Petition to stop noon home games

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If you want to compare to the mutts: In 2016 4 of 6 home games at 12:00. In 2015 4 of 7 games at 12:00. In 2014 4 of 7 games at 12:00. Every single noon game was a sellout at almost double the capacity of BDS.
And if we regularly filled BDS for all games, noon games would be at capacity also, but we don't, and with all the noon games we have, we never will, unless perhaps we have 3 or more 11 win seasons in a row. I was at all those home games you listed, and despite the numbers given, I can assure you there were nowhere near that many actually in attendance for the noon games, and some of the later ones, with the possible exception of GSU. Did you notice that the number is larger for the GSU game than for the Clemson game? That's because the Clemson attendance was down that year also, again probably because it was a noon game, and their fans weren't willing or able to make the trip; that game is usually at or near capacity. I don't know where Tech comes up with the numbers they always give (ticket sales, maybe?), but they don't always reflect actual attendance. I sit in the upper east, and it is seldom anywhere near full, nor are the ends of the upper west. Give the fans a reason to come (more wins and more attractive opponents, both beyond our control), and they will come, regardless of the time.
 

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
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10,486
Except that some of the fans are actually detractors from enlarging the fan base. There was a post a few years ago on here about a guy who brought his young son to his first GT football game. As I recall the post, the son was super excited and loved the experience ... until... an old guy wearing a fedora dressed the young kid down for having the nerve to wear a blue GT shirt. After that the kid had a terrible time. I don't recall any follow up to that, but it is quite possible that GT lost a fan that day because of an old jerk. I have never sat in the lower East stands during a game, but the common story is that people yell at you to sit down if you have the nerve to stand up when GT is scoring a touchdown. Really, don't be so rude as to celebrate a touchdown? Luckily there is a wall behind me because I stand up and start flailing my hands as soon as I see a receiver break open behind the coverage. Sometimes I have to sit down in disgust, but sometimes I am 3 or 4 seconds early in the touchdown celebration. When I first started sitting in the area I am in now the people in front of me actually pre-apologized for rising up during big plays. What kind of fan base has to apologize for getting excited during a game?

I do want some of the current fans to change. They need to stop acting like curmudgeons and start enjoying the games.

Old @Supersizethatorder-mutt struck again huh?:p:D

I kid. But seriously, how does a dad let his son allow some random stranger to ruin his day over something so silly? Was the kid 3?
 
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Old @Supersizethatorder-mutt struck again huh?:p:D

I kid. But seriously, how does a dad let his son allow some random stranger to ruin his day over something so silly? Was the kid 3?
I know you were kidding, but seriously, I find what that old fart did TOTALLY OBJECTIONABLE. I may not like blue, but to say something like that to a kid and/or his dad is sh***y.
 

4shotB

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RonJohn - I think you are looking at minutiae here. You are referencing one incident that is several years old. Wouldn't you believe that there are individual jerks in every single fan base? The larger issue remains - you claim Uga will sell out their noon games. I will accept this as fact. But yet, we don't. The larger issue is what does Uga do to create more brand loyalty? Are there creative things that we could do to emulate them (or other similar schools) to create the demand such that our games sell out as well - noon or otherwise? We all agree what are obstacles are. Are we doing everything we can to overcome them? I'm not sure.
 

Gold1

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RonJohn - I think you are looking at minutiae here. You are referencing one incident that is several years old. Wouldn't you believe that there are individual jerks in every single fan base? The larger issue remains - you claim Uga will sell out their noon games. I will accept this as fact. But yet, we don't. The larger issue is what does Uga do to create more brand loyalty? Are there creative things that we could do to emulate them (or other similar schools) to create the demand such that our games sell out as well - noon or otherwise? We all agree what are obstacles are. Are we doing everything we can to overcome them? I'm not sure.
And one of those obstacles is more noon home games than anybody else.
 

RonJohn

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RonJohn - I think you are looking at minutiae here. You are referencing one incident that is several years old. Wouldn't you believe that there are individual jerks in every single fan base? The larger issue remains - you claim Uga will sell out their noon games. I will accept this as fact. But yet, we don't. The larger issue is what does Uga do to create more brand loyalty? Are there creative things that we could do to emulate them (or other similar schools) to create the demand such that our games sell out as well - noon or otherwise? We all agree what are obstacles are. Are we doing everything we can to overcome them? I'm not sure.

That incident was only two years ago, not ancient history.

I do agree that the GTAA needs to drum up support. I believe TStan is trying and is working on plenty of things.

What you don't get is that I am pushing back on the fans intentionally. GT fans seem to have a reputation for being old grumpy men. Some fans yell at people to sit down. That definitely matches the reputation. The old guy yelling at a kid for wearing a blue shirt definitely matches the reputation. If someone who is thinking about going to a GT game reads this forum do they hear enthusiasm about the school and the team? Or, do they hear grumpy people complaining? -- Offense is boring...QB can't throw the ball...It's too hot I'm going to sit on my couch to watch...WRs are worse than DII receivers... Those are the kinds of things I read on GTSwarm now. If you were not a GT fan, is that the kind of group you want to go hang around? There are many enthusiastic posts, but they seem to be drowned out by the detractors who are supposedly fans. I have probably over 100 people on ignore and I still get more of the 'not good enough to play DII sports' types of comments than I care to read.
 

4shotB

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That incident was only two years ago, not ancient history.

I do agree that the GTAA needs to drum up support. I believe TStan is trying and is working on plenty of things.

What you don't get is that I am pushing back on the fans intentionally. GT fans seem to have a reputation for being old grumpy men. Some fans yell at people to sit down. That definitely matches the reputation. The old guy yelling at a kid for wearing a blue shirt definitely matches the reputation. If someone who is thinking about going to a GT game reads this forum do they hear enthusiasm about the school and the team? Or, do they hear grumpy people complaining? -- Offense is boring...QB can't throw the ball...It's too hot I'm going to sit on my couch to watch...WRs are worse than DII receivers... Those are the kinds of things I read on GTSwarm now. If you were not a GT fan, is that the kind of group you want to go hang around? There are many enthusiastic posts, but they seem to be drowned out by the detractors who are supposedly fans. I have probably over 100 people on ignore and I still get more of the 'not good enough to play DII sports' types of comments than I care to read.

Well thought out and lucid post. At the end of the day, I think where you and I may differ is in our viewpoints of GT fans....I think the issues with GT fans (which you outline above and I do not necessarily dispute) is a symptom of the disease whereas you view the outlook and the attitudes of the fans as the disease itself. A gross generalization perhaps but conveys the essence of our discussions "in shorthand".
 
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That incident was only two years ago, not ancient history.

I do agree that the GTAA needs to drum up support. I believe TStan is trying and is working on plenty of things.

What you don't get is that I am pushing back on the fans intentionally. GT fans seem to have a reputation for being old grumpy men. Some fans yell at people to sit down. That definitely matches the reputation. The old guy yelling at a kid for wearing a blue shirt definitely matches the reputation. If someone who is thinking about going to a GT game reads this forum do they hear enthusiasm about the school and the team? Or, do they hear grumpy people complaining? -- Offense is boring...QB can't throw the ball...It's too hot I'm going to sit on my couch to watch...WRs are worse than DII receivers... Those are the kinds of things I read on GTSwarm now. If you were not a GT fan, is that the kind of group you want to go hang around? There are many enthusiastic posts, but they seem to be drowned out by the detractors who are supposedly fans. I have probably over 100 people on ignore and I still get more of the 'not good enough to play DII sports' types of comments than I care to read.
I am in the upper age group of the survey on another thread, and my only consistent complaint, generally speaking, is about the use of navy, whether in uniforms or fan-wear, but I would NEVER express that complaint to a total stranger or especially a kid. I may gripe about it on these threads, but not like that old fart did to that kid. Obviously, I also gripe about noon games. But I stand up, get rowdy, stomp on the seats, and scream my head off at games. The only times I have told anyone in front of me to sit down were at Homecoming last year, when a large group of students were in my section, and many of them were standing up constantly, NOT cheering for the team, but turned around talking to friends behind them and, in one case, making out. The other time I directed my complaint to a mutt fan woman (obviously drunk or stoned) who just stood up and did nothing at all, blocking the view of everyone behind her. Her redneck son really got pissed off and stood up with her. Even some Georgia fans sitting in front of me and behind the woman were pissed at her, although they didn't really say anything to her, instead just agreeing with me. Finally somebody (I promise it was not me) called stadium security on her. They didn't remove her, although they certainly could have, but appealed to everyone (the woman especially) to chill and enjoy the game. She behaved better the rest of the game, but not much better. ANYWAY, like I said, I can go crazy at games, and fortunately most Tech fans around me, old and young, do the same.
 

RonJohn

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I am in the upper age group of the survey on another thread, and my only consistent complaint, generally speaking, is about the use of navy, whether in uniforms or fan-wear, but I would NEVER express that complaint to a total stranger or especially a kid. I may gripe about it on these threads, but not like that old fart did to that kid. Obviously, I also gripe about noon games. But I stand up, get rowdy, stomp on the seats, and scream my head off at games. The only times I have told anyone in front of me to sit down were at Homecoming last year, when a large group of students were in my section, and many of them were standing up constantly, NOT cheering for the team, but turned around talking to friends behind them and, in one case, making out. The other time I directed my complaint to a mutt fan woman (obviously drunk or stoned) who just stood up and did nothing at all, blocking the view of everyone behind her. Her redneck son really got pissed off and stood up with her. Even some Georgia fans sitting in front of me and behind the woman were pissed at her, although they didn't really say anything to her, instead just agreeing with me. Finally somebody (I promise it was not me) called stadium security on her. They didn't remove her, although they certainly could have, but appealed to everyone (the woman especially) to chill and enjoy the game. She behaved better the rest of the game, but not much better. ANYWAY, like I said, I can go crazy at games, and fortunately most Tech fans around me, old and young, do the same.

I wasn't referring to you in particular. As far as I know we have never met. However from your posts here and responses from people who do know you I understand that you are an enthusiastic GT fan. I haven't reached fifty quite yet, but I hope one day to be an old GT fan. I will always be a GT fan, so the only alternative is that I won't be living anymore.

BTW, I don't take any exception to yelling at mutt fans: drunk, stoned, or sober. As I typed that I realized that the(only) two times I went to games in Athens, the mutt fans were nice or at least cordial to me. At one game I sat directly in front of Shawn Jone's parents(1990). At the other I got the tickets from a mutt season ticket holder, who also held GT season tickets in 1996(Section 118 or 119). At the 1990 game I had many GT fans around me. At the 1990 game I was the only one, but everyone around me was decent.
 
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I wasn't referring to you in particular. As far as I know we have never met. However from your posts here and responses from people who do know you I understand that you are an enthusiastic GT fan. I haven't reached fifty quite yet, but I hope one day to be an old GT fan. I will always be a GT fan, so the only alternative is that I won't be living anymore.

BTW, I don't take any exception to yelling at mutt fans: drunk, stoned, or sober. As I typed that I realized that the(only) two times I went to games in Athens, the mutt fans were nice or at least cordial to me. At one game I sat directly in front of Shawn Jone's parents(1990). At the other I got the tickets from a mutt season ticket holder, who also held GT season tickets in 1996(Section 118 or 119). At the 1990 game I had many GT fans around me. At the 1990 game I was the only one, but everyone around me was decent.
I didn't direct my post to you; I was just venting in general. I don't remember having any problems with the mutt fans IN THE STANDS in Athens, but I sure did outside the stadium. I was spit at (he missed) by a mutt fan after our win there in 1984. Back then there were generally a large number of Tech fans, and they gave us good seats. I was there in 1990 also, and it was special, although not nearly as special as the blowout in the freezing cold rain in 1974, when my dad accompanied me for his first and only COFH game. I guess I really began to turn on their fans after the brouhaha that erupted when the Tech band at half-time covered the Georgia logo at mid-field with a Tech logo, although the Eddie Lee Ivery incident when they cheered (players included) when he went down was the worst of all. Although I thought their reaction to the band stunt was funny as hell, it also demonstrated just how petty those fans are. My last visit there was 2002, by which time they had started giving Tech terrible seats, spread out all over the stadium. I have no desire ever to go back, win or lose.
 

RonJohn

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I didn't direct my post to you; I was just venting in general. I don't remember having any problems with the mutt fans IN THE STANDS in Athens, but I sure did outside the stadium. I was spit at (he missed) by a mutt fan after our win there in 1984. Back then there were generally a large number of Tech fans, and they gave us good seats. I was there in 1990 also, and it was special, although not nearly as special as the blowout in the freezing cold rain in 1974, when my dad accompanied me for his first and only COFH game.

In 1990 I was sitting close to the 40 yard line about 12 rows up from the field. I couldn't believe how good the seats were for a visiting student ticket. I do have to admit though that Tech fans back then were pretty vulgar also. The popular GT shirt worn that day to the mutt game said "Clemson Sucks" on the front and "But Georgia Swallows" on the back. In my college days I thought that was hilarious, but after mellowing some i wouldn't support it.
 
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In 1990 I was sitting close to the 40 yard line about 12 rows up from the field. I couldn't believe how good the seats were for a visiting student ticket. I do have to admit though that Tech fans back then were pretty vulgar also. The popular GT shirt worn that day to the mutt game said "Clemson Sucks" on the front and "But Georgia Swallows" on the back. In my college days I thought that was hilarious, but after mellowing some i wouldn't support it.
I had great upperdeck sideline seats (probably around the 30 yard line) then, as I had I think every year until 2002, and there were tons of Tech fans around me. I don't remember any shirt like the one you mentioned, but even now I think it's hilarious. I wouldn't buy or wear one, but it's still funny. LOL
 

AE 87

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Fwiw, many of us shaking our heads at this thread take this post at face value.

A team playing at noon on TV is valued more highly than a team playing only online.

A team playing on ESPN is valued more than a team playing on ESPNU or news.

If TV partners determine start times, then you can ask the windmill to lift his lance, but it doesn't make you a knight.

Oh, and @RonJohn, if you are suggesting that engineers don't always have the best social skills, well ...
 

FrostedOrange

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So my memory had expanded the story a little bit. It was @FrostedOrange in 2016: https://gtswarm.com/threads/gt-fans.10539/

So here's the followup. I still occasionally think about that old pick. I've figured out he's a big booster, has a boat named Ramblin wreck that you'll see at harbor town from time to time My son who he harassed, has never mentioned this and likely doesn't even remember it. Still season tix holders, 3 in cl1.
 

GTBandman

Jolly Good Fellow
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I love college football, and not just GT. If we are playing no-name U in Sept, I’d rather it be on Thursday night to be both cooler and enable watching college football all day Saturday.

Other than that, I’d rather it be always at noon so I can get home and watch other games from 5pm to midnight. I’m in my seat 45 minutes prior to kickoff to see warmup drills and pregame activities. Night games at least enable watching until late afternoon. 3:30 is the worst slot for anyone attending who enjoys watching other games, and it is still really hot in Sept then anyway.

Be thankful we aren’t in the central time zone. There are a bunch of SEC and Big Ten teams kicking at 11 am - usually with lot of fans there. If we kicked off at 7am I’d be there. It’s GT football and I only get to see it a handful of times every year, and as I get older I realize I’ve seen more in the past than I will get to in the future.

Go Jackets!
 

jacket_fan

Ramblin' Wreck
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I've enjoyed reading and participating in this thread.

It seems to me that a person's preference in game start time does not determine whether your a a rabid fan or not.

Personal preferences for tailgate atmosphere, personal schedule convenience and family commitment are big drivers.

I will say that my tailgate crowd has long complained about noon games in September. Now we will get to complain about Friday night games. :(
 

iceeater1969

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i was so down after last 6 quarters in 17.

then got to support gt recruiting in pensacola.

then we made it below 100 days to toe meets leather.

while i would prefer later start , i am so desperate for gt football , we will be early for Alcorn St.

Lets get started on erasing the last 6 quarters of 17. It is what it is. They will not put us in prime time till that memory is replaced.

As Jerry says
Go Jackets !
 
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