Has fan apathy already set in?

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Maybe. I guess I remember the east stands being well populated after I graduated in 2004. No one’s there anymore.

Based on what I saw on the jumbotron yesterday, the north end of the upper east stands was packed. But, as a whole, the upper east "population" decreased astronomically when DRad initiated the ticket fees. Every other school in the country probably has ticket fees, but he just did not handle that in a fan-friendly manner, and we lost a lot.

 

[slugboy]

If they are not going to give the season-ticket-holder discount, then they need to take down the signs that say they do. The concessions in the upper east all have those discount signs up. That's false advertising.

It’s just at “select” concessions, like Burdell’s Bites.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

It’s just at “select” concessions, like Burdell’s Bites.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So you are saying that SOME concessions offer it, while others don't? I never go to the concessions (other than the frozen lemonade carts), so I don't know, but I do know they have discount signs posted in the upper east.

 

[Vespidae]

It’s just at “select” concessions, like Burdell’s Bites.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand. But, other schools make you feel special ... like a loyal customer. Other than my seat, I’d do better with a StingerPass or StubHub. One site includes Tech games as part of a monthly fee.

 

[SteamWhistle]

45k was the number they said and I think they were pretty close. Those saying 35,000, there was 38,000 last years homecoming against UVA, one look at the stands comparing those two games shows there were easily more then 35,000.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Yes Apathy has set in.

It's only going to get worst. This Coach is in over his head. He hasn't surrounded himself with capable people. This will probably get ugly.

Fire him now! Hire a football coach, not some used car salesman. We can win a press conference, but this guy will never really win at Tech.

This is awful

I remember the 80's and the Bill Lewis years. I always joked that BL ruined us on purpose because he was a UGA guy.

GC is just isn't ready.

He did a great job of selling himself and his love for Tech.

He isn't a head coach.

This sucks

Did you feel good about Pastner after year 1? Because based on how you judge someone’s first season you should have, and how did that turn out?

 

[GT_EE78]

Based on what I saw on the jumbotron yesterday, the north end of the upper east stands was packed. But, as a whole, the upper east "population" decreased astronomically when DRad initiated the ticket fees. Every other school in the country probably has ticket fees, but he just did not handle that in a fan-friendly manner, and we lost a lot.

what are "ticket fees" ?

 

[Vespidae]

Yes Apathy has set in.

It's only going to get worst. This Coach is in over his head. He hasn't surrounded himself with capable people. This will probably get ugly.

Fire him now! Hire a football coach, not some used car salesman. We can win a press conference, but this guy will never really win at Tech.

This is awful

I remember the 80's and the Bill Lewis years. I always joked that BL ruined us on purpose because he was a UGA guy.

GC is just isn't ready.

He did a great job of selling himself and his love for Tech.

He isn't a head coach.

This sucks

Please step away from the ledge. Call friends and family. Hug your dog. Use Uber.

 

[GTThor]

No, I did not feel good about him.

Unfortunately, I did feel good about Hewitt.

Pastner coaches basketball, which isn't nearly as important in the south. Most Tech people don't pay attention to the basketball program anymore.

I did think Hewitt would be here forever.

I was wrong and willing to admit it.

 

[MikeGT]

That may have been the paid attendance. The stadium was half empty. It’s to the point where the norm in the east stands, let alone the north deck and student section, are a bunch of people dressed up as empty seats.

If one measured at the beginning of the game, I thought it was going to be pretty empty, but there was a later arriving crowd that actually filled in more than I expected. The student section ended up being decent, the bottom half of the upper North was pretty full, and I could actually see people over in the club section. I'm sure there weren't 45 k, but

I know this isn’t the end all be all way of measuring our interest or lack of interest, but it seems the Post Game threads are slowly getting shorter and shorter. Obviously an older thread probably has more replies, but if you just judge the number of pages per thread on the day they were posted you have these numbers:

UNC post game: 10 pages

Temple post game: 14 pages

The Citadel post game: 36 pages

USF Post Game: 16 pages

Clemson Post Game: 4 pages( kick off was 8pm, so this couldn’t have been posted earlier than like 10pm)

The Citadel post game thread is unique because we were in full meltdown mode, but it does seem like there is a trend of the post game threads being less and less active. Again, I realize this is not necessarily the best way to judge fan interest, but it seems interesting, nevertheless.

Personally, I am normally in a bad mood and have a hard time enjoying other games all Saturday when we lose, but the last two weeks I have pretty much completely moved on five minutes after the game. I’ll still be at Bobby Dodd and watch every game, but I’d be lying to you if I told you I feel the same way now that I did right before kickoff against Clemson at the beginning of the year.

What about you guys? Anyone worried about fan apathy or feeling a little yourself?

We are 1-4, so certainly there will be some apathy, and particularly for those who aren't the hard core fans. Just human nature. I'll be there cheering for the team like normal the rest of the season, but I won't be wasting time thinking of going to the ACC Championship game...
I still think we could turn it around and become more competitive.

 

[RickStromFan]

Fan apathy had settled in before CGC got hired. Hopefully he'll pull us out of the doldrums of irrelevancy.

 

[GT_EE78]

Yeah, you turned me in on to SpotHero, which is what I’ve used this year. I just found it really odd that the AA was going to charge me more for parking in the same lots that I could get through ParkMobile, when the AA uses the same service (ParkMobile)!

do they call the ones who buy tickets and passes from AA donors?

 

[Dustman]

If one measured at the beginning of the game, I thought it was going to be pretty empty, but there was a later arriving crowd that actually filled in more than I expected. The student section ended up being decent, the bottom half of the upper North was pretty full, and I could actually see people over in the club section.

We blow the whistle prior to Yellow Jacket alley pregame walk. Why don’t we try something similar to signal fans to pack up the tailgate and head over to the stadium? I can’t fathom how fans don’t recognize the bad optics of players running out on the field and seeing lots of empty seats. Its just bizarre how folks just don’t seem to care about that. I used to think that this was a noon kickoff problem because we’ve played so many of those noon games. But we could kickoff at midnight and people will show up late. We tailgate in W21 and pass a lot of people that seem oblivious to the fact that it’s almost game time. Then we walk by the SAE house and they’ve always got a pregame band party going on that doesn’t appear to be winding down at all. This is no different than past seasons. It just frustrates the hell out of me. The players deserve better.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[LibertyTurns]

Not sure it’s apathy because we’re still concerned and we don’t lack interest. Maybe we’re in the doldroms, could be malaise or angst, possibly we’re melancholic.

 

[BuzzStone]

I need to check into this spot hero, I like parking at the Centergy Parking deck though. Its over 3 hours for me to drive home so I like being able to hit the north bound quick.

 

[Vespidae]

We blow the whistle prior to Yellow Jacket alley pregame walk. Why don’t we try something similar to signal fans to pack up the tailgate and head over to the stadium? I can’t fathom how fans don’t recognize the bad optics of players running out on the field and seeing lots of empty seats. Its just bizarre how folks just don’t seem to care about that. I used to think that this was a noon kickoff problem because we’ve played so many of those noon games. But we could kickoff at midnight and people will show up late. We tailgate in W21 and pass a lot of people that seem oblivious to the fact that it’s almost game time. Then we walk by the SAE house and they’ve always got a pregame band party going on that doesn’t appear to be winding down at all. This is no different than past seasons. It just frustrates the hell out of me. The players deserve better.

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

This is not unique to Tech. At Auburn and Ole Miss, people tailgate with no intention of going to the game itself. It’s just a fun event.

 

[Vespidae]

I need to check into this spot hero, I like parking at the Centergy Parking deck though. Its over 3 hours for me to drive home so I like being able to hit the north bound quick.

You can’t best Lindbergh Marta. Two stops. Parking is free.

 

[BuzzStone]

Lindbergh on 85 or 75?

 

[Yaller Jacket]

Not exactly apathy, more like maturity and resignation. Boomer said it best; we lack quality and experience on both lines. I know we lost one lineman to death and some to injury, but otherwise, it's a mystery as to how we go this way. But it is the reality. For now, it's impossible to know if our coordinators are any good without some semblance of a line.

What makes it so tough is it's impossible to know if our new guy is Bill Lewis or Bobby Ross. So we just have to wait and see.

I'm trying to find enjoyment out of seeing if we get better as the year goes one. Yesterday I enjoyed seeing Brown, Sanders, and Carter get open and make catches. I see some real talent there and they will only get better. Plus Graham throws it better than anyone we've had back there in a long time.

One other thing -- UNC had a line that could protect, fantastic receivers, and a very good quarterback. Maybe we won't see all those at once again for a while.

 

[presjacket]

I don’t think apathy has set in. Our fanbase is a little unique in the sense that Engineers tend to be analytical. Most fans knew this was going to be a tough transition and probably a year where we lost a few games that we could have won. The team has played hard and not quit which usually means they are determined to get better and keep working as the year goes along. Fans don’t have as much effort put into the game as the players and their support tends to ebb and flow with wins and losses.

I think there is frustration with Collins due to the uniqueness of the Tech fanbase. In a way CPJ was a good fit for the Tech fanbase. When someone called into the radio show and asked why we went for 2 after a score there was an analytical X and O answer. Collins tends to give high level answers of how the effort based program drives decisions made on game day. Collins is really good at articulating a vision but a large part of the fan base would really like to understand the X and O decision making process. It is just another unique thing about GT.

A lot of fans would like more insight into the X and O strategy in order to understand whether or not the program is progressing. When @Ibeeballin posts a play by play breakdown it gets a ton of views. So, fans still care but they aren’t getting what they need from Collins to stay engaged and bought in to the process.

I'm replying to your post because your last couple of sentences adequately describe how I feel as a fan right now. It's hard to trust a process when you don't know what the process is. I have a lot of things going on in my personal life this season that aren't allowing me the time to watch every video and press conference by the team and learn what we are trying to do. It's just frustrating.