Week 1 attendance

[Bill Shankly]

Way back in the day, before lights and TV, games kicked off at 1:30pm. Sometime in the mid 80s, State installed lights. From that point forward, our schedule was 6pm kickoffs for September games. 1:30pm kick offs for October and later games. I am referencing games in Starkville and Tuscaloosa. I didn't go to Jackson games. However, it seems I remember we played Navy at night early in the season in Jackson in the early 80s. We may have played one game a year on TV in the 80s.

I recall the TBS/JP/Lincoln 11:30am games begining in 1986. State played Tennessee at Knoxville. I believe later that year we played OM on TBS.

I recall TV really picking up and effecting game times around 1990. We played Tennessee at home in the season opener in 1990 at 11:30am. It was hot and nobody showed. Maybe 20K. THen a year later we had a big September game vs Texas on TV and it was mid day, hot as hell. I believe we had around 30K. Then ESPN with their Thursday night games. ....and yall should be old enough to know the rest of the history.

This is correct. Prior to around 1985 or so almost all games everywhere were played at 1:30 PM local time. You would get the odd night game every once and a while. You also had a few places that did night games all the time like LSU and the Arizona schools.

 

[patdog]

Long lines to go enter the stadium, metal detectors and tickets scanners that don't work, ****** concessions products and service. I'm down to about 1 game per year and it's just been a pain in the *** the last few years at the stadium. The tailgating setup is a big plus over the old days though.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Dude, almost ALL games used to start at 1:30. As I said, you aren't very old.

Ha, if you old geezers are talking about pre-lights, yeah, you got me.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I see this a lot on this board… what specifically has Cohen done to suck the life out of the experience? If you’re referring to just not winning as much, then I’d agree with that. But I think you mean something else.

I've not noticed anything personally, that wouldn't be happening anyway. Of course, I'm on the East side, seems like most of the issues are on the West side. Gamedays have been great for me. I mean I'm still fired up that I can drink a beer and watch MSU football. Just a short time ago, that was a pipe dream. And funny enough, the hounds of hell have not been released upon Davis Wade Stadium as the doomsayers predicted becuz AlCoHoL!!!

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I wouldn't miss a game if I lived within 2100 miles of the stadium. Those last few miles are a *****....

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Whi...22d6c34f61a7be!2m2!1d-88.7933836!2d33.4564165

 

[Bulldawg77]

I see this a lot on this board… what specifically has Cohen done to suck the life out of the experience? If you’re referring to just not winning as much, then I’d agree with that. But I think you mean something else.

If you were going to games in 13-17 you would understand. It's like we went back to 04 now days no energy, concessions are ****, stadium wasn't clean. Hell the PA guy had to call in a back up. Music sucked. Just the overall experience ain't good

 

[Bulldawg77]

Bottom line is two things: 1: Mississippi has just about the worst COVID outbreak in the entire world right now. If you think that didn't hurt attendance you aren't thinking straight. 2: Our football team was widely expected not to be very good. I'm not sure it will be much better this weekend. #1 is showing very early signs of easing (although it is still very bad), but #2 was CONFIRMED.

Bill gonna Bill

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yep. I remember being in the student section for the '91 Texas game. Scorching hot. It rained hard and none of the students left because we wanted the rain. It ended and then it was a sauna.

 

[ronpolk]

If you were going to games in 13-17 you would understand. It's like we went back to 04 now days no energy, concessions are ****, stadium wasn't clean. Hell the PA guy had to call in a back up. Music sucked. Just the overall experience ain't good

I’ve had season tickets since 2010 and before that was a student from 2005-2008. So, essentially I’ve missed one season (2009) between 2005 and now. I honestly don’t see a difference. The no energy aspect is because we just aren’t very good. You wanna blame that on Cohen, then I’m fine with that.

The one thing I will give Cohen hell about is the lines for metal detectors. We gotta get better at that. I grew up going to NFL games where going through detectors was normal and it functions better at NFL games. I didn’t go last week, so I guess I’ll see Saturday if we’ve gotten better.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I went to 1 game each in 14', 16', 17', and 19'. From my perspective, the experience was just as good or better in 19'. Honestly all were a thousand times better than late 90's or early 2000's. I haven't sat on the west side since 1999 LSU game though. I feel like the west side was a ******** back then honestly.

 

[Smoked Toag]

If you were going to games in 13-17 you would understand. It's like we went back to 04 now days no energy, concessions are ****, stadium wasn't clean. Hell the PA guy had to call in a back up. Music sucked. Just the overall experience ain't good

I will agree that the PA guy and audio stuff is not as good as when Mullen was there.

 

[Go Budaw]

So the 3 or 4 smallest football fanbases in the league on that list had the lowest attendance percentages in the middle of a global pandemic. This is not news. Unfortunately, all the schools at the bottom of the list are going to have to fight like hell over the next several years to win all those fans back that were lost to the TV product in 2020. The whole NIL / transfer landscape that puts all those teams at a stark disadvantage going forward isn’t going to help things, either.

 

[Smoked Toag]

The whole NIL / transfer landscape that puts all those teams at a stark disadvantage going forward isn’t going to help things, either.

You're so wrong on this. Louisiana Tech is Exhibit A.

 

[fishwater99]

Y'all are seriously underestimating the power of dove season in Mississippi ***

^^^^^^^

 

[dudehead]

Dude, almost ALL games used to start at 1:30. As I said, you aren't very old.

Yep. 1:30 was kickoff every home game when I was a kid in the late 60s through the 70s. We would drive up, eat at the cafeteria, and head in to the game.

 

[G-Dawg]

Yep. I remember being in the student section for the '91 Texas game. Scorching hot. It rained hard and none of the students left because we wanted the rain. It ended and then it was a sauna.

That was BRUTAL. The rain was a god-send...then the sauna that came after was miserable. I lost a watch to the steam that formed inside of it during the game and then went kaput later in the week.

That was also the Rodney Stowers game where he came up so big for us. Then a few weeks later, he got hurt at Florida and then died.

 

[paindonthurt_]

For a while this board bitched abt day games when they weren’t necessary. They blamed it on LT trying to appease the blue hairs who wanted to drive up snd then drive home in the same day.

Day games have been mixed into September for years. People bitched abt wearing maroon in the heat of September.

 

[G-Dawg]

However, it seems I remember we played Navy at night early in the season in Jackson in the early 80s. We may have played one game a year on TV in the 80s.

You sure about that? I was at that game in Jackson vs. Navy because it was my first ever college FB game and it was a day game. I remember the flyover of Navy fighter jets. 1982 maybe?

 

[paindonthurt_]

You are an accountant right?

That stat doesn’t compare Mississippi state attendance to prior years considering opponents and day game.

Attendance is an issue everywhere.

Saw a spot on Twitter for quite a few unsold tickets at Ohio state.

 

[paindonthurt_]

I will 100% say Stricklin had the game day experience great even before 2013 but winning helps a ton.

Metal detectors are a problem everywhere but the problem does need to be solved.

 

[patdog]

You really don't want to look at our attendance trends over the past 5-6 years. Attendance is a problem everywhere. But it's becoming a bigger problem at MSU than it is for other schools. And that's not a good sign.

 

[Maroonthirteen]

You sure about that? I was at that game in Jackson vs. Navy because it was my first ever college FB game and it was a day game. I remember the flyover of Navy fighter jets. 1982 maybe?

You are probably right. I listened to it on the radio. Back then, only games I remember played at night were at Memphis.

 

[kired]

The metal detectors I went through Saturday had maybe 4 or 5 people in line, so I'd say 1 minute max. Quickest I've gone through them so far. Isn't this required by the SEC now anyway? We really have no choice other than to try and make it quicker. Anywhere I've gone with large crowds, this is always a long wait. Concerts, sporting events, CWS, bowl games, disney world, etc. You never walk up and go straight through.

Scan your own tickets off your phone - worked fine.

Concessions - what did we have 20 years ago other than hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, popcorn, nachos, pretzels, boiled peanuts, and maybe bbq? Now we've got all that plus tacos, larger bbq selection, chikfila, and BEER. Plus for hot games you can bring in two bottles of water per person.

I'm not saying things can't be improved, but I'm with ronpolk. Hard for me to understand when people complain about things being worse today than they used to be. Saturday at start of the 2nd quarter I went to the bathroom, walked around the concourse checking things out, and bought some chikfila. Between all of that I may have been gone from my seat for 20 minutes and I'd guess only half of that was in line. Do people really expect to walk up and order immediately?

I feel like people got used to the slim crowds of the final Sherrill years and during Croom. I remember missing half a quarter or more during Mullen years.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

I wonder how many in this thread went to the game.

Now let’s hear the excuses!

I was there and it was the smallest crowd I've seen in a while. I sit in the scoreboard club and my gameday experience was excellent. I did notice the LA Tech band was put in the west side upper deck, I thought that was odd?

 

[ArcherSPS]

That was actually the MS HS Honor Band