Man, there are even more tickets and parking passes for sale than usual..
- Thread starter DHajekRC84
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AK - We don't have a "solid middle of the road B1G team" anymore. We are a bottom feeder and might not win any B1G games this season. Face it, we suck, again.
On a related note, the apathy is here in New England also. I run the Rutgers Club of New England. We hold game watches at a sports bar here in Boston. The turnout is usually not great but not bad, usually 20-25 alumni will show. For the Louisville game in 2006 we had over 50, which was our best attended game watch ever.
This past weekend at the PSU game watch THREE people attended - myself and two others, and one of the other two was the girlfriend of the alum and was not an RU grad. So two RU alums showed up. Now the notice of the game watch went out from the university to 3,500 alumni in the Boston area. I supplemented that with emails to hundreds of alumni on my list, I put it on our Facebook Group page, and I even posted it on this message board.
You can do the math. Less than 1/10 of 1% of the Boston area alumni who received notice of the event showed up - and we were playing PSU, our purported arch rival, on a Saturday night with beautiful weather. It was very disappointing.
I did receive a few email responses from people saying they were angry about what has transpired at RU over the past weeks and that they weren't going to attend for that reason and didn't think this team deserved their support. My position is you support the university and the remaining 85-90 guys on the team who don't get in trouble and work their tails off. Again, very disappointing.
This past weekend at the PSU game watch THREE people attended - myself and two others, and one of the other two was the girlfriend of the alum and was not an RU grad. So two RU alums showed up. Now the notice of the game watch went out from the university to 3,500 alumni in the Boston area. I supplemented that with emails to hundreds of alumni on my list, I put it on our Facebook Group page, and I even posted it on this message board.
You can do the math. Less than 1/10 of 1% of the Boston area alumni who received notice of the event showed up - and we were playing PSU, our purported arch rival, on a Saturday night with beautiful weather. It was very disappointing.
I did receive a few email responses from people saying they were angry about what has transpired at RU over the past weeks and that they weren't going to attend for that reason and didn't think this team deserved their support. My position is you support the university and the remaining 85-90 guys on the team who don't get in trouble and work their tails off. Again, very disappointing.
Not even close to true. Maryland has a much worse fan base. northwestern does too. Its hard to say with Indiana because they have been so bad.
Another person with a complete lack of perspective.
Here's reality - for a team that has had ONE top 25 finish since moving to FBS almost 40 years ago, we have a very solid fan base. But like EVERY fan base, people are more excited to see us when we are good, and more excited to see us when we are playing good teams.
We aren't good and Kansas is awful.
FYI I was there in 2006. What a great night. A bunch of RU fans doing the upstream red team chant at Game On! In the shadow of Fenway Park was pretty surreal.
79-49 last 10 years. That sucks? I'm sure there is more than 50% of the college football world that wish they had that record or wish the had gone to ANY bowl 8 of 10 years.
Yes, this season is looking like it's going to be poor and the events of the past month has been disheartening for even the most diehard but let's not act like there's more bad than good in at least the last decade.
Yes, this season is looking like it's going to be poor and the events of the past month has been disheartening for even the most diehard but let's not act like there's more bad than good in at least the last decade.
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Knight - People deal with losing in different ways. I'm bringing the family, so I obviously don't support the "protest by staying home" method. That just takes away from my enjoyment of the day.
The bottom line is that if we continue to get caught up in frivolous "scandals", coaching is perceived to be inept and the losses continue to mount, then that will effect ticket sales and donations. If ticket sales drop in a big way and the big time donors start pulling back, then you will see a problem. But if a few hundred to thousand paying customers stay home this weekend, it will have no effect and will only hurt the kids. With that said, I can't sit here and yell at somebody because they decided to not go or stay in the lot. Who am I to blame them after the past month?
I honestly can't believe you're trying to pin, what looks like will be the case tomorrow, lousy attendance, on the athletic department not marketing Homecoming. We were 3-0 the stadium would be full tomorrow, regardless of anything else, so let's be real here 1984.
BTW - in the past two weeks, I probably received 10 different emails about homecoming, either from the athletic department or from various sports teams or the alumni sensation.
today's was about the Newark Debate team being ranked #1 in the country and the New Police Chief in LA being a Rutgers Grad. Good stuff but......it's homecoming against a team we should beat on a beautiful day..isn't that what folks want?
No need to fight here fellas,,this isn't about the people on this site. Bring folks last minute.there will be plenty of free and $5 tix. Enjoy the day. I think we see a good game tomorrow.
No need to fight here fellas,,this isn't about the people on this site. Bring folks last minute.there will be plenty of free and $5 tix. Enjoy the day. I think we see a good game tomorrow.
of course not pinning it on them. I see the tone of the situation. Saying they haven't pushed it. I've gotten nothing Nuts. You're connected..you probably got the Pope to send you a nice email. This isn't about the 44k core..its about the other 8k.
Last week's Maryland home game was played in front of - literally - less than 2,000 students and MAYBE a 50% full Byrd Stadium outside of the student section. When the Twerps went up by 18, with 10 MINUTES left in the game, the stadium cleared out so fast you would have thunk Fat Bastard tore *** at midfield after consuming a dozen-egg chili omelette.
Might want to watch an Illinois home game, too, God-awful fan base the last few years for many home games.
It's not rocket science: If you win they will come - in droves. Can you imagine a good, competitive RU football team (I'm talking a ranked team, doesn't have to be top ten but top 25, or maybe even a team getting some votes ) and tOSU and MSU coming to Piscataway. It would be bedlam. Is that too much to ask for? I should add the team should be without off field issues.
We were blown out by a bad Penn St. team that is out recruiting RU. And their coach is no game day genius.
Half of the secondary is in jail.
The future looks bleak. Don't try to sugarcoat it anymore.
Get a Schiano or Lane Kiffen both proven recruiters.
Or the guy from NIU. At least we know he can coach.
Or it's going to get worse.
Half of the secondary is in jail.
The future looks bleak. Don't try to sugarcoat it anymore.
Get a Schiano or Lane Kiffen both proven recruiters.
Or the guy from NIU. At least we know he can coach.
Or it's going to get worse.
Did you go to HC last year? 5-3 Rutgers playing Host to 5-2 Wisky...people where bitching about playing such a tough foe for HC. Great atmosphere for the 48k that were there. The upper corners were empty until the end of first qtr (then the stadium emptied)..first year in B1G against a classic powerhouse on HC and still didn't pack out HPSS.
Guess in the end it really does take just winning. And by winning Rutgers being top 20 or something to get folks to come. Again my basic point is that HC should trump some of the fair weather issues.
I'm 26 and will be in yellow lot at 8AM with 15 more 26 year olds. Luckily for you old pessimists people like myself and my buddies are committed to the program. We will continue to be committed because we have a connection to a Rutgers football program that has experienced sustained success as we grew up (success is relative I know). As we get older, we will continue to donate more, and more, and more.
See you all Saturday morning.
See you all Saturday morning.
...and last year's HC was literally played in the worse weather one could ever imagine to deal with on HC.
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1. I don't care about perceptions. I care about reality and truth. Some make decisions on perceptions. That's fine for them, not me.
2. I am not yelling at anyone. However, the posts I quoted above are sad to me.
3. I live by Jimmy V's mantra--"Don't give up. Don't ever give up. After what I went through last year with a health scare, I reaffirmed my core principle to always maintain a positive outlook about everything in my life that is important.
4. Rutgers Football and the New York Mets define about 1-2% of what contributes to my happiness, probably less.
5. I find it comical that some have written off the season after 3 games. Maybe the last 2 weeks are an omen of a horrible season ahead. I'm sure the debbie downers on this board will wave it in my and other's faces "see, I was right, I told you so." If that is where you derive your happiness, then rock on.
6. However, maybe the team will fix its problems and get better. I would like the think that they will. If they do not, then changes will be made at the end of the season or sooner. People will be happy. But many will still complain when the new staff is announced should this happen. Its the nature of being a fan.
7. 80-85 student athletes will be on the field tomorrow representing Rutgers, the school I chose to attend more than 30 years ago. I am proud to be a Rutgers alum, regardless of what happens on the field and off the field.
8. I will take in the beautiful stadium that has been built, the scoreboard and all of the pageantry and think about how far we have come since I went to my first game in 1985. I will also enjoy the time at my tailgate, seeing friends, and having a great time with the folks in my section of the stadium. I only get 6 or 7 opportunities per year to do this, and only once per year on homecoming.
I am proud to be an alumnus of Rutgers University.
Please go to the game and support your team. The athletes on the field did nothing wrong. Remember one very important fact, change starts at the top. The change people yearn for will only come to fruition when the BOG and President provides the AD a budget and latitude to move forward and seek out a better HC/Assistants. From an institutional standpoint they are not interested in pursuing this route. So please go and support your team because right now that's the best we could do.
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I have no issue with anything you say and we need our core fans to feel this way. Nobody is questioning your commitment. However, you stated that we are "the worst fans in the B1G". You repeated this. Others continue to do this and claim our fans are part of the problem. I disagree. They are not, have not been and will not be the issue unless they all walk away.
We need hard core fans like yourself to keep this train moving. But to ignore the problems, noise and perceptions outside of our littler universe is simply covering up your eyes to reality. Perception is important to the program especially if our administration does nothing to stop it. We need the middle of the road and bandwagon fan to take this to the next level. I know guys like you and me will be there next season. But lets not make a judgment of the fan base because some people are pissed off or ignore the bigger picture because we live in a bubble.
I have no issue with anything you say and we need our core fans to feel this way. Nobody is questioning your commitment. However, you stated that we are "the worst fans in the B1G". You repeated this. Others continue to do this and claim our fans are part of the problem. I disagree. They are not, have not been and will not be the issue unless they all walk away.
We need hard core fans like yourself to keep this train moving. But to ignore the problems, noise and perceptions outside of our littler universe is simply covering up your eyes to reality. Perception is important to the program especially if our administration does nothing to stop it. We need the middle of the road and bandwagon fan to take this to the next level. I know guys like you and me will be there next season. But lets not make a judgment of the fan base because some people are pissed off or ignore the bigger picture because we live in a bubble.
We agree more than we disagree. [cheers]
But to clarify, on my third or fourth post, I shifted a bit (a shift from KnightShift!):
On the whole, considering what we have endured over many years, our fanbase is pretty awesome. However, still don't get the "I'm staying home to make a statement" mentality. Go to homecoming. Relive your youth. Enjoy the weather. Enjoy the day. Cheer for the 80-85 players on the field. Go home happy.
there will be only about 20K in the stadium for kickoff because of the stupid noon kickoff for homecoming, we wil be lucky to get 40K in at one time
I also think homecoming is not hyped up much as it should be for a school this size and the homecoming areas are really tiny with not much going on
I also think homecoming is not hyped up much as it should be for a school this size and the homecoming areas are really tiny with not much going on
I am not sure it has been proven that fans will come in droves consistently even if we win. So when the team is struggling and we are playing an opponent such as Norfolk or to a lesser extent a poor Kansas team then don't expect much hype given what has happened with the program both on and off the field the last few weeks. I will be there tomorrow but not with any real anticipation. There is also a larger issue at play and that is getting people off the couch to attend sporting events live which is why I am not sure they are coming in droves even if we win. Are TV ratings will be better but not sure any attendance jump that will require expansion thats for sure. Do the Giants still sell out all there games? I know the Jets don't. I hear the stadium was certainly not full last night. Better TVs and a disdain for bad weather are issues for football attendance at all levels.
This.
As for the excuse by some that it is a big youth sports day, most Saturday's in the Fall have youth sports so that's weak. It's ok to miss 1, 2 or some of your kid's games, especially when you spend thousands of dollars on Rutgers tix, parking, donations, etc. Go to the Rutgers game instead. Your kids will survive.
When selling, can you scan the tickets so stubhub can have the print ticket option? Or do the actual tickets need to be mailed to the buyer?
And a proven non-winner on the field. The only thing a good recruiter/bad coach is good for is setting it up for the next guy down the line to succeed right off the bat.
Given that Rutgers is likely going to struggle to outrecruit this division (there are few scenarios where RU beats out OSU, UM, MSU, or PSU for most recruits) we need a great coach. The state and region has enough talent that we wont be awful if we have a great coach, even if he can't recruit lots four and five stars. Get someone who has a system and knows how to recruit to that system.
If you have paper tickets, you have to ship them UPS. Stubhub will let you scan or enter barcode numbers if you have tickets with a select group of venues, but RU/HPSS isn't on that list.
If Rutgers win and compete, fans will come. Period. 2006 gave a small glimpse of what Rutgers can become. A full pledge college football power house with rabid fan support in the media capital of the world. 2006 ALL of Jersey was INFECTED with SCARLET FEVER.
.......... oh, and by the way, the Giants have a 500 year waiting list on their season tickets.
This is Jersey. Win, and they will come.
Stole my thunder. I think Indiana will likely beat us this year. How is that 'middle of the road' ?
28 and 15 at USC. Recruiting, recruting and recruting.
Look at Dabo. Couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag. He recruits and the coordinators call the plays. He plays CEO and it works.
There is no way you can do all that anyway. That was Schiano's problem. Trying to run to much.
Look at Dabo. Couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper bag. He recruits and the coordinators call the plays. He plays CEO and it works.
There is no way you can do all that anyway. That was Schiano's problem. Trying to run to much.
Although I tried to find someone who wanted them for a friend, they really weren't mine to give away.. but you were close.
Be sure to look for them tomorrow. They will be the 4 empty seats in the sea of red.
please remind me what that was Nuts. Sat thru almost every game RU has played home last 37 years. Including the Plow game vs. WVU. Nothing comes to mind. I recall a sunny and dry day.