Our commitment must begin to match our expectations

91Wreck

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
356
Fellow Tech fans, I have been reading multiple posts on different threads about how we need new coaches, or a different offensive scheme, or a different defensive scheme and if we would just do these things we would magically begin to recruit better and win games. But may I submit that none of these things will help very much until our fans become serious about our football team.

While I was very embarrassed but the product I saw on the field today, I was equally embarrassed by our fans. Apparently our fans cannot be bothered to come to the game. If they do come, they cannot seem to make it until midway through the first quarter. Our student section in the north endzone did not get full until about 5 mins left in the first quarter. Shame on you students!

Thousands of ugag fans were already in the stands 40 minutes before the game. By the time the stands were filled, at most, we had 30k to 35k fans there and ugag brought between 20k and 25k fans. That is what real football fans do. Real football fans show up in large numbers early for games and passionately cheer on their teams. Our fan base does not. And our program is a reflection of our fanbase.

We honored the seniors today, but so few fans were there in time to honor them. I am sure recruits in the stands saw that as well. Probably many of them crossed us off the list of potential places to come. We continue to complain about recruiting woes as being a function of the fact we are a STEM school with few majors, but rarely, if ever, do we point the finger at ourselves as fans and our lack of commitment.

I have never been a CPJ defender. But honestly, he is right when he says our commitment must begin to match our expectations. Until that happens, we can be assured that very little will change.
 

jchens_GT

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
573
Location
Georgia
I partially agree with your point. I do wish our fans were more committed, but I think the lack of attendance comes from our inconsistency through the years. We sniff greatness only to fall on our faces immediately after.

I think the lack of commitment from the AA and the administration is a major issue. Give the program the resources to succeed. Fans might just show some excitement if the school made noticeable moves to go all in on football.

Has anyone been watching Quinlan’s Twitter today? Hope what he’s saying is true....

 

TheTaxJacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
726
I partially agree with your point. I do wish our fans were more committed, but I think the lack of attendance comes from our inconsistency through the years. We sniff greatness only to fall on our faces immediately after.

I think the lack of commitment from the AA and the administration is a major issue. Give the program the resources to succeed. Fans might just show some excitement if the school made noticeable moves to go all in on football.

Has anyone been watching Quinlan’s Twitter today? Hope what he’s saying is true....



I agree with the lack of consistency part. Its mind boggling how we do great one year and absolutely atrocious the very next.
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,119
(1) Nice to hear that from KQ
(2) agree with the OP BUT also agree that if they want fan commitment, the program AND the Institute (Peterson, not just Stansbury) MUST provide their commitment FIRST. ($$$)
(3) I feel better about Stansbury, but have sincere doubts that Peterson will really come off any money from the Institute to the GTAA

Without the Institute's commitment to sports, Peterson can go suck raw eggs in a half filled stadium as far as I am concerned.
 

Gray Fox

GT Athlete
Messages
57
Agreed. Problem is that GT football is not the #1 priority for most Tech fans. If the GT product isn't good, many GT fans will just choose something else. Many I know have stopped giving, stopped buying tickets, stopped attending. I agree with you, they can't expect much with that level of commitment.
 

wvGT11

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,198
For GT I've always noticed that both play off each other. If the product on the field is bad fans dont show or bother. If the fans dont show they dont help the team etc. Other schools have it different, fan support is always there no matter how hot or cold the team is. As an example I was at the GT / Clemson game this year, I would normally never think to go on a rain soaked game, however Clemson fans around me were super dedicated and said they go no matter what. Georgia last year had some bad games, yet they were still selling out the Stadium. We have to change the mentality at GT, I know these games suck to watch when the product is bad, but we also need to help out our team. Yeah things are bad now, but I remember even in 2014 when we were doing great, we still had students not showing up till the end of the 1st quarter. Whether its good or bad it says a lot that we have a packed library over a stadium on saturdays
 

jchens_GT

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
573
Location
Georgia
For GT I've always noticed that both play off each other. If the product on the field is bad fans dont show or bother. If the fans dont show they dont help the team etc. Other schools have it different, fan support is always there no matter how hot or cold the team is. As an example I was at the GT / Clemson game this year, I would normally never think to go on a rain soaked game, however Clemson fans around me were super dedicated and said they go no matter what. Georgia last year had some bad games, yet they were still selling out the Stadium. We have to change the mentality at GT, I know these games suck to watch when the product is bad, but we also need to help out our team. Yeah things are bad now, but I remember even in 2014 when we were doing great, we still had students not showing up till the end of the 1st quarter. Whether its good or bad it says a lot that we have a packed library over a stadium on saturdays

I’d add that commitment from the school/AA plays off both of those as well. Clemson and UGA fans also have the benefit of knowing that their programs are being well resourced and trying to put the best team on the field they possibly can.
 

Animal02

Banned
Messages
6,269
Location
Southeastern Michigan
Flip your television over to the Clemson/SC game and see what a fan base looks like in Columbia. No matter how good or bad the team is there are 77K in Williams Brice for a game. Oh I know it's Columbia, not Atlanta yadda yadda yadda.....................Fans support their team, period.
Enrollment of 50 k......produces a whole lot more alumni
 

RonJohn

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,492
Flip your television over to the Clemson/SC game and see what a fan base looks like in Columbia. No matter how good or bad the team is there are 77K in Williams Brice for a game. Oh I know it's Columbia, not Atlanta yadda yadda yadda.....................Fans support their team, period.

Or Kyle Field any year any WL record.
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,119
Flip your television over to the Clemson/SC game and see what a fan base looks like in Columbia. No matter how good or bad the team is there are 77K in Williams Brice for a game. Oh I know it's Columbia, not Atlanta yadda yadda yadda.....................Fans support their team, period.
You *do* realize they are literally twice our size, right? Almost twice our undergraduate enrollment, and more than twice the size of the alumni base living in their state....so is it any great surprise that they should have twice as big a stadium (oh, wait...they don't) and twice our average attendance (oh wait, ...again, they don't)
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,119
And USC is 8-3 and top 25 program.
Dude...it's a numbers game.....tons more students equals tons more alumni and that forms the base of the program....before you start spouting off such stuff, look at the school's size!

Texas A&M has a total enrollment of over 66,000 students!!!!!!
 

wvGT11

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,198
Anyone remember the VT game from like 2011 I think when we rushed the field and carried the goal posts to the Presidents house...thats the kind of energy thats really been missing over the years. I think we came close in 2014 but dont recall. Its hard to be excited when we lose or everyone hates the coach, but the energy also helps the team. The team might as well have been playing an away game today with how the stadium looked earlier

To the above even when GT was ranked top 10 in previous years we still couldnt sell out games
 
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