according to Sports Talk MS twitter. Why is this? Concessions, parking, etc are challenges that all major CFB programs have, but why are our fans not showing up? I dont say that as criticism but rather just a question..... Its as if we as a fanbase quit caring after JoeMo lost to Florida and Dan, and never have bounced back.
MSU/Arizona the chepeast ticket in SEC this weekend on StubHub
- Thread starter Duke Humphrey
- Start date
I get that the cost of travel, lodging, etc. is tough for those that don’t live close by. And we aren’t near a metro area so that hurts a bit too. And then there’s the typical “watch it on TV” crowd.
That said, we have a number of fans who live in the Starkville area, will wear maroon on Friday and talk about the game at the water cooler on Monday, but won’t come anywhere near Davis Wade this season.
We are the worst in the SEC at not putting our money where our mouth is. At least Vandy doesn’t even pretend to care. Our die hards mostly support to the best of their ability, but our average fan wants to be competitive with Bama and LSU but won’t lift a finger to help make it happen.
That said, we have a number of fans who live in the Starkville area, will wear maroon on Friday and talk about the game at the water cooler on Monday, but won’t come anywhere near Davis Wade this season.
We are the worst in the SEC at not putting our money where our mouth is. At least Vandy doesn’t even pretend to care. Our die hards mostly support to the best of their ability, but our average fan wants to be competitive with Bama and LSU but won’t lift a finger to help make it happen.
It's likely a combination of a few things:
A decisive win on Saturday goes a long way to getting people back in the stands, but I recall several weekends in the Dan Mullen era where fans simply didn't show up. Most of them were out of conference games. Sure this is a P-5 opponent, but last year's game was a blowout against them.
- Predicted 95 degree temperature at gametime
- Opponent returned ~80% allotment of tickets
- No media hype or excitement/predicted to finish last/near last
A decisive win on Saturday goes a long way to getting people back in the stands, but I recall several weekends in the Dan Mullen era where fans simply didn't show up. Most of them were out of conference games. Sure this is a P-5 opponent, but last year's game was a blowout against them.
I don't believe anything put out by media when it comes to Miss State football. It is all run by Ole Miss Grads. Who is going to take the time to challenge them? They can say whatever the hell they want to say, and people will believe it to be the word of God.
I honestly think it’s just the people in this state. People in this state just don’t support entertainment events. I don’t know why because there’s not much else to do around here. Tupelo tried professional hockey and professional baseball and nobody went. you can’t blame it on money because I went to hockey games where you could get a ticket and a beer for less than $10. There are great music acts at Tupelo and nothing ever sells out.
Herein lies the reason why the lack of hype = lack of attendance.
The forecast says high of 88 on Saturday, should be fairly pleasant by kickoff (by Mississippi standards).
And just to add, MSU fans not showing up across the board has been a HUGE issue of mine for years. We have huge alumni get togethers in major cities in the southeast and up the east coast, and oftentimes we're lucking to get 8-10 people to show up. It's embarrassing AF when other SEC chapters have 200-300.
I believe our actual "butts in seats" attendance has been much lower than reported attendance (which is likely tickets sold) for some time.
I think COVID has just changed the way MSU fans enjoys football. I don’t know why this would disproportionately impact MSU, but I don’t know anyone going to more games in 2023 than they did in 2019. Myself included.
I looked at all the "get in" prices for home SEC games this weekend:
MSU vs Arizona $7
UF vs McNeese $15
UK vs E. Kentucky $18
LSU vs Grambling $18
Mizzou vs MTSU $19
USCe vs Furman $20
Arkansas vs Kent $22
UGA vs Ball St $22
UTenn vs APU $53
Bama vs Texas $148
Someone should tell ESPN... (although accuweather tends to be dead wrong about everything).
To add to this, things are definitely just more expensive. My power bill has been through the roof this year because of the hotter temperatures, even with trying to keep the thermostat higher than is comfortable. Inflation + higher bills + clearly/likely wrong info reported by ESPN + no hype = fans opting out of the games. Say what you will about "Believing" mid-season before the Alabama game, but we had packed stadiums
Because AZ is a worthless OOC opponent for us. This game means a hell of a lot more for them than us.
IMO, more people would show up for a USM game. At least that has some level of intrigue to the people who could actually attend the game.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this game scheduled around a Byrne relationship?
IMO, more people would show up for a USM game. At least that has some level of intrigue to the people who could actually attend the game.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this game scheduled around a Byrne relationship?
Small fan base to start with. We have some wealthy alumni, but we also have a LOT of "working Joe" fans who are just not flush with disposable income as a rule. Blue collar is an identity with consequences for sales. An extra few hundred dollars is not an "every week" or even an "every year" thing. Add the inflation in the cost of necessities and it can just be unreasonable to consider going to game day.
Bama vs Texas - 2x hype
UTenn - Hype train
UGA - "oh crap what did we do last week do we suck again" but still back-to-back hype
Arkansas - "we gonna win the west" hype
USCe - hype since 2020
Mizzou - Admittedly this is the one team that baffles me
LSU - "we can repeat last year" hype
UK - "SEC East Darkhorse" hype
UF - "Is this the game we fire the coach?"
MSU - "Predicted last in the west, not ranked, new coach, everyone already giving up because we had 1 quarter of stale offense"
State likely has the lowest ticket office prices of those. So the less I paid the lower I’m willing to list for?
We have a fanbase that can watch the team go 4-1 against the schedule, cheer for the team, then not even fill out the whole stadium for a home game vs Arkansas because everyone says we are still not good.
It's a confidence problem. Arnett winning 8 in the regular season this year will be the cure as long as the media folks capitalize on it and really push the cockiness a bit more. Its okay to hype fans up.
It's a confidence problem. Arnett winning 8 in the regular season this year will be the cure as long as the media folks capitalize on it and really push the cockiness a bit more. Its okay to hype fans up.
As i get older, life is exactly opposite of what I expected. I thought I'd have all the free time in the world, but in fact, it is hard for me to give up an entire saturday for anything. I'm struggling to find a few times a month just to golf...
Plus we probably have the largest stadium in the conference compared to enrollment and surrounding population.
Absolutely right. We had a lot of fans that have been priced out of the market. The reseating of the Hump started some to become disenfranchised. As prices continue to go up expect smaller and smaller crowds (not just at State). I thought it was a brilliant idea to change some of the upper deck seating to premium areas. They should do more.
Lots of that is just based on the ticket office face value though. Looking at our ticket site, we still have “four pack” seats available that includes parking pass for $60 total. Four of those Stubhub $7 seats would be $60 when you add in fees.
Mizzou has plenty of unsold seats Saturday, but their ticket office is asking $70 each for the high up seats.
Someone would have to crunch the numbers but if you look at attendance as a percentage of the area population we probably do pretty good. Still, it amazes me to see so many empty seats.
FFS. Some y’all screamed at the top of your lungs for P5 matchups.
this is a good one.
we also play usm later this year.
Our schedule is pretty damn good.
Yes.
Paindon’thurt guy doesn’t see the Forrest for the trees with his statement.
Would he rather we play Jax St or Prairie View?
The high is supposed to be 85 with a low of 63.
Games are so easy to stay at home nowadays. I can watch 8 games at once with YouTube tv and two tvs in my living room. I don't have traffic no gas expenses unlimited home buffet and beer during the game. It's way cheaper, more comfortable, I get to watch all the good games not just ours.that's why it's hard to get butts in the seats now. A live sport is great but it's also expensive and a hassle.
I may make 3 games a year now. I enjoy the live atmosphere but eats budget going any more and I miss watching all the other games being on the road traveling before or after the game
Then there are a lot of us that just think it's a giant pain in the *** to attend a game when you can watch it on TV in the comfort of your (or someone else') home . Many feel the need to conjure up well thought out reasons (excuses) we don't go but at the end of the day we just don't care as much as we used to and don't want the hassle.
Part of it is the drawback of 8 home games.
When you open with 3 straight at home, ain’t nobody coming from more than an hour away to all 3. Everyone wants to be at LSU, so that leaves a conundrum of picking which out of Arizona or SELA (or neither) to attend. It probably split 50 / 50 on who wanted to be at which game. Arizona is the more appealing opponent and better start time, but SELA was the first game of the year with a new coach, so naturally there’s some added anticipation there.
Ole Miss had a similar problem a few years back where they had something like 5 straight home games with no open date in between any of them. Their season ticket holders bítched nonstop about it because nobody could reasonably make it to more than 2 or 3 of them.
When you open with 3 straight at home, ain’t nobody coming from more than an hour away to all 3. Everyone wants to be at LSU, so that leaves a conundrum of picking which out of Arizona or SELA (or neither) to attend. It probably split 50 / 50 on who wanted to be at which game. Arizona is the more appealing opponent and better start time, but SELA was the first game of the year with a new coach, so naturally there’s some added anticipation there.
Ole Miss had a similar problem a few years back where they had something like 5 straight home games with no open date in between any of them. Their season ticket holders bítched nonstop about it because nobody could reasonably make it to more than 2 or 3 of them.
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It used to be not that big of a hassle, nor that big of an expense to go. Now even when there are cheap tickets available, you still have to pay for parking (if you can find any), expensive ballgame food, expensive gas. It's also a big hassle even if you don't mind the expense. As mentioned before, parking is a nightmare, traffic is as bad or worse than it was back in the old two lane days. Just getting into the game can be like going through an airport, which is something I hate. As I have got older, I find I enjoy sitting on my sofa watching multiple screens a LOT more than going to a game. The food is WAY better, the drinks are WAY better, the company is better, there is NO hassle, and I don't have to drive. It probably would be a little different if I was into the tailgating scene, but I have never been into that. I have always enjoyed watching the game in person. It's the chore of going that I never really liked at any time. It just seems that over the years that more and more of the little things that add to the chore of going to a game have just reached a point where it's just not worth it to me.
Corrected Headline:
MSU tickets are the best value in SEC Football
MSU tickets are the best value in SEC Football
Starkville is in the middle of nowhere and MS has brain drain. Let's not overthink it.
