Huge Win

[Aaron Perkins]

Needed to win at home against a team that is 5-2 on the season. We did. Needed to figure out a way to stop them late and we did. Needed to win to stay in the East race and we did.

Fans want to play for championships. But they only seem to want to bother to show up to the actual championship (although they usually stay home then too)

No one bothered to show up yesterday. Students were super disappointing in regards to the turnout. The ones that come are awesome.

Perfect November westher
Haven’t played at home in a Saturday in a month
Playing a team that is pretty good
Senior day
The other school in the state was off
No high school playoffs

Yet you stayed home.

Some have made negative comments about the game even though they were at other games because they couldn’t come in. Some have made comments that they can’t even get excited over a win. One even said they forgot we were playing. (Fan apathy, yawn, etc)

Defense played big when it mattered. The last seven minutes at Georgia southern sucks. Wish we could have gotten them beat last night but we didn’t.

Just need to keep winning and see what happens

The only thing pathetic yesterday was the number of people that didn’t even bother to cime

Kudos to everyone there, a lot of people (except students) actually stayed till the end!

 

[MUMAN3419]

Great win. Now we just gotta win a game on the road (almost 2 years ago) and have Georgia Southern lose some more., oh and win out.

Huff constantly poops the bed and that’s why people are not showing up.

 

[bris1112]

"Fan apathy, yawn, etc"
Buried the lede

We've covered this ad nauseam -
MU's fanbase is dispersed geographically and those with families struggle with logistics during those years with the extracurriculars.
It's a limited number of gameday fans.
Lack of excitement in the community kills the non hardcore walk up.

My opinion but limited access to news that comes out of the program impacts engagement as well.
"Back in my day"... I read Smock and it seemed like you could read/hear about news around the program.
I'm not blaming Marshall, its just how things have changed.

I think the crowds only get smaller going forward.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

I think the crowds only get smaller going forward.

Bris - good points. Well, since only 1 home game left (75 game 11/16 vs CC), we might get better turnout, assuming(!) we win this weekend in Hattiesburg….
At least we don’t have that Tgiving weekend home game. Those are the lowest attended of all.

 

[Rock98Dog]

Huff is now 27-20, 5-0 against FCS teams and 22-20 against FBS teams. He’s never sniffed a division crown, let alone a conference championship. Going into yesterday we were a barely over .500 team. His first three years were some of the most boring football at Marshall in the last 40 years. He brought in a new “Air Raid” OC and we don’t have a 200 yard passing game against an FBS team this year.

Given all those undisputed facts, why should anyone but hardcore fans be excited about dropping a couple hundred bucks to take the family to a game? Not to mention, even I, who hasn’t missed a home game in many years, am getting worn out now on these 3:00 media timeouts. I know there is nothing we can do about it, but dang. Our ESPN2 game had some 4:00 media timeouts. It’s just becoming tedious to sit there and wait.

 

[19MU88]

Personally "huge win" is a tad over the top. Good win at home sounds more accurate.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

"Fan apathy, yawn, etc"
Buried the lede

We've covered this ad nauseam -
MU's fanbase is dispersed geographically and those with families struggle with logistics during those years with the extracurriculars.
It's a limited number of gameday fans.
Lack of excitement in the community kills the non hardcore walk up.

My opinion but limited access to news that comes out of the program impacts engagement as well.
"Back in my day"... I read Smock and it seemed like you could read/hear about news around the program.
I'm not blaming Marshall, its just how things have changed.

I think the crowds only get smaller going forward.

Well said and dead on. Dropping population, less discretionary income hurts.
To take a family of 4 to the games is basically $150 per game with parking, tix, concessions, etc.

 

[Aaron Perkins]

The putting a price on a game has always been interesting to me. Saying it will cost X amount of dollars for a family of four.

If you want to go to the game and that’s it. Then no. Tickets are always cheap. Parking can be free or maybe ten bucks and nothing else has to be spent.

Population isn’t much different than 20 years ago.

And then fans use “apathy”. It’s not apathy. It’s just that you don’t wanna go. You don’t want to make an effort to go. And I am not saying “you” as in you yourself.

But making excuses for those that don’t go. And coming up with price? It’s one of the cheapest things you can do in town.

There is 6 a year.

It’s not apathy. It’s too many “what have ya done for me latelys” who just want the world and don’t want to pay a dollar for it.

It’s not apathy. It’s pathetic. I can see where some folks could confuse the word I guess

 

[Rock98Dog]

How many Marshall Artist Series performances did you attend last year, Aaron?

 

[MichiganHerd]

Winning product would assist a little in attendance, but I know the real reason a family of four has to stay home. I won't say it, but I know. Follow me on Pullman Square if you need further insights.

 

[riflearm2]

Winning product would assist a little in attendance, but I know the real reason a family of four has to stay home. I won't say it, but I know. Follow me on Pullman Square if you need further insights.

Because the Nick Goffs of Huntington don’t want to see a “savage” “criminal” black man in charge, so they refuse to support his team.

That’s what you were going to say, right?

 

[W-S HerdFan]

If you want to go to the game and that’s it. Then no. Tickets are always cheap. Parking can be free or maybe ten bucks and nothing else has to be spent.

“Hey kids! Let’s go to the game today!”
Kid #1: “Where are our seats?”
Dad: “Well, those chair backs run $40 a piece! For the 4 of us that’s a lot. I’ll find a scalper.”
Kid#2: “Will we at least get to sit together?”
Dad: “Probably not.”
Mom: “It’s ok. We’ll get some hot dogs & nach..”
Dad: Hold on there sweetheart! We can’t afford to buy concessions. Too expensive.”
Kid#1: I have some friends who tailgate on the West lot.”
Dad: “That’s some high cotton. We’ll have to park 5 blocks away to get free parking.”
Kid #2: “At least we can use the restrooms for free.”
Mom: “No way. Your father tells me the men’s restroom’s are atrocious. We’ll bring the Mason jar.”
Kid #1: ……..
Kid #2 ……..
Dad: “Everybody in?”

Just imagine going to a game on the cheap!

And then fans use “apathy”. It’s not apathy. It’s just that you don’t wanna go.

Apathy:
Apathy is a state of indifference, lack of interest, or emotional detachment toward something that might typically evoke interest, excitement, or concern. It can manifest as a reaction to boring football teams, recent lack of success & competing activities that are more engaging or interesting.
Apparently, AP, a lot of folks just aren’t emotionally invested enough to make that choice.

 

[riflearm2]

“Hey kids! Let’s go to the game today!”
Kid #1: “Where are our seats?”
Dad: “Well, those chair backs run $40 a piece! For the 4 of us that’s a lot. I’ll find a scalper.”
Kid#2: “Will we at least get to sit together?”
Dad: “Probably not.”
Mom: “It’s ok. We’ll get some hot dogs & nach..”
Dad: Hold on there sweetheart! We can’t afford to buy concessions. Too expensive.”
Kid#1: I have some friends who tailgate on the West lot.”
Dad: “That’s some high cotton. We’ll have to park 5 blocks away to get free parking.”
Kid #2: “At least we can use the restrooms for free.”
Mom: “No way. Your father tells me the men’s restroom’s are atrocious. We’ll bring the Mason jar.”
Kid #1: ……..
Kid #2 ……..
Dad: “Everybody in?”

Just imagine going to a game on the cheap!

Kid #1: “Hey, mom. When do you think dad will realize that we want to go to the game, but not with him, because he keeps making embarrassingly bad posts on HerdNation? We don’t want people to see us with him.”

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

The putting a price on a game has always been interesting to me. Saying it will cost X amount of dollars for a family of four.

If you want to go to the game and that’s it. Then no. Tickets are always cheap. Parking can be free or maybe ten bucks and nothing else has to be spent.

Population isn’t much different than 20 years ago.

And then fans use “apathy”. It’s not apathy. It’s just that you don’t wanna go. You don’t want to make an effort to go. And I am not saying “you” as in you yourself.

But making excuses for those that don’t go. And coming up with price? It’s one of the cheapest things you can do in town.

There is 6 a year.

It’s not apathy. It’s too many “what have ya done for me latelys” who just want the world and don’t want to pay a dollar for it.

It’s not apathy. It’s pathetic. I can see where some folks could confuse the word I guess

Clueless.

 

[whf2]

What was the reported attendance yesterday? I didn't think it was that bad for a 3:30 game, when the time isn't announced until 12 days before the event. And the fans that were there were vocal and into the game. We enjoyed it, and I'm thinking thousands of otherd did too; many who dont' come here to this board, but do go to the games.

 

[greengeezer]

The team is not real exciting and we don’t really have a marquee star. Even if we did, another team would buy him from us in the off season.

 

[bris1112]

"It’s not apathy. It’s pathetic. I can see where some folks could confuse the word I guess"

Roster turnover, super secret program news, and meh performances has led to apathy.
Does anyone think there is any "buzz" around Marshall football?
I love Marshall and I'll find some. Not sure casual walk up has any reason to buy a ticket.

At some point the realization that 20-25K is the fan base, is going to set in.
On a good weather day, against a team we have little to zero history with, when we've already lost in division that 20-25 will turn out.

"The team is not real exciting and we don’t really have a marquee star. Even if we did, another team would buy him from us in the off season."

Agree 100% - it's going to be really hard to rely on any single marquee star drawing numbers.

 

[bbcard1]

I really can't explain how significantly the Georgia Southern loss affected me. Sorry, that's just how it is. Worst loss since Akron in 2004.

 

[ohio herd]

Marshall has a fan base of about 20,000 and has been that way for a long time now. Of course if we are having a big name program play at the Joan we can get another 10,000. Personally ai just go and enjoy the game and don’t worry about how many people show up. Been going now for 52 years so I’ll be back

 

[BisonPa]

I attended for the first time in a long time Saturday so I thought I would pay particular attention to a lot of the things I have heard a lot about.

Getting into the stadium; Never crowded and seemed to go with no delay.

Staff Checking you in and Ushers: Very helpful and Friendly. Probably too may for what was necessary.

Restrooms: As advertised, they were atrocious. I noticed teenagers standing back and not using the troughs and I assume they just waited on a toilet stall to open up. They actually looked scared.

Concessions: The people working the concessions I witnessed did not seem to work very quickly. I decided to wait till halftime to visit the concession and that was a big mistake. The lines were so long at every station, and didn't seem to be moving very quickly. I passed on the halftime concession.

TV Time out recognitions and announcements: They seemed to be appropriate and were handled nicely. I see no problems with that at all.

Thunderclap: Not impressive at all. It wasn't loud at all and didn't seem to have a meaning or purpose.

Attendance: The seats were about half full before halftime and thinned out a little after halftime. The student section shrunk the most after the half.

PA Announcer: Very good. Very professional.

Video Board: Nice but I would have liked to see more replays. They seemed to avoid "plays under review".

Overall, it was a good experience, and I would do It again, but the overall cost would go into my decision.

In full disclosure my tickets were free. Thank you, Paul Swann, and WRVC AM 930.

 

[Marshall2004]

I decided a few years ago to strop stressing over attendance. I am always there, and that is all I can do. That said, I thought a lot of what Perkins posted as I was leaving the game. I am not sure what the solution is. It feels like church at this point. We preach to the choir about how we need more and more, but really the issue is with the people NOT there, not the ones who are there. It was a perfect day with a solid opponent and the crowd was pitiful. It seems to me that we have narrowed our definition of success and what counts as worthy excitement so much that it isn't realistically possible to sustain. We need name brand opponents in and out of conference, to be in the hunt for a championship and the top 25 every year, play an exciting brand of pass happy football, and be in the conversation for a playoff spot. I feel like "power" football has marginalized "G5" football to the place that we are playing a fool's game. It can't be playoff or bust. It is just such a small target to hit. We cannot look down on comparable G5 programs so much that our fans don't show up to play them. I am afraid we have created conditions in our mind under which we will always be miserable with very few moments of acceptable achievement here and there.

 

[greengeezer]

I am afraid we have created conditions in our mind under which we will always be miserable with very few moments of acceptable achievement here and there.

You just described 99% of the college football fan bases in the country. Even fans of the biggest programs are unhappy with anything less than a NC.

 

[Herdguy04]

I decided a few years ago to strop stressing over attendance. I am always there, and that is all I can do. That said, I thought a lot of what Perkins posted as I was leaving the game. I am not sure what the solution is. It feels like church at this point. We preach to the choir about how we need more and more, but really the issue is with the people NOT there, not the ones who are there. It was a perfect day with a solid opponent and the crowd was pitiful. It seems to me that we have narrowed our definition of success and what counts as worthy excitement so much that it isn't realistically possible to sustain. We need name brand opponents in and out of conference, to be in the hunt for a championship and the top 25 every year, play an exciting brand of pass happy football, and be in the conversation for a playoff spot. I feel like "power" football has marginalized "G5" football to the place that we are playing a fool's game. It can't be playoff or bust. It is just such a small target to hit. We cannot look down on comparable G5 programs so much that our fans don't show up to play them. I am afraid we have created conditions in our mind under which we will always be miserable with very few moments of acceptable achievement here and there.

People want to say, "Well, MU is going to be what it is because we can't afford to be in a P5, and (insert economic and social conflicts) relating to why MU can't draw, nor has any money.
Accepting that MU will never be elevated to levels they wish it would.

But yet they are still wanting to hold MU to a supposed higher standard when it comes to winning and competing...thumbing their noses at supposedly inferior competition, "App State and JMU (with far superior fanbases and resources) are now better than us, my how we have fallen."

It's such a stupid mindset to have and works against supporting MU.

"Oh wow, you praise Huff, that means you accept mediocrity."
I'm happy MU won, they can always improve but I won't use that as a means to bash the team like many do on social media.

Once more...fans want MU to exist in two places at once...one as a poor small state university in WV but also capable and able to routinely beat other programs with better resources...and all the HC's at MU should stay and never leave because MU is the reason they're coaching.

 

[bris1112]

Donnan / Pruett
Pennington / Kresser / Pennington / Leftwich
Moss

It can't be replicated - the time, the conditions, the circumstances, the style, the outcomes.
It was exciting to watch and it produced amazing results.
It's what everything since is judged against right or wrong.

Expectations have been outrageous since, and that's okay.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

People want to say, "Well, MU is going to be what it is because we can't afford to be in a P5, and (insert economic and social conflicts) relating to why MU can't draw, nor has any money.
Accepting that MU will never be elevated to levels they wish it would.

But yet they are still wanting to hold MU to a supposed higher standard when it comes to winning and competing...thumbing their noses at supposedly inferior competition, "App State and JMU (with far superior fanbases and resources) are now better than us, my how we have fallen."

It's such a stupid mindset to have and works against supporting MU.

"Oh wow, you praise Huff, that means you accept mediocrity."
I'm happy MU won, they can always improve but I won't use that as a means to bash the team like many do on social media.

Once more...fans want MU to exist in two places at once...one as a poor small state university in WV but also capable and able to routinely beat other programs with better resources...and all the HC's at MU should stay and never leave because MU is the reason they're coaching.

I think it's been posted that we are number 2 in the league for football budget.

 

[31Herd55]

I think it's been posted that we are number 2 in the league for football budget.

Need to have big ticket giveaways to build up interest in the program and help recruit kids to come to MU.
Could start by giving several thousand freebies to HS football teams then several thousand to Middle School teams and then all other athletes. Wouldn’t cost Marshall a penny to fill up the thousands of seats that are going to be empty anyway…and just think about how much more money the concessions would bring in.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Need to have big ticket giveaways to build up interest in the program and help recruit kids to come to MU.
Could start by giving several thousand freebies to HS football teams then several thousand to Middle School teams and then all other athletes. Wouldn’t cost Marshall a penny to fill up the thousands of seats that are going to be empty anyway…and just think about how much more money the concessions would bring in.

Poeple have argued that free tix costs Marshall money since they lose revenue from that seat. I never bought that argument. At the least, have $15 seats in the extreme end sections.