FB attendance depression

[00Dawg]

For me it's just stage of life. Between my kids soccer and baseball tournaments a lot of weekends and taking care of aging parents, if I have a free weekend I don't have any desire traveling when I can watch it at home. If that makes me a bad fan so be it.

We're pretty close to this. It was hard to pull the trigger on tickets this year, and the trip Saturday was made far less enjoyable because of the season of life we're in. There's a good chance this will be our last year to have season tickets for all four of us.
That being said, I wonder if the demographics of our fanbase are helping to drive this....those of us who were drawn in by the heyday of the Sherrill era are where we have kids with conflicting priorities, but not old enough to retire. Then you would have about 8 years of crap-tastic football where we didn't expand our fanbase at all.

 

[kired]

I love attending games in person. Only make a handful of baseball and basketball games, but football is the one sport I try to attend every game if possible. I also live in Tupelo so easy trip for me. I can't imagine shelling out the money some of you do for hotels.

We've reached a point where total attendance shouldn't be something to brag about. Who cares if we have 45,000 or 60,000. I think it would be great if we somehow reduced capacity (chairbacks all around??) and focused more on making it an enjoyable experience for the fans that can & do attend rather than trying to persuade 60,000+ people to come to every game.

 

[Podgy]

It's the 17ing faculty tickets. They don't go to the games and sell their damn tickets. It's past time the school shuts that **** down. AZ had very few fans. Crowd was good minus the damn faculty and opponent sections. AZ sent back most of their ticket allotment. Then, you've got the damn Junction monkeys. They choose to sit out there and watch a tv and get drunk instead of going in. Junction has about another 1000 or two out there every game. The rest is what others mentioned-costs, Covid, & tv. We've got a weak *** fan base no doubt. But similar things are happening at most schools now.

Sounds like faculty are doing what others in college football are doing: making decisions to increase their personal wealth.

 

[Dawgbite]

I can only speak from personal experience. up until last year I had been a twenty plus year season ticket holder. We were part of the RV crowd. I can remember when there would be 200 RVs in the Hump parking lot. It was a small city and the university appreciated us being there. Through the years the university got greedy and started pushing us off and out to the edges of campus. Throughout the years they continued to take more all the while wanting more money for the privilege. The final straw was when they took my baseball RV spot and car parking pass. I don’t know if it was Cohen or an Athletic Department decision but they made a concerted effort to make the RVs unwelcome and force them off campus. I’ll watch on TV but it’s not the same. Live college football is an event, TV doesn’t do it justice. We finally made a decision to spend our entertainment $ elsewhere.

 

[patdog]

Biggest issue with game attendance is the 3-4 minute commercial breaks. It's just boring and makes the game drag on forever. By late in the 3rd quarter, I'm usually just wishing it would end already. Everything else about the tailgating and game experience is fine. College football should learn a lesson from the NFL and MLB. Their commercial breaks are 2 minutes.

 

[MStateDawg]

The kid activities is a relevant one. Not only is more stuff scheduled on Saturday’s the cost of participation in a lot of that stuff has gone up.

That's another great point. When I was kid back in the 80s, we never had sporting events on the weekends. My little league games were twice per week on week nights and pee football was twice per week (one practice and one game) also on week nights. I never remember Saturday games other than All-Star tournaments for baseball.

 

[The Peeper]

I'm not sure when my attitude changed, maybe it was a slow transformation that I didn't realize was happening. I have been attending MSU big 3 sports games since as best I recall 1968. My dad and I and whomever was w/ us that day NEVER even left when we were down 42 points w/ 2 minutes to go. I'm on my 10th head coach now. I've seen the Dogs play in Gainsville, Auburn, Eugene OR, Knoxville, Oxford, Lexington, Baton Rouge, Vandy, Tuscaloosa, Austin, Fayetteville and Little Rock, Cotton Bowl, Liberty Bowls, Gator Bowl, Music City Bowls, Independence Bowl, Peach Bowls.

Fast forward to now. I haven't been inside Davis Wade since 2018, and I'm early retired and now live full time in Starkville after driving back and forth between Jackson and Starkville for decades. I haven't missed a gameday in Starkville during that time since 2018, but I dont go in the stadium. I'm fit and in great health. For me, its about the terrible parking situation, the long traffic lines after the game, the prices of tickets and premium on them, the hard arse metal bleachers, the knees in my back, people walking in front of me constantly, the long damn lines to get in DW, the metal detectors and bag checks (why do they have them for football and basketball but not baseball when crowds have been bigger at baseball than basketball?) the concession lines, the rest room lines, the $10 beer and $10 burgers, the 11:00 kickoffs, the street closings, etc etc etc. It's just not a pleasant relaxed experience any more.

I now come before the streets close and park. I set up everything, watch the tv and listen to radio, walk around the Junction and visit w/ friends, cook, drink my own beer, watch the game w/ friends on tv and on the big screen in the stadium. When its over we leisurely pack everything up for next time, wait for the streets to open back up while sipping a final beer or 2. By then the madhouse of everybody leaving at the same time is over and we drive home w/ no traffic. I don't know what the magic pill is that will get more people in the stadium. But, I can't imagine anything that will make me want to go back in any time soon short of a miraculous season, which is why I still buy 4 tickets every year w/ the parking pass. My tickets are given to somebody every game so there's always somebody in maroon sitting there. I still buy baseball season tickets too and haven't missed but 1 home game since moving here. We don't buy basketball any more for last few years either, it stopped being fun in the Hump and I dropped mens and women's tickets. Again, I don't know the solution because everybody has their own reasons but I think there are several commonalities and that's price and time required.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

But every fan base has the obstacles to attend of expenses, travel to campus, kids travel ball, wife plans, etc etc.

We simply did NOT capitalize on the Dan/Dak era or the 2018 team. We didn't finish the deal in 2014, that was a bucket of cold water. Then in 2015 we lose to OM at home. 2017, another bucket of cold water to end the season. Then 2018 losing to Mullen was a kick in the nuts.

State has to finish one of these seasons and have a transcending star to build this fan base with casual fans and get people off the couch.

Boom. This is it. We all know the typical things that have been listed - COVID, rising ticket/concession/gas costs, TV, etc. But State has extra things that make it tougher:

1) Location makes hotels/AirBnB/etc. more scarce, so they are higher;
2) Lack of an immediate big metro area means most drives are longer.

Now, are there ways to mitigate it? Maybe, these are my suggestions:

1) Give away a lot of cheap tickets to area schools;
2) Big time marketing emphasis on students/students/students - they make the atmosphere, bottom line.

These can also work for basketball. I simply don't think you can fight the TV trend or that some people only come up for certain weekends due to the drive. But more than anything, we've got to stop wasting our big seasons, like 2018 and now this year. I mean we overthink this crap so much. In 2018, we would have been better off hiring ANYONE on Mullen's staff, rather than Moorhead, even if it meant we fired them 2-3 years later (I mean that happened anyway). This year, the obvious play was to just keep the staff intact and keep doing what we were doing, but noooooo, ego gets involved and now our offense looks like shlt.

It's cliche but true - we just don't seem to have a football 'culture'. It makes me wonder if basketball isn't the real play for us, regarding the big revenue sports. You can make big money there, and while we may not have a Kentucky culture, we don't have a lack of one either. Our boosters have shown the willingness to do what is necessary. MS is a baseball state anyway, and used to be a basketball one but with the demise of Jackson that's sort of went away. We've never really been a football state, honestly, just very disjointed there, offenses/coaching is way behind, and the players feel no loyalty to in-state programs. Yet there's a turf baseball complex in every damn town. We really going to compete against that? These crazy parents are choosing expensive, pointless travel/select BASEBALL tournaments in the fall over going to State (and Ole Miss) football games. Let that sink in.

Just my thoughts. I do think Ole Miss has a slightly better culture, but not much. They have Memphis to draw from as well.

 

[LordMcBuckethead]

Covid, NIL distaste, and the economy.

People get out of the habit of attending. Also, have you checked on the cost of staying in Starkville. 3 Night minimum at a premium rate. Most folks can't afford $1200 per weekend just to sleep and take their morning s hit.

 

[FlotownDawg]

We haven’t had an entertaining product on the field since 2018. Even if we win, were we entertained? The exciting big plays on offense are few and far between. It’s the Will Rogers effect. No matter what offense he’s in, it’s like watching paint dry. I would completely blame the Leach hire, but Costello made some big, exciting throws in that LSU game. Shame he was a bust after that, or we may be in a very different situation.

I’ve seen Will Rogers blamed for many things, but this might take the cake. It’s Will’s fault for the attendance not being what it used to be. Good God. I remember plenty of home stinkers during the Mullen years that apparently you have forgotten. One point win over Bowling Green, loss to USA, beating Troy in overtime, giving up 40 points to Samford, Johnny Manzeil making us his b!tch, trailing at the half against UMass, etc, etc. But I guess those were entertaining games?

 

[LordMcBuckethead]

The kid activities is a relevant one. Not only is more stuff scheduled on Saturday’s the cost of participation in a lot of that stuff has gone up. Also, I’m about 2 hours away. That’s within reason to me but it took an hour to get out of the parking lot and on the road so that turned it into a 3 hour drive home. I’m considering scrapping the parking pass and going out to the vet school to park it’s so bad getting off campus.

The tv times don’t help either. To me a kickoff between 2:00 - 5:00 is ideal. Of course that’s my personal preference based on my commute time.

I park at the vet school. From final whistle to me sitting on my couch is about 25 minutes. Keep this between us though. I don't want other people know that parking on campus sucks and is a giant reason why people who don't tailgate leave early.

 

[GloryDawg]

I was not at the first game but after reading the post I thought I was going to have to bring a loan officer from my bank with me with the food cost. The food did not seem overly expensive to me this week. As far as attendance goes, I blame Covid. People who always went to games found that it was just as good and more easy watching from home when they were forced to watch from home. If people don't get to the stadium this Saturday and the next home game our stadium will absolutely be overtaken by LSU and Bama.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Sounds like faculty are doing what others in college football are doing: making decisions to increase their personal wealth.

Sounds like we should stop giving them cheaper tickets to sell. They can pay the same fees as the rest of us if they're going to sell them. And move their asses to the upper deck

 

[mcdawg22]

The biggest lie State fans tell themselves is it’s a “CFB problem”. No it’s really not. It’s a Mississippi State problem. Our fan base is as fair weather as it gets. These threads are pretty discouraging.

I agree with you but not necessarily for the reasons you present. Us and OM are the only two schools where the city in which the stadium sits has less population than the stadium capacity. Less than half for both of us. As much as we hate it, they are our comp. Right now they are in the top 20 paying their coach 9 million compared to us paying ours 3 million. Let’s see where that attendance goes. In 2021 they had 50k against Vanderbilt when they were 12th in the country. One the other side, look at UF. They had 72,000 in a 88,000 stadium last year. They have 60,000 students and Gainesville has a population of 150,000 people.

 

[The Peeper]

The biggest lie State fans tell themselves is it’s a “CFB problem”. No it’s really not. It’s a Mississippi State problem. Our fan base is as fair weather as it gets.

I believe you need to re-think that statement:

Attendance lowest since 1981

Why Is College Football Attendance Tanking?

College Football Attendance, Its a Serious Problem

 

[GhostOfJackie]

There is one solution for attendance problems in 2023, and that's winning. Attendance is still sliding year by year across the country because of many reasons, but the teams who win on a consistent bases don't seem to have that issue. Since Mullen left our football program has just simply been average year-by-year.

Mullen took our program from an absolute dumpster fire to a well respected one, but we have recently become complacent with year after year of average seasons.

 

[L4Dawg]

Your attendance in any sport is always going to be driven by those within an hour or two of campus. We already have the smallest population in that range in the SEC. Overall, it is a low income area. We have priced a LARGE amount of that population out. Pay for the privilege of paying for tickets, pay for parking, pay exorbitant prices for concessions, etc. Your average family in our area can't afford to go anymore.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Your attendance in any sport is always going to be driven by those within an hour or two of campus. We already have the smallest population in that range in the SEC. Overall, it is a low income area. We have priced a LARGE amount of that population out. Pay for the privilege of paying for tickets, pay for parking, pay exorbitant prices for concessions, etc. Your average family in our area can't afford to go anymore.

They CAN, it just may not be in premium seating or down low by the field. I do this every game. I also park for free. Of course, I am willing to do some things that others aren't, like WALK. Novel concept, I know.

 

[L4Dawg]

They CAN, it just may not be in premium seating or down low by the field. I do this every game. I also park for free. Of course, I am willing to do some things that others aren't, like WALK. Novel concept, I know.

No, they can't. Not the average families with kids that used to pad out the cheap seats. Concessions alone keeps most of them away.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

No, they can't. Not the average families with kids that used to pad out the cheap seats. Concessions alone keeps most of them away.

Then don't eat them? A family of 5 could have sat in the upperdeck for $150 ($30 x 5), gas from wherever they came from, and then maybe a drink for each of them - $15. They could eat before or after the game, at a gas station, wherever. Let's add $50 for that if they have a long drive.

That's not bad. I understand that most humans this day and age are allergic to saying 'no' to their kids. But I am pointing out that it can be done, I do it all the time, you are wrong. And I'm the definition of an average family. It's possible, but nobody wants to do it because they see everybody else doing this and that. Well, this and that includes blowing money, whether it's on expensive seats or concessions.

 

[POTUS]

The biggest lie State fans tell themselves is it’s a “CFB problem”. No it’s really not. It’s a Mississippi State problem. Our fan base is as fair weather as it gets. These threads are pretty discouraging.

Which do you think came first, Alabama being good at football or Alabama football having a ton of fans? It's on the team to make themselves appointment viewing. Fans cannot be expected to support a lackluster product. You think when a movie tanks the studios are saying, "Well, the problem is the people, they just aren't committed" ??? Of course not. If the product stinks, you can't expect buy-in.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Which do you think came first, Alabama being good at football or Alabama football having a ton of fans? It's on the team to make themselves appointment viewing. Fans cannot be expected to support a lackluster product. You think when a movie tanks the studios are saying, "Well, the problem is the people, they just aren't committed" ??? Of course not. If the product stinks, you can't expect buy-in.

I don't disagree but you can accelerate the process and bust through those plateaus if the fans can come support BEFORE the good play. That sort of thing is what used to make college sports great - fans were considered part of the effort, rather than just looking at it as entertainment. I mean seriously, what do you think motivates boosters to spend money on players? They care.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Let's not forget our bowl streak (13) which should, theoretically, be a 'transcendent' positive for the program. Both for fan pride and getting recruits' interest. And also, we've got a handful of defensive tackles in the league making generational money plus, as well as a slough of other players at different positions.

 

[retire the banner]

Which do you think came first, Alabama being good at football or Alabama football having a ton of fans? It's on the team to make themselves appointment viewing. Fans cannot be expected to support a lackluster product. You think when a movie tanks the studios are saying, "Well, the problem is the people, they just aren't committed" ??? Of course not. If the product stinks, you can't expect buy-in.

Am I missing something? We stink? We’re in the midst of the greatest 15 year stretch in MSU history. We’ve won 5 games in a row. We have a new coach who’s currently the youngest in the SEC and trying to figure things out. Why would we not support this team?

 

[POTUS]

Am I missing something? We stink? We’re in the midst of the greatest 15 year stretch in MSU history. We’ve won 5 games in a row. We have a new coach who’s currently the youngest in the SEC and trying to figure things out. Why would we not support this team?

We haven't played a game of real significance since Alabama 2014. That's almost a decade of irrelevance. People can watch every team now. Being good "for MSU" is no longer appealing. Quit comparing us to our history. Compare us to the other options available to the public.

ETA: That said, beat LSU and people will start coming back to watch. It's a joint effort, like goat posted, but the team has to take the first step. The fans will follow. But you have to prove you're worth the modern fan's attention.

 

[retire the banner]

We haven't played a game of real significance since Alabama 2014. That's almost a decade of irrelevance. People can watch every team now. Being good "for MSU" is no longer appealing. Quit comparing us to our history. Compare us to the other options available to the public.

So you only plan to show up and support MSU football if we’re playing for a national championship… alright then.

 

[Birddawg11]

Then don't eat them? A family of 5 could have sat in the upperdeck for $150 ($30 x 5), gas from wherever they came from, and then maybe a drink for each of them - $15. They could eat before or after the game, at a gas station, wherever. Let's add $50 for that if they have a long drive.

That's not bad. I understand that most humans this day and age are allergic to saying 'no' to their kids. But I am pointing out that it can be done, I do it all the time, you are wrong. And I'm the definition of an average family. It's possible, but nobody wants to do it because they see everybody else doing this and that. Well, this and that includes blowing money, whether it's on expensive seats or concessions.

Then don't eat them? A family of 5 could have sat in the upperdeck for $150 ($30 x 5), gas from wherever they came from, and then maybe a drink for each of them - $15. They could eat before or after the game, at a gas station, wherever. Let's add $50 for that if they have a long drive.

That's not bad. I understand that most humans this day and age are allergic to saying 'no' to their kids. But I am pointing out that it can be done, I do it all the time, you are wrong. And I'm the definition of an average family. It's possible, but nobody wants to do it because they see everybody else doing this and that. Well, this and that includes blowing money, whether it's on expensive seats or concessions.

That sounds like a really crappy day. Upper deck, metal bleachers, one drink, eat at a gas station. Lord, you would have to pay me a few hundred bucks to suffer through all that. I’ll never sit in the upper deck of any stadium for anything again.

 

[POTUS]

So you only plan to show up and support MSU football if we’re playing for a national championship… alright then.

Your ACT reading score is showing bud. I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about the modern fan. They have options. They aren't going to spend the time, money and effort required to come see the future Liberty Bowl runners-up play football live when they can watch from the comfort of their home.

So you can keep spouting about a bowl streak that no one really cares about, but that just doesn't move the needle anymore. Like I said, quit comparing us to our history and start comparing us to the other options fans have.

ETA: This is what I'll miss most about the Air Raid. It made us unique and interesting to the casual fan. It set us apart. It's a shame Leach didn't get to get it fully up and running because I think we might have had a special season this year with him at the helm.

 

[retire the banner]

Your ACT reading score is showing bud. I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about the modern fan. They have options. They aren't going to spend the time, money and effort required to come see the future Liberty Bowl runners-up play football live when they can watch from the comfort of their home.

So you can keep spouting about a bowl streak that no one really cares about, but that just doesn't move the needle anymore. Like I said, quit comparing us to our history and start comparing us to the other options fans have.

We had close to 50k there Saturday in attendance with virtually no fans from Arizona. The “modern fan” is the 10k dorks like yourself that are just a bunch of fair-weather fans who like to complain.

 

[POTUS]

We had close to 50k there Saturday in attendance with virtually no fans from Arizona. The “modern fan” is the 10k dorks like yourself that are just a bunch of fair-weather fans who like to complain.

LOL. Do you want the dorks there or not? You want the stadium to be full but you don't care if the "dorks" don't come. Cool. I didn't know we were rubbing Aladdin's lamp. I'd like a huge new boat while we're just wish casting.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

That sounds like a really crappy day. Upper deck, metal bleachers, one drink, eat at a gas station. Lord, you would have to pay me a few hundred bucks to suffer through all that. I’ll never sit in the upper deck of any stadium for anything again.

Fine. Either you want to go or you don't. Sounds like you want to be a cheapskate AND get the amenities that cost money. Doesn't work that way.

 

[Coast_Dawg]

Then don't eat them? A family of 5 could have sat in the upperdeck for $150 ($30 x 5), gas from wherever they came from, and then maybe a drink for each of them - $15. They could eat before or after the game, at a gas station, wherever. Let's add $50 for that if they have a long drive.

That's not bad. I understand that most humans this day and age are allergic to saying 'no' to their kids. But I am pointing out that it can be done, I do it all the time, you are wrong. And I'm the definition of an average family. It's possible, but nobody wants to do it because they see everybody else doing this and that. Well, this and that includes blowing money, whether it's on expensive seats or concessions.

Nothing you described sounds remotely enjoyable. Upper deck seats are worth less than a square of charmin. You can get a better viewing experience on a mini iPhone.

 

[L4Dawg]

Then don't eat them? A family of 5 could have sat in the upperdeck for $150 ($30 x 5), gas from wherever they came from, and then maybe a drink for each of them - $15. They could eat before or after the game, at a gas station, wherever. Let's add $50 for that if they have a long drive.

That's not bad. I understand that most humans this day and age are allergic to saying 'no' to their kids. But I am pointing out that it can be done, I do it all the time, you are wrong. And I'm the definition of an average family. It's possible, but nobody wants to do it because they see everybody else doing this and that. Well, this and that includes blowing money, whether it's on expensive seats or concessions.

The average family in this area can't afford that. Drinks are more than for 5 is WAY more than $15.

 

[Dawgbite]

Nothing you described sounds remotely enjoyable. Upper deck seats are worth less than a square of charmin. You can get a better viewing experience on a mini iPhone.

Actually the view from our upper level, at least on the west side is great. I sat in upper west side up until the Scoreboard Club opened and it was a great view. Short rows, a lot were chairbacks, really close compared to other SEC stadiums I've visited It was really a Birds Eye view of the game. I loved every part of it except that long walk up the ramp.

 

[FlotownDawg]

Sounds like we have some spoiled b!tches as fans. “Oh, we’re not Top 10 in the country, oh I refuse to sit in the upper deck, oh, we don’t score 50 points per game. I’m not going!”

 

[retire the banner]

Sounds like we have some spoiled b!tches as fans. “Oh, we’re not Top 10 in the country, oh I refuse to sit in the upper deck, oh, we don’t score 50 points per game. I’m not going!”

Spoiled for sure. Or they also weren’t around for 2002-2008. It’s all about perspective

 

[rem101]

It's the 17ing faculty tickets. They don't go to the games and sell their damn tickets. It's past time the school shuts that **** down. AZ had very few fans. Crowd was good minus the damn faculty and opponent sections. AZ sent back most of their ticket allotment. Then, you've got the damn Junction monkeys. They choose to sit out there and watch a tv and get drunk instead of going in. Junction has about another 1000 or two out there every game. The rest is what others mentioned-costs, Covid, & tv. We've got a weak *** fan base no doubt. But similar things are happening at most schools now.

I 17ing despise the faculty tickets. Great seats filled up by opposing fans every damn game.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Sounds like we have some spoiled b!tches as fans. “Oh, we’re not Top 10 in the country, oh I refuse to sit in the upper deck, oh, we don’t score 50 points per game. I’m not going!”

Yep once you start discussing things it's funny how the real truth starts to reveal itself.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

State fans aren't committed to supporting football like they are baseball and John Cohen encouraged that s h i t. We've finally got people working to correct that.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

State fans aren't committed to supporting football like they are baseball and John Cohen encouraged that s h i t. We've finally got people working to correct that.

I don't know why we don't support all 3 sports strongly. All I hear is, "ImA gOnNa FiNd OtHeR sTuFfS tO dO!!11". It's Mississippi, there isn't that much stuff out there that is better than going to a college sports game. You talk about expensive, what about travel sports? Hunting/fishing? Four-wheeling? Golf? All that crap takes money if you want to do it right. And there's plenty of other time to do those things.