Bottom line...

[redsfan5590]

Going to football games isn’t really that enjoyable anymore at Marshall. And that even includes when they are winning. Whether it’s the style of play, the fact that any time there is more than 20k fans you feel like you can’t move in the concourse, the outdated bathrooms, the poor sound system/video board, the lack of atmosphere, or any other number of problems.... I just find myself not enjoying the games.

I’m an alumnus who loves the university. I grew up in Huntington and went to as many games as I possibly could growing up. I knew I would have season tickets when I graduated and got a “real job”. As a student I went to every home game.

And yet... I just find our games tired. They aren’t really enjoyable. The one redeeming quality we have is a solid tailgating scene. That’s about it. We need a new coach, and an entirely new athletic department with a new vision.... check that with A vision.

 

[Bankerreturns]

The cockiness of the program and fans is just gone. Now the stands are just full of people bitchin' and moanin' for 3 hours. It does tend to bum you out.

 

[BleedsGreen33]

any time there is more than 20k fans you feel like you can’t move in the concourse

I HATE OUR CONCOURSES.

Apologize for the all caps, but man they are ridiculous. They are so packed in and there is no order as to how people walk. They need to just take the fencing out. I don't know how it even meets safety codes. Imagine a game like UC, Purdue, Louisville, or 2010 WVU. Now imagine an emergency of some sort where people needed to flee the stadium. There's going to be a lot of seriously hurt people.

The concession lines stretch out 3/4s of the way out to the fence and the last 1/4 is jammed full of vendors and condiment tables.

I can't say that I a have ever been to another stadium that had concourses as jammed up as ours.

 

[MichiganHerd]

I HATE OUR CONCOURSES.

Apologize for the all caps, but man they are ridiculous. They are so packed in and there is no order as to how people walk. They need to just take the fencing out. I don't know how it even meets safety codes. Imagine a game like UC, Purdue, Louisville, or 2010 WVU. Now imagine an emergency of some sort where people needed to flee the stadium. There's going to be a lot of seriously hurt people.

The concession lines stretch out 3/4s of the way out to the fence and the last 1/4 is jammed full of vendors and condiment tables.

I can't say that I a have ever been to another stadium that had concourses as jammed up as ours.

Well, the good news seems to be that this won't be an issue at the remaining home games, assuming everybody in the stadium doesn't decide to buy a hot dog or take a leak at the exact same time.

 

[redsfan5590]

I HATE OUR CONCOURSES.

Apologize for the all caps, but man they are ridiculous. They are so packed in and there is no order as to how people walk. They need to just take the fencing out. I don't know how it even meets safety codes. Imagine a game like UC, Purdue, Louisville, or 2010 WVU. Now imagine an emergency of some sort where people needed to flee the stadium. There's going to be a lot of seriously hurt people.

The concession lines stretch out 3/4s of the way out to the fence and the last 1/4 is jammed full of vendors and condiment tables.

I can't say that I a have ever been to another stadium that had concourses as jammed up as ours.

Yep. And you hit it on the head. They need to take the fences out. It wouldn’t take a massive overhaul of the entire stadium. But we won’t do it.

I honestly think things like this have contributed to our attendance woes recently (as well as poor play and national trend). It certainly hasn’t helped.

 

[JudgeDD]

I HATE OUR CONCOURSES.

Apologize for the all caps, but man they are ridiculous. They are so packed in and there is no order as to how people walk. They need to just take the fencing out. I don't know how it even meets safety codes. Imagine a game like UC, Purdue, Louisville, or 2010 WVU. Now imagine an emergency of some sort where people needed to flee the stadium. There's going to be a lot of seriously hurt people.

The concession lines stretch out 3/4s of the way out to the fence and the last 1/4 is jammed full of vendors and condiment tables.

I can't say that I a have ever been to another stadium that had concourses as jammed up as ours.

Believe it or not, Penn State is worse. Over 100k - many of them drunk - stuffed into cramped concession lines and extremely outdated bathrooms. I love going to Penn State games. This is definitely the disappointing part.

 

[JudgeDD]

Going to football games isn’t really that enjoyable anymore at Marshall. And that even includes when they are winning. Whether it’s the style of play, the fact that any time there is more than 20k fans you feel like you can’t move in the concourse, the outdated bathrooms, the poor sound system/video board, the lack of atmosphere, or any other number of problems.... I just find myself not enjoying the games.

I’m an alumnus who loves the university. I grew up in Huntington and went to as many games as I possibly could growing up. I knew I would have season tickets when I graduated and got a “real job”. As a student I went to every home game.

And yet... I just find our games tired. They aren’t really enjoyable. The one redeeming quality we have is a solid tailgating scene. That’s about it. We need a new coach, and an entirely new athletic department with a new vision.... check that with A vision.

This has been a complaint of mine since I started going to Marshall games. And I know I'm spoiled by my experiences at Penn State. But Marshall games have no character. Sure, the crowd gets into the game occasionally. Some games everyone screams when the other team has third down. The WE ARE chant pops up a few times. But where are the sing-alongs? The stadium-wide chants? Hell, even the wave would be...something. The student section is partially empty at the beginning of the game, and actually empty by the second half. The band, the cheerleaders, the announcer...I guess they try. But the fan participation is minimal.

At Penn State, there are over 100 thousand in the stands and I feel like I'm watching the game with every one of them. Marshall should be a more intimate experience, but I usually feel like I'm watching the game alone.

 

[BleedsGreen33]

This has been a complaint of mine since I started going to Marshall games. And I know I'm spoiled by my experiences at Penn State. But Marshall games have no character. Sure, the crowd gets into the game occasionally. Some games everyone screams when the other team has third down. The WE ARE chant pops up a few times. But where are the sing-alongs? The stadium-wide chants? Hell, even the wave.would be...something. The student section is partially empty at the beginning of the game, and practically empty by the second half. The band, the cheerleaders, the announcer...I guess they try. But the fan participation is minimal.

At Penn State, there are over 100 thousand in the stands and I feel like I'm watching the game with every one of the. Marshall should be a more intimate experience, but I usually feel like I'm watching the game alone.

Yea, if you are not a hardcore Marshall fan then the game atmosphere is pretty bush league. there's no stadium chant for picked up first down or video board prompts on 3rd and 4th down plays. The stadium music is awful. Basketball is largely the same way. I had a friend back when I was at Marshall that was a grad student. He did his undergrad at one of the nonpower basketball schools that were always in the NCAA Tournament. I can't remember which one it was. I do remember his first MBB here. He couldn't believe how bland the games were. Where the chants were, the crowd was, why the students are where he were, and so on.

For the longest time I have felt Marshall misses the details.

We had that year with glowsticks and even that got push back from the athletic department.

Outside of the in itself the coolest thing I have ever seen at a Marshall football game was the stadium striping for Louisville. I never thought we'd pull that off and it was amazing.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Hamrick and the AD don't give a crap about making the game day experience positive for anyone. It's a chinese fire drill. I don't blame Cornwell or Toy - they are just doing their jobs, but going to a game is painful. The music sucks, our band sucks and placed in a corner where most can't hear them. The ongoing on field announcements acknowledging some group or kissing up to a donor is ridiculous.

Marshall may be better served hiring an events manager to coordinate all this stuff and make attending a game, a much better experience - and make fans want to come back. They could learn a thing or two from minor league baseball and hockey. jmho.

 

[Pioneer_PA]

Yea, if you are not a hardcore Marshall fan then the game atmosphere is pretty bush league. there's no stadium chant for picked up first down or video board prompts on 3rd and 4th down plays. The stadium music is awful. Basketball is largely the same way. I had a friend back when I was at Marshall that was a grad student. He did his undergrad at one of the nonpower basketball schools that were always in the NCAA Tournament. I can't remember which one it was. I do remember his first MBB here. He couldn't believe how bland the games were. Where the chants were, the crowd was, why the students are where he were, and so on.

For the longest time I have felt Marshall misses the details.

We had that year with glowsticks and even that got push back from the athletic department.

Outside of the in itself the coolest thing I have ever seen at a Marshall football game was the stadium striping for Louisville. I never thought we'd pull that off and it was amazing.

I feel like we lost a whole lot when we got the initial video board. No count-a-long thunderclaps, no We Are... Marshall chant prompts with the arrows. No Green-White chant prompts with arrows. So many little details that we had from 1991 until we put up the video board in the 00’s are completely lost today.

 

[ThunderCat98]

Hell, even the wave.

Can't do the wave. People would bitch at you for standing up.

 

[RhinoD]

They could learn a thing or two from minor league baseball and hockey. jmho.

Hockey and basketball have figured out what "game day experience" means... Football, college and NFL, have not... Go to an NBA or NHL game and it's two and half hours of constant entertainment. Game starts at 7 p.m. and you are out of there and on to something else, dinner, the club, etc. by 9:30 or 10 and you feel like you really saw something.

Went to a regular season Atlanta Hawks game last season. For the cost of the ticket there was a pre-game concert by CeeLo Green (not my favorite, but a popular act either way) and a halftime concert by T.I. (another popular rap artist). During every timeout the dance team was out there, the cheerleaders were chucking shirts, something.

After the game, everyone leaving was talking about what a great time they had (despite the fact that the Hawks are terrible). A good gameday experience can make a poor product on the field/court not so awful. Unfortunately, we have the tired Thunder Walk followed by 90 minutes of ear-splitting piped in rap music and warmups. Then the weak band pregame. At halftime the weak band is back at it with about 10 mins of dead air to follow. Postgame, its how fast can I get to my car to sit in traffic.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Hockey and basketball have figured out what "game day experience" means... Football, college and NFL, have not... Go to an NBA or NHL game and it's two and half hours of constant entertainment. Game starts at 7 p.m. and you are out of there and on to something else, dinner, the club, etc. by 9:30 or 10 and you feel like you really saw something.

Went to a regular season Atlanta Hawks game last season. For the cost of the ticket there was a pre-game concert by CeeLo Green (not my favorite, but a popular act either way) and a halftime concert by T.I. (another popular rap artist). During every timeout the dance team was out there, the cheerleaders were chucking shirts, something.

After the game, everyone leaving was talking about what a great time they had (despite the fact that the Hawks are terrible). A good gameday experience can make a poor product on the field/court not so awful. Unfortunately, we have the tired Thunder Walk followed by 90 minutes of ear-splitting piped in rap music and warmups. Then the weak band pregame. At halftime the weak band is back at it with about 10 mins of dead air to follow. Postgame, its how fast can I get to my car to sit in traffic.

Exactly. It’s about the entertainment value these days. MU needs to figure that out.

 

[whf2]

I HATE OUR CONCOURSES.

Apologize for the all caps, but man they are ridiculous. They are so packed in and there is no order as to how people walk. They need to just take the fencing out. I don't know how it even meets safety codes. Imagine a game like UC, Purdue, Louisville, or 2010 WVU. Now imagine an emergency of some sort where people needed to flee the stadium. There's going to be a lot of seriously hurt people.

The concession lines stretch out 3/4s of the way out to the fence and the last 1/4 is jammed full of vendors and condiment tables.

I can't say that I a have ever been to another stadium that had concourses as jammed up as ours.

Ohio, So Miss, are a couple that come to mind really quickly that are (were last time I was there anyway) much worse than the Joan. Actually, Kansas State was as worse too.

 

[Herdmeister]

Ohio, So Miss, are a couple that come to mind really quickly that are (were last time I was there anyway) much worse than the Joan. Actually, Kansas State was as worse too.

Although USM isn't very pretty, I never felt that the concourse was small. ODU was terrible BUT they had adequate outside space for food vendors in the grassy area

 

[CockyHerd]

This has been a complaint of mine since I started going to Marshall games. And I know I'm spoiled by my experiences at Penn State. But Marshall games have no character. Sure, the crowd gets into the game occasionally. Some games everyone screams when the other team has third down. The WE ARE chant pops up a few times. But where are the sing-alongs? The stadium-wide chants? Hell, even the wave would be...something. The student section is partially empty at the beginning of the game, and actually empty by the second half. The band, the cheerleaders, the announcer...I guess they try. But the fan participation is minimal.

At Penn State, there are over 100 thousand in the stands and I feel like I'm watching the game with every one of them. Marshall should be a more intimate experience, but I usually feel like I'm watching the game alone.

Consistent Student attendance and participation drives stadium experiences.....Unfortunately, we don't have that at Marshall.

South Carolina is a middle of the pack SEC school but has incredible student support and one of the best in stadium experiences you'll ever get...….Sandstorm prior to kickoff is awesome! All incoming freshman are taught the cheer during First Night Festivities their first week of school.

 

[herdalicious]

Here's the future for G5 schools:

1) Find a diamond in the rough
2) Give them a scholarship, put them on the field for their freshman year
3) They do well
4) Boosters from a variety of P5 programs swoop in with endorsement offers (and let's be honest, cash advances)
5) Four games into their sophomore year, they stop playing and enter the portal
6) NCAA: "YOU get a waiver and YOU get a waiver and YOU get a waiver..."
7) Gone by the end of the school year with three years to play at their new school

Good luck getting anybody to give two sh's about that, much less buy season tickets to it. By 2030, MU football will be about as interesting to most Marshall grads as MU baseball.

 

[RhinoD]

Here's the future for G5 schools:

1) Find a diamond in the rough
2) Give them a scholarship, put them on the field for their freshman year
3) They do well
4) Boosters from a variety of P5 programs swoop in with endorsement offers (and let's be honest, cash advances)
5) Four games into their sophomore year, they stop playing and enter the portal
6) NCAA: "YOU get a waiver and YOU get a waiver and YOU get a waiver..."
7) Gone by the end of the school year with three years to play at their new school

Good luck getting anybody to give two sh's about that, much less buy season tickets to it.

We will be the AA to the Power 5 schools AAA setup.

 

[herdalicious]

We will be the AA to the Power 5 schools AAA setup.

I'm gonna go more dour - we'll be the Fall League Short Season Ball to the bottom end of P5's Single A. This whole system is about to become much more vertically organized, with only about 20-25 schools actually playing the real game, and everyone else just feeding their rosters.