Dog on Rockytop

[Cherokee]

Had the occasion Saturday to repay the wife for many games at DWS by taking her to the UT/USC game. First time to see a game there. 95K folks decked out in orange sure make a lot of noise. Great game and in the end her team won though I was kinda hoping Spurrier would hang on. Of course in the end he made a couple of inexplicable decisions that only Les Miles might understand.

They do a few things different there. Use of the video board is a lot different. Zero "commercials" but a few public service announcements for charitable causes. No Bullock Toyota commercials. The "Orange - White" cheer is not sponsored by Ford or anyone else for that matter. No kiss cam, no hair flipping video, no Vol shuffle. In short, the board did not distract from the game, rather it enhanced the experience. They did manage to get players on the board but actually had them in taped segments encouraging noise and excitement.

One thing I really liked was Butch Jones introducing a segment called last weeks best plays and players. Then the board showed segments of fans cheering and excited.

 

[hatfieldms]

My wife graduated from there so we go to a game a year there

I enjoy going to games in Knoxville. Doesn't hurt that East Tennessee is great in the fall

 

[civildawg88]

So you're saying other teams actually use the jumbotron to enhance the game and hype up the crowd? Man must be nice

 

[PBRME]

The best use of a video board and music I've seen is at Grizz games. Especially during the playoffs.

 

[Sutterkane]

Knoxville/Neyland Stadium...4 hours of traffic for a 3.5 hour game. Knoxville has some of the worst traffic I've ever seen. I've even gotten stuck in Knoxville at 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon driving through there.

 

[deadheaddawg]

I doubt UT needs the same amount of revenue from their board as we do. Like it or not, we don't have as much $ as some if the other SEC big boys. If revenue from the commercials help us then I am all for it.

Much like uniforms. If we put a solid product on the field then none of us will be distracted by the video board.

 

[engie]

I doubt UT needs the same amount of revenue from their board as we do. Like it or not, we don't have as much $ as some if the other SEC big boys. If revenue from the commercials help us then I am all for it.

Much like uniforms. If we put a solid product on the field then none of us will be distracted by the video board.

You should do some research before opining on such matters. http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-fo...t-debt-200-million-sec-derek-dooley-dave-hart

I don't get it. EVERYONE agrees something is crappy -- and your solution is to improve "other" things that are MUCH more difficult to actually change(play on the field) -- so that surrounding crappiness isn't as noticeable?

How about we do all the LITTLE THINGS correct in the first place -- at which point, the larger things start to take care of themselves. Correct usage of the video board is a little thing that makes a huge impact. No one minds the commercials -- it's the manner in which they interrupt the game and atmosphere that's the problem. Run them silently with closed captioning while JAMMING the jumbotron music -- everyone is happy.

 

[deadheaddawg]

You should do some research before opining on such matters. .

Research is a funny thing. A 2013 USA Today report shows us as one of only 4 schools not making enough money from media rights contracts, ticket sales, donations and other non-subsidy to be self sufficiant. UT is not one of them


http://www.sportinglifearkansas.com/evin-demirel-sec-schools-athletic-revenues-winners-and-losers/

Nine of the SEC’s 13 public university athletic programs make enough money from media rights contracts, ticket sales, donations and other non-subsidy sources to be self-sufficient, according to a new USA Today report. Four programs – Missouri, Mississippi State, Georgia and Mississippi – don’t.

We operate on a much smaller budget than UT and revenue from these type of things are more important to us. UT makes money on football revenue. We don't. I am sorry but bitching about revenue generating things when you are in the red is stupid.

Stuff like the video board and the head coach ultimately fall on the AD. Is Strickland the best we can do? I have no idea. But I do know something that is an absolute fact. Strickland knows a lot more about running an athletic department than anyone on this board. He is 1000x more qualifies and 1000x better at it than anyone who post here. Should we change something's with the video board? Probably. Should we blindly copy UT? No. Much more go into running an SEC program than what we see in the stands. Don't sweat to small stuff. I have been to most home games since 1977. If you ask me to rank the top 10 games as far as atmosphere goes, the video board doesn't even factor in.

Beating Florida and picking off Shane Mathews 5x made the place special that night not a jumbotron.

Beating # 3 Florida (3rd and 57 and no first downs in the first half) and # 15 Auburn back to back weekends. made the place special that night, not a jumbotron. I have never seen DWA like I did during that 3rd and 57

Returning a INT 100 yards for a Td against Alabama right before halftime made the place special, not a jumbotron

The video board should not be a what makes the atmosphere great or terrible. It is something to watch replays on. The atmosphere lives or dies with the actual game. As far as recruits go, I tend to believe there is enough going on behind the scenes where the jumbotron isn't the deciding factor.

 

[RocketDawg]

I watched the game on television, and there were a lot of empty seats. Probably no more than 80,000 real people at the game.

Also noticed yesterday at the Giants game that the stadium was almost empty, particularly in the club and upper decks, near the end of the game and the Giants were winning a close game. So it's not just at MSU.

 

[AFDawg]

We should fire Strickland and hire this Stricklin guy I've heard about.

 

[Cherokee]

Knoxville/Neyland Stadium...4 hours of traffic for a 3.5 hour game. Knoxville has some of the worst traffic I've ever seen. I've even gotten stuck in Knoxville at 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon driving through there.

Well actually I parked in a garage at the Civic Center for $5 and then walked out to the curb and caught a shuttle bus for $6 and was dropped off at the stadium. On the way out I was on the highway at top speed in 15 minutes. Much better than I ever thought it would be.

 

[engie]

Research is a funny thing. A 2013 USA Today report shows us as one of only 4 schools not making enough money from media rights contracts, ticket sales, donations and other non-subsidy to be self sufficiant. UT is not one of them


http://www.sportinglifearkansas.com/evin-demirel-sec-schools-athletic-revenues-winners-and-losers/

These numbers don't say much. We budget in the subsidy before the season even starts -- and it justifies itself in the amount of free marketing athletics does for the school itself and future prospective students. LSU is the only school in the SEC that doesn't do this at all. Simple fact is that, as of today, MSU has more "free capital" than Tennessee does -- and it isn't really close.

All that said was that we raised 70% of the total money of Tennessee -- and will be within our power to narrow the gap another 10-15 percent as soon as next year(stadium expansion will increase revenue about $10mil/yr). AND we don't have $200mil in debt to pay off without new income methods to ever achieve it -- we've got $69 mil in a stadium expansion set to pay for itself in 15 years.

 

[bullythisblackbear]

Giants game? Giants play Monday night. How many times was Eli intercepted.?

 

[RocketDawg]

Yeah, my mistake. 49ers, not Giants. Gottem mixed up with baseball names.

And Eli will be intercepted 4 times tonight, but they're ahead right now.

 

[Woof Man Jack]

Well actually I parked in a garage at the Civic Center for $5 and then walked out to the curb and caught a shuttle bus for $6 and was dropped off at the stadium. On the way out I was on the highway at top speed in 15 minutes. Much better than I ever thought it would be.

Exactly. If you spend 4 hours in traffic for a UT game, then you either don't know where you're going, don't know how to get there, or both. I live about 12 miles from campus and can drive through the traffic and have a cold beer at a tailgate in about 45 minutes on gameday. As long as you know the streets to avoid you'll be ok.

 

[Sutterkane]

That's easy to say being a local, but there's tens of thousands of people converging into a city that has traffic problems and is always doing some kind of construction.