[NU Sports] Attendance Woes

[Bryan Bowser]

JHCCLARK at aol.com wrote: 
#4 - 11am starts. Who the #%&! wants to get up at 7am to make an 11am kickoff? This REALLY hurts, especially if you have a social life and want to enjoy it on Friday nights. Yes, yes, I know that ESPN and ABC are calling the shots. Is the priority to be televised or attendance? It may be that being on TV is more important, but the conference, ESPN and ABC should be able to think of something -- maybe having ESPN+ games at 1pm or even 2pm.

#8 - Tradition is not there (yet). NU, like Indiana, just doesn't have the long "winning" tradition that other schools have. The 70s and 80s permanently turned off a couple of generations of would-be NU fans. I know it is sacrilege to say it, but NU's tradition in the minds of most 35-60 year olds is of a loser, not a winner. BUT, this is changing among the new generations - just listen to what recruits think of NU football.

As a season ticket holder living in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, I agree the 11:00 starts have been a significant factor. I have to get up at 4:30 or 5:00 AM to tailgate, and I can't convince a lot of people to join me at that hour. Even many people on the North side try to show up as late as possible, 10:30 or so. It was a lot easier to convince people to come to games at 1:00. The lack of tailgating space is probably another related factor. With the lots at the stadium full, any new ticketholders are out of luck for tailgating.
I also have found the idea that the team's performance over the last year or two definitely affects other people's interest in attending the current season. Coverage of the Cats is not that  great, and general awareness of the team's performance lags. By the time most peopl realized how exciting the games were this year, the season was over.
Bryan Bowser
CAS '92
KGSM '99
 
 
 
Secondly,