Why College Football Is Studying Major League Soccer

[HeaterCuse22]

I have Verizon iPhone4g

Dump Verizon. Problem solved.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

At $99, each game costs about $16.50 per person. So you are correct that comes out to $66.00 for a family of four. Parking can be had for $12. You're up to $78. Tailgating can drastically reduce expenditures inside the Dome however as a father of a 10 and 6 year old I can promise you can't go through a game unscathed. Keep at least $20 or so for sodas, popcorn, and maybe some cotton candy to give them that extra energy burst late in the 2nd half. I share you concerns regarding parking which is why I park at Skytop. First it's the best place to tailgate for kids, much of the area is grass covered and there's an area away from the cars where they can go play football or whatever. My kids love the shuttle, passing Manley, Melo Center, and Greek Row. You get dropped off at the quad where there are lots of activities and free bounce houses for the kids. No hills to walk up or down either direction. Essentially you can do a live game with a family of 4 for around $100 comfortably. Dinner and a movie for the same clan would be just as much if not more. As for leaf raking, yes it has to be done, what's wrong with Sunday or early Sat morning? Heck I'm a rebel, I'll even rake leaves on a Wed after work just so I don't have to worry about it come gameday. I know...mind blown...

Lastly the memories I'm building with my kids are amazing. My 10 year old still remembers going to the Fine tailgate against UCONN on a Friday night during the Grob years. That's almost 5 years ago but he remembers. That is priceless.

You must be a banker or a teacher. (j/k)

As I also said its the kids sporting events. I take my kids to a couple games a year. I had seasons for years, it tailed off as they have grown. In a few years I could justify going to more, but it is what it is.

 

[Pyle]

You must be a banker or a teacher. (j/k)

As I also said its the kids sporting events. I take my kids to a couple games a year. I had seasons for years, it tailed off as they have grown. In a few years I could justify going to more, but it is what it is.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. My post is directed at all those on the fence. It is easy to come up with reasons to not go, but it is so worth it if you do.

 

[Scooch]

I would argue that the issue is rarely price, but rather priority.

Taking a family of four to the movies might run you around $60 (if you assume $10 tickets and 2 large popcorn/sodas). You may spend twice that for a football game at the Dome, but it's also one of 6 games you can attend each year as opposed to hundreds of opportunities to see movies in the theater.

I assume people schlep to the NYS Fair and drop a hundred bucks easy, as well as go to regional amusement parks, Disney on Ice, and stuff like that.

I mean, I was poking around on Stubhub last week to find a Sox game to take my family to... and if we want to sit in unobstructed seating not in the bleachers it'll cost me $500+ for four tickets. That's before $20 parking, concessions, etc.

Football at the Dome is a bargain...it's just not a priority for a lot of people.

 

[sufandu]

I would argue that the issue is rarely price, but rather priority.

Taking a family of four to the movies might run you around $60 (if you assume $10 tickets and 2 large popcorn/sodas). You may spend twice that for a football game at the Dome, but it's also one of 6 games you can attend each year as opposed to hundreds of opportunities to see movies in the theater.

I assume people schlep to the NYS Fair and drop a hundred bucks easy, as well as go to regional amusement parks, Disney on Ice, and stuff like that.

I mean, I was poking around on Stubhub last week to find a Sox game to take my family to... and if we want to sit in unobstructed seating not in the bleachers it'll cost me $500+ for four tickets. That's before $20 parking, concessions, etc.

Football at the Dome is a bargain...it's just not a priority for a lot of people.

I think it's price. My parents never took me to the movies when I was a kid. I went when I could pay my own way. We went to one football game a year through my high school years, but even then it just my dad and I. When we went to the fair, I can guarantee you they never spent $100 and we didn't go every year. There are a lot of people that don't make a lot of money. I had season tickets for a few years when I had a good job and was single. With what I make now, and having different financial obligations, if I was still living in the area, I couldn't financially justify going to more than one game a year.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. My post is directed at all those on the fence. It is easy to come up with reasons to not go, but it is so worth it if you do.

that's what j/k means - just kidding. Its not easy to come up with reasons I stated my factual reasoning. Either way, Lets go Orange.

 

[HeaterCuse22]

I would argue that the issue is rarely price, but rather priority.

Taking a family of four to the movies might run you around $60 (if you assume $10 tickets and 2 large popcorn/sodas). You may spend twice that for a football game at the Dome, but it's also one of 6 games you can attend each year as opposed to hundreds of opportunities to see movies in the theater.

I assume people schlep to the NYS Fair and drop a hundred bucks easy, as well as go to regional amusement parks, Disney on Ice, and stuff like that.

I mean, I was poking around on Stubhub last week to find a Sox game to take my family to... and if we want to sit in unobstructed seating not in the bleachers it'll cost me $500+ for four tickets. That's before $20 parking, concessions, etc.

Football at the Dome is a bargain...it's just not a priority for a lot of people.

I guess the question is, do I want to "Schlep" my family to other activities plus a couple of games or just to 6 home games. I can assure you I do not take multiple 4 person visits to the theater either. I haven't seen a movie in a theater in probably 3 years. Sorry I will choose a more diverse choice every time. Bottom line though is this , if I had or felt like I had enough disposable income to dedicate to it I would. And as I said, maybe when the kids a bit older, or even grown I can justify going more often or having season tickets for all 4 of us.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I wonder if some of these schools will look to host more "official viewing parties" for road games and alumni groups. Those seemed very successful during the World Cup and it seems like the big EPL clubs have places in most major cities where supporters gather to watch. Let's say you could partner with the alumni clubs and bars in big cities and generate revenue through either admission fees/donations.

For the sake of this hypothetical...Let's say you can get $500 per game from clubs in DC, NY, Boston, Chicago and LA. You do this for 10 fb games (sorry Nova and CMU) and you've got 20-25k (plus whatever you get from other areas) that could go right into the fb program. Is this realistic, or just the dumbest idea ever?

 

[Scooch]

I wonder if some of these schools will look to host more "official viewing parties" for road games and alumni groups. Those seemed very successful during the World Cup and it seems like the big EPL clubs have places in most major cities where supporters gather to watch. Let's say you could partner with the alumni clubs and bars in big cities and generate revenue through either admission fees/donations. For the sake of this hypothetical...Let's say you can get $500 per game from clubs in DC, NY, Boston, Chicago and LA. You do this for 10 fb games (sorry Nova and CMU) and you've got 20-25k (plus whatever you get from other areas) that could go right into the fb program. Is this realistic, or just the dumbest idea ever?

What would the value to the fan be for paying for access to an "official" gathering?

There are already scores of SU bars around the country that don't require some kind of entrance fee.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Giveaway items, raffles, opportunity to meet coaches/former players, etc. There are lots of things that could be provided by SU or sponsors as incentives. Say you go to the SU FB viewing party in DC and someone in attendance will win 2 tickets for SU-GTown and a Boeheim autograph?

I know that isn't what is happening with the soccer gatherings, but that's why I ask would people do this. I'm just throwing it out there because one of the things highlighted in the story is how connected the fans are to the team.

 

[Scooch]

Giveaway items, raffles, opportunity to meet coaches/former players, etc. There are lots of things that could be provided by SU or sponsors as incentives. Say you go to the SU FB viewing party in DC and someone in attendance will win 2 tickets for SU-GTown and a Boeheim autograph? I know that isn't what is happening with the soccer gatherings, but that's why I ask would people do this. I'm just throwing it out there because one of the things highlighted in the story is how connected the fans are to the team.

Gotcha. It's an interesting idea but I suspect it really wouldn't move the needle. Most SU alumni clubs already do this to some extent as well.

 

[Bayside44]

Giveaway items, raffles, opportunity to meet coaches/former players, etc. There are lots of things that could be provided by SU or sponsors as incentives. Say you go to the SU FB viewing party in DC and someone in attendance will win 2 tickets for SU-GTown and a Boeheim autograph?

I know that isn't what is happening with the soccer gatherings, but that's why I ask would people do this. I'm just throwing it out there because one of the things highlighted in the story is how connected the fans are to the team.

DC needs to bring back sports night before anything else.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

They also have no hockey or basketball teams. That's 82 total sporting events that they don't have that most major sports cities do.

Yeah, I was going to say, out here in SLC we have Real and they do pretty well. I know a bunch of people that have season tix for Real, or at the least go to a bunch of Real games, and I've NEVER heard of these guys going to any BYU or Utes football or basketball games, or even any Jazz games. I think the sports fan that attends MLS likes MLS, and is not necessarily an all around sports fan, in general (I know, I know, that's why I said in general).

College football looking at MLS attendance to understand how to boost their audience could be akin to a sitcom trying looking at what a game show does in order to increase their own viewership. The audiences are just different.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

This thread is brutal to read. I understand that it is because you guys have absolutely no knowledge of the game but, wow, some of the ignorance in this thread is ridiculous. College programs are trying to learn from MLS organizations because those teams have created a great game-day experience that is particularly successful with the younger generation. It is fairly simple. It has nothing to do with the differences in the two very different football sports. The MLS is, I think, the only US major sports league with an increasing average attendance as a whole so they obviously are doing something right.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I don't pay any attention to MLS because its not the best of its sport and I have no hometown connection to any team.

you must miss a lot of great college sporting events then because you can't be connected to every team in college and you only watch the best which would be professional, not college.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I do not understand you guys saying that a football game is too long. This isn't baseball with 160+ games. There are 12 regular season games and only 6 of them at home. SU games are an event in my household. Home games are all day events. I don't want it to be shorter. I get to the Hill a good 3 hours before kickoff and sometimes hang out for an hour after the game depending on who's still in my area. It's 6 days out of 365. You really can't give up a few days out of the year and just go with it? Keep your 2 hour soccer games, it's part of the reason I don't go to more BB games. The games are so short that it's barely worth the hassle of driving up to the dome, fighting traffic, and walking up the hill in the bitter cold for a game that's over in less time that it took me to get there and get back out. At least with football the ratio of time spent getting to and leaving the event vs time spent enjoying myself is within reason.

as I read the statement it's not the football that makes it worth going, it's the ancillary events of tailgating and socializing aspects of it. That's cool too.

 

[SU2NASA]

This thread is brutal to read. I understand that it is because you guys have absolutely no knowledge of the game but, wow, some of the ignorance in this thread is ridiculous. College programs are trying to learn from MLS organizations because those teams have created a great game-day experience that is particularly successful with the younger generation. It is fairly simple. It has nothing to do with the differences in the two very different football sports. The MLS is, I think, the only US major sports league with an increasing average attendance as a whole so they obviously are doing something right.

I love how anyone that enjoys watching paint dry assumes that any of us that find the sport boring as sin don't understand it. I've played it, I've followed teams, I've been to the World Cup, and I've really tried to like it.

I know the sport. I find it to be somewhere below watching Say Yes To The Dress in entertainment value.

 

[Pyle]

as I read the statement it's not the football that makes it worth going, it's the ancillary events of tailgating and socializing aspects of it. That's cool too.

It's everything, all of those things you mentioned, plus the ritual of touching the Ernie Davis statue with my boys, Hearing the marching band play in the quad, watching the pregame video, yelling Booooo at the other team when they come in, and watching guys like Doug Hogue plant Tom Savage in the turf. I !$#%&! LOVE FOOTBALL! All of it. The whole day. I plan my life around home games.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Wake me in 4 years when soccer is relevant again.

There are actually a handful of very entertaining teams in MLS, if you like the sport.

Sporting KC has Zusi and Besler from the World Cup, Seattle Sounders feature Clint Dempsey and a good attacker named Obafemi Martins, LA Galaxy has Landon Donovan, Omar Gonazalez and Robbie Keane, NY Red Bulls have Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips, and Real Salt Lake have Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando in goal.

 

[IthacaMatt]

i agree with everything you say about american soccer weakness. lousy first touches, quick to panic. can't hustle your way to world cups. teams that control possession do end up winning usually. if the game would allow those teams to score more, maybe we'd see more of that more attractive style of play. champions league fares better than world cup. maybe the world cup isn't as good as I want it to be.

Yes, Champions League is the very best of the sport. Those games are wonderful to watch.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

I love how anyone that enjoys watching paint dry assumes that any of us that find the sport boring as sin don't understand it. I've played it, I've followed teams, I've been to the World Cup, and I've really tried to like it.

I know the sport. I find it to be somewhere below watching Say Yes To The Dress in entertainment value.

The rest of the world says the exact same thing about american football.

 

[SU2NASA]

The rest of the world says the exact same thing about american football.

Screw the rest of the world.

 

[jekelish]

For me, the reason I would want WiFi at the Dome is that battery life on iPhones is significantly better when you use WiFi over the data plan. If I'm going to be at a game for 3-4 hours without a chance to charge my phone, I want the battery to last as long as possible. I am on my phone constantly checking Twitter, ESPN, etc during games.

 

[Pyle]

This thread is brutal to read. I understand that it is because you guys have absolutely no knowledge of the game but, wow, some of the ignorance in this thread is ridiculous. College programs are trying to learn from MLS organizations because those teams have created a great game-day experience that is particularly successful with the younger generation. It is fairly simple. It has nothing to do with the differences in the two very different football sports. The MLS is, I think, the only US major sports league with an increasing average attendance as a whole so they obviously are doing something right.

MLS saw a slight dropoff between 2012 to 2013 of about 1.1%. The WC will probably provide a boost but even so, avg MLS attendance is around 19k (being generous and rounding up) while the NFL still averages over 60K(being stingy and rounding down). As for college ball, in 2012, 48,958,547 fans attended college football games at all 644 NCAA schools, including one conference topping seven million fans for the first time ever. This attendance marks the third-highest total in history and includes home games, neutral-site games and postseason contests. I don't see how the MLS can help boost attendance when college football already dwarfs MLS almost 2.5 to 1. What I got from that article is that Sports Innovation seems to have some great ideas, and that UF panicked when the students stopped showing up because they suck. If UF wants to learn how to the the students back, they could start by not losing to Georgia Southern. Also this: Sporting KC pays for their fans to attend road games. Ummmmmm what?!?!?!?! I'm willing to bet you could sell alot more SU season tickets too if you got free tix to road games but if you think SU is going to start ponying up to send people to Clemson then you're insane.

 

[cuseincincy]

This thread is brutal to read. I understand that it is because you guys have absolutely no knowledge of the game but, wow, some of the ignorance in this thread is ridiculous. College programs are trying to learn from MLS organizations because those teams have created a great game-day experience that is particularly successful with the younger generation. It is fairly simple. It has nothing to do with the differences in the two very different football sports. The MLS is, I think, the only US major sports league with an increasing average attendance as a whole so they obviously are doing something right.

No knowledge of the game? Admittedly I only played soccer for 5 years so I must know nothing about the game. My oldest son played the game for 4 years, my youngest son is still playing the game and has for 9 years. My wife coached soccer for 10 years and played organized soccer for over 25 years. I get the game, I know where players should be positioned and who they should pass to and what players should do after they pass the ball. A 1-0 championship game at the supposed highest level of the sport is/was a snoozer. And to your last point on attendance...just as relevant as your point is the fact that the World Wiffleball League (WWL) had a 100% increase in attendance last year when the coaches wife had a baby.
NFL games need not be played or watched in Europe and Premier League games need not be played or watched in the USA. Nothing wrong with that. Doesn't make one better than the other or more entertaining to any one person. Every 4 years soccer is kind of interesting and full of flavor kind of like Juicyfuit gum. The rest of the time its just ugly gray stuff stuck to the bottom of my shoe.