On Arriving Late and Leaving Early
JMU absolutely crushed one of its biggest rivals on Saturday in front of over 25,000 fans. The 31-7 victory over Richmond moved the Dukes to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in the CAA. It was one of the most dominating JMU defensive performances in a long time. So I find it sort of odd that there is so much talk about the “problems” with the crowd on Saturday. For some folks it appears that the fact that some of the crowd arrived late and many people left early (when the weather went to hell and the victory was already in hand), is a bigger story than the game itself.
Todd and I made sure we were there from kick-off until the final gun sounded. It wasn’t to prove how hard-core we were. It was because we really enjoy watching the Dukes play. Other people felt differently and either wandered in a bit late or decided to head out early. It would have been great if everyone stayed and cheered the entire game. Shouldn’t we be more excited that the attendance was 25,742 instead of bitching about those who didn’t stay the entire game?
It’s pretty obvious that some folks got so caught up in the tailgate experience that they struggled to get into the stadium on time. That’s understandable considering that for many of us alums, there was no tailgating at all in our days. And it’s even more obvious that plenty of people had no desire to sit in the wind and rain to watch a game that was over early. As the crowd started to leave on Saturday I heard a lot of people say that true die hards wouldn’t be leaving. Well, duh. JMU isn’t selling tickets to 25,000+ die hards though. The tickets are going to thousands of die hards yes, but also to all sorts of students, causal fans, alums curious about the stadium, folks from the Valley, etc. And that all adds up to an awesome gameday experience. At its peak on Saturday, Bridgeforth was pretty fantastic. A giant sea of purple clad fans cheering like mad for the Dukes.
Todd and I brought a bunch of friends back with us for this game. They all were alums and most of them never even went to a single game as students. We didn’t bring them to sell them on JMU football or recruit them in any way, but they all had so much fun that they’d like to go to more games in the future. When the rain started coming down, they were part of the masses headed for the bars though. Should we not let them back in Bridgeforth until they prove that they can stay the whole time? Of course not. That would be stupid. We should encourage them to come back and cheer on the Dukes. That’s how fanbases grow. You can’t just start plucking ready made fanatics off the street.
My point isn’t that as fans we shouldn’t want more for the program. We should. I just think it sometimes by worrying about all the things JMU football isn’t just yet, we miss what it has already become. And in case you haven’t noticed, it is a rather impressive program. The team is starting to cruise and another 25,000 people will be in Bridgeforth this Saturday to watch them. And to me that is pretty awesome, even if some of them do wander in after kick off.
Photo courtesy of JMUsports.com’s awesome gameday gallery
I agree completely. Also don’t forget the number of families who attend with young kids. I myself go with my 7 year old daughter to most games. We also stayed the whole game but that’s because she’s a different breed than most young girls and had a blast the entire time, never once asking to leave. For parents, sitting in a chilly rain with miserable children is less than ideal circumstances for any event; a JMU football game whose outcome is well in hand is certainly no exception.
It should be pointed out that it was the JMU students that starting leaving first and those students left in droves before paying fans started leaving.
@Kevin I completely agree about how different things are for folks with kids. When I bring my boys (both under 4), I pray for a big Dukes’ lead because it’s nearly impossible to stay the entire game.
@Steve It doesn’t really matter to me whether it was students or paying customers leaving first. It was a blowout and the weather was miserable. I’m not going to get upset if some students would rather move along to other homecoming activities.
Attendance was at least 25,743 – my 3 month old who doesn’t need a ticket and probably wasn’t counted. For that same reason, I had to get out of there a little while into the 4th QTR (which is still a decent showing all things considered). Plus, I heard they had cheesesteaks and Natty pitchers at Daves.
Pros: The whole weekend was great, Friday night at Dave’s, Saturday AM Alumni Golf Tourney, Tailgaiting was strong, Bridgeforth is awesome, & the Dukes thumped the Ticks which was the best part. Thumbs up on QB, RB O-line play & obviously the entire D. Definitely want to get back to more games sooner than later.
Cons: First half play calling was still below average & predictable when the game was still in question. Food lines were insane, bring cash people, its a ballgame not the mall.
I disagree that the game was already decided when the droves left. It was only 21 – 7 with plenty of football left. I remarked where is everyone going? We may need that noise later. I have seen plenty of games where the momentum shifts the other way in once lopsided games. I only get to sit in that awesome place five times this year. You bet I am going to stay the entire time.
I disagree also. People leaving wasn’t the issue. The issue is that STUDENTS were leaving (in droves). It’s isn’t anything new. I’ll tailgate with the best of ’em, but JMU students regularly forget that the only reason you are even tailgating at all is because there is a football game. The football game isn’t there to compliment the saturday morning binge drinking. Homecoming is nortoriously the worst because after the largest tailgate of the year, students get some face-time at the game , and then race back to the parking lot at halftime to get faced for _______ (?).
At no other college football game I have EVER attended has the student section regularly emptied out after halftime. Even in 30 degree rain.
It is an embarassment. Period.
Well, I thought it was over early. Richmond only had 1 drive longer than 13 yards after the 1st qtr. And with a pass heavy attack, I didn’t see that getting any better as the rain and wind picked up.
Todd and I sit in the 200’s and they emptied out almost completely. Maybe it was different in the upper deck, but it’s not fair to just blame the students. If you want to continue to get worked up about it, there’s nothing I can do. I’m certainly not going to get upset though. I’d prefer to focus on all the growth and the fact that there are 8,000 students who actually cared enough to get a ticket at all. Eventually the culture will shift so that nobody ever leaves before the game ends. We’re not their yet, but we’re on the right path in my opinion. It’s just not going to happen overnight.
I’ll toss in a little different take. My bro and 2 other buddies ended up getting seats in the upper deck for HC (not our usual season tickets – we only have 2). My brother and I had attended the opening game and sat in our regular seats (goaline – home side). It was considerably louder at the CCSU game and that was against a lesser opponent. Sure we were sitting in close to the student sections in the endzone, but from the upper deck at HC it sure didn’t feel like it was even that loud from there. I do chalk it up to the fact that 1) there were more kids/families at HC 2) the rain/cold make it tougher for the average fan to get “loud”. But having given excuses now for the lame showing in section 402, I can tell you that my brother and I will never sit up there again – back to our season tickets in 211! 🙂
Lay off the students old men(the ones who are being critical) Not all students leave(that ringing sound is my bell). And I was embarassed to see that but it was NOT just the students 2004 Duke.
I’d also like to mention that the student section was completely filled for at least part of the game, the only section without an empty seat. ALSO, the majority of the noise is the student section, when it was full and more empty it was still louder.
Like has already been stated, as an FCS program, the fact that we can get 8,000 students to a game is impressive. Go to William and Mary, Richmond, Delaware, ANYWHERE and you will learn to appreciate the support the students have for the program.
Well said Sean. I don’t understand why people want to beat up on the students. I’m sure the detractors will say that I’m not setting the bar high enough or settling for less than the best, and maybe they are right. I just prefer to recognize how cool it is that 8,000 students went at all. I’m not sure total student attendance for an entire season exceeded 8,000 when I was in school. And the students that go to games now all appear to be dressed in purple and full of enthusiasm to me. It’s a great base to grow from.
I seem to remember Va Tech and UVa students leaving early at the games I’ve attended at both venues. Once the game is “over”, they leave. You know why? Because they have kegs on ice waiting for them. And as a guy that means; there are also girls waiting to drink from those kegs. I’d leave also. People who complain about this are people who have nothing to look forward to after the game. Go Dukes, and don’t ever turn into fans like Tech has.
I found myself disappointed at the people who left at halftime (which was a pretty large number). At that point the game was nowhere close to being out of reach and the weather was not bad yet. I can understand leaving once the rain started falling steadily and the game was beginning to swing heavily in our favor. I never leave any sporting event early but I realize that other people have extenuating circumstances that prevent them from staying the entire game (i.e. kids, etc). But leaving AT HALFTIME of a close game vs arguably your biggest rival in recent seasons to go drink is ridiculous.
You are right though…there is a buzz out there about JMU football and what a beautiful sight bridgeforth stadium is with 25,000 roaring fans including 8,000 students. We are definitely on an upward trend.
Tedward nailed it. When we were actually in school, especially anyone who graduated pre ’04, most of us were certain there were “better things” awaiting us in the evening. We were always wrong and usually ended up on our kitchen floor with a half-eaten giant Blimpie Tuna Melt with extra mayo and hot sauce for a pillow, but at the time we just knew that by leaving the game we were only a few glorious rounds of cheap beer from hilarity and hot women.
Also, don’t discount the extra 10k seats this year. I’m impressed with our showings so far taking this into consideration.
Lastly, give me a home playoff game someday (preferably after Thanksgiving) before we all panic about this. The CCSU game was unique because every single hardcore fan wasn’t missing the opener, just like the playoff run in ’08.
We sit in 404, and it’s quiet, although people do get into stamping their feet. I think that will change as people get more used to it. This is anecdotal, but everyone around me I’ve heard talking is a first-time season ticket holder, as am I.
I have ben bringing my 6-year-old girl, and we almost came to saturday’s game with our 1-year-old, in which case we would have lit out especially early. But the 1-year-old woke up with a cold, so he stayed at home, and the little girl (surprisingly) loves it- she proudly wears her shirt and beads and cheers, and watches intently. She would have stayed all game except another part of the group was so cold she left to go to the concourse. By the time we left, almost all of our section had gone except for those protected from the rain by the press box overhang.
I think the quirkiness of the weather was another factor. It had been 70 on friday, and I saw students in t-shirts and shorts, or flip-flops, and people around me without jackets. At kickoff it was partly sunny and comfortable, but the change was quick, and few were prepared. In another week or so, or by November, people will have gotten used to the cooler temps.
I went to every JMU home game from ’88 to ’93. It was a very different experience then. I would never have imagined we’d have something like this, and it’s led directly to me buying tickets, coming to games, and getting my family involved as well. I’m extraordinarily impressed with what the program has become.
As a 1990 graduate, I can tell you that we never worried about a late-arriving crowd. They typically never arrived at all. And, if anyone left early, there were only a handful of people there to notice it.
Just an anecdotal observation (read: worthless) from the visitor’s section, the students were ill-prepared for the precipitation and temp drop. They can’t handle those temps pre-frosh 15lb. I expect gameday duration to improve commensurate with d-hall attendance.
Todd, sadly I witnessed too many of the “half-eaten giant Blimpie Tuna Melt with extra mayo and hot sauce for a pillow” nights, but I think that is what makes the state of JMU football today even more exciting. We loved our experience in the 90s. but what we have to come back for now is amazing! We are headed back with our little ones this weekend and hoping for the best, but I am just so proud of what JMU football has become. I hope everyone stays for the game as I am not one to leave and miss out on anything, but I just hope everyone is having a good time as well! Go Dukes!