How much are we to blame?

[Ibeeballin]

“I swear we are our own worst enemy as a fan base perpetuating the same stereotypes that we are trying to debunks “

These were my words to Lv20 last year, but i really want to assess my quote. After a convo with some fans and hearing former players say things such “I know a 4* who wants go to Tech but _**insert stereotype***”

We all complain about recruiting not being up to par, but how much are we to blame for reinforcing the stereotypes that hurt us and led us to where we are now?

 

[Milwaukee]

No, I just think this is an extreme reach. I'm not taking any blame for what this crap is that we're seeing on the field lately, nor should you or any other fan. We simply do not have a huge fan base and I personally don't think we ever will. Are a lot of our fans "bad fans" or "cheap fans" or "not doing their part"? Absolutely, but that's common in any fan base because people are human. It doesn't stand out as much for the larger programs simply because there are 10s of thousands more of them to begin with. I'd say 25% of our fans have the "symptoms" that you're asking yourself if they are to blame, but 25% of UGA fans are the same way. We just don't have volume. I'm sure as hell not gonna beat myself up over the fact we fumbled 9 times yesterday and can't kick a D1 fg, nor should you.

 

[Coloradojacket]

No, I just think this is an extreme reach. I'm not taking any blame for what this crap is that we're seeing on the field lately, nor should you or any other fan. We simply do not have a huge fan base and I personally don't think we ever will. Are a lot of our fans "bad fans" or "cheap fans" or "not doing their part"? Absolutely, but that's common in any fan base because people are human. It doesn't stand out as much for the larger programs simply because there are 10s of thousands more of them to begin with. I'd say 25% of our fans have the "symptoms" that you're asking yourself if they are to blame, but 25% of UGA fans are the same way. We just don't have volume. I'm sure as hell not gonna beat myself up over the fact we fumbled 9 times yesterday and can't kick a D1 fg, nor should you.

Mil, not trying to pick hairs here but just curios, what do you blame those 9 fumbles on? I think the center exchange was a result of the center too busy looking at crashing Clemson linebackers but how do you coach a kid to hang on to the ball. I coached youth football and you can teach high and tight all you want, but in the game situation it is forgotten at times.

 

[jchens_GT]

There could be something to this idea. I grew up thinking that GT was the place to play. National championship, O’Leary, Hamilton, Goose. It wasn’t until Braine said that GT couldn’t win consistently (because reasons?) that I started to question this as a fan. Then years of ok but not great performance under Gailey really made me wonder.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

No, I just think this is an extreme reach. I'm not taking any blame for what this crap is that we're seeing on the field lately, nor should you or any other fan. We simply do not have a huge fan base and I personally don't think we ever will. Are a lot of our fans "bad fans" or "cheap fans" or "not doing their part"? Absolutely, but that's common in any fan base because people are human. It doesn't stand out as much for the larger programs simply because there are 10s of thousands more of them to begin with. I'd say 25% of our fans have the "symptoms" that you're asking yourself if they are to blame, but 25% of UGA fans are the same way. We just don't have volume. I'm sure as hell not gonna beat myself up over the fact we fumbled 9 times yesterday and can't kick a D1 fg, nor should you.

I thought it was only 8 fumbles, but that's still way too many, and your overall point is well made.

 

[slugboy]

We’re #42 in attendance over the last 5 years, right behind Louisville and UNC, and ahead of Arizona, Stanford, TCU, UCF, Maryland, Michigan State, Cal, Duke, and a lot of others.

That’s with 3 out of last 4 seasons not being bowl eligible.
Our fan base is plenty big enough and good enough to support solid recruiting and a great game day experience.

We have a ton of excuses, but most of them are just excuses. We have enough to be successful, and then some. We have more than enough advantages to offset any of the excuses. We are a great school. We’re in a great city. We have championships. We have history. We turn out great people.

If we constantly focus on why we can’t instead of what our assets are, we’ll get nowhere.

https://collegefootballnews.com/201...attendance-rankings-five-year-biggest-average



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[Lavoisier]

I'll take this from a different angle and discuss the stereotypes of the school and student body to distinguish that from the general fanbase. The stereotypes of the school exist for a reason, and they are true if not a little exaggerated based on when I was there.

For most students it is not a fun place to be. Not a lot of girls, no real party scene like most places, and there isn't a downtown area for college kids to hang out. Classes are hard so even if you are someone who is cruising or in an easier major (not trying to be condensending about it), lots of your buddiea are going to be studying instead of hanging out. The nerd culture is really pervasive which is cool for players into that stuff, but not so much if you aren't. I can attest the the last part because even though I was in a nerd major, I never really got into video games or computers or any of the other stuff guys around me were in to.

I think it's harder in the age of social media when you can see constant updates of your highschool buddies in Athens or Gainsville or wherever having a blast and you're sitting around your friends' dorm killing time. We used to have a joke that you weren't a real Tech student until you seriously started looking up how to transfer out. Most of us stayed because the degree was 100% worth how much the place sucks, but I can't say the same if I was a football player and my education wasn't super important to me.

We are our own worst enemy with the stereotypes, but I don't know if that will ever change. We lose a LOT of kids from each recruiting class who transfer out or leave the team and it kills the depth. I think we lost like 1/3 of the 2016 class already or something like that.

As an aside, that's also why I am concerned if we bring in Geoff "Swag" Collins if CPJ is fired. Recruiting at GT is basically a 3 level process of 1) Convincing a kid to come here 2) Keeping him eligible 3) Keeping him on campus even when he isn't starting (Jay Jones, Marcus Marshall come to mind both of whom would have helped us a lot this year)

 

[MikeJackets1967]

“I swear we are our own worst enemy as a fan base perpetuating the same stereotypes that we are trying to debunks “

These were my words to Lv20 last year, but i really want to assess my quote. After a convo with some fans and hearing former players say things such “I know a 4* who wants go to Tech but _**insert stereotype***”

We all complain about recruiting not being up to par, but how much are we to blame for reinforcing the stereotypes that hurt us and led us to where we are now?

No,that's a giant red herring The fans are NOT to blame for the state of the football program

 

[IronJacket7]

Tstan is going to turn the whole thing around. I am confident of the direction he is taking our football program. But unfortunately (not trying to be negative) I honestly do not see it happening with CPJ there unless major changes occur. Tstan has made changes and he is spearheading GT football back to where it belongs.

 

[laoh]

We’re #42 in attendance over the last 5 years, right behind Louisville and UNC, and ahead of Arizona, Stanford, TCU, UCF, Maryland, Michigan State, Cal, Duke, and a lot of others.

That’s with 3 out of last 4 seasons not being bowl eligible.
Our fan base is plenty big enough and good enough to support solid recruiting and a great game day experience.

We have a ton of excuses, but most of them are just excuses. We have enough to be successful, and then some. We have more than enough advantages to offset any of the excuses. We are a great school. We’re in a great city. We have championships. We have history. We turn out great people.

If we constantly focus on why we can’t instead of what our assets are, we’ll get nowhere.

https://collegefootballnews.com/201...attendance-rankings-five-year-biggest-average



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I know this will sound totally elitist (and it is) but I would gather that Tech does not have as many of the die hards b/c well, we simply have other things we're interested in besides breathe and bleed football all year. Some of us are watching football (oops, soccer), some of us are travelling abroad and not here to attend the games, some of us done picked up and left Georgia after getting out of Tech so we're not here anyway, some of us simply don't praise and worship football like the fans of the farm school east of Atlanta does, and some of the "Tech" types just don't care about football. I mean, when I was a student, I'd walk into the computer cluster of student center during a football game and it was jam packed. That should tell you something.

 

[tech_wreck47]

Mil, not trying to pick hairs here but just curios, what do you blame those 9 fumbles on? I think the center exchange was a result of the center too busy looking at crashing Clemson linebackers but how do you coach a kid to hang on to the ball. I coached youth football and you can teach high and tight all you want, but in the game situation it is forgotten at times.

It cracks me up when people blame fumbles on coaching. Like you said, you can teach high and tight and you can even run drill after drill but as a coach you aren’t the one fumbling. Blame a coach for mental mistakes of players, not physical issues. JMO.

 

[684Bee]

“I swear we are our own worst enemy as a fan base perpetuating the same stereotypes that we are trying to debunks “

These were my words to Lv20 last year, but i really want to assess my quote. After a convo with some fans and hearing former players say things such “I know a 4* who wants go to Tech but _**insert stereotype***”

We all complain about recruiting not being up to par, but how much are we to blame for reinforcing the stereotypes that hurt us and led us to where we are now?

Yes, we as fans share in the blame.

Can’t be successful without resources. Those resources require money. Where does the money come from? People buying tickets, donating, etc.

I know several middle aged GT grads that make good money that don’t buy tickets. They have lame excuses. They also complain about the program. If you’re not going to buy tickets and show up, then shut up. You’re part of the problem.

Also, be honest: how good of an ambassador is the average GT fan? How likely are they to attract new fans to our program? That’s how most people get pulled into being a fan of one team or another....someone invites them, they have a good time (not just about the results on the field. Biggest thing is socializing with fun people), and they want to go again.

 

[tech_wreck47]

Yes, we as fans share in the blame.

Can’t be successful without resources. Those resources require money. Where does the money come from? People buying tickets, donating, etc.

I know several middle aged GT grads that make good money that don’t buy tickets. They have lame excuses. They also complain about the program. If you’re not going to buy tickets and show up, then shut up. You’re part of the problem.

Also, be honest: how good of an ambassador is the average GT fan? How likely are they to attract new fans to our program? That’s how most people get pulled into being a fan of one team or another....someone invites them, they have a good time (not just about the results on the field. Biggest thing is socializing with fun people), and they want to go again.

I am a big CPJ supporter but this is part of the reason I say I’m ready for change. Wether right or wrong, a lot of fans are not behind him and because of the day and age we are in with football it will continue to hurt GT. Imo a change would help bring a hype to get fans more involved, however we could easily run into the same issue in just a few short years.

 

[684Bee]

I am a big CPJ supporter but this is part of the reason I say I’m ready for change. Wether right or wrong, a lot of fans are not behind him and because of the day and age we are in with football it will continue to hurt GT. Imo a change would help bring a hype to get fans more involved, however we could easily run into the same issue in just a few short years.

If I was to predict, I’d say Stansbury hires a younger, more energetic, positive guy as the next coach. More like a Dabo than an old school hard-@ss.

 

[tech_wreck47]

If I was to predict, I’d say Stansbury hires a younger, more energetic, positive guy as the next coach. More like a Dabo than an old school hard-@ss.

I like Josh Heupel, head coach at UCF.

 

[Lavoisier]

If this is truly Stansbury's dream job, which I believe it is, he is going to wait until he has a solid hire before firing Paul Johnson if he does this year. I think he is smart enough to know that in this day and age with the money football generates he will be remembered by the hire he makes. He can fundraise and build facilities all day long, but the reality is if this turns into a Texas or Tennessee situation then that is all he will be remembered for realistically.

 

[slugboy]

I know this will sound totally elitist (and it is) but I would gather that Tech does not have as many of the die hards b/c well, we simply have other things we're interested in besides breathe and bleed football all year. Some of us are watching football (oops, soccer), some of us are travelling abroad and not here to attend the games, some of us done picked up and left Georgia after getting out of Tech so we're not here anyway, some of us simply don't praise and worship football like the fans of the farm school east of Atlanta does, and some of the "Tech" types just don't care about football. I mean, when I was a student, I'd walk into the computer cluster of student center during a football game and it was jam packed. That should tell you something.

Yeah, and we STILL have better attendance than Stanford and Arizona and Michigan State and a bunch of schools that we seem to be implying we have an inferior fan base to, or that succeed in recruiting even though they have a smaller fan base than we do.

A lot of us keep looking for excuses. So a lot of students are in the computer lab or the library. So what—the student section of the stadium is full. If it was bigger then we’d get even more students in the stands.

Someone says our classes are too hard. We’ve brought our graduation rates up for the overall student body and for our athletes. It’s 81.5%. The Garage at Tech Square will let you create just about anything, and there are tons of creative outlets. CPJ has one of the better APR rates in the ACC.

Someone says there are no women and there’s no fun to be had. The percentage of women has been rising for years, and I don’t think the players have any problems finding dates. There’s more opportunities to enjoy yourself in and around campus than ever before, and if you can’t find a special someone in Atlanta, I don’t know what to say.

Likewise, if you can’t find fun in Atlanta, where are you looking?


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[684Bee]

I like Josh Heupel, head coach at UCF.

I know this won’t be popular, but I’d like to stay with this offense. I’d like nothing more than to win big games again running a “high school offense”. It was so much fun in 08, 09, 14, and 16.

I’d go for hiring Monken, and upping our game in recruiting.

 

[Techster]

Yes, we as fans share in the blame.

Can’t be successful without resources. Those resources require money. Where does the money come from? People buying tickets, donating, etc.

I know several middle aged GT grads that make good money that don’t buy tickets. They have lame excuses. They also complain about the program. If you’re not going to buy tickets and show up, then shut up. You’re part of the problem.

Also, be honest: how good of an ambassador is the average GT fan? How likely are they to attract new fans to our program? That’s how most people get pulled into being a fan of one team or another....someone invites them, they have a good time (not just about the results on the field. Biggest thing is socializing with fun people), and they want to go again.

I graduated from GT in the early 2000's. I was there during the O'Leary years. I was a fan of GT since the days Shawn Jones was slinging the football for Friedgen and Bobby Ross.

Since I graduated, I've bought 2 season tickets every year. When CPJ was hired, I talked 2 non-GT alum fans (one 'Bama grad, one Notre Dame grad) into buying season tickets each since they both love college football and GT has become their "other" team due to distance from their alma mater. In the last 10 years, both of those friends have gotten married and one of them now has a kid. Getting to games has become a bigger ordeal than just rolling out of bed and picking up our favorite adult beverage for tailgating on the way to BDS since those life events happened. Since 2015, both of them have continued to buy season tix, but their attendence has fallen off. Both recently told me that this year might be the last year they buy season tickets. They no longer enjoy games like they use to, and the hassle of family and being new homeowners outweighs enduring the all the stuff they have to deal with parking, and sitting through unwatchable football.

How much of a deleterious effect has the last few years been? We spent the last decade slowly improving our position for seats, but my two friends are willing to let it go until GT gives them a reason to renew. They are textbook sidewalk fans, but they've invested in our program as much as a lot of GT "fans" I know. They're the kinds of fans GT should be working to keep. Unfortunately, in this day and age of large screen HD TVs, gourmet food delivery, and comfy man caves, they can watch GT fumble away possessions and let defenders go unblocked a lot easier at more comfortable from their homes.

If you want to know why "we need to give Coach X" more time (after 10 years) can be harmful and eroding to fan base, unfortunately my friends are Example A and Example B of what can happen when a coach overstays his effectiveness at a school.

 

[684Bee]

I graduated from GT in the early 2000's. I was there during the O'Leary years. I was a fan of GT since the days Shawn Jones was slinging the football for Friedgen and Bobby Ross.

Since I graduated, I've bought 2 season tickets every year. When CPJ was hired, I talked 2 non-GT alum fans (one 'Bama grad, one Notre Dame grad) into buying season tickets each since they both love college football and GT has become their "other" team due to distance from their alma mater. In the last 10 years, both of those friends have gotten married and one of them now has a kid. Getting to games has become a bigger ordeal than just rolling out of bed and picking up our favorite adult beverage for tailgating on the way to BDS since those life events happened. Since 2015, both of them have continued to buy season tix, but their attendence has fallen off. Both recently told me that this year might be the last year they buy season tickets. They no longer enjoy games like they use to, and the hassle of family and being new homeowners outweighs enduring the all the stuff they have to deal with parking, and sitting through unwatchable football.

How much of a deleterious effect has the last few years been? We spent the last decade slowly improving our position for seats, but my two friends are willing to let it go until GT gives them a reason to renew. They are textbook sidewalk fans, but they've invested in our program as much as a lot of GT "fans" I know. They're the kinds of fans GT should be working to keep. Unfortunately, in this day and age of large screen HD TVs, gourmet food delivery, and comfy man caves, they can watch GT fumble away possessions and let defenders go unblocked a lot easier at more comfortable from their homes.

If you want to know why "we need to give Coach X" more time (after 10 years) can be harmful and eroding to fan base, unfortunately my friends are Example A and Example B of what can happen when a coach overstays his effectiveness at a school.

Thank you for inviting those guys and getting them into GT. That’s good stuff. We definitely need more of that.