Petition to stop noon home games

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

There is no magic bullet or easy answer. WHen I was at the Coast Guard Academy, we had a bunch of cadets with no real interest in athletics other than that we were forced to participate in at least two sports/activities a year. (mostly intramural participation) The CGA used the games to help build esprit de corps by encouraging everyone to attend and incentivizing attendance through the social aspects of it. Now, I know this is not a cookie cutter answer, and the Academy is a vastly different environment than GT, but that doesn't mean we don't make the effort. Too often we simply say we have 'too many internationals,' or 'too many who simply don't care about sports.'In reality, we have a lot who have never been exposed to them. Student athlete ambassadors who intentionally seek out interactions with non-"sporty" students could go a long way in bridging the gap. I don't pretend to have the answer, but that doesn't negate the problem staring us right in the face.

There are some games at which student interest doesn't seem to be a problem, and the student sections are full (although not before the middle of the 1st quarter). So I don't think it's just a matter of general interest in athletics by the students. If that were the case, student attendance at all games would be pretty much the same. So if they are interested in the likes of FSU, Clemson, and VT, then why aren't they interested in giving total support to the program and coming to all the games. I really think it all starts with the fraternities, and somehow something should be done through the fraternities to incentivize game attendance.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I agree with this. My daughter attended GT and got out not too long ago (4 yrs) and NONE the her male student friends at GT attended football games or had any interest in them....and you are correct, they simply weren't football fans at all...not in HS, not for any other teams (college or pro) and never had been. It's the breakdown of American society as we know it.....

I hope she doesn't end up marrying somebody like that. LOL

 

[GTBatGirl96]

I hope she doesn't end up marrying somebody like that. LOL

Lol, I did. I don't think my husband would have gone to a single football game if he weren't dating me. (I even managed to drag him out to a couple of baseball games while we were courting, but I think men up against a 3:1 ratio do anything while they're courting.) I did not miss a single home football game during undergrad, even though it was during the Bill Lewis years, and I think I only missed one in grad school b/c I had to finish my thesis. My dad went to UNC, so I grew up in an ACC household (he was appalled when I married a non-sports fan). I did not even consider applying to MIT b/c it was 1) way too cold and 2) they didn't have a football team. I honestly considered that part of the college experience, and still do.

Sometimes I can get my younger son to watch a football/basketball game with me, but my teenager would rather go play Overwatch. They both play soccer/ flag football in a rec league, so it's not like they are nonathletic.

My father-in-law is not a sports fan, either, and he is also an engineer. I think that's where my husband learned it.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

There are some games at which student interest doesn't seem to be a problem, and the student sections are full (although not before the middle of the 1st quarter). So I don't think it's just a matter of general interest in athletics by the students. If that were the case, student attendance at all games would be pretty much the same. So if they are interested in the likes of FSU, Clemson, and VT, then why aren't they interested in giving total support to the program and coming to all the games. I really think it all starts with the fraternities, and somehow something should be done through the fraternities to incentivize game attendance.

Like I said earlier, in my day, the frats were treated like royalty by the GTAA.

 

[GT_05]

My opinion of the school would be lesser without athletics. I don't want anyone to somehow understand that I think GT should get rid of sports that wasn't what I was saying at all.

To my first question, how would you try to motivate someone with no interest in sports to gain an interest or attend games? I know that the football team has done some "how to" sessions with international students to teach them about football. I have seen some of those students seated together after such an event to watch. I don't know what you could say to someone who grew up in the US with no interest in Pee Wee, high school, college, or NFL football to suddenly awaken an interest.

I’m not sure how, but it is possible. I had an exchange student living with me for a while and I introduced him to baseball. He had never even seen a game, much less played, but now I think he likes it more than I do. Intramural football might be a good learning-to-enjoying experience.


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[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Like I said earlier, in my day, the frats were treated like royalty by the GTAA.

I don't remember your earlier post, but I agree, and I don't think the frats have indicated that they deserve that kind of treatment.

 

[RonJohn]

I’m not sure how, but it is possible. I had an exchange student living with me for a while and I introduced him to baseball. He had never even seen a game, much less played, but now I think he likes it more than I do. Intramural football might be a good learning-to-enjoying experience.

I think it is easier for international students. I know the football team has done events for them in the past. I assume they still do, but I don't know. Here is a video of one:


I believe it is more difficult with domestic students who have been exposed to sports and football but don't have an interest.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I think it is easier for international students. I know the football team has done events for them in the past. I assume they still do, but I don't know. Here is a video of one:


I believe it is more difficult with domestic students who have been exposed to sports and football but don't have an interest.

Love that. I assume that since Vad Lee was in the video it's several years old. I hope they are still doing something like that.

 

[RonJohn]

Love that. I assume that since Vad Lee was in the video it's several years old. I hope they are still doing something like that.

I saw another video from 2015 with JT.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

There are some games at which student interest doesn't seem to be a problem, and the student sections are full (although not before the middle of the 1st quarter). So I don't think it's just a matter of general interest in athletics by the students. If that were the case, student attendance at all games would be pretty much the same. So if they are interested in the likes of FSU, Clemson, and VT, then why aren't they interested in giving total support to the program and coming to all the games. I really think it all starts with the fraternities, and somehow something should be done through the fraternities to incentivize game attendance.

This still somewhat misses the bigger point. How many student seats are reserved? 5000-6000 maybe? If we can't fill that number, then we need to get into the main student body, not the fraternities, and do a better job of selling athletics. How we recruit the fraternities is entirely different than how you recruit the non-fraternity students. Even if we fill that number occasionally, we still need to build our fanbase. Reaching these students is one way of doing that.

 

[GT_05]

I think it is easier for international students. I know the football team has done events for them in the past. I assume they still do, but I don't know. Here is a video of one:


I believe it is more difficult with domestic students who have been exposed to sports and football but don't have an interest.

Looks like fun. Maybe they’ll have an old guy clinic.


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[RonJohn]

This still somewhat misses the bigger point. How many student seats are reserved? 5000-6000 maybe? If we can't fill that number, then we need to get into the main student body, not the fraternities, and do a better job of selling athletics. How we recruit the fraternities is entirely different than how you recruit the non-fraternity students. Even if we fill that number occasionally, we still need to build our fanbase. Reaching these students is one way of doing that.

6000 reserved season tickets and 2500 single game tickets:
https://ev9.evenue.net/evenue/linkI...h Football Student Ticket Policy_05032017.pdf

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

6000 reserved season tickets and 2500 single game tickets:
https://ev9.evenue.net/evenue/linkID=gatech/core/2017 Georgia Tech Football Student Ticket Policy_05032017.pdf

Thanks. Not bad for a guess.

 

[LongforDodd]

Real fan here. Answer me this...why wouldn't I want and push for a kick-off time that would make my fan experience the most pleasurable possible? Noon kick-offs are brutal in September. Not because it "really hot" at kick-off, but that it gets progressively hotter as the game goes on. Standing there in the beating sun, with 90+ degree temperatures is brutal for the fan base AND the team. The complaints are not that we have Noon kickoffs, it's that we seem to have a preponderance of Noon kick-offs.

As for going head-to-head with the Kick0ff Classic, who cares? Playing Alcorn St, we're not trying to compete for national ratings. It'll probably be broadcast on the ACC Network or ESPN3. It's the rare fan that would go to the GT/Alcorn St. game in the afternoon and then to the KOC in the evening, so there's no competition for audience.

I just don't get the push back.

Agree...I took my daughter to the GT/NCSU(Russell Wilson) game and sat in the east stands. She was about 14. It was brutal!

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

This still somewhat misses the bigger point. How many student seats are reserved? 5000-6000 maybe? If we can't fill that number, then we need to get into the main student body, not the fraternities, and do a better job of selling athletics. How we recruit the fraternities is entirely different than how you recruit the non-fraternity students. Even if we fill that number occasionally, we still need to build our fanbase. Reaching these students is one way of doing that.

But it's the non-fraternity seats (east of the band) that are generally full, and even prior to kickoff, whereas the fraternity sections for one game last year probably maxed out at no more than 100 students. The south stands which used to be full for most games, and is also non-frat, have not done very good that past couple of years either.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I saw another video from 2015 with JT.

That one's a couple of years old too, since Justin is in it, but regardless, it's really cool to see Johnson and the players interacting and having fun with the students.

 

[Jmonty71]

Where do you propose that the money come from?

Beer and alcohol sales, would help. Also, doing something to generate better marketing.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Beer and alcohol sales, would help. Also, doing something to generate better marketing.

It would also be nice to have a food court like they have at Suntrust Park or Mercedes-Benz Stadium

 

[Milwaukee]

20 pages deep and still only the same 4 GT fans are complaining about noon kickoffs.

 

[ramblinwreckguru]

20 pages deep and still only the same 4 GT fans are complaining about noon kickoffs. View attachment 3604

I take it that you prefer the noon kickoffs?