Fanbase: What's a realistic expectation

[sbsmith]

I have never read a solution coming from sbsmith, only bitter criticism and negativity

Are you going to Atlanta to support your Frogs in the Peach Bowl?

[Stallion]

I have never read a solution coming from sbsmith, only bitter criticism and negativity

Must of flown well over your head. Its been extremely obvious what his solutions have been for several years

[Comet]

Same ole', Same ole'

Visiting fans and HCCM curiosity seekers will help fill stadium for Baylor and UNT, apathy for the rest of our conference will see half empty stadium rest of year, whether we're winning or losing. Morris will be somewhat confused/irritated, especially at the packed Blvd, and come out publicly begging for students & alumni to show up to do their part. (to no avail)

I think people here are severely understating how badly June Jones failed at energizing the community.

[SMU21TCU10]

Same ole', Same ole'

Visiting fans and HCCM curiosity seekers will help fill stadium for Baylor and UNT, apathy for the rest of our conference will see half empty stadium rest of year, whether we're winning or losing. Morris will be somewhat confused/irritated, especially at the packed Blvd, and come out publicly begging for students & alumni to show up to do their part. (to no avail)

I agree. I think it would take 5+ years of continued success similar to TCUs MWC/BCS buster run to have 20 k in the stands by the time late season conference games are played

[GoMustAAngs2007]

Same ole', Same ole'

Visiting fans and HCCM curiosity seekers will help fill stadium for Baylor and UNT, apathy for the rest of our conference will see half empty stadium rest of year, whether we're winning or losing. Morris will be somewhat confused/irritated, especially at the packed Blvd, and come out publicly begging for students & alumni to show up to do their part. (to no avail)

Sadly I agree with this, at least for 2015. footballdad - as a fan base we need to direct our energy at the "half empty" piece of this equation instead of the "half full" piece, the implication that most of us who read and post here are part of the "half full." The problem: a small alumni base + a large percentage of that base indifferent/apathetic about football + dissatisfaction with June since 2011 = weak attendance. I plan to do everything I can to convince other alumni to invest in season tickets but will exercise patience because Coach Morris will need at least 3 years to build a team worthy of getting our largely indifferent alumni off the boulevard and into Ford.

Just my $0.02

[BRStang]

Nothing will change if we don't win. Winning cures a lot.

Edit: I felt I needed to edit this a bit. I had said winning cures "all," but unfortunately I'm afraid no amount of winning at this point may ever put us at the grown-ups table again. I hope I am wrong and I hope that door has not shut forever.

[SMU2007]

I think the first order of business is for fans/dallas community to see that things are going in the right direction. that will at least generate some level of buzz. we've got a big hole to climb out of.

[sbsmith]

Morris will be somewhat confused/irritated, especially at the packed Blvd, and come out publicly begging for students & alumni to show up to do their part. (to no avail)

Fan support will be the issue that drives Morris out of here. There's a lot of inertia in this fanbase and we won't move along fast enough to satisfy him.

[SMU2007]

if that is really the case, let's just close the door on football permanently.

[ericdickerson4life]

Not close, just drop. Can't wait to play SHSU for homecoming!

[sbsmith]

if that is really the case, let's just close the door on football permanently.

There's another extreme alternative, filling up Ford every game no matter what. Of course there are many reasons why neither of our options are feasible, we'll exist somewhere in-between the two for the time being.

[SoCal_Pony]

Our conference mates are a complete buzz kill.

There was 'maybe' 5k at Moody last night against UCSB. You really think USF, UCF, Tulane or ECU will draw significantly more?

I doubt it, which means if the FB program has the same relative success, don't expect 20k at Ford for almost any of our conference games. That's why I think some marketing campaign is critical.

Hoping for Chad alone to turn around attendance isn't the solution.

[PK]

Regionalism sure is working out for the SEC...

And yet their last four additions were in brand new states (South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas). The SWCs final configuration had eight teams in a single state.

But it is a BIG state. Equal to four of the big eight states...if not more population wise.

[ender3]

I've always been very negative on this topic... pointing out that even in the glory days of the Pony Express, attendance wasn't that great. Better than we have now, of course, but not that great. SMU has always depended on the visiting team's fans to make attendance numbers look good.

Now... that said... let's play "what if" for a minute...

What if the buzz generated on Twitter by the recruiting burst isn't a flash in the pan, and instead sustains and possibly even grows over time?

What if some percentage of that buzz turns into high school players wanting to come to a game, and bring a few friends?

What if Chad's experiences as a child with the FCA coming to SMU games drives him to rekindle that experience and relationship?

When you're only drawing 5-8000 per game, some of these incremental items could make a measurable difference.

Play an entertaining brand of football, improve the game presentation, and some of those people who come once, come back.

It doesn't get solved overnight, but if it gets solved just a little bit, every day, progress is made.

I dropped my season tickets entirely last year. I just could not stomach watching the beating every week. Next year? I'm buying 7.

[Stallion]

I remember Methodist Youth Fellowship Day (MYF) was a big deal with thousands in the End Zone. Don't remember SMU having FCA Day