Our Fan Base

[jacketup]

The fans that live near Atlanta are complaining about the cost to attend one away game. Those of us that live out of state face that cost to attend GT games in Atlanta. I had season tickets for three years 2013-2015. I could stay with my in-,laws for the weekend, so only cost me gas, some food, and price of tickets. I would probably still do that if my in-laws were still alive and I didn't have to board my dog. Now it's a lot more expensive and I do one or maybe two games a year. I still make a pretty decent donation rather than tickets I can't use

Same here. With travel, hotel, meals and game tickets it costs $750 or more for my wife and I to go to one game. I've made the point to the GTAA that they should find participating hotels, airlines, etc. to reduce costs. They don't seem to understand that more than half of grads leave Georgia--which is to say that they don't understand their market. But since Homer retired, there has been a lot that they don't understand.

 

[konabuzz]

OK, my two cents worth. Tech fans are different from other fans bases because we have more going on in our lives. Yes, that is a generalization. Yes, it sounds snobby.

But I believe it to be true, not just from anecdotal evidence of fellow Tech fans who have so many other things going on in their lives, but because we don’t act like a cult.

The uga fan base, for instance, has people who will spend their last dollar on the team. I know some who are constantly in debt or can’t pay their bills. Some want to paint their houses red and black. I’ve seen grave markers that are shaped like bulldogs and painted red and black. Many can’t sustain a conversation on numerous topics but are always ready to talk football. In short, it’s all they’ve got going on in their lives. And they never leave the house without putting on a uga t-shirt or sticking a uga flag on the back of their pickup.

Are there reasonable uga fans who keep things in perspective? Of course. But it’s this larger fanatical (fan) base that keeps the whole thing humming for them. So they can spend time with family, take up gardening, go to Europe, hold their own in their company’s board room and give to charity. But the crazy core of fans feeds the monster for the whole fan base.

Tech will never have that level of crazy. Too pragmatic, too sensible, too restrained, too cynical.

This is pretty much my assessment as well with no actual basis for said assessment other than random observation.

My 2 best friends from GT would go to every home game if they lived in Atlanta, but they are both a plane ride away. And yes, they have a ton of other things to do.

Since 1986 I've missed a total of 5 home games. I've stayed in Atlanta since graduating (91) and a big reason is I want it to be easy to go to GT sporting events. If we did move (empty nesters now), we would actually make the effort to still come to every home game. Having said that, the world doesn't revolve as much around GT as it used to in the past. We made the decision to take our 'big' vacation this year during the fall and will miss the first 2 home games. We still bought season tickets and will provide to extended family who don't often get to go to Tech games.

Maybe it is 'diehard with perspective'......