Two Takeaways from Eastern Illinois
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 11, 2009 5:26 PM EDT
44 comments
From post-game Q&A with Evan Royster:
Q: Jay Paterno just said sometimes you come out and there's not a lot of atmosphere, it's kind of a test for the players to self-motivate yourselves. Did you guys feel that? Did you have to talk yourselves up today?
A: Yeah, a little bit. We came out and saw that the student section was a little bit emptier than it usually is and we were kind of upset about it but at the same time it kind of fired us up that we wanted to get out there and still play well. It's not like I'm mad at the students or anything like that, it just upsets us that people kind of look down on these games because they might be against the FCS division. People look down on them and we don't really get to look past them at all.
Let's get that again:
We came out and saw that the student section was a little bit emptier than it usually is and we were kind of upset about it
Did you hear that students? The players notice when you're not there! So how about all of you "fans" who are part of the "best student section in the country" that were trying to sell your ticket for $35.95 (only $30 of which you got to keep if you were lucky enough to sell it) on the Student Ticket Exchange freaking show up to the game, and maybe even consider doing it on time?? K, thanks.
On a happier note:
Way more Blue Band and way less canned music than I can remember hearing in a long time. The Blue Band even had a couple of new tunes (Disturbia and Don't Stop Believing were at least new to me). Maybe someone in the athletic office has been receiving some complaints and managed to reign Guido in? We can only hope that this is a permanent change and not a one game thing.
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Interesting that he says this now
It wasn’t full against Akron, Cuse, or Temple.
DO YOU HAVE PRIDE, DANNY?
by ReadingRambler on Oct 11, 2009 7:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
maybe this was the first time he was asked about it?
We decide when you hear the snap count...
by thedrizzle on Oct 11, 2009 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Guess so
DO YOU HAVE PRIDE, DANNY?
by ReadingRambler on Oct 11, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was worse for EIU
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it that bad before.
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 11, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
the student section was a little bit emptier than it usually is
Where’s the Beer and the Bar-b-Que?
by jesse. on Oct 12, 2009 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not sure what else to say.
I sold my student ticket for this game for $60 at the beginning of the semester — and I believe I made the right choice. Besides, I need that cash to try and find a ticket for OSU for my wife.
by smashtheguitar on Oct 11, 2009 7:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The game was a dog
it’s just more obvious when the students don’t fill in. I could see a lot of empty seats in the regular stands.
"I'm colonel cool! And I'm the captain on this rocket to the stars!"
by psuphiman80 on Oct 11, 2009 8:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
not too many students have wives
also, we were at least 90% for Akron, Cuse, Temple. This was MAYBE 60%, and I don’t blame anyone who didn’t go. If I wasn’t such a huge fan, I would have no desire to see this game. No reason to go.
NittanyWhiteOut.com. Arguably the second best Penn State blog I know of.
by PSUdevon on Oct 11, 2009 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I mentioned this in one of the game threads
But I live in State College, have season tickets, wasn’t able to sell them, but stayed home anyway. It was definitely the right choice and I don’t feel bad about it at all.
Did I mention I made amazing pancakes that morning?
by speedomike on Oct 11, 2009 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I love pancakes
But we don’t get ESPN Classic in the dorms, so I kinda had to go if I wanted to watch K-New play at all.
NittanyWhiteOut.com. Arguably the second best Penn State blog I know of.
by PSUdevon on Oct 11, 2009 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Please don't let
“K-New” catch on. Can we bring back “night train” or something cool instead???
by jimbo2psu on Oct 12, 2009 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree
DO YOU HAVE PRIDE, DANNY?
by ReadingRambler on Oct 12, 2009 9:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
K-New - it sounds like the member of New Kids or NSync or something.
I’m just gonna call him “Newsome”.
Until he does something great, then I’ll call him Awesome.
"The sea was angry that day, my friends." G. Costanza
by NJ lion on Oct 12, 2009 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I went
but would rather see the stadium half empty, kind of as a message to the administration that should have to settle for a product like this. I saw EIU coming off the field at half time and they looked to be about the size of a high school team. Sad thing is they beat Indiana State 31-0 a few games ago. Already looking forward to that game in 2011…..
by psufan694 on Oct 11, 2009 8:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't think the admin saw the half empty stadium
They were too busy counting money.
by speedomike on Oct 11, 2009 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I'm afraid you're right
Even when the stadium attendance was only 104,000 some people, the AD is still rolling in the dough even though there were 6,000 less than maximum capacity. Somewhere in the mid 90,000s would probably catch their eye, but don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. If we can get 70,000 people to come to a free spring scrimmage, nothing in or around that number is going to be seen as a “protest” of the weak schedule.
by dawsonPSU10 on Oct 11, 2009 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Spring Scrimmage vs EIU
1.) Like you said, it’s free. No full price tickets to pay for.
2.) The only chance you have to watch a football game for about 4 months, not the final installment of a 4 game craptastic OOC schedule.
3.) You actually get to watch Division 1A talent on both sides of the ball.
by psufan694 on Oct 11, 2009 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Not to mention
the weather was a lot better.
by markpsu on Oct 12, 2009 7:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The problem with the message
is student tickets sold out, so whether students show or not, the administration still made money. Oh, and all the students who sold their tickets? With the new system, the administration made money on that too. That’s the message they got.
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 11, 2009 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fun with selective editing
From the mouth of Evan Royster:
We came out and saw that the student section was a little bit emptier than it usually is and we were kind of upset about it but at the same time it kind of fired us up that we wanted to get out there and still play well.
and:
It’s not like I’m mad at the students or anything like that
Look I’m not going to defend students not showing up for the game, but with an opponent like this I can’t blame them either. My parents weren’t even going to come up for this game for Zug’s sake! My father only ended up coming because of an unexpected death of his Aunt in Pittsburgh. Her funeral was Friday, so he stopped back in SC to see my sister and I and to go to the game, when otherwise he wouldn’t have been here either. And because of his unexpected appearance, I didn’t even sit in the student section, I decided to sit with my dad instead.
How many alumni do you think that had season tickets ended up selling their tickets (my father included who luckily was able to sell two of his four tickets via the NLC ticket exchange thing)? Point being, it’s not the student’s fault this game had absolutely no appeal to them. There’s only one thing to blame for poor attendance at a game like this. Sure it would have been nice to have them all show up, but it obviously didn’t affect the team’s play any, and it’s not like it was that embarrassing to see on TV for the 47 people with ESPN Classic.
by dawsonPSU10 on Oct 11, 2009 8:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
In my defense
I posted his entire response. Whether or not they used it as motivation, my point was that the athletes notice when no one’s there, and it did make them “upset.” I never implied that Royster was angry.
I just don’t buy the boring game excuse. Yes, it was a boring game. Yes, it was only D-1aa. Yes, Curley’s an @$$ for scheduling them, but it’s still Penn freaking State football! It’s still game day at Beaver Stadium. If this game was in March, we’d all be salivating for just a taste of PSU football no matter who they were playing. And honestly, as a student with 4 (maybe 5) years at PSU where you can sit in the student section, do you really have better things to do on a Saturday at noon for three hours? I don’t buy it. I drove three hours to get to the game, because a year out of college, I don’t want to pass up any opportunity to experience PSU football in person (and not b/c this is my only game this season – I’m going to/have gone to all of them except Akron due to a wedding).
C’mon people. Have some pride. It’s just embarrassing that so many students would rather sit in their dorms and watch TV than experience it.
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 11, 2009 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Can't blame the fans for not attending
Not showing up for the first game of the season is one thing. But I fully endorse and somewhat encourage bailing on a game like this.
If the AD and university wants to maintain our reputation as one of the best crowds in the NCAA, they need to give the fans a little help by scheduling some worthwhile games and appropriately using minimal piped-in music.
Luring recruits with my new "Posting HD" scheme since '08.
by 06Lion on Oct 11, 2009 8:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
"People look down on them and we don't really get to look past them at all."
Well, yeah. And they deserve to be looked down upon.
by Run Up The Score on Oct 11, 2009 9:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That's what Lloyd Carr said
DO YOU HAVE PRIDE, DANNY?
by ReadingRambler on Oct 11, 2009 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Isnt this the kind of game...
that would have been at like 2:30 or something prior to all games being on TV? I would have grumbled about getting to this kind of game at noon. It isnt like there was widespread TV coverage for the game anyway. A later start would have helped not only student attendance, but just made for a more enjoyable day. More time to tailgate, get a little warmer in the sun etc.
by bconway6 on Oct 11, 2009 9:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Start time
In the mid-90’s at least, the standard non-TV start time was 1pm, which would be an improvement over noon for attendance, but probably not a great one.
2:00 or 2:30 would probably be around ideal.
by Laaaaazzz on Oct 11, 2009 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i don't think it's going to make the ADept more/less money
why would they care? no incentive…
We decide when you hear the snap count...
by thedrizzle on Oct 11, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
First time
I’ve ever left before half-time. I missed the Bowman TD and everything — great day, lots of fun, but honestly that was hardly more entertaining than the B&W game and even less competative.
"We hugged as grown men do. It was a great moment. Then, it was business as usual." -- LJ Sr.
by millzners on Oct 11, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The only reason I stayed
was to see Newsome play the 4th quarter, but I left soon after he scored his TD, since I had a feeling the Ham sandwich was going to get some PT with a few minutes left in the quarter, which is like double garbage time I guess.
by dawsonPSU10 on Oct 12, 2009 12:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think you people may be overlooking something...
In case you hadn’t heard, Tim Tebow was cleared to play on the very same day in a later game against LSU in a real live OMG ESS EEE SEE power matchup for all the ages to see. How could anyone miss that?
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Oct 12, 2009 3:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wait a second
Student tickets are $60 a pop now? Back in my day a student ticket was $11.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Oct 12, 2009 11:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
No.
If you try and resell them to somebody that isn’t a student the minimum they let you charge is face value for a full price ticket.
Where’s the Beer and the Bar-b-Que?
by jesse. on Oct 12, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Partially true
Under the new system this year, student tickets are tied to student IDs, so only students can purchase student tickets second-hand. The only way a non-student can get into a game (aside from the old use-someone-else’s-ID trick) is for a student who already has season tickets to purchase an additional ticket for a particular game. This can cost them anywhere from $35.95 to $70.95 (the student selling it only gets $30-$60 – the rest of the cost comes from fees imposed by PSU and Ticket Master). On top of this, they’ll have to pay a non-student-use validation fee of $29 – so it now costs anywhere from $64.95 to $99.95 to bring in a non-student. This is why students are complaining about the new system.
(Of course there are ways around it – you can always use someone else’s ID. The new system also allows someone to forward you a ticket for free, so it can be a lot cheaper that way, or a lot more expensive if they’re making you pay cash outside the system.)
Also worth noting – if you didn’t get season tickets, you can’t bring a guest to any games. Each student is allowed one secondary-market transaction per game, so if I buy a ticket for myself (or have one forwarded to me) I can’t buy an additional ticket for a guest.
Student season tickets this year cost $247, so a single game ticket is effectively $27.44, but I think that includes Ticket Master fees.
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 12, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Normally I defend light attendance for a poor student showing, but this was kind of sad. I only entered the stadium at 11:30 yet I got better seats than I did when I went to Paternoville.
I think the new system is preventing higher attendance at these games. It is harder and more complicated now to ensure that a ticket gets in to the hands of another student, and it can be both more expensive and less profitable than in the past for both parties.
In fairness, the alumni showing was just as poor if not worse, their lack of attendance is hidden by their assigned seats vs. the students filling from the front.
by mrb5091 on Oct 12, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i can't complain about students attendance
i had the option of going to the game. it would have been easy for me to get tickets. but i could have cared less. i didn’t even watch the game like i usually do and i have ESPN Classic. i think it was the first time ever that i went shopping over a football game. and i hate shopping.
"They say in Happy Valley that if God wasn’t a Penn State fan, why is the sky blue and white?" Fortt said. "Who am I to argue with God?"
by amandakt on Oct 12, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Poor student attendance...
is embarrassing indeed. Personally, I cannot imagine having a ticket to a game and not using it, or selling it for that matter, but not everyone is as hard core as the BSD’ers. How many of us know people with season tickets that don’t go to every game? I bet everyone does. Thank god I do or else theres no way I could get tickets to the OSU game this year.
The difference is that it’s harder to sell or get somebody else to use a student ticket. This new system has made it even harder and more expensive/less valuable to sell a student ticket.
Not only is it harder to get rid of a ticket, but they also cram all students in as tightly for E Illinois as they do OSU. This means a student section missing 10% of the fans has a huge glaring gap at the top of the sections thats ENTIRELY EMPTY. We’re talking row upon row of totally empty bleachers. If 10% of the rest of the ticket holders don’t show up its harder to see because they’re spread more evenly throughout the stadium and can ‘get away with it’.
I’m not encouraging or in favor of weak attendance especially by the students, but lets not judge the student fans for not getting riled up and crazy for E Illinois.
by bconway6 on Oct 12, 2009 10:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If 10% of the rest of the ticket holders don’t show up its harder to see because they’re spread more evenly throughout the stadium and can ‘get away with it’.
That’s probably true, but assuming that it is, it kind of cuts the legs out of the argument that the student section “fills in” as the game goes on. More than likely they are jsut spreading out.
Here’s the deal though. If Tim Curley is sitting in his headquarters in a volcano twirling his mustache trying to figure out how he is going to clear 5,000 more names of the waiting list, he’s taking them out of the student section.
After this season, nobody is going to stop him.
Where’s the Beer and the Bar-b-Que?
by jesse. on Oct 13, 2009 8:10 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Simple economics
You want to fill the student section? Get rid of the ridiculous system to transfer tickets and let the market work without all those barriers.
Last Year
- Hand someone a piece of paper for cash
This Year
- Do everything online
- Pay a service fee
- Price ceilings and floors
- Sell it by Thursday at midnight (wake up hungover on Saturday at 11:30? Can’t just hand your roommate your ticket)
- Can’t bring more than one guest if you have season tickets
- Can’t bring any guests if you don’t have season tickets
The athletic department is exploiting students by taking the 15% transfer fee on every ticket transaction in the name of “eliminating scalping.” Scalping is a functioning market. Of course students are going to bitch about it but when you can’t unload for your Eastern Illinois ticket for $15 because there’s a price floor and you’d rather sleep in, scalping doesn’t look so bad. Or when you can pay for your entire season ticket package by going home one weekend of a big game.
Let’s talk about branch campus kids too, while we’re at it. Say you want to be in the stadium for Iowa, Minnesota, and OSU but that’s it. Your best bet is to buy season tickets (roughly $80/game) and try to sell the rest to bring that number down a little. In the past, the selling part was a lot easier to do, but now we just have empty seats. You’re still going to pay $80/game for those 3 (and maybe you’ll make it up for 1 or 2 cupcakes because Altoona is boring as shit).
I said this before the season – we have too many barriers to transferring tickets and too many noon games (likely FIVE OF EIGHT – fml, the blue band shows up 5 hours before kickoff). I knew that there were going to be major attendance issues, and I have no idea how the athletic department didnt see this coming.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but it certainly gives Tim Curley justification to take some seats back from the students and get some $$$… I hope that isn’t what this is about.
by PSUMBBtrumpet on Oct 13, 2009 9:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Or you could just go to the game.
Think of it this way, I have a $50 face value ticket, that I sell to person A for $25 bucks because I know you’re broke and like Penn State football. Then I find out that you turned around and sold the ticket for $200 to the same rich guy I could have sold it to in the first place.
1 I’m a sucker; and 2 Person A is an asshole. Right?
Now, lets say that I have a season ticket coupon That I can sell for $500, plus get a $1000 donation for. But for the same reasons above, I sell it to Person A for $250. Person A then proceeds to throw four of the game tickets in the garbage can, then complain that he can’t sell one of the tickets for three times face value.
1 Maybe it’s time to consider cutting down on the number of tickets I sell to the Person A’s of this world; and 2 Person A’s need to get a grip.
Where’s the Beer and the Bar-b-Que?
by jesse. on Oct 13, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Please, the university hardly sells students so many tickets out of the kindness of their heart.
They raised the price this year and got some complaints. The tickets are priced JUST enough to be affordable to students so they can enjoy the game without thinking “I spent $55 to see this 52-3 blowout? I could’ve bought 3+ handles of vladi…”
They want students to go because it adds value to the entire university. The publicity of a #1 student section. The fond feelings of doing zombie nation at 2005 OSU when those students go out and make money and get letters soliciting for donations. A sample to get you hooked so you pay your life savings into the Nittany Lion Club that essentially traps you into buying season tickets every year because the sunk cost is so much greater than the ticket price.
Penn State football is what makes a PSU degree so much more valuable than comparable academic institutions. It’s what brings everyone together – major value in networking. The student section is where the seed gets planted.
Also, I’m not saying person A should be able to sell it for three times the face value. That’s a problem that was solved by the current ticket system but the current system completely ignores the rest of the problems it creates while the university proclaims it a success in the face of a lot of criticism.
by PSUMBBtrumpet on Oct 13, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I guess my problem is
Your arguing against reducing the size of the student section, even though the tickets that the students get aren’t used. At the end of the season, what percentage of the tickets sold do you think will have been actually used? 75%?
All of the stuff you said about the Student Section gets accomplished if they sell 15,000 tickets instead of 20,000.
The students have to just suck it up and go to the games. It’s really as simple as that. It’s not hard, it’s a damn football game. Just go.
Where’s the Beer and the Bar-b-Que?
by jesse. on Oct 13, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I concur
with both of you. Curley and the ticket office are being a-holes by interfering in a correctly functioning market. If they want to raise student ticket prices to correctly reflect market value, go right ahead; but to add all these restrictions about how they can be sold in order to restrict/profit off of the secondary market is a straight up d-bag move. (And it’s compounded when they insult everyone’s intelligence by pretending that it’s “for their own good” to “protect them from scalpers.” Please.)
That said, when you’re a PSU student, unless a family member is in the hospital or getting married, what the f else do you have to do on a Saturday for 3 hours that’s more important than PSU football? Seriously. Go to the freaking games.
by PSUMark2008 on Oct 13, 2009 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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