Do you agree or disagree?
- Thread starter Sparklecity
- Start date
Disagree. You’re paying for the experience - wins and losses are just outcomes.
As a season ticket holder during Scott's last year and Lou's first, I have to say it seems like a silly question.
I think if you have a young family, go. It will be an experience they will long remember, win or lose. If you stop going after they have flown the nest, the kids will treat you to a game in your old age in order to relive the memories. Now if you are making a bet on Beamer, well, that's another story. BTCock is right about Beamer's recruiting. Gamecock fans were sold a bill of goods regarding his recruiting prowess.
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Agree with Stock on the kids. Having young ones and even losses are still a full day family experience.
I couldn't disagree more about taking a family. Too many drunk idiots go to make it enjoyable for someone with kids.
The experience is worth the price - wins are a bonus!
Lots of truth to this. So many great memories with family and friends
Agree. Unless you've just got that kind of money to burn. You could get single game tickets and go to a few games for the experience.
Go to one game per year now. The only drawback is the traffic leaving. But that is true to just about any big event. Went to hear Paul McCartney in Winston-Salem a couple of years ago. Went to see the play Hamilton in Columbia last month. Traffic was crazy. Hell, I live in a city of about 32,000. The traffic here can be unbearable at times. It will be that way long after I have taken the exit ramp in this road trip called "life".
If you’re purchasing tickets to socialize with family and friends the answer is no. However, if you’re purchasing to hopefully not be left out of that once in a lifetime season then the answer is yes.
I'm glad there are those who go for the sake of the experience.
If all that matters to a fan attending a game is wins and losses that fan should probably switch over to Georgia or Alabama.
If the results are mediocre to poor all the time, that experience gets old after awhile. You want to see that there is progress and that you are not just going to a game to eat and talk to people.
I don't agree or disagree - it's about spending your disposable income on a recreational activity, so spend your money however you wish. But just be honest with yourself about your return on your happiness investment. Don't go just because it's what you've always done or because you feel obligated to "support your school" or team. Saturdays are precious, especially when you have kids. Kids' soccer games, camping trips, hunting and fishing experiences, church youth group activities, and tons of other worthwhile endeavors compete for those days. Spend your time and money on things you truly find valuable.
I have been a Gamecock fan for as long as I can remember, but I didn't grow up going to the games. I didn't know it at the time, but my parents didn't make a lot of money during my elementary school years, so they spent most of their weekends working their butts off remodeling our house or doing some kind of side gig to make a few extra bucks. It never occurred to me that we could go to a Carolina game any more than it would have occurred to me that we could go to Paris. I'd accompany them on their working Saturdays with my radio and thanks to Bob Fulton and Tommy Suggs, I never had to miss a game. By the time I was middle school age, their economic status started to improve and they began to have business acquaintances, some of whom had season tickets to either Carolina or Clemson games. As a result, my dad and I would occasionally catch a Carolina or Clemson game in person. I thought those were the best events ever and I'll never forget those experiences. But I'll also never forget the afternoon we caught about 40 bream and 9 or 10 bass in a farm pond with the game playing on a radio in the background, or the time my cub scout den went tent-camping at Paris Mountain State park, or the time we rode on a church bus up to Knoxville for the World's Fair, or a host of other great experiences that happened while South Carolina played a home game.
I have been a Gamecock fan for as long as I can remember, but I didn't grow up going to the games. I didn't know it at the time, but my parents didn't make a lot of money during my elementary school years, so they spent most of their weekends working their butts off remodeling our house or doing some kind of side gig to make a few extra bucks. It never occurred to me that we could go to a Carolina game any more than it would have occurred to me that we could go to Paris. I'd accompany them on their working Saturdays with my radio and thanks to Bob Fulton and Tommy Suggs, I never had to miss a game. By the time I was middle school age, their economic status started to improve and they began to have business acquaintances, some of whom had season tickets to either Carolina or Clemson games. As a result, my dad and I would occasionally catch a Carolina or Clemson game in person. I thought those were the best events ever and I'll never forget those experiences. But I'll also never forget the afternoon we caught about 40 bream and 9 or 10 bass in a farm pond with the game playing on a radio in the background, or the time my cub scout den went tent-camping at Paris Mountain State park, or the time we rode on a church bus up to Knoxville for the World's Fair, or a host of other great experiences that happened while South Carolina played a home game.
I live in Georgia and have a lot of friends who are UGA fans. One stopped buying season tickets in one of Richt's last years because he was disgusted with how they were playing and not winning a championship. The interesting thing was; he kept his tailgate spot and goes to Athens for every home game and tailgated with the same friends he had always tailgated with. He said he still loved the game day experience and the atmosphere being in Athens. He would set up a tv with satellite and watch the game from the tailgate spot while most everyone else went into the game. Eventually, he had a small group of around 20 or so that would migrate to his tailgate around kickoff and they would all watch the game on the tv. The money he saved by not buying the tickets more than paid for all of his travel and tailgate expenses.
Ironically; in the intervening years, he has enough friends from the tailgate who end up with an extra ticket that he is able to go into the stadium now and watch whichever game he wants to. The friends always give him the ticket for free since he puts on such a nice big tailgate party so now he sees all the games he wants to see and it actually costs him less than when he had season tickets. He says there are generally only a couple games a year he really wants to see in person, he doesn't care about going in to watch the cupcakes and the games UGA should win easily.
Ironically; in the intervening years, he has enough friends from the tailgate who end up with an extra ticket that he is able to go into the stadium now and watch whichever game he wants to. The friends always give him the ticket for free since he puts on such a nice big tailgate party so now he sees all the games he wants to see and it actually costs him less than when he had season tickets. He says there are generally only a couple games a year he really wants to see in person, he doesn't care about going in to watch the cupcakes and the games UGA should win easily.
Sounds a lot like my childhood. I grew up listening to Georgia games on the radio since my dad was a UGA grad and we didn't have a TV. (I didn't become a Gamecock until going to college.) But anyway, lots of great memories with my family and college football. When ESPN360 became a thing, my siblings and I would watch games on the computer. Typically my dad would have the radio on in another part of the house and run in when something good happened, so we always knew a few seconds before the TV broadcast played that a good play was coming. We would listen to games in the yard while picking up pecans, working in the garden, shooting hoops, etc. Good times!
I have never "wasted" a dollar on anything Gamecock related. I have freely given money to the cause and I've enjoyed every minute of it.
If you would have told me before I left the house that it was gonna rain today and we're gonna play like **** and there's gonna be a traffic jam leaving, I would have still gone. I get to spend time with my wife or my (grown) son and my friends and that's worth a lot to me.
My son texted me last Tuesday and said "let's go to Columbia for the women's celebration at Colonial Life. I texted back that I had a client dinner that night and couldn't go. 30 minutes later I called him and told him I had cancelled my dinner plans and let's leave now. He said, "I knew you would change your mind and go".
I have 4 Zone football tickets, 6 basketball tickets at midcourt and 8 baseball tickets in section 9 and I support Garnet Trust. It's a 6 hour roundtrip from MB. I rarely go to basketball games and I'm going to my first baseball game this year Saturday.
My wife has often said "have you ever stopped and added up how much money you've spent over the years on Gamecock stuff." And I say "nope, I would have pissed it away on something else." Wasted? Never!
Forever to Thee!
If you would have told me before I left the house that it was gonna rain today and we're gonna play like **** and there's gonna be a traffic jam leaving, I would have still gone. I get to spend time with my wife or my (grown) son and my friends and that's worth a lot to me.
My son texted me last Tuesday and said "let's go to Columbia for the women's celebration at Colonial Life. I texted back that I had a client dinner that night and couldn't go. 30 minutes later I called him and told him I had cancelled my dinner plans and let's leave now. He said, "I knew you would change your mind and go".
I have 4 Zone football tickets, 6 basketball tickets at midcourt and 8 baseball tickets in section 9 and I support Garnet Trust. It's a 6 hour roundtrip from MB. I rarely go to basketball games and I'm going to my first baseball game this year Saturday.
My wife has often said "have you ever stopped and added up how much money you've spent over the years on Gamecock stuff." And I say "nope, I would have pissed it away on something else." Wasted? Never!
Forever to Thee!
I've been in Gamecock gear since I was in diapers. I went to every home game from 1992 - 2005 and some away games in that window. Joined the original GamecockCentral in 2000. But after our 2008 loss at Clemson, I took all of my Gamecock gear - clothing, posters, etc - and put it on the driveway of the 2BR bungalow rental I shared with a classmate while in grad school at Texas - and I set it on fire and watched it burn.
I'm glad I live 1200 miles away and don't feel compelled to regularly go to games or buy season tickets. But I'm still a rabid fan living and dying with every play on TV and Gamecast. But I'm also glad that my children aren't being raised as rabid fans. In all objectiveness, I think my parents raising me as a die hard has more downside than upside. So it's a function of both distance and reflections on my own life.
What are the downsides of being a diehard fan?
My parents didn't raise me as a diehard sports fan, I discovered that on my own. Now I do have to say that I've never been so diehard that a loss would ruin my week or anything like that.
My thoughts are if you like the experience and you can afford it, do it, can't tell you how many pleasurable times I have had being a season ticket holder going to home and away games. If it's too expensive or you are going expecting a win 80% of the time, stay home and watch it on TV or watch some other game where you won't get frustrated win or lose.
Welcome to Columbia, where we sell the experience and not the product!
Man, how lame are we?
"You're a total moron if you're expecting to come see a win, or even a good game. You're coming so you can enjoy the ambiance."
I suppose our fan base has taken on this posture out of necessity, but it sure is damning.
Man, how lame are we?
"You're a total moron if you're expecting to come see a win, or even a good game. You're coming so you can enjoy the ambiance."
I suppose our fan base has taken on this posture out of necessity, but it sure is damning.
Fair question and I think your musing partially answered it. Burning possessions in a driveway over a loss, as I have done, is not healthy, well adjusted behavior.
- In 2007, I reflexively vomited when we lost a Super Regional to Chapel Hill because I hate the Tar Heels so much.
- It took me 3 full years of going to grad school at Texas to buy and wear a burnt orange tee shirt because I had such a visceral hatred of the color. My parents literally removed orange crayons and markers from Crayola boxes when I was a kid and threw them away
- I have sworn off fandom forever probably 50 times, and every time fallen off the wagon in days. When we lost to Clemson 5-4 on back to back days in baseball earlier this spring, I angrily swore off the Gamecocks forever. Again. That lasted maybe 18 hours and I ordered 2 new Gamecock shirts
These are not pictures of healthy human behavior. I'm a massive golf fan, but I'm not invested in any particular player. I have favorite players, but if they win or miss the cut it doesn't affect me either way. I just love to watch world class golf.
I wish I had that type of relationship with watching the Gamecocks
Man you have problems!
Anyway, that definitely doesn't sound healthy, so I get where you're coming from now. I have to say, though, I won't wear orange and don't own orange (other than a blaze orange vest for hunting). For me losing hurts, but I try to keep it in perspective. It's just sports, it ultimately doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Used to be that way for me. I'd toss and turn in bed after a loss. Just couldn't turn my brain off thinking about it. It's not as much of a problem now, for 2 reasons: 1. I no longer have any expectations and numb to the losing and 2. I can pretty much tell within the first quarter of many games if it's going to "one of those days" for us (e.g. Missouri 2022, UNC 2023) and I shut the game off before I have to watch us get humiliated again.
I went to A&M in the years we hardly ever lost. After that I tempered expectations and learned to enjoy life. Being a fan of A&M/ South Carolina / Wake Forest will do that to you.
The only thing about season tickets is not having enough of them. College football in the south is an experience that can’t be replicated.
The only thing about season tickets is not having enough of them. College football in the south is an experience that can’t be replicated.
I received a book today as a birthday present. It's titled "A Gamecock Odyssey......University Of South Carolina Sports In The Independent Era".
I mention it because the author dedicated it "To Dad, who took me to the games". Is it worth going to any of the Carolina football games? Yes in the past 50 years, except for a couple of years each under Carlen, Morrison, Holtz and a 4-year stretch under Spurrier, Carolina football has been mediocre. Yes we currently have a Head Football Coach who is in his first "rodeo" in that position and may, frankly, be over his head in that position. So, the future of Carolina football is cloudy. But if you have a son or daughter or a grandson or granddaughter, take them to at least one game. They will remember that experience forever. And more importantly, they will remember you long after you have passed on. There's not much I can guarantee. But that is one thing I can guarantee.
I mention it because the author dedicated it "To Dad, who took me to the games". Is it worth going to any of the Carolina football games? Yes in the past 50 years, except for a couple of years each under Carlen, Morrison, Holtz and a 4-year stretch under Spurrier, Carolina football has been mediocre. Yes we currently have a Head Football Coach who is in his first "rodeo" in that position and may, frankly, be over his head in that position. So, the future of Carolina football is cloudy. But if you have a son or daughter or a grandson or granddaughter, take them to at least one game. They will remember that experience forever. And more importantly, they will remember you long after you have passed on. There's not much I can guarantee. But that is one thing I can guarantee.
Take your kids to the games for the game day experience and the spectacle. To a kid, any college game will be a huge event. I wouldn't fan the flames of rabid gamecock fandom tough. There is no sense in cursing a child with a lifetime of disappointment because of your fandom. Let the kid decide on his own what, if any, team he wants to pull for.
There have been kids of many Gamecock fans who got their college education at a school other than USC. And that's the way it should be as some schools have academic departments more suited for the aspiring career.
We were not sold a bill of goods. If Beamer were HC at a school with deep NIL pockets, he would be Top 10 in recruiting every year. He's not missing that much at a school with lesser NIL pockets. All other coaches we have had were pre-NIL or mostly pre-NIL and there is a big difference.
Beamer and staff are amazingly impactful with kids in our region and our target areas of recruiting. He builds relationships years ahead of the recruiting date and gets his share of 4 and sometimes 5 star players. Bringing in Nyck Harbor against the top fund raiser in the country, Oregon and their NIKE CEO was one incredible feat.
I think if the salary cap is put into place as per the NFL model or similar, it will make things a little more competitive. The latest I have read is that it might be in place 2025 or 2026. Without something like this, the schools who have deep pocket corporate donors will have a big advantage. Right now according to 247 Sports, we are 18th in the country with athletic donations at 466 million. #1 is Oregon at $969 million. Texas A&M is #2 at $849 Million. Beamer is doing a heck of a good job with the hand he was dealt. https://247sports.com/longformartic...enerous-athletics-boosters-214986422/#2225316
Season tickets are too expensive for the product AND experience. People will argue for one or the other. In the 90’s our team was pretty bad but we all showed up for the game. It was an experience and a tradition, but it also only cost about $20 a ticket. Didn’t have to deal with 4 minute tv timeouts every other play either.
The current prices have far outpaced the inflation of the past 3 decades and that’s really saying something in today’s economy.
If we were legitimately competing for championships and regularly beating our rivals, I would buy season tickets at the current prices.
The current prices have far outpaced the inflation of the past 3 decades and that’s really saying something in today’s economy.
If we were legitimately competing for championships and regularly beating our rivals, I would buy season tickets at the current prices.
If there is no cap put on the NIL, then what? I am sure that the richer schools will oppose and fight like crazy any attempt to put on a cap. I can't blame them for that . But, if there is no cap, then "coaching chops" and skills will be necessary to be more competitive on the field. Right now, Beamer made hay (more than doubling his salary) on two games: the 2022 games against Tennessee and Clemson. But he has had far closer than should have been games since he has been here against inferior opponents (East Carolina, Vanderbilt and Troy in 2021, Jax State last year and upset by underdog Florida last year). Does all that mean Beamer is a bad coach? NO. It does mean though that the jury is still out on Beamer being Head "Coach" material in the SEC. If there is no change in the NIL, Beamer will have to have the coaching skills of his players and assistants to compensate. Right now Beamer's recruiting class is 12th in the 16 team SEC conference. That won't cut it. And even if Beamer turns out to be super duper recruiter, Carolina football has had Head Coaches who were reputed to be great recruiters...Woods, Scott and Muschamp. All were unmitigated failures because they lacked "coaching skills".
Of course it's opinion. Most everything on this board is opinion. But Beamer has been consistently in the top 20 in recruiting (after the first year) despite being a first time head coach at a school that has never done much in football and with an NIL budget that is 10th in the league (as per the link I supplied).
My hope is that solid rules will be put into place that at least will put in a player salary cap that is negotiated with a players union type board. I think most teams including the deep pocket schools will be in favor of some type of regimented set of rules that everyone will play by. BTW, here is an article on where things stand with the new salary cap alignment. https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-ne...chools-300m-each-over-10-years-003140102.html
I agree that I hope there are rules put into place with NIL. The current state of affairs is unsustainable.
But to Beamer's recruiting, it's been pretty much the same as Muschamp's recruiting. I had thought Beamer had upgraded recruiting over the previous regime, but after going back through the rankings there's been no upgrade.
Yes, but Beamer is also fighting the NIL deficiency. Muschamp for the most part, did not have to deal with NIL. It's a real problem for most schools who go up against the schools who have the deep pocket corporate sponsors. Did you take a look at this link that I posted on my first message? Now its legal to pay players.
College sports top donors: Ranking the most generous athletics boosters
Data suggests lopsided giving in college athletics.
247sports.com
