From a student’s perspective

Animal02

Banned
Messages
6,269
Location
Southeastern Michigan
Those 404 the culture shirts should literally be all over the metro. Should be selling them at high schools games and events.

To get people at the stadium and in the stands they’ll have to be a concerted effort to getting youth in the game. They not paying $40 to see GT.
Why would a H.S. kid by a 404 shirt when their cell phone is 470 or 770?
 

LibertyTurns

Banned
Messages
6,216
Are you sure about that? The WSJ compiled a database of 2017 data which showed GT's announced attendance of 281,310 while scanned tickets were only 203,358.

https://graphics.wsj.com/table/Ncaaattendance_082718
There’s are some believable numbers. It looked like we had 30-35k in 2017 & we don't have numbers obviously but maybe a bit less this year. It certainly isn’t shockingly lower this year but it’s noticeable enough that people around me have commented on the sparse crowds. The one that made me scratch my head was the opener against USF. I’d have though with the regime’s first home game we’d have had a solid crowd. I was stunned by the difference between what I thought we’d have hyped to & what we actually got.
 

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,760
That is the gate count. Don't trust your eyes, they will deceive you. GTAA reports scanned tickets at the gate as attendance.

I've walked in without my ticket even being scanned. Thought it was weird, and couldn't figure why they wouldn't scan it.
As for the attendance, I find it really difficult to believe over 40,000 were there either for this homecoming or last. Just doesn't seem possible. My eyes can deceive me, but not that much.
 
Messages
13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
I've walked in without my ticket even being scanned. Thought it was weird, and couldn't figure why they wouldn't scan it.
As for the attendance, I find it really difficult to believe over 40,000 were there either for this homecoming or last. Just doesn't seem possible. My eyes can deceive me, but not that much.
I think my ticket has been scanned every game, but I have been "wanded" for security every game. I didn't understand that when it happened, but I didn't complain. LOL
 

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
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7,760
I think my ticket has been scanned every game, but I have been "wanded" for security every game. I didn't understand that when it happened, but I didn't complain. LOL

I didn't exactly complain, but I thought it was weird that I put the ticket up there for them to scan it and they said not to worry about it or something like that. Still can't figure that one out. It was either a stubhub or seatgeek ticket.
 
Messages
13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
I didn't exactly complain, but I thought it was weird that I put the ticket up there for them to scan it and they said not to worry about it or something like that. Still can't figure that one out. It was either a stubhub or seatgeek ticket.
I should have typed that I have NOT been "wanded" for security every game. I'm not sure some of the gate-keepers really even pay attention to what they are doing.
 

FlatsLander

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
926
Regardless of the whole attendance debate, there seems to be no crowd involvement compared to recent years. By crowd involvement, I mostly mean creating pressure when we're on defense. Like yelling on 3rd down or ideally all downs on defense. Even when we're on offense, it seems like we're silent. I was in section 215, the upper deck above the band, and I could hear our QB do his cadence from the field. Normally, general crowd chatter would at least cover that up. I think the difference compared to previous years is that we were scoring touchdowns on like 1/3 of our drives. Now we're scoring touchdowns on like 1/10 drives and the crowd is completely drained after 3 drives of little production. I think the production crew should be doing a lot more to excite the crowd. Like directing the Yellow Jacket cheer sometime before the last 5 minutes of the game. Even replacing the money down thing with the generic "Make some noise" on the screen would do more I would think. Maybe I'm just in a quiet section. Hopefully we're on the way to fixing it.
 
Messages
13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
Regardless of the whole attendance debate, there seems to be no crowd involvement compared to recent years. By crowd involvement, I mostly mean creating pressure when we're on defense. Like yelling on 3rd down or ideally all downs on defense. Even when we're on offense, it seems like we're silent. I was in section 215, the upper deck above the band, and I could hear our QB do his cadence from the field. Normally, general crowd chatter would at least cover that up. I think the difference compared to previous years is that we were scoring touchdowns on like 1/3 of our drives. Now we're scoring touchdowns on like 1/10 drives and the crowd is completely drained after 3 drives of little production. I think the production crew should be doing a lot more to excite the crowd. Like directing the Yellow Jacket cheer sometime before the last 5 minutes of the game. Even replacing the money down thing with the generic "Make some noise" on the screen would do more I would think. Maybe I'm just in a quiet section. Hopefully we're on the way to fixing it.
Sadly, there has been little to get very excited about this year, so that accounts for some of it. In the upper east, however, when there is something to get worked up about, we DO make noise, although again probably not as much as in the past. Personally, I hate the jumbotron exhortations to make some noise or do the "YELLOW" / "JACKETS" cheer. It just seems so artificial and phony. Mic the cheerleaders and get them to exhort the entire stadium, and not just the student section. Also, only semi-related to this, if they're going to throw t-shirts to the crowd, then do it throughout the stadium and not just to the students and sometimes to the lower west, especially since the PA man is telling people to yell for shirts. Send cheerleaders to every portal in the Tech sections of the stadium and throw them there.
 

JacketRacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
435
Sadly, there has been little to get very excited about this year, so that accounts for some of it. In the upper east, however, when there is something to get worked up about, we DO make noise, although again probably not as much as in the past. Personally, I hate the jumbotron exhortations to make some noise or do the "YELLOW" / "JACKETS" cheer. It just seems so artificial and phony. Mic the cheerleaders and get them to exhort the entire stadium, and not just the student section. Also, only semi-related to this, if they're going to throw t-shirts to the crowd, then do it throughout the stadium and not just to the students and sometimes to the lower west, especially since the PA man is telling people to yell for shirts. Send cheerleaders to every portal in the Tech sections of the stadium and throw them there.

Oh don't get me started about the Yellow/Jackets thing. I like it when the cheerleaders do it and it spreads naturally, but at the Pitt game it was so offsync between the crowd and the jumbotron that it just became a jumbled mess.
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,152
I haven’t decided whether you’re agreeing with me or not.

In simplest terms, while Tech *may* win, I don’t think the school (not the AA), *cares* if it wins. If you were to poll the faculty, I’ll bet 80% would say to end sports all together.

That’s what I mean by mediocrity. The Hill could care less whether we’re Rice or Alabama. And I think that mentality finds itself into the student population and to some extent, the fan base.
I sorta agree.

The Tech faculty I know aren't wedded to the sports programs, but they do like to go to the occasional event and they want Tech to win when they do. The students aren't as hepped up by Tech sports as they used to be, but this is a common problem in almost all sports programs. Even Bammer has problems with attendance. Some of this is the result of the slow decline of interest in football nationwide, some the result of rising academic standards. Again, however, they do like to go to a game every now and then and they want Tech to win when they do. As for the Hill, I think they want a program that will engage the alums and state pols and keep contributions and appropriations flowing. That means developing programs that win. If it turns out we can't do that in the ACC, I think they'd switch us to the AAC (there'll be an opening next year) or some other conference in a New York minute. What they don't care about is whether Tech has a "nationally ranked program" in any sport.

Of course, they won't say that or promote it. And the underlying lack of enthusiasm is not something that will lead to a commitment to make Tech competitive with nationally ranked programs. In that sense, I think you are spot on. That doesn't mean that we can't have a right decent country football program, however; we've done it before and we'll probably do it again.
 
Messages
13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
I sorta agree.

The Tech faculty I know aren't wedded to the sports programs, but they do like to go to the occasional event and they want Tech to win when they do. The students aren't as hepped up by Tech sports as they used to be, but this is a common problem in almost all sports programs. Even Bammer has problems with attendance. Some of this is the result of the slow decline of interest in football nationwide, some the result of rising academic standards. Again, however, they do like to go to a game every now and then and they want Tech to win when they do. As for the Hill, I think they want a program that will engage the alums and state pols and keep contributions and appropriations flowing. That means developing programs that win. If it turns out we can't do that in the ACC, I think they'd switch us to the AAC (there'll be an opening next year) or some other conference in a New York minute. What they don't care about is whether Tech has a "nationally ranked program" in any sport.

Of course, they won't say that or promote it. And the underlying lack of enthusiasm is not something that will lead to a commitment to make Tech competitive with nationally ranked programs. In that sense, I think you are spot on. That doesn't mean that we can't have a right decent country football program, however; we've done it before and we'll probably do it again.
I was no Gailey fan, but even under him, and certainly under O'Leary, we had more than a "right decent country football program." I definitely think we will do it again, and there's no need to go to a lower conference to do it.
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
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6,152
I was no Gailey fan, but even under him, and certainly under O'Leary, we had more than a "right decent country football program." I definitely think we will do it again, and there's no need to go to a lower conference to do it.
Yes, and Paul outdid Gailey as well. We can do pretty well every now and then when the athletes fit and can master the Xs and Os. Dodd showed that, as did Ross, O'Leary, Paul, and, less often, Gailey.

But … I don't think staying in the ACC is written in stone. If everybody keeps being upset at "mediocre" results (i.e. winning seasons where we don't win 8 - 11 games), then I wouldn't be surprised to see a switch.
 
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13,443
Location
Augusta, GA
Yes, and Paul outdid Gailey as well. We can do pretty well every now and then when the athletes fit and can master the Xs and Os. Dodd showed that, as did Ross, O'Leary, Paul, and, less often, Gailey.

But … I don't think staying in the ACC is written in stone. If everybody keeps being upset at "mediocre" results (i.e. winning seasons where we don't win 8 - 11 games), then I wouldn't be surprised to see a switch.
A switch like one to the AAC would pretty much guarantee an empty stadium.
 
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