty]

I grew up in CNY and lived and worked in Metro NYC for 30 years. That period covers good and bad times. IMHO, NY is a pro sports town for many reasons and that fact will not change.

1. Many sports fans are not from NYC or went to out of state schools. Their allegiance is elsewhere. (There are many more ND fans than SU, Rutgers, UCONN, St Johns together).
2. NY State University system does not play big-time sports and they are the largest institutions in the state. Nothing for these folks to root for except pro teams. They don't get a big-time college sports experience as in other state schools.
3. HS sports are nothing in NYS so the apathy starts early.
4. NYC pro teams have been very successful (at least some of them).
5. NYC is the ultimate media town - if it isn't in the news it didn't happen. The NYC media does not know where Syracuse is.
6. SU is an elite private institution and NY is at heart a blue collar sports town.
7. Back in the day NYU and LIU were the biggest sports stories in town (anyone remember Barry Kramer). That was before the emergence of pro sports and the point shaving scandal. Both dropped sports and the rest is history. NYU WAS New York's college team.
8. Yes, to New Yorkers, Westchester is Upstate NY. Buffalo is Canada,
9. NYC is a basketball town.
10. To anyone that thinks winning is required please explain Jets, Mets and Rangers fans to me.

Now, that said, I think Doc's program is worthwhile and is at least chicken soup - couldn't hoit. Playing games at Metlife is wise and notwithstanding the fair criticism of Central New Yorkers, you can't have it both ways - either you aggressively go after your share of the NYC market or you don't.

Go Doc! Go Orange!

 

[Brian Orange]

He is a fool and Doc is a genius. Perception is reality and Doc didnt advertise Syracuse as NY team to New Yorkers. His goal was to create the perception for outsiders. Namely the other leagues

This. You are exactly right. As well all know, most likely NYC will never adopt one team to be it's college football program.
Gross knows this. But there's not harm in aligning us with NYC and marketing the city as their team.

 

[Eric15]

I have never not gotten lost driving in northern New Jersey. I can usually find my way anywhere, with or without map. Not northern NJ. Horrible signage. Packing a brandy new GPS. Fingers crossed.

I have a very good sense of direction (or else I like to think I do) but whatever reason I find navigating Northern New Jersey to be incredibly tricky. A few years ago I was staying at a hotel near Newark Airport for a Seton Hall game, and I could see the hotel, but I just couldn't get to it. I was on the verge of a Blair Witch Project-esque meltdown.

 

[Bill Orange]

I have a very good sense of direction (or else I like to think I do) but whatever reason I find navigating Northern New Jersey to be incredibly tricky. A few years ago I was staying at a hotel near Newark Airport for a Seton Hall game, and I could see the hotel, but I just couldn't get to it. I was on the verge of a Blair Witch Project-esque meltdown.

I give you The Jug Handle.

 

[HtownOrange]

With the Yankees and Met Life stadiums promoting the college game, cfb in NYC will improve. It will take time but NYC love cfb before and will again as long as winners are coming to town. That is why with the Yankees and Giants/Jets organizations behind the efforts, fans will begin to tune in. They can bring in winners with high profiles.

 

[Moontan]

Its also tough when we're down. I think we could get momentum if we were a top 25 team again, opening the season playing tennessee or north carolina at giant stadium. We need to continue to build the excitement of watching our team. If we can continue to do that, i think continuing to recruit, having summer camps, and playing games down there will help.

I understand all that, just not UNC.

We should be playing all conference games and one attractive OOC game per year at the Dome... you know, as a home game.

MetLife games should be one-offs or part of a 1-1-1 series. Once the current ND series ends it should go 1-1-1 as well.

 

[007]

He is a fool and Doc is a genius. Perception is reality and Doc didnt advertise Syracuse as NY team to New Yorkers. His goal was to create the perception for outsiders. Namely the other leagues

I could not agree more, kcsu. This initiative, including the "home" games in NYC, has ALWYAS been about perception and long term survival.

Gross does not get anywhere near enough credit for this vision. And CNYers need to have a better appreciation for the bigger picture aspect of this. However, SU needs to capitalize on this by winning some of these games. This needs to happen sooner rather than later, IMO. The time is now...