Fanbase Size

[Richard7125]

As a sidewalk fan, the only snobbery that I find annoying is when we lose a game and certain fans say things like “well our guys are actual student athletes. They take real classes”. There are plenty of real student athletes elsewhere, just as there are some prominent Tech players I know who got off relatively easy for GT standards. Most importantly though, it’s just sore losing.

Tech is a really good school, but the delusion of many of our alumni that Tech is somehow God’s gift to higher education is comical. The frequent comments that degrees from other schools are essentially worthless says more about the insecurity of our alumni than anything else (eg if this person transfers from Tech he is sacrificing his future to play one more year of football). It’s awesome being proud of Tech, but denigrating the academics of other schools does not elevate Tech in most peoples eyes.

Regarding football players, if you had (20) 5 star players wanting to go to Tech, Tech would find away to get most of these guys accepted. Tech isn’t turning all of these players away.

 

[yeti92]

Tech is a really good school, but the delusion of many of our alumni that Tech is somehow God’s gift to higher education is comical. The frequent comments that degrees from other schools are essentially worthless says more about the insecurity of our alumni than anything else (eg if this person transfers from Tech he is sacrificing his future to play one more year of football). It’s awesome being proud of Tech, but denigrating the academics of other schools does not elevate Tech in most peoples eyes.

Regarding football players, if you had (20) 5 star players wanting to go to Tech, Tech would find away to get most of these guys accepted. Tech isn’t turning all of these players away.

Degrees from other schools are not worthless, but for the most part they are worth less. A Tech degree is an advantage in life.

 

[Vespidae]

Degrees from other schools are not worthless, but for the most part they are worth less. A Tech degree is an advantage in life.

I was in a senior level Mechanical Engineering class once and the prof had his Phd from MIT. He was teaching in the SSTC lecture hall and started at one end and spent the entire hour expanding, mathematically, a theorem. At the end of class, he summed up the equation by drawing a box around it (standard engineering conclusion.)

Then, pointing at the box, he said, "At Auburn, they give you this". He stepped back and waved his hands over two floor-to-ceiling blackboards, "And at Tech, we give you THIS."

I have taught at several institutions in Georgia, Tennessee and of course, at Auburn. I can't speak for others, but Tech was significantly more advanced academically than others. Tech's reputation is well-deserved.

 

[roadkill]

There is also a heavy dose of urban vs rural thing we see played out in politics all over the country. No matter how much we try, being in ATL will put us in the 'city slickers' category as it relates to small-town GA. I don't think it near as much snobbery as it is a presumed snobbery.

I grew up as country-as-they-come in small-town GA, and still have that world-view in lots of things. But when I go home I have to try extra hard not to be seen as a sell-out to urbanity.

I think getting the boys at the Feed and Seed to care about GT football will be really, really hard. It might not even be worth the effort. They aren't in our target demographic and we'd have to change our brand to identify with them (to put it into stark business words.)

Our Brand and Points of Difference for attracting fans need to be authentic to who we are, and trying to appeal to everyone is always a mistake. I think our best brand is to be the "Dr. Pepper" of the state's football.

We are bold, quirky and, most importantly, an alternative to the 'norm'.

Agree.

This may not be a popular opinion at the moment, but I saw TFG's attempt to brand GT as "Atlanta's Team" as strategic. Half the population of Georgia is in the metro area and we face growing competition from other local teams. We needed something to grow the fanbase locally, and if we don't try to claim the Atlanta area as our own, Ga State might in the future.

 

[bobongo]

Agree.

This may not be a popular opinion at the moment, but I saw TFG's attempt to brand GT as "Atlanta's Team" as strategic. Half the population of Georgia is in the metro area and we face growing competition from other local teams. We needed something to grow the fanbase locally, and if we don't try to claim the Atlanta area as our own, Ga State might in the future.

Just win, period.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

That is how I justify the expense of a GT Swarm membership.

Speaking of which, you're two months behind on your payments.

 

[85Escape]

Agree.

This may not be a popular opinion at the moment, but I saw TFG's attempt to brand GT as "Atlanta's Team" as strategic. Half the population of Georgia is in the metro area and we face growing competition from other local teams. We needed something to grow the fanbase locally, and if we don't try to claim the Atlanta area as our own, Ga State might in the future.

TL;DR - It's more than ATL. We need to win the urban demographic including the burbs.
------
I'd go beyond Atlanta. Augusta, Macon and Savannah should be part of the story as well. Draw a distinct line between us the Dawgs by painting the dawg fans as those stuck in the past and yesterday's choice. I think the key is take to become the urban choice and then try to win the burbs. As we saw this week, the burbs are the key as the urban / rural divide is fairly even for now, so those that win the burbs win the race.

I personally wouldn't go urban too specifically...trying to appeal to only Hip-Hop or only the Gentrified is way too narrow (which was TFG's mistake, imho.) Go generally urban, but multi-cultural. Instead of glorifying the old south, be the emblem of the new south. There can be little debate that GT was a driver in the growth of the south by bringing technology-capable young men (and eventually women) to poor and rural south in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Embrace that.

Be the modern option that has messaging that resonates with a generally urban mindset, but welcomes all like-minded peoples. But stay on-brand while doing it. Not all the flashy stuff the TFG did...be Classic Modern with a nod to Tradition, not New Fangled Splash Glam.

Remember, we should target the urban mindset but recognize that if we don't win a fair share of the burbs it is a losing strategy. Targeting the people in my little country hometown is not a wise strategy...let them root for UGA. They won't like us no matter what we do because we represent something they dislike.

 

[bobongo]

We need to win

 

[4shotB]

Speaking of which, you're two months behind on your payments.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Augusta, Macon and Savannah should be part of the story as well.

The Augusta Chronicle website has absolutely no GT sports coverage unless they are playing uga, Clemson, or South Carolina. GT surrendered the state to the factories a long time ago.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

 

[roadkill]

TL;DR - It's more than ATL. We need to win the urban demographic including the burbs.
------
I'd go beyond Atlanta. Augusta, Macon and Savannah should be part of the story as well. Draw a distinct line between us the Dawgs by painting the dawg fans as those stuck in the past and yesterday's choice. I think the key is take to become the urban choice and then try to win the burbs. As we saw this week, the burbs are the key as the urban / rural divide is fairly even for now, so those that win the burbs win the race.

I personally wouldn't go urban too specifically...trying to appeal to only Hip-Hop or only the Gentrified is way too narrow (which was TFG's mistake, imho.) Go generally urban, but multi-cultural. Instead of glorifying the old south, be the emblem of the new south. There can be little debate that GT was a driver in the growth of the south by bringing technology-capable young men (and eventually women) to poor and rural south in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Embrace that.

Be the modern option that has messaging that resonates with a generally urban mindset, but welcomes all like-minded peoples. But stay on-brand while doing it. Not all the flashy stuff the TFG did...be Classic Modern with a nod to Tradition, not New Fangled Splash Glam.

Remember, we should target the urban mindset but recognize that if we don't win a fair share of the burbs it is a losing strategy. Targeting the people in my little country hometown is not a wise strategy...let them root for UGA. They won't like us no matter what we do because we represent something they dislike.

I agree with most of your suggestions - but to clarify my earlier comment, when I said "Atlanta" and "Atlanta area", I was speaking of the Atlanta Metro Area, which includes the 'burbs. I know that's not exactly what TFG's emphasis was in his branding, but his intent was directionally correct.

 

[85Escape]

The Augusta Chronicle website has absolutely no GT sports coverage unless they are playing uga, Clemson, or South Carolina. GT surrendered the state to the factories a long time ago.

Yep. Same with Savannah, and technically GT had a campus there for a while. But that doesn't mean we couldn't make a run at being relevant in the other cities again, particularly now that they are quite a bit larger as everyone has moved south.

 

[gte447f]

I was in a senior level Mechanical Engineering class once and the prof had his Phd from MIT. He was teaching in the SSTC lecture hall and started at one end and spent the entire hour expanding, mathematically, a theorem. At the end of class, he summed up the equation by drawing a box around it (standard engineering conclusion.)

Then, pointing at the box, he said, "At Auburn, they give you this". He stepped back and waved his hands over two floor-to-ceiling blackboards, "And at Tech, we give you THIS."

I have taught at several institutions in Georgia, Tennessee and of course, at Auburn. I can't speak for others, but Tech was significantly more advanced academically than others. Tech's reputation is well-deserved.

I’m an alum. I know e-mag, re-mag, and 3-mag. I get Tech. I agree with your take that Tech is different, even from most other technology programs, like auburn for example. It’s interesting to hear your take on this as someone who has taught/teaches at other universities. Tech is in a league of only a handful of other technology programs in the country and the world. If you get out of Tech, I believe it can be a unique life advantage that you would not have otherwise. I also believe it is something to be proud of, and if you want to be an elitist snob about it and hold it over the head of ugag alums in good fun, I’m all for that, but that is where it should stop. To be elitist or snobbish about our Tech degrees to people in the state that might have gone to other colleges or might not have gone to college at all is poor form, or bad manners as most of our mothers would have said. The alumni fan base doesn’t do the football program any favors by being academic snobs toward other people. It’s a turnoff and makes people feel judged and unwelcome, which of course turns would be sidewalk fans away. I’m not accusing you of doing this Vespidae. These are just some of my thoughts on the elitist attitude perception of GT grads that we read about on here sometimes.

 

[Dustman]

I’m an alum. I know e-mag, re-mag, and 3-mag. I get Tech. I agree with your take that Tech is different, even from most other technology programs, like auburn for example. It’s interesting to hear your take on this as someone who has taught/teaches at other universities. Tech is in a league of only a handful of other technology programs in the country and the world. If you get out of Tech, I believe it can be a unique life advantage that you would not have otherwise. I also believe it is something to be proud of, and if you want to be an elitist snob about it and hold it over the head of ugag alums in good fun, I’m all for that, but that is where it should stop. To be elitist or snobbish about our Tech degrees to people in the state that might have gone to other colleges or might not have gone to college at all is poor form, or bad manners as most of our mothers would have said. The alumni fan base doesn’t do the football program any favors by being academic snobs toward other people. It’s a turnoff and makes people feel judged and unwelcome, which of course turns would be sidewalk fans away. I’m not accusing you of doing this Vespidae. These are just some of my thoughts on the elitist attitude perception of GT grads that we read about on here sometimes.

Well stated. Alums need to draw a line between their school experience and the football team. Any college football team. Most of us have no idea what it’s like to be a collegiate student athlete.

 

[roadkill]

As an alum, I don't mind dishing out the jokes when it comes to ugag comparisons, but I agree that the last thing we need to grow our fanbase is to come across as generally snobbish/elitist.

 

[85Escape]

As an alum, I don't mind dishing out the jokes when it comes to ugag comparisons, but I agree that the last thing we need to grow our fanbase is to come across as generally snobbish/elitist.

I think this is a double-standard, frankly.

"It Just Means More" is 100% elitism. It's all most of them have got to be really proud of, so I don't hold it against them. Of course SEC schools want to say that academics don't matter when it comes to college sports. Of course they want to say it's just an excuse that other schools use to explain their failures. If you buy into that then I'd suggest that you are victim of their propaganda.

This isn't a professional sport (yet), so the school and it's athletics are intrinsically linked.

I think we should be proud that our SAs graduate and typically have pretty darn successful post-playing careers. I'm not sure that is as true at other places (although honestly I only have anecdotal stories to go on.) But to not use that as part of our appeal, and to not advertise it as an advantage, seems frankly stupid.

We shouldn't pretend to be something we aren't just so other's aren't threatened by it. We can't limit our advantages because it offends our enemies.

 

[deeznats]

"It Just Means More" is 100% elitism.

It's only elitism if it's actually true which is why they get away with it. It's like a supermodel claiming that she's beautiful... that's elitism. But when Lizzo says it, it's empowering.

 

[85Escape]

It's only elitism if it's actually true which is why they get away with it. It's like a supermodel claiming that she's beautiful... that's elitism. But when Lizzo says it, it's empowering.

So, when SEC schools say "We are just as good at academics as GT" that's empowering! I was wondering why they were saying that

 

[Vespidae]

I'm not sure that is as true at other places (although honestly I only have anecdotal stories to go on.) But to not use that as part of our appeal, and to not advertise it as an advantage, seems frankly stupid.

We shouldn't pretend to be something we aren't just so other's aren't threatened by it. We can't limit our advantages because it offends our enemies.

One should always strive to be authentic.

Personally, I made the decision to apply to Tech for the reason that it WAS hard. I wanted to be challenged. And I was. I will also say, I have never met a problem that I would not attempt to solve. Tech builds confidence.

Look, Tech is NOT for everyone. You can go to any grocery store in Alabama and buy swag in between the chicken fingers and the chitlins. And most of those buying it have never been to the University and probably couldn't spell Alabama 2 out of 3 times. IIWII.

Tech, by it's nature, will always be a small fanbase. I'm fine with that.