More on FSU Football Season Tickets
Posted by NoleCC
Rich over at ChantRant is talking FSU football tickets, urging folks to buy tickets to the games to prevent awful scenes of an empty Doak Campbell Stadium. What struck me the most, though, is that the Patrick Martin, Asst. Athletic Director, either doesn’t totally get the picture or doesn’t want to publicly state it.
From the article:
How much are you down this year in season ticket sales?
“Probably about 13%. And I think that’s primarily due to the economy.”
The economy is only part of the problems for FSU Football. A relatively inferior product since 2002 has slowly chipped away at the fanbase. Constant bad press, that FSU players bring on themselves, puts a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. And, FSU continues to cave into the ACC and ESPN when it comes to the Miami Labor Day game. You know why that game isn’t sold out? Because historically it’s an early season mistake fest, with no implications on the ACC or the MNC picture.
The best game of the 2009 home schedule is the first game of the season, on a Monday night, on the island that is the City of Tallahassee. People are going to make plans for Labor Day weekend, that involve travel, the beach, etc. Most of them aren’t coming to Tallahassee, a city that I adore, but lacks the vacation appeal of other places, especially on the last weekend of Summer. Oh, and what do I mean about it being the best game on the schedule? It’s the big traditional rivalry, and should be a huge game in October if both teams are in contention, and it’s winnable for the Noles. The rest of the schedule looks scary. USF screams trap game, and Georgia Tech is going to run up and down the field at Doak this season. Fans had better brace themselves for some agonizing trips to Doak.
Patrick also makes one final, and valid point:
What are you telling FSU fans, both boosters and non-boosters?
“Get your tickets now. This team needs your support.”
The college fanboy in me wants to agree with this, but the newly crowned 30 year old can’t help but think of a line from Fever Pitch, ”You love the Red Sox Seminoles, but have they ever loved you back?” I love the Seminoles, and I’ll be there to root them on, but at the end of the day, with the situation the economy is in, and the stagnant-until-Bowden-retires feeling around FSU football, I understand why people are reducing the games they attend, or stay home entirely. HDTV, a couch and the ability to flip the channel when it gets ugly is a great, great thing.
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Gurney Halleck on 
Robert on 
Mike on 
Wow, this is exactly the type of commenting I heard from the average fan during Chan’s last years…
Exactly my point Bird… nobody is willing to understand that’s it’s not all the economy, and that a stagnant “product” isn’t appeal to a lot of people. Fans aren’t stupid, and when you look at the price of football tickets, for an average Tallahassee (or nearby) family, I can see where it doesn’t make sense to spend entertainment dollars on something that, quite frankly, hasn’t been entertaining.
Curious…
For these Labor Day games in Tally…
Do the hotels require a 3 or 4 night minimum?
Fri, Sat & Sun nights or Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon nights?
Or just the standard two night?
Like Sun & Mon nights instead of Fri & Sat nights?
@gatorhippy That could be some random poem you just wrote there.
@3… I’m fairly certain that most do not require a full weekend stay. The City of Tallahassee and FSU have been working with the local hotels to make things reasonable for fans with the way the economy is behaving.
More info:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/20.....ges-bulls/
Florida deserves a pat on the back… selling all 76,500 season tickets by April. Holy crap.
NCAA rulings and FSU appeals are wearing down the majority of fans who feel that the punishments and the costs do not fit the violations. Is it really all about Academic and Athletic integrity or is it perceived reputations of Penn State vs FSU? The Bowden/Peterno “Battle of the Ages” just puts a bad odor into the already muddy waters. Jimbo’s $5,000,000.00 bonus if Bobby’s contract is extended will absolutely send the wrong message and affect the fan base.
‘Fans had better brace themselves for some agonizing trips to Doak.’
I don’t agree with your assessment at all.
Home Schedule:
Miami – not quite there yet, we get the W
Jack St. – boring but another W
USF – No way the Noles are down for this interstate matchup W
Ga Tech – They may run but they won’t win. We should of had em last year and that stinging loss will be in the minds of every player W
NC St. – Good qb but we still get the W
Maryland – it will be good to be back home after the road games W
I see nothing but W’s, but I’m optimistic so what the hell do I know ;)
Knox,
I’ll address it more specifically when I make my season prediction, but I think you’re a bit overly optimistic.
Ha…I always am at the beginning of the season.
However, I will say this…
Last year was Ponders 1st and I look for him to be much improved.
The Oline should continue to get better especially with Tricket’s guidance.
I think we have a solid back field and it will be better than last year.
The wr’s are young and the loss of Parker and Surrency (for blocking) will hurt but I think Reed can fill in for Parker and the young guys can pick up their blocking assignments they will be fine.
The D will continue to be FSU’s D! Its slipped somewhat of late but it can still hold its own. Our D backfield is the big unknown but I am optimistic and am hoping for the best. Maybe the Robinson’s can carry the load….
Anyway I just wanted to bring you in on why I think the way I do. I will wait to see your article that assesses your predictions.
@8 We most certainly should not have beaten GT. We wouldn’t have been in that game if the QB hadn’t gotten hurt.
@11
While I agree the QB hindered their offense….our offense drove down the field at will and could score on any play, minus fumbles ;).
What are the chances of getting a good upgrade this year due to the fewer ticket holders? Will good seats be available on the west side in Priority I & II? Or, are all of the people who aren’t renewing in Priority III (and most likely weren’t making booster donations)?
Parker,
I’d say the chances are pretty good, depending on your points with the Boosters. The only advice I can give you, is to put the request in writing to the Ticket Office, and be very, very specific about rows, sections, etc that you are interested in. They do their best to fill the seats that way, according to priority points.