There will be more and more empty seats-

[dand84]

Yah, seems too strong when I read it back. The 2nd sentence is more accurate. I just don't care about it all that much in general. But I'm not actively campaigning for or against it. Just sick of hearing about it. I feel the same about announced attendance versus punched tickets. Just tired of hearing about it.

Money coming in is always good. I'd like to know how much it actually is? Are they selling the tickets for $1 each? I guess I am more pissed that they spend their time saying we are selling out a 90k football stadium when I would rather have a 76k football stadium with more comfortable seats for those of us that actually do bother to go.

 

[oldjar07]

They care enough to keep the faux streak alive, so we can watch the number turn and hear the announcers say this place has sold out for every game since November of 1962. Donating the money to the deserving group or charity would be a better use of the funds, let them determine how they want to use the funds.

Corporations probably buy tickets other than for just keeping the streak alive. I'm guessing they do it to run special promotions, help improve employee and customer relations, etc.

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

Corporations probably buy tickets other than for just keeping the streak alive. I'm guessing they do it to run special promotions, help improve employee and customer relations, etc.

Yep, and they always make that purchase on the Friday before the Saturday game where the streak is about to come to an end right? If corporations are running special promotions, they probably want a guarantee there will be tickets, so they are probably purchasing a block of tickets more in advance than the day before the game.

Look I get the fact that people like you and @dinglefritz want to use the buying tickets as a money maker for the school. But the reality is that those boosters and corporations are donating the money regardless. Whether it comes in the form of a donation to buy the leftover tickets or just a donation to the athletic department. The money is going to be there.

My opinion is that the streak is a sham and has been artificially extended. As I said before, some people are fighting to hold on to it because all of the other ties to the glory years are gone. The bowl streak, the .500 and above streak. The streak of getting players drafted. and so on and so on. This is all that is left, other than memories. If you let go of it, then you are letting go of that last tie and that sucks.

If this was the 6th game of a sell out streak, no one is donating the funds to save it. It would have just gone away. At some point this thing took on a life of it's own and the rest is what it is.

 

[dinglefritz]

Yep, and they always make that purchase on the Friday before the Saturday game where the streak is about to come to an end right? If corporations are running special promotions, they probably want a guarantee there will be tickets, so they are probably purchasing a block of tickets more in advance than the day before the game.

Look I get the fact that people like you and @dinglefritz want to use the buying tickets as a money maker for the school. But the reality is that those boosters and corporations are donating the money regardless. Whether it comes in the form of a donation to buy the leftover tickets or just a donation to the athletic department. The money is going to be there.

My opinion is that the streak is a sham and has been artificially extended. As I said before, some people are fighting to hold on to it because all of the other ties to the glory years are gone. The bowl streak, the .500 and above streak. The streak of getting players drafted. and so on and so on. This is all that is left, other than memories. If you let go of it, then you are letting go of that last tie and that sucks.

If this was the 6th game of a sell out streak, no one is donating the funds to save it. It would have just gone away. At some point this thing took on a life of it's own and the rest is what it is.

So if the folks are "donating the money regardless" what difference does it make if they get tickets for their money? I'm sorry I don't get the frickin crusade by some to end the sellout streak. Time to find something else for people to find fault with. It isn't like the boosters/corporations are buying up thousands of tickets for every game. It's normally tickets returned unsold from the visitor's allotments for unattractive games. I am quite sure that every available ticket was sold to somebody other than corporate boosters for the Wisconsin and Iowa games. We had multiple requests from people wanting our Wisconsin tickets.

 

[oldjar07]

So if the folks are "donating the money regardless" what difference does it make if they get tickets for their money? I'm sorry I don't get the frickin crusade by some to end the sellout streak. Time to find something else for people to find fault with. It isn't like the boosters/corporations are buying up thousands of tickets for every game. It's normally tickets returned unsold from the visitor's allotments for unattractive games. I am quite sure that every available ticket was sold to somebody other than corporate boosters for the Wisconsin and Iowa games. We had multiple requests from people wanting our Wisconsin tickets.

Yeah it is weird how badly some fans want the sellout streak to end. Some people act like the sellout streak is what's holding us back and there's a better chance we'll get things turned around if it ends.

I think the more rational view is that the sellout streak gives the program a lot of positive press from the national media and it also helps recruiting in being able to sell how dedicated the fans are and how much support they'll get playing here. I don't see how ending the streak would help anything. The only thing that would happen is losing some of the positive publicity we get from it.

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

I do not want the sellout string to end.

But it has ended... long ago. I know, I know, if all tickets are sold then technically it is a sell out. And yeah, yeah, I get it that at least we still have boosters committed enough to buy up extra tickets in order to keep the streak alive.

I used to make all those arguments in defense of the “streak”.
No longer. The fact is, it’s fake. Damn it, it’s fake. It is our last source of pride, our last shred of the glory years, and it helps advertise how truly loyal our fans are. But damn it, it’s fake! It is a propped up illusion. A brain dead patient on life support.

The fact is this, the streak got started back when it really was freaking impossible to get a ticket without going to a “scalper”. Season tickets were fought over and prized commodities. It was so hard to get a ticket my young friends and I rushed the fence and climbed it to get into games. (For our younger readers that was possible in the 60’s and 70’s). Some of us got caught but they couldn’t catch us all. And if you got caught you just joined the next wave until you got in.

My point? Those were the days of true sell outs. And the true sellout phenomenon probably lasted into the mid 90’s. But even then, the increased number of games on TV was cutting into attendance. But we really haven’t had a true sellout situation in 20 years.

Time to let the myth die.

 

[dinglefritz]

I do not want the sellout string to end.

But it has ended... long ago. I know, I know, if all tickets are sold then technically it is a sell out. And yeah, yeah, I get it that at least we still have boosters committed enough to buy up extra tickets in order to keep the streak alive.

I used to make all those arguments in defense of the “streak”.
No longer. The fact is, it’s fake. Damn it, it’s fake. It is our last source of pride, our last shred of the glory years, and it helps advertise how truly loyal our fans are. But damn it, it’s fake! It is a propped up illusion. A brain dead patient on life support.

The fact is this, the streak got started back when it really was freaking impossible to get a ticket without going to a “scalper”. Season tickets were fought over and prized commodities. It was so hard to get a ticket my young friends and I rushed the fence and climbed it to get into games. (For our younger readers that was possible in the 60’s and 70’s). Some of us got caught but they couldn’t catch us all. And if you got caught you just joined the next wave until you got in.

My point? Those were the days of true sell outs. And the true sellout phenomenon probably lasted into the mid 90’s. But even then, the increased number of games on TV was cutting into attendance. But we really haven’t had a true sellout situation in 20 years.

Time to let the myth die.

IF you take that view, there's NEVER been a sellout. Every single ticket is sold whether one likes it or not. THEREFORE it IS a sellout whether you think it is fake or not. I go to concerts, plays etc all the time that are supposedly sold out and there's empty seats. Usually it's some corporate sponsor who purchased tickets as part of their ad package then their employees decided to stay home and watch football instead of going. Does that suddenly make it not sold out? No. The tickets are sold. They're in somebody's hands. I can't walk up to the window 5 minutes after the thing starts and buy the ticket. It's gone. The same is true for the sometimes dozens of turned back visitor's tickets that the public doesn't snatch up the week before the game. At kickoff, they're gone. You can't walk up and buy them 5 minutes after the game starts. This whole end the sellout ***** fest is just absolutely stupid. It would be really smart to end a sellout streak because Northwestern can't sell their allotment of tickets to a game in Lincoln.

IF you're confident there's so many tickets being bought up by a corporate booster why don't you fly out from Pennsylvania for a game and walk up to the ticket window and try to buy a ticket for Directional U 10 minutes before kickoff. Good luck with that. You better hope the scalpers have some left if you want to see the game. I have on several occasions tried to call the ticket office to buy extra tickets days ahead of a game for crappy teams to be sure we had enough seats when we got to Lincoln. I've NEVER been able to do it.

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

IF you take that view, there's NEVER been a sellout. Every single ticket is sold whether one likes it or not. THEREFORE it IS a sellout whether you think it is fake or not. I go to concerts, plays etc all the time that are supposedly sold out and there's empty seats. Usually it's some corporate sponsor who purand then their employees decided to stay home and watch football instead of going. Does that suddenly make it not sold out? No. The tickets are sold. They're in somebody's hands. I can't walk up to the window 5 minutes after the thing starts and buy the ticket. It's gone. The same is true for the sometimes dozens of turned back visitor's tickets that the public doesn't snatch up the week before the game. At kickoff, they're gone. You can't walk up and buy them 5 minutes after the game starts. This whole end the sellout ***** fest is just absolutely stupid. It would be really smart to end a sellout streak because Northwestern can't sell their allotment of tickets to a game in Lincoln.

IF you're confident there's so many tickets being bought up by a corporate booster why don't you fly out from Pennsylvania for a game and walk up to the ticket window and try to buy a ticket for Directional U 10 minutes before kickoff. Good luck with that. You better hope the scalpers have some left if you want to see the game. I have on several occasions tried to call the ticket office to buy extra tickets days ahead of a game for crappy teams to be sure we had enough seats when we got to Lincoln. I've NEVER been able to do it.

Thanks for this “reprimand” Dingle. You make a solid argument. It was my view too up until this year. I will take what you say here and reconsider. As I said at the beginning of my post, I don’t want the streak to be declared over. I guess I have just gotten way too cynical. Thanks for bringing me back!

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

Thanks for this “reprimand” Dingle. You make a solid argument. It was my view too up until this year. I will take what you say here and reconsider. As I said at the beginning of my post, I don’t want the streak to be declared over. I guess I have just gotten way too cynical. Thanks for bringing me back!

you aren’t too cynical. You are correct. The sellout streak represented how loyal the fan base is now it is nothing more than a technicality. There is nothing wrong with having only 90,000 instead of 91,000 if that is the true number of tickets sold on the true market, without having a booster or corporate sponsor come to the rescue and save the streak.

 

[LBremser_rivals78367]

Per Moos, the ADs office has not had to ask boosters to purchase any tickets for the past two seasons.

 

[nwualum_rivals330058]

Last weekend, the mens basketball team, the football team and volleyball team all played to sellouts in 24 hours. I attended all three. There were a few emply seats at the mens bball game. The other two venues were completely full. No other school could or would accomplish that feat, especially given the lack of success in the mens sports and the size of our venues. That is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to how loyal our fans are. And yet I come on here and keep reading about all the empty seats.

 

[dinglefritz]

Per Moos, the ADs office has not had to ask boosters to purchase any tickets for the past two seasons.

Hmmm so the entire time Moos has been AD zero tickets bought up by boosters......sure doesn't fit the narrative advanced by the "let it die" mob. What people fail to understand that even when a year goes south, most if not all of the tickets are sold out before the season gets going. The only ones potentially left are visitor allotments turned back and even then I think the visiting school is on the hook for those. The sellout streak is NOT fake.

 

[dand84]

Hmmm so the entire time Moos has been AD zero tickets bought up by boosters......sure doesn't fit the narrative advanced by the "let it die" mob. What people fail to understand that even when a year goes south, most if not all of the tickets are sold out before the season gets going. The only ones potentially left are visitor allotments turned back and even then I think the visiting school is on the hook for those. The sellout streak is NOT fake.

Well to be fair, we are being our cynical selves. As far as I know, DONU has NEVER publicly said or admitted to doing things to boost sales to keep the streak alive. Maybe someone knows something different and I apologize if it has been published somewhere. ND did admit to this when they said they were going to let the streak die.

Maybe a lot of you on here know or have seen it done...shrug. But I don't know of anyone talking about the inner workings of the bat phone to boosters that someone calls on Friday to buy a bunch of tickets. I'd also like to know how much the tickets cost when they are sold this way

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

Hmmm so the entire time Moos has been AD zero tickets bought up by boosters......sure doesn't fit the narrative advanced by the "let it die" mob. What people fail to understand that even when a year goes south, most if not all of the tickets are sold out before the season gets going. The only ones potentially left are visitor allotments turned back and even then I think the visiting school is on the hook for those. The sellout streak is NOT fake.

I am pretty sure the last few games of the Riley era, the boosters needed to buy up seats. So while the poster you are replying to said the last two years, that would be correct. However you saying the entire time Moos has been the A/D, that would not be accurate.

secondly it does nothing to defeat the narrative that the streak has been extended artificially. I never said there were aided sellouts the past 2 seasons. I’ve only said that in the past 57 years there have been games that would not have been a sellout had someone not came forward at the last minute and bought up blocks of tickets.