The facts as I see'em

[ClydeBrick]

My brother in law went to Texas A&M. My family took him to Tuscaloosa for a Bama game. His jaw fell out. "This", he said, "is what I want for A&M".

It takes a vision. That's the start.

I am starting to think that you are trolling us now.

aTm just spent nearly half a billion dollars making Kyle Field the biggest football stadium in the $EC.

aTm spent $20m on "facilities" upgrades in 2014 (Bammer spent $9m in 2013).

After adding 20k seats, aTm has a higher average home attendance than Bammer, so mission accomplished (?).

Now after all that money, the only thing an aTm fan would want that Bammer has is a shiny, new sign saying "National Champions 1925 1926 1930 1934 1941 1961 1964 1965 1973 1978 1979 1992 2009 2011 2012 2015" to replace their really, really old "National Champions 1919 1927 1939" sign that they currently have. There remains some things money can't buy.

The "start" ain't a "vision". Vision is nearly free, we all have a vision of what would make GT a better football program. The start is money, plain and simple. If there were rich alumni/football-fans standing around with half a billions dollars to spend on GT football, The Hill would take notice - they'd have to. The problem is, there isn't.

Even with aTm/Bammer-like money we have to remember that money would only address facilities, stadium, coaching, recruiting and other financial issues. The Institute will still be The Institute in every other way (there are not many people that would want that to change much - including me). Alumni numbers and attitudes toward football will remain what they are. Winning is what gets you (and keeps) large amounts of sidewalk/fair-weather fans, plain and simple.

Is this defeatist thinking or realist thinking? Both? Neither? Opinions, like mileage, will vary. One thing I would change about this board (or any other GT sports board) is I would add a Make GT Sports Great Again forum. That way, folks that want to expend electrons on figuring a way back to the Heisman-Alexander-Dodd era could while away their time rehashing the same things over and over again.

As to the OP - you have pointed some things that I agree with and some I don't. I am looking forward to Thursday night when we will see what CPJ and his fine young men really have this season.

Go Jackets!

 

[awbuzz]

Has Tech ever offered a free ticket to the season ticket holders for games that we know won't sell out?

Yes... last few years I've done so for the FCS team in the schedule. This year ... Mercer...

 

[Vespidae]

I am starting to think that you are trolling us now.

LOL. Good grief. He didn't go last week. It was a few years ago. I can get the exact date.

But ... the point I was making is still valid. It starts with desire ...

 

[ClydeBrick]

LOL. Good grief. He didn't go last week. It was a few years ago. I can get the exact date.

But ... the point I was making is still valid. It starts with desire ...

LOL back at you - your saying that all GT needs is someone with "desire"? I guess if we put desire in one hand ...

The point I was making has a basis in fact; money is a huge difference maker in CFB and it is something that GT is behind the 8-ball on all fronts. Even if GT went all-in on winning games (treating SA's like meat, accepting unacceptable behavior, bag men, over-signing, academic improprieties, etc.) someone would still have to pay for the physical plant & coaching salaries being a factory requires.

But you know, there is a game later this week. The OP of this thread had some interesting points. What do you think about those?

 

[AE 87]

I am starting to think that you are trolling us now.

aTm just spent nearly half a billion dollars making Kyle Field the biggest football stadium in the $EC.

aTm spent $20m on "facilities" upgrades in 2014 (Bammer spent $9m in 2013).

After adding 20k seats, aTm has a higher average home attendance than Bammer, so mission accomplished (?).

Now after all that money, the only thing an aTm fan would want that Bammer has is a shiny, new sign saying "National Champions 1925 1926 1930 1934 1941 1961 1964 1965 1973 1978 1979 1992 2009 2011 2012 2015" to replace their really, really old "National Champions 1919 1927 1939" sign that they currently have. There remains some things money can't buy.

The "start" ain't a "vision". Vision is nearly free, we all have a vision of what would make GT a better football program. The start is money, plain and simple. If there were rich alumni/football-fans standing around with half a billions dollars to spend on GT football, The Hill would take notice - they'd have to. The problem is, there isn't.

Even with aTm/Bammer-like money we have to remember that money would only address facilities, stadium, coaching, recruiting and other financial issues. The Institute will still be The Institute in every other way (there are not many people that would want that to change much - including me). Alumni numbers and attitudes toward football will remain what they are. Winning is what gets you (and keeps) large amounts of sidewalk/fair-weather fans, plain and simple.

Is this defeatist thinking or realist thinking? Both? Neither? Opinions, like mileage, will vary. One thing I would change about this board (or any other GT sports board) is I would add a Make GT Sports Great Again forum. That way, folks that want to expend electrons on figuring a way back to the Heisman-Alexander-Dodd era could while away their time rehashing the same things over and over again.

As to the OP - you have pointed some things that I agree with and some I don't. I am looking forward to Thursday night when we will see what CPJ and his fine young men really have this season.

Go Jackets!

Once you wrote the first sentence, you probably should've stopped.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

This is incredibly defeatist.

I'm a realist. Filling the stadium is a nice goal, like ending world hunger and establishing world peace, something to inspire you dreamers and make you feel hopeful for the goodness of mankind. It's not going to happen but if it makes you feel good to think that it can, keep on dreaming.

Go Jackets!

 

[AE 87]

I'm a realist. Filling the stadium is a nice goal, like ending world hunger and establishing world peace, something to inspire you dreamers and make you feel hopeful for the goodness of mankind. It's not going to happen but if it makes you feel good to think that it can, keep on dreaming.

Go Jackets!

Naahhh. We start winning regularly, we'll start selling out bdshgf

 

[ballground jacket]

My whole family is sidewalk fans. Been a season ticket holder for 10 years now. Most of the people I sit around are all sidewalk fans so just like you we are out there..

I am a long time sidewalk fan. I am also frugal and won't pay the ticket prices asked for this year. If they did the cheap seats at $99 this year, I would have 4 seats and the games I did not make I would give the tickets away to tech fans... 4 of us would have been there yesterday in gold and making some noise, but I worked on my boat and listened on the radio instead...

 

[Vespidae]

LOL back at you - your saying that all GT needs is someone with "desire"? I guess if we put desire in one hand ...

The point I was making has a basis in fact; money is a huge difference maker in CFB and it is something that GT is behind the 8-ball on all fronts. Even if GT went all-in on winning games (treating SA's like meat, accepting unacceptable behavior, bag men, over-signing, academic improprieties, etc.) someone would still have to pay for the physical plant & coaching salaries being a factory requires.

But you know, there is a game later this week. The OP of this thread had some interesting points. What do you think about those?

I think the most interesting point is "We haven't really beaten anybody noteworthy." That's true. A lot of the comments on individual players are less interesting to me, because you should play to a system ... offense, defense, special teams ... all working together. Ideally ... you would just change out players (ok, we aren't THAT deep).

Re the uniforms though, not a fan. Don't get me wrong ... I like the throwback ... but we are changing uniforms ALL the time. We are traditional school ... pick a classic uniform that is TIMELESS and keep going. You don't see Notre Dame, Bama or UT changing uniforms every year.

 

[Vespidae]

My whole family is sidewalk fans. Been a season ticket holder for 10 years now. Most of the people I sit around are all sidewalk fans so just like you we are out there..

I think it's great you are going to the games. I hope we can convert more sidewalks to actual season tix holders ... it's just better for stability.

 

[hwdgeplague]

1. Radio live coverage across the state needs to there...this is how you can reach people who are not in the stadium with effect.
2. Demand respect on GameDay...it should be an 8 hour Show about GT...on the hometown station. No ugaly talk. No snark radio hacks. But people who love and care about GT and its great mission.
3. Reshape how GT is viewed locally...as a humanitarian educational Institute that is shaping individuals into key contributors to their community and world...this is done through a completely new approach to media.
4. Add a communications major to advance this goal...communicating technology and its benefits is as important as the technology is so people can be smart about the use and misuse. "What we have here is a failure to communicate " is essentially the problem as to why the seats are not filled...so why not learn how to do it and not leave it up to those with other allegiances to do it for us?
5. Effectually fund the athletic program. We boast of all the millionaires from tech....where are the Uber rich alumni that would step forward to use athletics to propel Tech's mission forward..
Thanks here to the tens of hundreds who have already done this.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I'm a realist. Filling the stadium is a nice goal, like ending world hunger and establishing world peace, something to inspire you dreamers and make you feel hopeful for the goodness of mankind. It's not going to happen but if it makes you feel good to think that it can, keep on dreaming.

Go Jackets!

But there are people in the GTAA drawing a salary whose job it is to fill the stadium. Some of the ideas expressed in this thread could be very useful to them. The problem is they are not getting the message. My advice to the posters with marketing experience with specific ideas is to contact the GTAA marketing department and establish a relationship. Talking up your plan on this board is useless.

 

[reubenjet]

2. Demand respect on GameDay...it should be an 8 hour Show about GT...on the hometown station. No ugaly talk. No snark radio hacks. But people who love and care about GT and its great mission.
3. Reshape how GT is viewed locally...as a humanitarian educational Institute that is shaping individuals into key contributors to their community and world...this is done through a completely new approach to media.

I don't see this happening in the near future.

 

[UgaBlows]

Hire 20%Bulldwag as our marketing director?

 

[Vespidae]

Just fact checking on the GTAA site ...

Our Director of Marketing, Markeisha Everett, joined the GTAA in May 2015. She previously served as Director of Athletic Marketing at West Virginia, and prior to that, as a marketing specialist at Gonzaga, Missouri and North Dakota State. She co-hosts a Monday night marketing chat on Twitter (#mnmchat).

She graduated from Bowling Green State in 2008 with a bachelor's in education. She earned her master's in sport administration from West Virginia in 2009.

So, we have folks running Marketing who don't have a marketing background. OK ... neither do I. I have an MBA and learned marketing by running sales and marketing for a number of companies. The difference though, is Fortune 500 is very unforgiving when results are not realized. Most of my compensation was results based. I wonder what her targets are?

It might be interesting to connect to her Twitter chat and see what her thoughts are. There are two interesting threads, one of which was mentioned here. First, most "preferences" are developed very early in life. If you can get the kids in grade school, there is a high likelihood they will remain a fan. (Coke goes after 3 year olds. Need I say more?)

Second, students are the season ticket holders of the future. Tech should strive to get 100% attendance and then, % of local alumni buying. Make it easy ... but get them buying the product.

My two cents before my next coffee.