How about that crowd at UVA!!

[Captain killem]

Elijay or blue ridge

 

[gtpi]

given thier record they deserved better. given our record and the way we played.... we deserved to play in front of 2000 people.

i was here when we had a golf coach coaching basketball. we almost gave up division 1 sports if i remember correctly. having said that im still huge fan. i still support the coaches the team and the players.... i am just dialing down my investment from week to week.

maybe im wrong but when you lose close games the way we did.... i have to put blame on the head coach. cpj and staff just didnt get it done. we could be 7-1.

we cant get more recruiting staff soon enough to suit me.

 

[OldJacketFan]

I would kill for Tech to have the level of support that USCe gives their program. Go look at how little they have accomplished as a football program compared to Tech and the look at Williams-Brice stadium EVERY game. We should be ashamed.

 

[Captain killem]

That is my point old jacket fan some will get it others sadly won’t with their arrogant *** im an alumni attitude

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I would kill for Tech to have the level of support that USCe gives their program. Go look at how little they have accomplished as a football program compared to Tech and the look at Williams-Brice stadium EVERY game. We should be ashamed.

I think it would have been that way had Atlanta never gotten an NFL team.

 

[OldJacketFan]

I think it would have been that way had Atlanta never gotten an NFL team.

Honestly? I doubt it, look at the size of Atlanta vs Columbia. There is NO good reason for the lack of fan support for Tech. I kept my season tickets for the 9 years I lived in Los Angeles for goodness sake! If I were lucky I made 1 at most 2 games during that time. All I see is bitching about this, bitching about that. Get off you *** and get in the stadium. Yes, there are very legitimate reasons for some not to be there but there are WAY too many who give great lip service but won't get off their *** to support the team/program they profess to love.

 

[GTJoeBrew]

UVA v Clemson in ACCCG.
...could happen.

I wouldn’t be more surprised if I woke up with my head sewn to the floor.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

I don’t think those worried about fan participation or enthusiasm need to worry about folks on these boards. Regardless of opinions, these are the TRUE fans of GT.

It is the grads that are not on these boards that need to be brought in.

It is also about attracting new fans. Gee, I wonder how an athletic program would do that? Maybe by winning more, truly big games! You people do realize that in the South beating a usually good VT team is good. You do realize beating a notre dame , or osu, or psu or ugag would be great, right?

I hope you do realize that, south of Clemson, beating wf / unc / puke / bc / cuse / uva / navy does not mean crap. You wonder why we don’t sell out those games? We don’t beat enough of the big boys to make fans buy season tickets so as to insure they will be able to get access to the big games.

If ugag is playing any sec team, and we are playing any ACC team not named Clemson / fsu / or Maybe um - who you got as far as fan interest?

Nothing we can do about it but beat big boys, but too many in our base refuse to face the truth that Dodd/Harrison damn near killed us by dropping out of the sec.

Until fans give more $, and the Hill is forced to help GT in ALL areas they should, nothing will change.

 

[GTRX7]

I would kill for Tech to have the level of support that USCe gives their program. Go look at how little they have accomplished as a football program compared to Tech and the look at Williams-Brice stadium EVERY game. We should be ashamed.

To be fair, as mediocre as USCe has been in football, they are still the "flagship state school." Clemson has a huge following as well, so I would say that state is pretty well divided. But that is certainly not the case with Georgia Tech, which is dwarfed in the state by UGA. And Tech is a much smaller school. Reported estimates have USCe with over twice the living alumni as Georgia Tech (LINK : LINK). And I would venture to guess that a much larger percentage of USEe alumni still live in South Carolina vs. Georgia Tech fans living in Georgia. Given all that, we have maybe 1/3 of the size of alumni base in Georgia as USCe has in South Carolina. Not to mention I would guess USCe has at least double the number of sidewalk fans, particularly given that most sidewalk fans are created based on relationships to alumni. So, while Tech fans could be better, that is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

I think we should replace the bleachers with seats and lower the stadium capacity to around 45k, which we could sell out and provide a better atmosphere on a regular basis.

 

[Dustman]

The ESPN app has the attendance for the GT UVA game at 38,448 which confirms my belief that they use ticket sales rather than actual attendance. We had a thread on here several weeks ago claiming that our attendance isn't as bad as we think it is. I stick by my original claim that we sell a lot of tickets that don't get used except for big games. I expect a decent crowd this weekend, and I will be there as always supporting our team.

 

[OldJacketFan]

To be fair, as mediocre as USCe has been in football, they are still the "flagship state school." Clemson has a huge following as well, so I would say that state is pretty well divided. But that is certainly not the case with Georgia Tech, which is dwarfed in the state by UGA. And Tech is a much smaller school. Reported estimates have USCe with over twice the living alumni as Georgia Tech (LINK : LINK). And I would venture to guess that a much larger percentage of USEe alumni still live in South Carolina vs. Georgia Tech fans living in Georgia. Given all that, we have maybe 1/3 of the size of alumni base in Georgia as USCe has in South Carolina. Not to mention I would guess USCe has at least double the number of sidewalk fans, particularly given that most sidewalk fans are created based on relationships to alumni. So, while Tech fans could be better, that is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

I think we should replace the bleachers with seats and lower the stadium capacity to around 45k, which we could sell out and provide a better atmosphere on a regular basis.

5.7MM people in Metro Atlanta vs 937K in Metro Columbia. And they can fill a 77K EVERY game?

 

[GTRX7]

5.7MM people in Metro Atlanta vs 937K in Metro Columbia. And they can fill a 77K EVERY game?

That is just silly.

Sports to go to in Columbia:
USCe football/basketball
The Columbia Fireflies (minor league 1-A baseball)

Sports to go to in Atlanta:
GT football/basketball
Braves
Falcons
Hawks
Atlanta United
Dream (WNBA)
Gwinnett Braves (minor league baseball)
Gladiators (minor league hockey)
Rhinos (minor league rugby)
Silverbacks (minor league soccer)

Also, Atlanta is a huge transplant city where most folks didn't grow up and came here with pre-existing sports allegiances. That is not the case with Columbia. Atlanta is also probably the biggest or second biggest alumni city for teams like UGA, Auburn, Clemson, Alabama, FSU, etc. That is also not the case with Columbia. Atlanta also has a huge host of higher-end concerts and entertainment options that probably don't exist in Columbia. The competition for non-alumni fans for entertainment dollars in Atlanta is simply in another stratosphere compared to USCe.

How many college teams in large metropolitan cities draw well? Not a ton of college teams in downtown NYC, Chicago, Philly, Washington, Boston, Detroit, etc. packing out 77k in college stadiums on a regular basis. A few, but not many. Look at the list of top 30 NCAA attendance. USCw, UCLA, and Miami may the the only 3 in big city markets, with all three drawing less than USCe. Miami averages almost 20k less, at around 58k.

 

[OldJacketFan]

That is just silly.

Sports to go to in Columbia:
USCe football/basketball
The Columbia Fireflies (minor league 1-A baseball)

Sports to go to in Atlanta:
GT football/basketball
Braves
Falcons
Hawks
Atlanta United
Dream (WNBA)
Gwinnett Braves (minor league baseball)
Gladiators (minor league hockey)
Rhinos (minor league rugby)
Silverbacks (minor league soccer)

Also, Atlanta is a huge transplant city where most folks didn't grow up and came here with pre-existing sports allegiances. That is not the case with Columbia. Atlanta is also probably the biggest or second biggest alumni city for teams like UGA, Auburn, Clemson, Alabama, FSU, etc. That is also not the case with Columbia. Atlanta also has a huge host of higher-end concerts and entertainment options that probably don't exist in Columbia. The competition for non-alumni fans for entertainment dollars in Atlanta is simply in another stratosphere compared to USCe.

How many college teams in large metropolitan cities draw well? Not a ton of college teams in downtown NYC, Chicago, Philly, Washington, Boston, Detroit, etc. packing out 77k in college stadiums on a regular basis. A few, but not many. Look at the list of top 30 NCAA attendance. USCw, UCLA, and Miami may the the only 3 in big city markets, with all three drawing less than USCe. Miami averages almost 20k less, at around 58k.

Boatload of excuses, a resident of Columbia can avail themselves of the exact same options with a 2 hour or so drive. 5.8 MM people and we can't fill a 55K stadium. Pure unadulterated garbage for a fan base that prides itself in its brand.

 

[Sideways]

I would kill for Tech to have the level of support that USCe gives their program. Go look at how little they have accomplished as a football program compared to Tech and the look at Williams-Brice stadium EVERY game. We should be ashamed.

That place is something else. What was the saying: "If it ain't swaying, we ain't playing" My daughter went to grad school there and she said that she could barely see Williams Brice lights off in the distance but could hear the crowds especially on Saturday nights. It is one wild place even when they aren't any good which is most of the time. Their overall record is remarkable for its mediocrity about .500 exactly. Very few bowls, Clemson as the top dog in the state, yet a passionate fan base. Imagine that.

 

[1939hotmagic]

Another sport to go to in Atlanta (December into May), for a pro team which actually won a championship in 2017: the Georgia Swarm. winner of the 2017 National Lacrosse League title. (Yep, in 2017 Atlanta finally got another a pro champion to join the '95 Braves, the '68 Chiefs of the old NASL, the '94 Atlanta Knights of the IHL, and the long-gone Atlanta Thunder of World Team Tennis in '91 and '92.)

 

[GTRX7]

Boatload of excuses, a resident of Columbia can avail themselves of the exact same options with a 2 hour or so drive. 5.8 MM people and we can't fill a 55K stadium. Pure unadulterated garbage for a fan base that prides itself in its brand.

I said it in anther thread, but I love this idea that all "excuses" are garbage. If you don't think having probably less than 1/3 living alumni in the state and having almost literally 10-fold the amount of other professional sports options in the exact same metro area aren't legitimate reasons to expect we might have less attendance than USCe, than I don't know what to tell you. Again, look at the top NCAA attendance. USCe outdraws every single other college team in every single other big US city. Virtually all of the biggest NCAA football attendance cities are rural southeast and midwest college towns. That is not a coincidence.

 

[OldJacketFan]

I said it in anther thread, but I love this idea that all "excuses" are garbage. If you don't think having probably less than 1/3 living alumni in the state and having almost literally 10-fold the amount of other professional sports options in the exact same metro area aren't legitimate reasons to expect we might have less attendance than USCe, than I don't know what to tell you. Again, look at the top NCAA attendance. USCe outdraws every single other college team in every single other big US city. Virtually all of the biggest NCAA football attendance cities are rural southeast and midwest college towns. That is not a coincidence.

Where did I say that I expect Tech to draw as many or more than USC? My point is they have a fan base that is a fan base that supports their team. Tech has a lip service fan base who gripes and bitches about game start times. 55 plus years ago I made a decision to support Tech and I can flat guarantee you I'm more of a fan that the vast majority of vaunted Tech alums. 55K represents less than 1% of the metro Atlanta population and Tech can't fill the stadium without help for other teams fans. To me that is simply ridiculous. You want a full stadium? Support you team in good times and bad by getting off your a** and going to games. In other words be a FAN!

 

[first&ten]

Being a GT fan since 1988 I always wondered why we didn’t have passionate and emboldened fans. Sad to say but after being on this forum has assured me of why we don’t. I will continue to be a fan of GT but now I understand the apathetic and poor pitiful us attitude of our fans. Until this fanbase demands more from what we get it will remain meh. As a sidewalk fan I guess I will have to tolerate it until there is s change if it ever happens. I plan on retiring in 12 years and am moving to the north ga mountains and will be a season ticket holder. I can only hope that some things change between now and then.

Not going to change until TS gets his nerve up and lets johnson go. I'm pretty sure pj will fire his DC to buy a litte more time for himself.

 

[first&ten]

UVA really packed the house today! Although a lot of you love to complain, I'm happy I can say I have NEVER seen Bobby Dodd that empty. Just let this be one of those "mental notes" you reflect upon before you complain about attendence in the future. No matter how disappointing things seem, it can always be MUCH WORSE!

And this makes you feel better - how?

 

[GTRX7]

Where did I say that I expect Tech to draw as many or more than USC? My point is they have a fan base that is a fan base that supports their team. Tech has a lip service fan base who gripes and bitches about game start times. 55 plus years ago I made a decision to support Tech and I can flat guarantee you I'm more of a fan that the vast majority of vaunted Tech alums. 55K represents less than 1% of the metro Atlanta population and Tech can't fill the stadium without help for other teams fans. To me that is simply ridiculous. You want a full stadium? Support you team in good times and bad by getting off your a** and going to games. In other words be a FAN!

Maybe we are talking past each other and missing each other's points. While I agree Tech fans are not among the very best at showing up for attendance, I think they are fine and probably above average for a BCS program. For me, the problem Tech has in not filling its stadium is not one of its fans not showing up to support the team in good times and bad, but is instead that we simply do not have a lot of fans to begin with. That is a totally different issue. According to the Tech alumni association, Tech only has 61k living alumni in the entire state of Georgia (LINK). That affects not only our ability to fill a stadium, but also bears a direct relationship to the number of "sidewalk" fans we have. I think you will agree that most sidewalk fans become so by having a family relationship with a Tech grad. The less Tech grads we have in the state, the less sidewalk fans. So, for me, it isn't a problem of Tech fans not being good fans, it is more of a problem of there simply not being a lot of Tech fans.

Now, if you can point me to a list of other schools that are similarly sized to Tech that regularly outdraw Tech in attendance, particularly in big cities, I will be happy to reconsider my position. Fact is, I have a feeling we may actually have the best attendance of any similarly sized school in the country located in a big city. Given that, it is simply hard for me to be too mad at the passion of our fans. And my broader point is that it is simply ridiculous to compare Tech's crowd to the crowd that USCe draws. It is apples to oranges.

Now, if you want to complaint that our marketing department is bad and we need more sidewalk fans, that is another discussion and one that could be worth having. That said, I think it is a hard sell. Anyone that has ever gone to high school in metro Atlanta can attest to that. Even among college football fans, the ratio of Tech fans to fans of other SEC schools is like 1 to 10. And that is before college.