Will TV kill the gate?

[Sam I Am]

Since the SMU-OSU game will be on FSN, I suspect that the TV coverage will hurt the live game attendance. What we don't need is the appearance of a home game dominated by visiting fans in the stands.

[The PonyGrad]

So you think TV will have a bigger impact on SMU fans (not showing up) vs. OSU fans? That is an interesting point of view.

[Stallion]

Watched that Va Tech/Aggie game on TV last Nite played in a deluge from Hurricane Isabel -Full House with only 4,000 no-shows on a Thursday Nite when the game is being national televised. I would say 80-90% of SMU's sparse crowd would have stayed home in those conditions.

[The PonyGrad]

Those conditions? Your team is in the top 10 in the country playing another top 25 team and 80-90% are staying home? I don't think so.

[mrydel]

I think he meant the weather conditions...and I agree with him.

[mrydel]

I recall a game I believe in the 80's (I have lost many brain cells) when SMU played arkansas in Little Rock. It was televised by ABC and there were tornado alerts all over Central Arkansas. I went to the game with my parents, wife and 2 small children. A storm moved in that was unbelievable. They had to bring the cameraman down from the crane used for the overhead shots, and the rain was so hard that the officials could not place the ball down on the artificial surface because it kept floating away. My family hunkered down under the stands, but I did not miss a play. I believe it was Dupard who had a great day and we did once again defeat ua. We need to get that pride of winning back again.

[Hoop Fan]

SMU fans aren't a hardy bunch, but we have withstood 15 years of misery. Thats worse than weather. Seriously, I agree with Ponygrad, its much easier to sit in the rain to support your Top 10 program against a Top 20 team. I don't get you Stallion, you say the admin has absolutely failed the fan base, but you don't expect there to be repercussions to that?

[Stallion]

I think the MAJORITY of SMU alumni just don't care anymore-they've heard the excuses they've seen the broken promises and they simply have decided that if SMU doesn't care why should they. If it wasn't for the new stadium and the Boulevard I really believe the new NCAA attendance standards would have doomed this program to Division 1AA. Let's face it if you take away the bump from crowds like Texas Tech, Okla St, TCU then SMU is down to about 12,000 real fans. I'm really at the point where I don't blame the fans anymore.

[This message has been edited by Stallion (edited 09-19-2003).]

[geephunk]

Winning will cure that!

[The PonyGrad]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Hoop Fan:
<B>SMU fans aren't a hardy bunch</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know this may be an exception but I recall a day in September 2000 when the temperature was 107 and the stadium was pretty full. That calls for some amount of hardiness.

[MizterTea]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The PonyGrad:
<B> I know this may be an exception but I recall a day in September 2000 when the temperature was 107 and the stadium was pretty full. That calls for some amount of hardiness.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Charleston Pony]

those who post on this site are the exception, but the truth is that SMU has had very little fan support in the modern era of it's football program (I will define that as 70's - present). That's why we are no longer running with the big boys. Remember when we used to invite Va Tech to Dallas for an easy "W"? Most of our fans are country-clubbers who might come out if the weather is ideal and they've heard of the opponent. I doubt we'd draw very well for a game with Va Tech these days...maybe 20k assuming Va Tech wouldn't travel well to the game. Bennett's got the right idea trying to schedule TTech, Baylor, Okie St, etc...we depend on our visitors for a decent crowd. Winning will help, but I'm not convinced we could pack Ford consistently with our own fans even if we were competing for WAC titles every year. That's one of the reasons I favor formation of a new SWC.

[HorseRaider]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The PonyGrad:
<B> I know this may be an exception but I recall a day in September 2000 when the temperature was 107 and the stadium was pretty full. That calls for some amount of hardiness.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


It was an exception. You're talking about the game vs. Kansas. First game ever in brand spanking new Ford Stadium. It was a must see event at the time because it was the stadium's grand opening. That was the #1 attraction that night, seeing the new digs, not people thinking the Ponies were going to turn it around.

[Southland]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Charleston Pony:
<B>those who post on this site are the exception, but the truth is that SMU has had very little fan support in the modern era of it's football program (I will define that as 70's - present). </B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Even in the most successful days, Russ Potts was giving away 30-40K tix per game...

Think of it this way (numbers not actual)...
SMU is 93 years old, and has produced an average of 1200 graduates per year = 111,600 alumni.

Now subtract the dead...
Now subtract those that don't live in Texas...
Now subtract those that don't live within 100 miles of campus...
Now subtract the alumni aren’t interested in sports...
Now subtract the young alumni that can't afford to go...
Now subtract the eligible alumni that need to attend their children's events instead of attending football games...

How many do you have left? Maybe 20,000? And if you are counting on all 20,000 attending all 6 home games, you’re crazy.

Our attendance is not due to alumni or student lack of participation. The numbers just don't add up.

For any school fewer than 10,000 undergraduates to excel in attendance, it needs the support of non-alumni residents. SMU lost those people when pro sports came to Dallas, and has struggled to attract paying customers ever since.

To improve the connection with non-alumni residents, the university needs to consistently win, and initiate community driven marketing events (hopefully in co-op form with a corporation so SMU doesn’t flip the bill). SMU has yet to accomplish either. However, Jim Copeland (corporate partnerships) and Coach Bennett (recruiting) are making significant progress towards building a foundation.

Even if we are ultra successful in the coming decades, SMU will never have 50,000 paying fans…ever. You can wine and [deleted] about the ideal situation all you want, but eventually you have to face reality that without a significant addition in annual enrollment (talking 250% increase), SMU isn’t going to have a big time college atmosphere for football. It has nothing to do with the passion of the people; it simple has to do with the numbers.

[Stallion]

if this program was run well there is no reason SMU couldn't average 28,000-30,000 like TCU has and like Baylor did before the admited advantage of the Big 12.