What happened to our fanbase?

[QueencityApp]

A couple of people have mentioned the style of play and I couldn't agree more. Once Armanti left we lost that "excitement" factor and key player everyone wanted to come and see play. I was watching highlights from the 2007 Southern game and you could hear the crowd and see how full the bank was in the background from highlights when Armanti would scramble out of trouble and turn a guaranteed sack into a first down.

People say winning will bring in the fans, well we've been winning but I do think we are definitely missing a dynamic player or two to watch perform on the field too.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

A couple of people have mentioned the style of play and I couldn't agree more. Once Armanti left we lost that "excitement" factor and key player everyone wanted to come and see play. I was watching highlights from the 2007 Southern game and you could hear the crowd and see how full the bank was in the background from highlights when Armanti would scramble out of trouble and turn a guaranteed sack into a first down.

People say winning will bring in the fans, well we've been winning but I do think we are definitely missing a dynamic player or two to watch perform on the field too.

I agree. Even the years following Armanti, fans were anxious to see if we had the next Richie/Armanti, but over time and after coaching changes, that excitement fizzled out.

[AtlantaMountaineer]

While I love my Apps i have to agree that this year the style of play is sort of like watching grass grow. After years of being a season ticket holder and making the 5 hour trip up from Atlanta to watch my team play i found myself not as being as excited as in years past. Couldn't put my finger on it until the last couple of games.

[Saint3333]

Now our fans don't cheer or stay past half time because of our style of offense. These excuses are pretty far fetched.

If you don't get excited about some of the things our defense is doing, you don't know good football.

Our fanbase is spoiled and more interested in the idea of what surrounds App football than the football game itself. We have become what we used to make fun of (UNCCH and small private school crowds). I enjoy a good tailgate and catching up with friends and family, but for three hours let's get back to focusing on the game and cheering on our team.

People say we don't have the rivalries or familiar opponents, maybe so, but if you don't pay attention how do you expect to become familiar.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

Our defense is exciting to watch, however they're not on the field that much. We are 17th in the nation in average time of possession, with our average up from last season, and the highest at home games. A large part of that is running the ball, which to most fans is not exciting. I'm not justifying the reasons, just pointing out that there is a reason people aren't as excited. It doesn't matter to me personally how we get a win, but I can understand why others feel the way they do.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-fo ... -net-of-ot

[bigdaddyg]

This whole dynamic is really hard to figure out. We obviously have the fans out there to hit 30k. A huge factor has to lie in conference opponents, more specifically how many of their fans travel. There couldn't be very many Idaho fans in attendance. The argument for a (hopeful) more regional conference grows every week. It's just plain stupid to have a conference that goes from NC to Ga to Texas, NM and Idaho. All that being said where do we rank among G5's with average attendance numbers?

[bigdaddyg]

I simply don't buy "style of play" as a reason for declining attendance numbers. To me that's a stupid hypothesis. Even though we have moved up Idaho, Texas St and ODU don't move the needle.

[appaneer1984]

Everts walked past just before the game kicked off and she had the worst look on her face...like a petulant child being dragged to go shopping with their mom. God I miss Peacock!!! He'd stand on the push-up platform and hoist those trophies high over his head and the student section would lose it!
We need a student to step up and lead the crowd in cheers and jeers...the football team shouldn't have to turn around on big downs to get the fans pumped and jacked! It should just happen! I remember when the student section was so loud Richie, Armanti, and Elder would have to quiet the fans down when we were on offense, we were a rabid fanbase.

[Seattleapp]

Homecoming attendees are always lamer and Saturday was abruptly cold. It was in the 70s all week up until Friday night.

It ain't what it used to be, but I'm not going to panic about our atmosphere. You got unlucky taking your friend to this particular game.

This. Homecoming plus (unexpected) cold = a tame crowd. I'm also tired of hearing about people leaving. This is a "problem" nearly all schools have. Be glad they bothered to come out to begin with.

that's your take? really?

[97grad]

Homecoming attendees are always lamer and Saturday was abruptly cold. It was in the 70s all week up until Friday night.

It ain't what it used to be, but I'm not going to panic about our atmosphere. You got unlucky taking your friend to this particular game.

This. Homecoming plus (unexpected) cold = a tame crowd. I'm also tired of hearing about people leaving. This is a "problem" nearly all schools have. Be glad they bothered to come out to begin with.

that's your take? really?

Sure is. We can and should discuss ways to increase attendance and keep folks around, but this whole paradigm of blaming people that "don't know good football" or aren't "supporting the team" just smacks of elitism and isn't productive anyway. Does anyone actually think these fans are on here reading these posts? Or even if they were that this kind of talk would change their behavior? BTW I participated in the APP-STATE chant at least twice.

[Appftw]

Sure, you can try to explain this away by blaming it on a "homecoming" crowd, but this crowd was raucous compared to what we had at the Georgia State game. That was like a symphony at the park crowd. Quiet as a tomb.

[nomadb]

Like most things, I think we as fans tend to remember the games that made an impression on us.....the ones where everyone was up and screaming the entire time....the ones where you couldn't hear yourself think, etc. It's easy to forget all of the ones that were just like Idaho was Saturday. You forget because they are not memorable. If you think hard enough, even in "The Glory Days", there were PLENTY of games with people streaming out of the gate at half time and sitting on their hands the entire time.

[Saint3333]

Stop making excuses App Nation. If you care enough to come to a game I'm excited to stand beside you, but stay for the game. How can we expect the players and coaches to put in 40+ hours a week and not hold ourselves accountable for three hours? Since when is getting the opportunity to watch YOUR team perform on the field not a good enough reason to stay for 4 quarters and be engaged.

[appchicago]

I think we're talking past each other.

I'm not suggesting that the way we win or lose should be a reason for anyone to come or not come to the games, or to stay or not stay until the end.

I AM saying that we are a fan base that put 12k butts in seats a decade ago, and now we put 26k butts in seats. You don't get from a to b without having some casual fans in the mix. Those fans are more likely to come to games and stay at games that have a little more drama.

I was there for the miracle on the mountain. I helped carry the goal post. That was not a good game for us. It was exciting and the ending was amazing, but it wasn't good football for 60 minutes of play. But it's a memory we all connect with emotionally because it was exciting.

Dynamic play electrifies the crowd. I could see it happen as a TV viewer on Saturday's game. Second half,we not only started to be effective, we started to be fun to watch. Besides some truly impressive grit by our D, the first half wasn't that.

Now, when we get to games, we're there until 0:00. My 2 year old daughter and I stayed until the very end at ODU because getting up to a game is a rare privilege these days and I wasn't about to squander it. But I know that others in the stadium aren't as passionate.

This isn't an excuse. It's an explanation.

[JGthatsme86]

I had a blast Saturday despite the ho-hum atmosphere. One thing that stood out to me is that the TIMING of the extra, taped add-ons that needs to be reviewed. There are 2 things that seem to instantly zap the energy and atmosphere during games, and they both have to do with timing: (1)the seemingly endless taped "profile" videos that are shown this year and (2) the inappropriate timing of some of the canned music.
The videos are well done, but there simply has to be a better time to show them than during the heat of game drives. I assume they are planned as "filler" for TV timeouts, but the scoreboard operator has a uncanny knack for launching a video right when the "App...State" cheer is cranking up or when the crowd noise is electric. Talk about a buzz kill!
Regarding the music, we have been playing canned music for a number of years, with mixed results. Whoever has been running it for the last few years needs focus on picking spots where it enhances the game vs detracting from it. There were several key 3rd down plays on Saturday where the crowd was pretty ramped up, but a weird song choice would come on and mute the cheering. Unlike some of you, I really like SOME canned music during the game...or at least I used to. I believe this is a timing issue and also an easy fix.
Finally I have a question for any current students on YC: What has happened to the tradition of students tossing other students up in the air after each score to count off scoring points? We sit in 205 behind the student section and this always got them fired up. That is definitely missing this year...just wondering if current students stopped doing it or were instructed to.

[97grad]

Stop making excuses App Nation. If you care enough to come to a game I'm excited to stand beside you, but stay for the game. How can we expect the players and coaches to put in 40+ hours a week and not hold ourselves accountable for three hours? Since when is getting the opportunity to watch YOUR team perform on the field not a good enough reason to stay for 4 quarters and be engaged.

I recall a discussion recently where season tickets/YC/etc were being discussed and it was reiterated that people don't need to offer any explanations nor excuses for how they choose to spend their time and money. Most seemed to agree with that sentiment, but it's contrary to what you're saying here. These fans came out, spent their money and some of their time. That's apparently not good enough. Would it be awesome if they were rowdy and stayed, sure. But that's not something you're going to shame people into doing.

[bigdaddyg]

I don't think there is anything that will keep half time leavers in the stadium- a "boring" or blowout must mean nothing. We aren't able to get to many games for various reasons but when we do go we sure as hell don't leave until the game is over. I believe that people (as a whole) just aren't as interested in going to football games like they used to. I have nothing to back that up except for a gut feeling. Even though we are playing big boy football many of our conference foes are just glorified FCS teams. If our conference included ECU, Marshall (suck factor aside) and a few other regionally favorable programs this whole discussion would be mute.

[Saint3333]

Stop making excuses App Nation. If you care enough to come to a game I'm excited to stand beside you, but stay for the game. How can we expect the players and coaches to put in 40+ hours a week and not hold ourselves accountable for three hours? Since when is getting the opportunity to watch YOUR team perform on the field not a good enough reason to stay for 4 quarters and be engaged.

I recall a discussion recently where season tickets/YC/etc were being discussed and it was reiterated that people don't need to offer any explanations nor excuses for how they choose to spend their time and money. Most seemed to agree with that sentiment, but it's contrary to what you're saying here. These fans came out, spent their money and some of their time. That's apparently not good enough. Would it be awesome if they were rowdy and stayed, sure. But that's not something you're going to shame people into doing.

it is your time and money, but it's a slap in the face of the players and coaches when you leave at halftime of a 4 point game. What message are we sending our team?

[DaphneUrquhart]

The old adage, "Offense sells tickets; Defense wins championships" didn't get to be an old adage by accident. An explosive offense and an explosive crowd usually go together. We have a relatively effective offense, but we don't have an explosive one by my reckoning.

[CVAPP]

it is your time and money, but it's a slap in the face of the players and coaches when you leave at halftime of a 4 point game. What message are we sending our team?

That we have casual fans that make an appearance at games. We are better off with these casual fans than without them as there are not lines of fans waiting to get into the stadium when the casuals depart. This banter reminds of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi episode. Saint says no soup for you!