Protest

[leftybuff]

Well if that is the case, then not going is just good advice on general principle.

That is kind of where I am at, I would love to go, but I no longer believe the people charged with pursuing excellence are doing so. They just give lip service and hope the alumni and casual fan is too dumb to notice. Or worse yet, they structure the pricing in such a way as to ruthlessly collect every dime from those who pay for the product, but then resent any complaint, suggestion or objection regarding quality while playing the, "it's you alma mater" card. Yeah, it is my alma mater, but when my aged parent starts smearing themselves with poo and dancing naked around the Thanksgiving table in front of my kids, as much as I may love them, I won't be having them over anymore.
The same idea applies with my University.

 

[Walter White]

Just do what you are gonna do.

Whatever you do, it won't have any impact on anything with respect to coaching and admin support of football. Don't kid yourself, it's out of your control. If you don't like crappy football, don't go. Nothing is wrong with that. It's not like the games are free for ex-students; they're charging you good money.

 

[leftybuff]

^^^Sadly this is true.

 

[Denver_sc]

What a depressing thread. In fact, this whole place is pretty damn depressing now. Hopefully we can keep it close on Saturday. I don't know how much I've got left... I might come back for BB season.

 

[Walter White]

What a depressing thread. In fact, this whole place is pretty damn depressing now. Hopefully we can keep it close on Saturday. I don't know how much I've got left... I might come back for BB season.

The thing is, if you get the right coach, things can change very quickly. It happens ALL the time. The key is to not hang on the wrong guy too long. Quickly move on to the next guy untill you find the right guy. It's a judgement call.

 

[BuffUp]

see earlier post -

FYI - I am going to CSU Pueblo game this weekend... 2pm Saturday... They will be playing a 1 loss New Mexico Highlands team and CSU is ranked #1 in the country DivII... It is not Boulder, but my son will get to see a nice competitive college football game. At least there are a bunch of ex Buffs on the sideline coaching

 

[Quattro]

Just do what you are gonna do.

Whatever you do, it won't have any impact on anything with respect to coaching and admin support of football. Don't kid yourself, it's out of your control. If you don't like crappy football, don't go. Nothing is wrong with that. It's not like the games are free for ex-students; they're charging you good money.

I don't buy this at all. When attendance is in the mid 30's they will be losing over a million dollars and with the decline of donations and season ticket sales due to retaining Embree Bohn will have to take action.

And students don't get free tickets either.

 

[BuffUp]

Starting to get the game day package emails - 4 for $100

so someone knows

 

[Daaah]

Starting to get the game day package emails - 4 for $100

so someone knows

Those always come. That's how they were able to keep attendence up in years past. At some point, though, I think people will become unwilling to pay ANYTHING to watch the buffs.

 

[SBG]

Starting to get the game day package emails - 4 for $100

so someone knows

4 for $100? Damn, that's expensive.

 

[NW Buff]

Won't the AD just do something like they did in the 80s and get a student athletic fee imposed on all the students? Does that still exist? I remember people who didn't care about athletics being pretty pissed about paying that (can't say I blame them).

 

[BuffUp]

4 for $100? Damn, that's expensive.

you also get 4 drinks, 4 corn dogs and a foam finger...pretty good deal??

 

[leftybuff]

you also get 4 drinks, 4 corn dogs and a foam finger...pretty good deal??

I'm not sure I want the "foam finger". What a bunch of sickos....

 

[Deleted member 807]

I wonder if the CU AD has considered rewarding anyone sticking around to the end of the game. They could give out coupons for discounted season tickets, or additional preferred points, or something.

 

[RuffBuff]

The most effective....no...the ONLY effective form of protest is NOT SHOWING UP. Hit them where it hurts...in the wallet. If they don't put forth any effort to put a quality product on the field, why spend your hard earned money supporting them and keeping them employed? They get away with doing as little as possible, as long as people still show up, pay for tickets, parking and concessions.

SCREW THAT! I'm tired of this. protest with empty seats.

 

[leftybuff]

I wonder if the CU AD has considered rewarding anyone sticking around to the end of the game. They could give out coupons for discounted season tickets, or additional preferred points, or something.

Dr. Phil in the dunk tank for $5.00 a throw right after the 4th Q. Line woud be mile long.....

 

[GoonieBuff]

Dr. Phil in the dunk tank for $5.00 a throw right after the 4th Q. Line woud be mile long.....

Sorry. I automatically assumed that said Dr. Phil in the drunk tank...

 

[SanDiegoBuff]

I don't buy this at all. When attendance is in the mid 30's they will be losing over a million dollars and with the decline of donations and season ticket sales due to retaining Embree Bohn will have to take action.

And students don't get free tickets either.

I don't even think it'll take mid 30s. Our lowest average attendance over the last few years was ~46k, I bet the AD budgets conservatively and bases their yearly budget around an assumed average attendance of 40k-43k. Anything below at least 40k and they're losing money, which is what Benson will notice.

They really wont see the big loss though until it's too late to fire Embree for the year when the season tickets would drop off a cliff and they lost the season and seat tax revenue. They need to be aggressive, or they risk losing BIG next year because of this.

 

[sackman]

The most effective....no...the ONLY effective form of protest is NOT SHOWING UP. Hit them where it hurts...in the wallet. If they don't put forth any effort to put a quality product on the field, why spend your hard earned money supporting them and keeping them employed? They get away with doing as little as possible, as long as people still show up, pay for tickets, parking and concessions.

SCREW THAT! I'm tired of this. protest with empty seats.

I agree. We tried the powder blue thing. That didn't get through and we were labled as being critical of the players themselves. How they could have come to that conclusion is a mystery to me, but that's what they did. So no more powder blue. Just empty seats. That's what they wanted, after all.

 

[slider]

When people don't show up the CU AD will blame the fans for not supporting the team

 

[SINKRATZ]

When people don't show up the CU AD will blame the fans for not supporting the team

They'll be right, and that's sort of the point at least to me. I know we're trying to separate the players from the coaches and admin, but I'm less concerned about the players feelings here. We've witnessed garbage football for years. The players will continue to play and get full scholarships and a great education, so if they have to play in front of a half empty stadium for a while - too bad. I don't support this team anymore.

 

[unionbuff]

This whole thing just makes me so sad.

I attend the games with a big group that includes my parents, brother and friends. It has been a meaningful part of our Fall since I graduated from college in the late 90s. My dad used to sit with a close friend & $$$$ alum, who has since passed on. We sang the CU fight song during his funeral. My mom now attends the games with us and it really has been nice to spend time with all of them.

I am also currently 8 months pregnant. This is probably my last hurrah since I am unsure about attending games (& paying for a full-price ticket) for a 9 month old next Fall. Plus, my husband isn't sure that we should be spending the money on CU football at this point. This Fall was supposed to be fun & kind of a swan song of sorts. Instead, we drag ourselves up there almost in dread. I am very sad that this is the last season that I will be attending all of the home games and I can't even get excited about it.

But I will be there on Saturday. I don't blame the rest of you for staying away but I just can't. When I think of how meaningful CU football has been to my family and the fact that all of it will change very soon, I have to enjoy spending the time in Boulder with friends and family as long as I possibly can.

If you see me, I'm the chick with the big belly. You won't be able to miss me since it sounds like my group will be one of the few.

I really, really hate what has happened to CU football & the apathy that is occuring to some of you who I believe are some of the biggest CU fans out there. I don't blame you all but it just makes me so angry.

If I don't see you at the remaining games, look for me at the CEC for the first part of basketball season too. I'm trying to fit a lot of Buff athletic events in while I still can.

 

[Uncle Ken]

This whole thing just makes me so sad.

I attend the games with a big group that includes my parents, brother and friends. It has been a meaningful part of our Fall since I graduated from college in the late 90s. My dad used to sit with a close friend & $$$$ alum, who has since passed on. We sang the CU fight song during his funeral. My mom now attends the games with us and it really has been nice to spend time with all of them.

I am also currently 8 months pregnant. This is probably my last hurrah since I am unsure about attending games (& paying for a full-price ticket) for a 9 month old next Fall. Plus, my husband isn't sure that we should be spending the money on CU football at this point. This Fall was supposed to be fun & kind of a swan song of sorts. Instead, we drag ourselves up there almost in dread. I am very sad that this is the last season that I will be attending all of the home games and I can't even get excited about it.

But I will be there on Saturday. I don't blame the rest of you for staying away but I just can't. When I think of how meaningful CU football has been to my family and the fact that all of it will change very soon, I have to enjoy spending the time in Boulder with friends and family as long as I possibly can.

If you see me, I'm the chick with the big belly. You won't be able to miss me since it sounds like my group will be one of the few.

I really, really hate what has happened to CU football & the apathy that is occuring to some of you who I believe are some of the biggest CU fans out there. I don't blame you all but it just makes me so angry.

If I don't see you at the remaining games, look for me at the CEC for the first part of basketball season too. I'm trying to fit a lot of Buff athletic events in while I still can.

Rep. I wish our "leadership" could understand the impact in this context.

 

[leftybuff]

unionbuff hits the nail on the head. CU has had a nice base of support which, in part, stems from the Mac glory days. Having 40-45,000 people show up for over two decades is pretty impressive, not Alabama, Michigan, Florida impressive, but much better than most.

However, given the number of out of staters that go to CU, attendance relies more on the casual fan than many schools of similar size. CU has enjoyed the support of the alums, and the casual fan, even during the D II Danny regin of terror, but the inaction, the failure to clearly state that FB is going to be a priority, the complete lack of any comprehensive vision for the AD, leaves me, as an alumnus and fan, unable to justify the Cadillac price for a Yugo product.

Once CU drives the nail into the interest of the casual fan, and it appears they very well have now, it will be nearly impossible to regain.

 

[Walter White]

I don't buy this at all. When attendance is in the mid 30's they will be losing over a million dollars and with the decline of donations and season ticket sales due to retaining Embree Bohn will have to take action.

And students don't get free tickets either.

Sure, collectively, if attendance is down massively, then that sends a message, but as an individual, you have no impact. The % of people who would not got to a football game, as a form of protest, is extremely small (probably limited to the people posting on this website). If teams continues to suck, attendance will naturally decline because fewer people are willing to shell out bucks and invest time to see their team lose consistently. Ultimately, you get to the same place, but I guess my point is that, as an individual, there is no need to fret about the impact of attending or not attending. Just do what you're gonna do. The bigger picture will unfold with our without you. It's out of your control.

 

[Denver_sc]

T(& paying for a full-price ticket)

Outside of the rest of your post, which was depressing and dead-on, I wanted to point this out. My first son just turned 2, so we're going to start paying for more tickets for him. I've taken him to multiple baseball games, basketball games, and other events and the only two events (including plane flights!) that i had to buy him a ticket for was the Nutcracker ballet and CU Football. It's bullcrap, especially since anyone less than 2 is likely incapable of sitting in a seat by themselves.

 

[Dark Bohner]

Sure, collectively, if attendance is down massively, then that sends a message, but as an individual, you have no impact. The % of people who would not got to a football game, as a form of protest, is extremely small (probably limited to the people posting on this website). If teams continues to suck, attendance will naturally decline because fewer people are willing to shell out bucks and invest time to see their team lose consistently. Ultimately, you get to the same place, but I guess my point is that, as an individual, there is no need to fret about the impact of attending or not attending. Just do what you're gonna do. The bigger picture will unfold with our without you. It's out of your control.

Sorry Walter you are so wrong. Every decision that every CU fan makes has an impact. Based on your argument, people don't make a difference in things such as voting in elections or if they are angry with a major retailer, simply because the numbers are too large. I've seen countless examples where a single person made a huge difference (tweeting and facebooking your displeasure with a company now often brings almost immediate results because it becomes public so fast). I can't tell Bruce Benson what to do, but I can tell him what I think he should do (and I have done so). Enough people doing this DO make a difference.

 

[Uncle Ken]

unionbuff hits the nail on the head. CU has had a nice base of support which, in part, stems from the Mac glory days. Having 40-45,000 people show up for over two decades is pretty impressive, not Alabama, Michigan, Florida impressive, but much better than most.

However, given the number of out of staters that go to CU, attendance relies more on the casual fan than many schools of similar size. CU has enjoyed the support of the alums, and the casual fan, even during the D II Danny regin of terror, but the inaction, the failure to clearly state that FB is going to be a priority, the complete lack of any comprehensive vision for the AD, leaves me, as an alumnus and fan, unable to justify the Cadillac price for a Yugo product.

Once CU drives the nail into the interest of the casual fan, and it appears they very well have now, it will be nearly impossible to regain.

Once that base of support finally crumbles--the devoted leftovers from the 90s--the standard to win it back will be much higher in my opinion.

We'd continue to bring in 50,000 for a 7 or 8 win team, which doesn't really require that much of an investment. But now that fans are threatening to depart in droves, it will take 9 to 10 win seasons to bring many of them back, is my suspicion.

Who will fill the gap? Certainly not the students who graduated in the last decade. Football meant little to them, because they weren't part of anything particularly awesome. No, it takes some devotion to sit in the seats through some bad season, and that devotion is built through the good seasons.

It's imprudent to alienate the fans of the 90s, because there isn't a generational replacement for them. That foundation is thin.

 

[skibum]

Take a look at all the business studies regarding costs of acquiring new customers vs costs of retaining current customers. One them is usually about 10x more expensive than the other - I bet you can figure out which one...

 

[leftybuff]

Take a look at all the business studies regarding costs of acquiring new customers vs costs of retaining current customers. One them is usually about 10x more expensive than the other - I bet you can figure out which one...

Uhh, no we can't...a little help?


Signed,


Bruce Benson
Dr. Phil and
The Bobble Head Yes Man